GlesgaKiss

Hi all,

It's nearly time again to change the tyres on my Focus. At the moment it has Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetrics, but they seem to have gone up in price at £95-£100. I'm sure I got them for ~£80 before? Although they may have been on special offer now I think about it.

I was just wondering if anyone here had any recommendations for decent tyres other than Goodyears? I'm after performance/longevity rather than low cost, so I guess somewhere in the £80-£100 region is where I'll be looking.

I do like the Asymmetrics though, and will get them again if nothing better value comes up.

Matteeboy

What size are they?

Conti Sport Contact 3s are unbeatable for wet road grip and dry road performance is top notch. And they last ages (except when on the rears of my BM!!) too. Kwikfit sometimes have offers on that would put them in budget.

paulwrxboro

they came as standard on the RS when it came time to replace them i dident want anything else, great tyres but not cheap

GlesgaKiss

Sorry, should have said - they are 215/45/17s.

I did have a set of Conti Sport Contacts on a car years ago and they were probably one of the best road tyres I've had for wet grip, but they were quite soft IIRC and wore very quickly. I only got a few thousand miles out of them, although they were getting a thrashing at the time. The Goodyears have been a good compromise, and to be honest they are very close to the kind of grip and feel you get from the Continentals in the wet, but I reckon they've done around 15k or more on my Focus, with some abuse from time to time.

GlesgaKiss

£109 on camskill. Would probably get them elsewhere for a bit less. As you say, great tyres, would probably last a fairly decent number of miles with the way I drive now.

Matteeboy

You would have probably has Sport Contact 2s - the 3s are a marked improvement (I've had both).

paulwrxboro

My first set only lasted 6'000 miles but these will last 10'000

GlesgaKiss

Hmm, I'm interested now. It probably was the contact 2s I had come to think of it. I Certainly wouldn't wear them out anywhere near as quickly now, and considering the low mileage I do it may be a price worth paying for the grip anyway.

Have any of you tried Vredestein tyres recently? I had a set of them on another Focus I had years ago and they were fantastic, but again wore quickly. I think the Vredestein equivalent to the Contact 3 is the Sessanta.

Edited to say - it looks like the Quatrac 3 is the equivalent at this price: £97 on Camskill. They're doing Continental Sport Contact 3s for £91.10. Very tempting at that price.

john banks

Quatrac 3 is an all season and looks rather different to a CSC3. I'd like some for our Golf, but they don't come in this size.

Matteeboy

I'd go for the CSC3s - they are asymmetric (unlike the 2s), resist aquaplaning better and I managed 9k miles from the rears in my 335d. Should get much more now I've had the wheels laser aligned (they were well out)!

GlesgaKiss

Looks like it's going to be the CSC3s then. Looking forward to seeing what they're like once this freezing weather goes away. I thought the CSC2s were brilliant in the wet, so if these are a step up then they should be pretty decent!

John - So the Sessanta must be the equivalent. Seems rather pricey. I think it may have been the Quatrac 3 or something similar (it could have been Quatrac 2 come to think of it) I had on a 1.8 Focus years ago. Great tyre anyway, I thought wet grip and feel were great and dry performance not noticeably different considering it is an all season tyre.

john banks

Great to hear. Still not sorted tyres for the Golf, local tyre dealer is £150 whereas mytyres are £107 a corner, supplied, fitted and balanced... at the same place.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Another vote for Contisports 3s. Had them on various cars and they've always perfromed well. Only thing better are Michelin Pilot sports, which are quieter and better wearing, but they are more expensive.

I've no experience on Vredestein though.

John; Mytyres source their tyres from via their own suppliers often via France and Germany (which is why delivery is rarely next day). Whereas the tyre dealer will use tyres sourced from their own local suppliers. We fit tyres ordered via mytyres, but anyone walking through the door would get whatever price we can obtain from our local supplier (who will deliver same day). Sometimes mytyres are cheaper than trade price on some brands (Michelin notably - due to their links to France) so in some cases its impossible to match their prices without making a loss.

Hope that clarifies how it works, as to the customer it looks like the tyre fitter is overcharging when actually it could be the supplier's higher trade prices (which are bit like a cartel in the UK )

alanbell

iTrader: (6)

hey This I can agree with matteeboy on
I have them top tyre.

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

Personally I swear by the Uniroyal Rainsport 2



Good grip even in Winter, and a bargain price for a great tyre

GlesgaKiss

ALi-B - Yes, I've heard they're good. Possibly a bit too much for what I'm after. I did have the Exaltos on a car once but have never tried the Pilot Sports. Even the Exalto was good and that is presumably a lesser tyre.

Kieran - I had the Rainsports on another car years ago too and thought they were pretty good in the wet. The only thing I would say is that they didn't seem as good towards the end of their life as the Goodyears I use now... and other tyres like the CSC2s I've used.

Matteeboy

Pilots Sports aren't as good as CSC3s in the wet and don't last as long. They are brilliant on dry roads though.

IMO CSC3s are better allrounders.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

This is where it gets confusing: Pilot Sport Exalto tend to be better in the wet and cold temps than the Pilot Sport 3s

But Pilot Sport Exaltos tend to be more money than PS3s even though the PS3 is supposed to be a more sporty tyre (depends on the size - BMW and Porsche sizes usually are cheaper in PS3).

Not to be confused with Primacy Exalto which is more a saloon/estate tyre (think its discontinued and just called Primacy now). Michelin's product line up is somewhat confusing at best, as most of their tyres have pilot sport printed on the sidewalls regardless of model.

2000 sport

iTrader: (1)

I have the Pilot Sport Exalto's and the Vredestein Sessanta's.. Both have been fantastic, however the Michelins are wearing a lot better..

GlesgaKiss

ALi-B - That was them! It was the Primacys I had.


2000 sport - Yes, I found the Vredesteins to be a bit soft, too.

GlesgaKiss

In fact I got circa 3k miles out of the Vredesteins.

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

the contis are good but soft and wear out pretty quick . they are also prone to the continental cracking sidewalls . the miches are also soft and there are just as good tyre out there for the money . getting good reviews from the new dunlop patterns at the mo.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I think I'd avoid the SP9000s though, they wear out even quicker, plus the run-out on them leaves alot to be desired..

M444GY

iTrader: (72)

they are gone now tbh , they had some shocking patterns and compounds but they are making a comeback with some good stuff . .

john banks

Any opinion on the smoothest riding and quietest passenger car tyre?

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

In my opinion, finding quiet tyres these days is a struggle on some cars; It makes me wonder if its part down to way suspension is set up on some cars when used in combination with low profile tyres. Whilst a brand new tyre maybe quiet, 10,000mile later it may sound dreadful due to the way it wears. Where even with correct geometry, it still happens and seems to be equally as much to do with the car as well as the tyre itself.

For example with VAGS on a 8P chassis (Golf, Leon, S3 etc). As soon as the rear tyres start to wear down a bit, they can produce the most horrendous road noise reminiscent of a wheel bearing failure. Evidence of the cause of the noise is clearly visible on the inner-most tread blocks, where each tread block has worn to a different height to the adjacent one around the tyre's circumference. Currently, my Golf has Pilot Sport Exaltos (factory OE tyre) which, touch wood, are yet to start doing it. Even so, there is still a fair bit of general road noise in the cabin.