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Favourite tyre brand?

stevec67 said:
Correct. Not "cheap".

Unless you can back this up, it's just your opinion. Mine is as I say, a mid price winter tyre will outperform an all seasons *on cold roads below 7C* because they use a different rubber compound. This much is supported by tests. This same rubber isn't great in summer. Compromises again, and nobody gets anything for nothing.

Like I said, same as the rest of us.
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LOL.
 
Another vote for Vredestein here. I've been using them on my RS4 for ages. Far better in all conditions, cheaper, longer lasting, etc. etc. than the crap Pirelli P Zero's the car came fitted with from new. The only peeve I have is that the new Vorti is not nearly as funky looking as the retired Sessanta. A tyre that looked so good you almost wanted to park your car rubber side up.

vredestein-ultrac-sessanta.jpg
 
miktec said:
In the end I went with Vredestein Quatrac all round - rated very highly in aggregated reviews for all seasons on tyrereviews.com AND £15 to £20 cheaper per piece than the other contenders suggested here and available locally.
So pretty much a no-brainer really ;)

Thanks to all who posted their personal favourites - much appreciated :)
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Just to round this off with a happy ending ;)

The Vredestein didn't happen - took it in for the appt this morning at 11:30 and the tyres hadn't been delivered yet.
Man said he couldn't contact supplier as closed on Saturday - would ring me when they came in but warned could be Monday :(
2:30 came around - still no news so rang them back. Oops, said the man, he forgot to ring me - had managed to contact their supplier who said they couldn't get any Vredestein by today and probs not Monday either but could offer a very reasonable alternative that might be there by Monday.
So cancelled whole shebang - hopeless service ... if they knew they didn't have the tyres why the f@~ck didn't they let me know and save me driving in :mad:

Took the car to the local Kwik Fit just round the corner and asked them what they could get by Monday - but could they first give the tyres a once over.

Absolutely clean bill of health all round so no tyres needed - the original 'advisory' comment (which came from the latest MOT at the dealership) was erring on the side of caution in the extreme. Also my tread depth measuring skills clearly fell short, front were actually a good 4mm.

So all in all, an annoying day and some time wasted this week ... but in the end saved myself over £300 :):)
(or at least deferred til after Winter)
 
miktec said:
Just to round this off with a happy ending ;)

The Vredestein didn't happen - took it in for the appt this morning at 11:30 and the tyres hadn't been delivered yet.
Man said he couldn't contact supplier as closed on Saturday - would ring me when they came in but warned could be Monday :(
2:30 came around - still no news so rang them back. Oops, said the man, he forgot to ring me - had managed to contact their supplier who said they couldn't get any Vredestein by today and probs not Monday either but could offer a very reasonable alternative that might be there by Monday.
So cancelled whole shebang - hopeless service ... if they knew they didn't have the tyres why the f@~ck didn't they let me know and save me driving in :mad:

Took the car to the local Kwik Fit just round the corner and asked them what they could get by Monday - but could they first give the tyres a once over.

Absolutely clean bill of health all round so no tyres needed - the original 'advisory' comment (which came from the latest MOT at the dealership) was erring on the side of caution in the extreme. Also my tread depth measuring skills clearly fell short, front were actually a good 4mm.

So all in all, an annoying day and some time wasted this week ... but in the end saved myself over £300 :):)
(or at least deferred til after Winter)
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So, plenty of time to sort out some replacements yourself.
It sounds like you may have measured the tread depth onto a wear block!
 
miktec said:
Just to round this off with a happy ending ;)

The Vredestein didn't happen - took it in for the appt this morning at 11:30 and the tyres hadn't been delivered yet.
Man said he couldn't contact supplier as closed on Saturday - would ring me when they came in but warned could be Monday :(
2:30 came around - still no news so rang them back. Oops, said the man, he forgot to ring me - had managed to contact their supplier who said they couldn't get any Vredestein by today and probs not Monday either but could offer a very reasonable alternative that might be there by Monday.
So cancelled whole shebang - hopeless service ... if they knew they didn't have the tyres why the f@~ck didn't they let me know and save me driving in :mad:

Took the car to the local Kwik Fit just round the corner and asked them what they could get by Monday - but could they first give the tyres a once over.

Absolutely clean bill of health all round so no tyres needed - the original 'advisory' comment (which came from the latest MOT at the dealership) was erring on the side of caution in the extreme. Also my tread depth measuring skills clearly fell short, front were actually a good 4mm.

So all in all, an annoying day and some time wasted this week ... but in the end saved myself over £300 :):)
(or at least deferred til after Winter)
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For a fiver, get an LCD reading caliper, they have a depth gauge. Learn to use it, it's handy for drill bit and screw sizes too. Easy to read, big LCD numbers. A fiver, posted to you.
 
stevec67 said:
For a fiver, get an LCD reading caliper, they have a depth gauge. Learn to use it, it's handy for drill bit and screw sizes too. Easy to read, big LCD numbers. A fiver, posted to you.
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I use a good old fashioned analogue one from the toolbox - I think I was a bit too rushed and (like Tony said) hit a wear block on the nearside tyre, also succumbing to expectation bias :D
Next time I'm near Halfords I'll pick up a proper tyre gauge and leave it in the glove box - used to have one but now lost in the midden I call the shed....
 
Another vote for Michelin Cross Climates having used them on two older Golfs.

Very good ride comfort but equally seemingly long lasting.

Goodyear and Continental equally good experiences, and also Uniroyal Rainsport.


Avoid at all costs Accelera tyres and the boy racers’ favourite - Yokohama.
 
rhgbristol said:
Avoid at all costs ... boy racers’ favourite - Yokohama.
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Oh I dunno. Eons ago, I wanted a super-sticky tyre for my hot hatch. The Yokohama A-008 fitted the bill perfectly. They were a hoot to drive on. Shortest lasting tyre ever, but such confidence-inspiring fun.

Still available for the original Mini ... at least in the USA. https://www.tirerack.com/tires/yokohama-a-008

I'm grown up now, so I've settled for Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. :D
 
+1 to that, James: I see both excellent year-round performance (SW UK: the mild, mild west, but often wet ) and really long useful life out of a set. Of which I've run through 3 or 4 in the last decade and a bit, always approaching >25kmiles to replacement at c 3mm remaining (and its not like I don't, erm, exploit the grip form time to time!) In fact - it's the combo of long (oh, and acoustically quiet, and ride-compliant) useful life in all weathers, with awesome grip ditto, that makes these my go-to, for my taste. A slight premium ? Yes. ..worth it? Very much so - ime.


I'm definitely open to the widely-praised Uniroyals for a go next, though. Might well go there : )
 
PaulMB said:
I've always used top quality tyres on my old 1987 911 and a 1999 BMW. But I've always wondered to what extent the tread pattern is a result of engineering and testing, and to what extent it is designed to look "sexy." It obviously should not be that way, but I would bet the marketing department has a very important say in how the tread looks.
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It's most probably very much down to looks. It's actually the only difference we as customers can choose from when in the shop. We aren't able to test drive the various tires we can choose from. That's why independent test's, for once, are very important.
 
rhgbristol said:
Another vote for Michelin Cross Climates having used them on two older Golfs.

Very good ride comfort but equally seemingly long lasting.

Goodyear and Continental equally good experiences, and also Uniroyal Rainsport.


Avoid at all costs Accelera tyres and the boy racers’ favourite - Yokohama.
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avoid Yokohama? Not at all, if you want a track days and b roads bag of fun in a light sports car. For winter months and motorways, no thanks, but nothing else this side of a cut slick comes close on a warm sunny day.
 
Yokohama isn't exactly a one-trick pony either. They make a wide range of tyres from the gumballs I loved to all-seasons and winter varieties.
 
James said:
Yokohama isn't exactly a one-trick pony either. They make a wide range of tyres from the gumballs I loved to all-seasons and winter varieties.
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Yup; ran Yoko 008Rs myself moons back and a superb tyre; superb on Anglesey circuit in my light Honda EGs and EKs

As good IMO as the Toyo 888s and better on the road (although both 'interesting' on wet tracks) :D

I also ran their BluEarth V905 winters on a previous 7 series and they were excellent in the snow up in the Highlands and the torrential downpours we had on the way back down the M74/M6 and over Shap/through Cumbria etc
 
I have Goodyear Vector all-seasons on our camper and also now our car. I’ve put about 12k on the camper with very low wear, and they ride and grip well. Ones on the car have less than 1k on them but also ride and handle well.
 
JTC said:
I have Goodyear Vector all-seasons on our camper and also now our car. I’ve put about 12k on the camper with very low wear, and they ride and grip well. Ones on the car have less than 1k on them but also ride and handle well.
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Got these fitted to my winter alloys; looking forward to using them once I get them back from my pal who's refurbishing them
 
Like @martin clark we have mild winters where I live, but the ground temperature can drop below zero degrees Celcius on frosty mornings. Not ideal for summer tyres, but they warm up after rolling at motorway speed for a few minutes. I just allow extra distance and diligence. But I have wondered about getting a set of winter tyres on a spare set of wheels. I ski occasionally, and it'd be nice to get up the mountain in my own car with confidence. The trouble is, those 19" wheels take up an awful lot of space. How do folks who swap tyres between seasons do it?
 
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