**Unofficial Tyre Thread**

Soldato
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I really like my Crossclimate+ they are wearing far better than I had anticipated as well. Already beat the continental sport contact 5 that they replaced.
Very pleased with their performance as well, ideal choice for the daily driver.

Ordered a set, getting fitted Saturday. Figured it’s better than getting stuck over xmas if it snows when we have plans (north east and Scotland). Plus the long range has a cold Jan/Feb.

Depends whose reviews you read, some have the crossclimate+ as good as the energy saver (within 1%) in the dry and better everywhere else.

Im willing to suck it and see.

Currently got Conti Eco Contact 5s which have been OK (6-7 year old design tyre now) I left them too long before swapping front to rear and don’t want to run them right down to the wear indicators on the rear. The fronts still have 4-5mm but want to change all 4 tyres.
 
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Man of Honour
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21 Feb 2006
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New wheels and tyres sorted and getting fitted on Friday (2 rears are shot). Then some new winters will be going onto old wheels next week following a quick/cheap refurb.

Thanks to @WoodyUK for the introduction to a man who can.
 
Associate
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Last August, I put some Dunlop Sportmaxx RT2's on my Golf (225/45/17). They seemed ok at first (wasn't overly impressed though), but when the tread on them got down to about 3mm, the level of grip I got from them was absolutely shocking... There is a nice 3 mile stretch of NSL country road on my commute to work, and I genuinely didn't feel safe on those tyres on that stretch of road when driving up to the speed limit.

At just under 3mm tread, I couldn't wait to get them off the car. I've just had some Michelin Pilot Sport 4's put on. Fantastic tyres: great grip, great feedback. Only downside is they are a little bit noisy compared to the Dunlops.
 
Soldato
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Got a pair of winter tyres in 205/50/16 for my 850, came on a set of alloys I bought. They have around 7mm of tread left so will re-use them. Volvo states 205/55/16 tyres can be used in winter (205/50/16 is standard size), and 55 profile tyres are significantly cheaper. My question is, will there be any negatives handling wise with a pair of 50 profile and a pair of 55 profile tyres? I don't imagine there would be as several cars have staggered set-ups?
 
Soldato
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I’d buy the same brand/model winter in the same size as what you currently have. Keep the speedo reading properly and stop it looking like a hotrod.
 
Soldato
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Its a 5mm difference, hardly hot rod! :D Difference it will make to the speedo is significantly less than the value that the speedo is out by anyway. I'm not bothered by aesthetics, I want to know if it will impact handling.
 
Soldato
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Yeah it's not 5mm. The profile is a percentage of the width. So it's 55% of 205 = 112.75mm, Vs 50% of 205 = 102.5mm.

So yeah as above overall 20.5mm diameter.
 
Associate
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I'm about to leave the world of Audi quattro and come back to BMW, on a 335D e92. I need a set of winters as I'm planning a road trip across Europe and also want to be mobile in the UK if it snows, which on a set of wide summers won't really happen.
I've had a remapped e92 330D in the past and I used winters for a good few months a year (Goodyear UG8) and I remember they were incredibly poor at putting any sort of power down in the dry with constant wheel spinning even in 3rd gear if you booted it, let alone first or second.

So here's the thing - am I better off getting something like a set of Michelin Crossclimates and hope that it doesn't snow often through my trip while enjoying superior dry performance in the month I'm using them, or should I get a set of winters? (thinking Dunlop Winter Sport 5). For the summer I'd keep proper UHP summer tyres anyway. I know All Seasons tyres are traditionally crap, but I've heard really good thing about Cross Climate, has anyone used them on a RWD vehicle that is prone to spinning tyres?
 
Associate
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So Nankang Ns2r's are lethal in the wet... :p

Anyone recommend a cheap but decent all season or something to get me through winter in a 195:60:14 size?

Were you driving hard in the wet on the ns2r's?
I have heard a few people say they are lethal in the wet but i have found them ok. Admittedly i dont push on as hard as i would in the dry but i have found they outperformed other mid range summer tyres i have had in the past.
 
Soldato
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I'm about to leave the world of Audi quattro and come back to BMW, on a 335D e92. I need a set of winters as I'm planning a road trip across Europe and also want to be mobile in the UK if it snows, which on a set of wide summers won't really happen.
I've had a remapped e92 330D in the past and I used winters for a good few months a year (Goodyear UG8) and I remember they were incredibly poor at putting any sort of power down in the dry with constant wheel spinning even in 3rd gear if you booted it, let alone first or second.

So here's the thing - am I better off getting something like a set of Michelin Crossclimates and hope that it doesn't snow often through my trip while enjoying superior dry performance in the month I'm using them, or should I get a set of winters? (thinking Dunlop Winter Sport 5). For the summer I'd keep proper UHP summer tyres anyway. I know All Seasons tyres are traditionally crap, but I've heard really good thing about Cross Climate, has anyone used them on a RWD vehicle that is prone to spinning tyres?

Sounds like the winter tyres you had were crap then, if the road was dry then anything should stick, the 320D isn’t a fire breathing horsepower machine that rips up the road.

Continental TS860 seem to be one of the best winter tyres.
 
Man of Honour
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Sounds like the winter tyres you had were crap then, if the road was dry then anything should stick, the 320D isn’t a fire breathing horsepower machine that rips up the road.

He had a remapped 330d, could have been anything up to 300bhp/650nm. Plenty powerful enough to overwhelm a winter tyre.
 
Associate
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^Exactly what the man said. :)
It was no sports car but the torque was plenty enough to give the 225 width tyres a proper beating, especially given it was a manual and stayed at peak torque rather than kicking down. I'm thinking a remapped 335d will only be worse, hence why leaning towards the Cross Climates.

And don't get me wrong, I'm 100% a tyre snob, but blackcircles do the Cross Climate for £80 delivered, whereas the TS860 seems to be £115+ no matter where I look. I'm thinking 90% of the time the Cross Climate will be the better tyre (ie in the wet or dry) but I'm not sure if they will cope in the extra 10% actual snow.
I know the TS860 seems to be one of the best, but the Dunlop Winter sport 5 aren't bad either, depending on which test you look they are either the same or below the TS860, and around 10-15% cheaper.
 
Soldato
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Anyone know how terrible Ns2r's are in the wet? Obviously not an ideal tyre but they're on my new daily runaround. I know AD08R's are surprisingly OK in the wet.

Yeh, they're crap and dangerous for you and others on the road as they have very poor aquaplane resistance. AD08R's are crap too, but a bit better than the Nankangs.

Both are massively less competent in the wet than a good normal road tyre.

So Nankang Ns2r's are lethal in the wet... :p

Anyone recommend a cheap but decent all season or something to get me through winter in a 195:60:14 size?

If only someone had warned you weeks ago eh?
 
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