Tony Lockhart
Avoiding Stress, at Every Opportunity
1980s? That must be when I last read one!
Car Tyre size. Advice please????
- Thread starter strummer
- Start date
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
I may be one of those in the majority, but I blame the paltry 121kW/226Nm and all-wheel-drive of my current car. I anticipate much more potential in my soon-to-arrive 225kW/400Nm RWD.
Tony Lockhart
Avoiding Stress, at Every Opportunity
You might notice a difference, as long as its not lardy!
Tony Lockhart
Avoiding Stress, at Every Opportunity
335i?
Tony Lockhart
Avoiding Stress, at Every Opportunity
So all Pirelli's road tyres on a race track were the same. Wow. No news there.
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
Well its Clarkson and much as I like him, everything he says in print and on screen needs to be taken with a huge pinch of salt.
I remember the story from way back having been an avid car fan/magazine reader for many years and the test was of sports tyres and did not include low rolling resistance, mass market cheaper tyres or even run flats. Not a surprise that tyres designed to do the same job felt the same.
Anh
Naim ghetto blaster
It's not what Clarkson is saying that is important.
It is the comments of the skilled / professional driver who said could not tell any performance centric differences between tyres and he was the only one who had the skills to fully put the tyres to the test.
Anh
Naim ghetto blaster
Did you not post this comment?
How is an ordinary motorist, amateur or occasional track day warrior supposed to reproduce these 'benefits' on the road where road surface, road type, suspension behavior, weather, traffic conditions are taken on board?
You cannot even translate non performance 'benefits' such as rolling resistance and aqua plaining resistance as this is easily influenced by geometry, tyre pressure and load.
-alan-
pfm Member
Would agree with that cutting - and add that there's yet another gulf between Sports tyres and track tyres.
As regards the difference in road tyres - for curiousity (and in all honesty just for the hell of it) I put a set of Chinese budget tyres on a spare set of rims I had on the exige last Winter. In the dry they were every bit as effective as the road ContiSports I had on it before, and even turned in almost identical times on one track session I took them out on for a giggle
In the wet, anywhere, track or road, they were nigh on lethal, ABS kicking in constantly, and the merest hint of throttle close to a surface with standing water and you were in bother. I suspect it's largely down to the materials rather than the construction: looked like they were made of hard plastic, with hardly any 'rubber' as such in them. Only tyres I ever bought where the tyre fitter (a big Polish chap) came over to me before I drove out and said "These tyres - not so good in the rain, you drive slow - Ok ?" The big lad wasn't wrong
Back on the original runflat/springs query - the suspension stiffness at a corner is a function of amongst other things the combined spring stiffness and tyre-wall stiffness. You could in theory (in extremis perhaps?)- decide to fit harder springs with your new conventional tyres to restore some of the ride stiffness you had before, but since (a) most drivers seem to prefer the slightly softer/more compliant ride and (b) it would cost you a small fortune, can't imagine it has ever happened.
Anh
Naim ghetto blaster
In the wet, anywhere, track or road, they were nigh on lethal, ABS kicking in constantly, and the merest hint of throttle close to a surface with standing water and you were in bother. I suspect it's largely down to the materials rather than the construction: looked like they were made of hard plastic, with hardly any 'rubber' as such in them. Only tyres I ever bought where the tyre fitter (a big Polish chap) came over to me before I drove out and said "These tyres - not so good in the rain, you drive slow - Ok ?" The big lad wasn't wrong
.
Tyre pressure and geometry and correct load rating is important.
Just because it dimensionally fits in your wheel arches, it doesn't mean it is the correct tyre.
-alan-
pfm Member
They were all perfect Anh - check them myself, even the geo.
The carcass construction and materials are equally important. Best advice I'd give to anybody not interested in the detail is to fit what the tyre fitters call a 'Premium' brand. This seems to be their in-house code for 'proper' tyres, to help you avoid the dodgier rubbish and give you the best odds of staying out of bother in the wet.
oldie
pfm Member
Not a expert by any means ,but I was always told that the cheaper the tire the more carbon as apposed to rubber it has in it's construction,and that makes for a harder tire, the harder the tire the less flex the contact area has, so it will not adapt to the road conditions as well as a softer construction. P zeros a very soft and sticky tire, enabled me to get out of a nasty situation not of my making some many years ago but a very expensive tire at the time of a £150 a tire to replace, that car has now long gone. Now I go for the best premium tire I can afford on the basis of ( apart from my driving skills )brake's and tires are the only things that save you from trees and brick walls, so not to be scrimped on. Sellers of part worn tires should be made to ,well best not to get me started on that one.
oldie
oldie
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
Yes and I stand by it.
Easily, its called stopping earlier, not sliding on a wet drain cover or saving fuel due to lower rolling resistance depending on the tyre selected.
Of course you can translate them, just because something else impacts it as well does not mean that tyres don't. I agree that geometry, pressure and load can have a huge impact and I would also agree that depending on the circumstances they can create a greater impact than tyre make/compound/construction.
However that's not what I am arguing, I am just disagreeing with your premise that all tyres are the same, when they are not.
-alan-
pfm Member
I'd NEVER dream of buying used or part-worn tyres.
Well..except for every 2nd (sometimes up to 10th) hand car which I've bought, which uh invariably came with a set of at least 4..
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
Yes, 335i Touring to be precise.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
It's an absurd suggestion. You can tell the difference in feel between different competing tires under almost all driving conditions, not just at the limits. It's not even subtle. I can only conclude that Anh has based his opinion on reading, not experience.