**Unofficial Tyre Thread**

Frozennova said:
Think I'm going to try a set once I've killed these AD08R off, cost isn't too a problem in 195/50/15 but I really struggle putting any power on the road even on even lightly damp tsrmac
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Highly enjoying the V105's on my Mx5, the feedback is still great for a road tyre, the grip in both the wet and dry is brilliant with the only downside being the wear.

The front and rears do seem to wear fairly equally, that's probably the swinging on the steering wheel that does that though.
 
Had some Pilot Sports 4's fitted on the front last month, been brilliant thus far! Even in the wet they hold very well and give some great feedback.
 
marcus25 said:
Winter tyres are designed to work better in cold temperatures than normal tyres, not just snow and ice. For example the Nokian WR D4 tyre is what I have and is A rated for wet grip so even if it's just wet out it'll have excellent grip and braking ability. It's something like when the temperatures get below 7 degrees normal tyre rubber gets harder so is less effective at gripping the road. Where as the winter tyres stay soft at the low temperatures. I keep a spare set of Nokian tyres for my 2 cars that I change over in winter time. Because you only use them in winter they don't tend to get as much mileage so usually last 2 or 3 winters. Nokian are known as the inventors of winter tyres and they are reasonably priced.
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Winter tyres in the UK is a marketing exercise. When we had the winters of 2011/2012 the major tyre manufacturers saw dollar signs.

The 7 degrees figure is often banded around, whereas it's actually 3 or 4 degrees where summer tyre performance drops off. This is whilst forgetting that after 0.5mile of driving, your tyres will have warmed up to well passed 7 degrees.
 
Have to say I'm not actually overly impressed with my ps4's in the wet (proper wet not damp) now that they've worn a bit (probably down to 5.5mm ish) and it's starting to get a bit cooler here.

It's difficult to compare to the likes of continental/Goodyear's as I've had them on different cars and it's not like the tyres are poor - I'm just not particularly impressed by the grip. Could be expecting far too much though and a fwd turbocharged motor won't help
 
RE: The winter tyres thing.

The 7 degrees bit is actually where there is benefit to having winter tyres over summer tyres. Sure, the summer tyres may still work perfectly well down to 3-4 degrees, but that doesn't make them the better tyre at that temperature. Over 7 degrees is where the winter tyre performance drops off. But I know people who just run them all year round without issue. The thing is, we do have a good 60-90 days at these temperatures a year. Almost 1/4 of the year. And a lot of that is wet days too, a weather condition where winter tyres can also outperform summer tyres. It's not just the few days a year we have snow, that everyone who seems against them claim.

The real benefit is in the wet weather.

And sure, they are a bit more expensive than summer tyres, maybe. But realistically, if you do it right, it can be a zero cost option to run winter tyres. Since in the summer months you are using your tread on you summer tyre, and in the winter months, on the winter tyres, thus saving the summer tyres, then usually dropping a wheel size means the winter tyre is no more expensive than the summer one. If you put them on second hand wheels, then they will likely be worth what you paid for them when you are finished with them and move the car on.

So in the end, it has cost you, overall, no more extra money to run winter tyres in winter, and summer tyres in the summer. But you'll be having the best possible performance from your tyres in all conditions. It's a no brainer to me.
 
xs2man said:
RE: The winter tyres thing.

The 7 degrees bit is actually where there is benefit to having winter tyres over summer tyres.
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Claimed benefit.

I'm yet to find a decent indepent comparison of a winter vs summer tyre in 'normal but cold' conditions that concludes this is this case.

All the winter tests end up discussing snow performance etc. which a summer tyre will obviously fail at.

I've yet to see any decent evidence that leads me to think the 7 degrees claim is anything otheer than a marketing exercise to convince UK consumers they need a winter tyre to get to work in the rain during December.
 
rodenal said:
Have to say I'm not actually overly impressed with my ps4's in the wet (proper wet not damp) now that they've worn a bit (probably down to 5.5mm ish) and it's starting to get a bit cooler here.

It's difficult to compare to the likes of continental/Goodyear's as I've had them on different cars and it's not like the tyres are poor - I'm just not particularly impressed by the grip. Could be expecting far too much though and a fwd turbocharged motor won't help
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See I've not had any issues with mine they are a marked improvement over the PS3's I had previously. I use my MPS as a daily driver (covering 17,000 a year) and the tyres are holding up very well and aren't showing any sign of a change for the worse.
 
It's funny that, if anything you'd expect the MPS to be worse.

This had ps3's on before and there's no question there is an improvement - a significant one in the dry, but definitely some loss in the wet over when they first went on. That said I had the map off the car for a while which could be a contributor and the standard suspension is fairly cack too on this.
 
Yeah I mean the things you mention could be a factor to it, but I don't see how it'd be too huge. I do about 80 miles a day, A roads mainly. So I do get a general feeling on different road conditions, both wet/dry (recently). In all honestly I've only ever used PS3's and PS4's so I can't speak for any other brands.
 
xs2man said:
But you'll be having the best possible performance from your tyres in all conditions.
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I dispute this - there will be numerous times in, say, December, when the best possible performance is offered by a UHP tyre not a winter tyre.

We've run winter tyres on the GF's Mini for 3 winters now pretty much because the tyres were so cheap it was worth it as an experiment. The only time they've ever offered a credible benefit was when it snowed on the moors and we went out specifically in search of some snow.

I suspect where you live up there it's a different situation but for most in England its far from a no brainer. I wish it was, I'd love a set of 18's with WinterContact TS850's on them but it just doesn't make sense :(
 
Advice needed,

I have a Fiesta St mk7, the tyres are Bridgestone Potenzas, the fronts are pretty worn and need replaced , the rears are worn but still a decent bit of rubber left

I was going to replace with like for like but I'm thinking of getting some Michelin Pilot Sport 4's

Would I be best to put the rears on the front and the new PS4's on the rear or just replace the lot?

If the latter is it worth me keeping the old Potenzas?

Any opinions on the PS4's? Are there any others I should consider?
 
If you'll get a couple of months+ out of the current rears if you swap to the front that's what I'd do

Ps4, sport contact or AS3 are all similar, I'd just pick the cheapest if there is any discernable difference in price.
 
[TW]Fox;30064554 said:
I dispute this - there will be numerous times in, say, December, when the best possible performance is offered by a UHP tyre not a winter tyre.

We've run winter tyres on the GF's Mini for 3 winters now pretty much because the tyres were so cheap it was worth it as an experiment. The only time they've ever offered a credible benefit was when it snowed on the moors and we went out specifically in search of some snow.

I suspect where you live up there it's a different situation but for most in England its far from a no brainer. I wish it was, I'd love a set of 18's with WinterContact TS850's on them but it just doesn't make sense :(
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A major problem with having winter tyres anywhere where it doesn't generally snow is that very few other people have them. It's all well and good being able to get around, but you won't be going anywhere fast if the roads are all blocked by people who've lost traction / crashed.

My dad's 4x4 has winter tyres fitted as they came with it when he bought it, and he does so few miles there's still loads of tread so he's never bothered changing them. The last time it snowed we took it out and it was indeed amazing: you could drive pretty much as normal. But it was still impossible to get beyond a couple of streets away, because the main roads were all blocked, which makes the whole thing kind of pointless.
 
So the new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S (aka MPSS2) is coming in the next couple of months. Initial independent tests by TUV SUD show that it has the CSC6 licked.
 
JBuk said:
Advice needed,

I have a Fiesta St mk7, the tyres are Bridgestone Potenzas, the fronts are pretty worn and need replaced , the rears are worn but still a decent bit of rubber left

I was going to replace with like for like but I'm thinking of getting some Michelin Pilot Sport 4's

Would I be best to put the rears on the front and the new PS4's on the rear or just replace the lot?

If the latter is it worth me keeping the old Potenzas?

Any opinions on the PS4's? Are there any others I should consider?
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rodenal said:
If you'll get a couple of months+ out of the current rears if you swap to the front that's what I'd do

Ps4, sport contact or AS3 are all similar, I'd just pick the cheapest if there is any discernable difference in price.
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D'oh! looks like they don't so the ps4 in the size I need
 
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