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Any advice on tyres

26K views 110 replies 25 participants last post by  Ace Demon 
#1 ·
I have now done 49k and my front tyres are due for replacement. As I have an Ecodynamics it is currently fitted with Michelin Energy Saver 2 which will cost about 100ukp each to replace. With such high mileage (50k in 17 months) I am keen to maximize MPG.

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#2 ·
I have now done 49k and my front tyres are due for replacement. As I have an Ecodynamics it is currently fitted with Michelin Energy Saver 2
49K. Surely not the first set? The Michelins come in for criticism about cabin noise & grip. On top of economy there is the lifetime cost of the tyres to consider. You might be better off sticking with them.

I have some Bridgestones presently. No difference in economy noticeable on the trend line of my fuel spreadsheet (but I wouldn't expect any). Much nicer tyres. Except the wear suggests that lifetime cost is nearly double the Michelins.
 
#3 ·
I have been running Michelin XM1+ (Energy Saver) on our Mazda 6 and found an improvement of about 3 MPG for highway running, compared to original Bridgestone. Not much improvement around town. 60,000 km life (estimated) for a set of 4 tyres, but getting a bit noisy as they wear.

Recently looked at replacing with Michelin's latest offering (XM2), but they seemed a bit pricey ($185 ea.), so I went with a pair of Yokohama A Drive ($140 ea.) on the front. I have had good results from Yokohama in the past. Not too worried about economy, as this is a city car now.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Spencer, seems you've answered your own question there.
The Michelins are indeed a tad expensive, but the mileage you've had out of them is fab against expected life of others let alone cheaper tyres. Add to that the economy factor and it should be simples.

Price wise, worth checking www.blackcircles.com as they're generally cheapest around.
Energy savers for my 16" wheels are £85ea fitted, Michelin Primacy are £81.85.

Ace: I've done 23k on my original set or Energy Savers, fronts still have plenty of tread remaining & rears seem barely touched!
 
#10 ·
Ace: I've done 23k on my original set or Energy Savers, fronts still have plenty of tread remaining & rears seem barely touched!
Similar here. By comparison the Bridgestones are down to 3.5-4mm after 10K so are on course for just 13K. I might have go back to Michelin if I can steel myself to accept the noise.

The trouble is there is so little information. Tyres have a treadwear indicator for the USA market; the Michelins are 400 and the Bridgestones 320, so the different result is not unexpected. Unfortunately it's not easy to find this number from literature before buying so might have to be a matter of going round a car park and peering intently (and weirdly?) at the tyres on other cars.

The only thing I really have to go on is that on a petrol Primera, Avons were undoubtedly the quietest compared to Conti and Pirelli and did 25K at the front. The Avons also had a wonderfully controllable breakaway character. (Although I guess this no longer matters with ESP.) Time to revisit?
 
#5 ·
I've only done 10,500 on my Michelin (Energy Savers) which were fitted as standard when the car was delivered. So, it's to early yet for me to comment on economy etc. However, I would say that tyre road noise is high at over 60mph and this will certainly be a factor for me to consider when the time comes for replacements.
 
#6 ·
I had to replace my fronts about a month after I bought the car (maybe 12/13months ago? and I replaced the mich's with "Pirelli P6000", I am shocked to say that the P's are now at 3mm whilst the set of Mich's on the rear (which were previously at about 6mm!) are currently sat at around 5mm left.

I have used about 80% of my new tryre in the period that my Mich's have used 20%

I wish I could pin it on the way I drive it, but if I think hard, I have never driven it constantly hard to shred them, and given I tend to get over 400 miles out of the tank (petrol) I couldnt even say I am thrashing them...

I know which tyres I will be replacing with when it comes to their removal...
 
#16 ·
Ace, do you recall what model of the Avons you used, I would be quite happy to give them a crack and see how well they handle...
They were the ZV3 with an 88H rating. For the Ceed they would have to be ZV5 to get the 91V.

As a word of caution about tyres, new tyres are always quieter than old ones. I notice on tyre review sites a lot of people give wax lyrical about how much better their new BrandX tyres are over their old BrandY. Naturally my second lot of ZV3s were better than the first lot... but I was happy enough with end of life behaviour to do a repeat buy. The new Bridgestones were better than the old Michelins unsurprisingly so it's difficult to make like for like comparison. Have the Bridgestones gone "off" as much as the Michelins? I don't think so. Certainly not for steering and braking.

Incidentally, Avon tyres are no longer part of Avon plc. They are a subsidiary of Cooper Tires so these might be the same item Cooper Zeon CS6 205/55 R16 91V - mytyres.co.uk
 
#17 ·
We discussed tyres on this forum previously.
http://www.kia-forums.com/kia-ceed-forum/68999-what-tyres.html

Most of what was said then probably still holds good.

At 23000 miles I have the original Michelins on the front, which were moved from the rear at about 15000 miles. The Conti SportContact 3's that I then put on the rear are showing very little signs of wear, but are so much quieter than the Michelins. (which I hope wear out soon, but I think that traction control is thwarting me)

It's probably worth considering Hankooks as Kia are now putting them on the New 2012 cee'd and the Optima.
 
#23 ·
The only problem with swapping thin fronts with fat rears (tread I mean :p) is that you then risk having the rear wheel drive effect, where you are more likely to fishtail and lose control of the rear whilst your fronts keep tight hold of the road. Not much good having the fronts gripping on, if your rear is spinning around and around...

Its always a "gamble" in that respect, but I suppose its each to their own...

heres the reason why you should have good grip on rear!

 
#26 ·
The only problem with swapping thin fronts with fat rears (tread I mean :p) is that you then risk having the rear wheel drive effect, where you are more likely to fishtail and lose control of the rear whilst your fronts keep tight hold of the road.
The video contains an error. They mention "hydraplaning" or aquaplaning. The tyres were not shown to be aquaplaning. This is when there is no tyre/tarmac contact at all which is quite different to sliding grip. I've only experienced it once and it's quite an interesting effect. They also show two different white cars without obvious explanation

I have always put new tyres to replace the old on whichever axle and no tyre dealer has ever moved to swap around. If it makes front wheel drive cars handle properly, so much the better...
 
#24 · (Edited)
Thanks for the video Jeebow, that's pretty interesting actually and yeah I can see the logic.

Not 100% sure why would my car would suddenly start fishtailing if I just put new treads on the front, when it doesn't at moment. Can only guess my current front end grip is low compared to 'fresh & grippy' tyres, so I'd more likely push it a bit more with new treads on? Strange but apparently true.

Will wait til the fronts are lower, get new treads on rear & current rears put on fronts. Job Done! :)
 
#27 ·
I can see the points for definite, I suppose perhaps the tread levels on the model cars where much more than perhaps 8mm vs 5mm, perhaps more 8mm vs 2mm, but I certainly wouldnt want to chance it, not only that but it looked like a standard yank car, which cant handle corners / bends anyway at the best of times.

It really does depend on what you want and what you are confident with doing, I personally would prefer to play it safe. Never the less, if others have done it for years without an issue, there is no reason it shouldnt work at all :)
 
#28 ·
Theres a lot of bull talked about tyres and you can choose to believe whatever you like.

Theres a school of thought that says its not good to mix brands but others that say its ok if theyre on different axles. But then how often do you see a car with 4 different brands of tyre on it!

Personally i like if possible to have a matched set of 4. Failling that it would be matched tyres on each axle.

At the end of the day those 4 patches of rubber keep me shiney side up so i like to do my best to keep them in good shape.
 
#31 · (Edited)
I moved here from the US 3yrs ago, and am still shocked that they do not offer a guaranteed mileage wear on the tires. The same Michelins in the US come with a 60,000 mile warranty, and if they wear down before then, they are pro rated for time owned. I asked the tyre dealers over here, and they just laughed at me! nothing makes you feel more like a numpty than the funny looks from garages over here!
 
#33 ·
I moved here from the US 3yrs ago, and am still shocked that they do not offer a guaranteed mileage wear on the tires.
Surprising they offer a guarantee over there... I bet there is lots of small print though, so they rarely pay out.

But does this mean that when you go through a list of available tyres, you can choose on the basis of mileage? eg, brand A for 45000 miles or brand B for 60000 miles?
 
#32 ·
I cant see how you can guarantee a mileage on tyres. Im sure if you really really tried you could kill a set of tyres in a couple of thousand miles if not less.

Even something as simple as having the tyres fitted to the front or rear wheels makes a huge difference to the mileage you would get from a tyre on a front wheel drive car. If you spun the wheels from every junction, braked heavily and cornered hard your fronts would probably wear ten times faster than the rears would.
 
#35 ·
I would be amazed if a company would give millage warranty on a tyre.

Here is a pictures of my tires after ~100Km and 1:30h of extreme usage:
Expensive Continental Sport Contact:


Low budget Goodride:


(these started almost as new).

So... It's impossible to guarantee the millage. It only takes -0.2Bar than the recomended air presure to compromise the expected lifetime of a tyre.
Or some more agressive usage... or even an agressive terrain...
The only thing I've seen tyre companies apply warranty is when the tyre is not perfectly round.
 
#36 ·
Going thru BlackCircles.com, seems I can't book a fitting for 5 days!
Earliest possible is 29th Aug, where last time I ordered tyres thru them I had em fitted next day.
Anyone else had similar issues, maybe they've changed their policy or something?
 
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