Goodyear all season tyres

[Richard_C]

Goodyear all season tyres are now available in a size to fit my C5, specifically Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons 225/55 R17 101V XL. Unlike winter tyres they are designed to be left on all year.

Reviews seem to be good, has anyone fitted them and if so what did you think? Any noise or durability issues on dry roads?

[Norlander]

Will be very interested in any replies; our C5 (2002 sx 2.2 auto) estate takes 205-65-15 and done a few hundred miles on new Goodyear Ultragrip 8 winters -- the car seems to seriously like them.
Already got a new set of Michelin Energy Savers waiting for summer use on the C5.
But when either the C5 or the ZX (a 1.9td sx presently on Optigrips, sometimes a bit road-noisy but that's compensated for in every other way) do need a pair of new summer/all-year tyres, would give serious consideration to the ones you've mentioned.

[Citroenmad]

Ive not used the 4 seasons Goodyears, though they do sound pretty temping.

Ive had Firestone Winterhawk Evo 2s fitted to my C5 for the past month or so and they are excellent, superb in the wet, espectially grip while cornering but also good in standing water. Tyre noise is no different from my usual Michelin Primacys, they grip very wll in the dry and seem to suit the car quite well actually.

I had Goodyear Excellence on one C5, one with 16" wheels which they gave a hard ride and the centres worse out first, with the correct tyre pressure. The C5 on 15" wheels and Goodyear Excellence rode better but the tyres wore very badly, the shoulders rubbed off but as they worse down different tyres of rubber came through, a harder tyre which left the shoulder with a high ridge. Over the miles they were on the front of the car the steering went from straight to quite far to the left when in a straight line. They gave the steering a vibration when turning (not when going at speed so not a balancing problem) and as they got to about 2.5-3mm the resistance to aquaplaning was non existant. Ive decided I wont be buying Goodyears again going by those Excellence tyres. General grip was good though, but I have little else to recommend them. I fitted that C5 with some more Michelin Energy Savers, the steering is now sharper, the steering wheel is back to being straight, the car no longer has a vibration when turning the wheel at slow speeds and it doesnt pull left either. Its transformed the drive. I try to stick to Michelins always, but for winter tyres these Firestones were too tempting and im impressed so far.

So if the 4 season tyres give improved wet grip, some snow and ice ability and retain the advantages of summer tyres, they might well be worth a try. Saves having to swap tyres for different seasons.

[Sl4yer]

I had Eagle Vector EV2s on the Activa when I bought it. Not really suitable for an Activa (ran out of grip quickly, lots of squealing). I could never get them balanced satisfactorily, so dumped the full set when one got a nail in. Quite a good ride, and did considerably better in the snow than the Michelins on the ZX we had at the time. I'd certainly consider a similar tyre for the C3 in future.

James

[nick]

I've had a set of Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons on my current car (not a Citroen unfortunately, an Octavia TDi, and not the 4x4 version) for the past 18 months. I can thoroughly recommend them. During the heavy snow last year there was only me and a neighbour with a 4x4 pickup who could get out of our road. Even a Freelander round the corner with summer tyres on was struggling! Mine would just plough through quite deep drifts of snow, the only limiting factor was the ground clearance of the car, which of course would be less of a problem on a C5 or Xantia.

People often say all season tyres are too much of a 'jack of all trades'. Perhaps, but considering we have a jack of all trades climate in the UK they suit our weather perfectly I think. I cannot fault them as summer tyres at all, they are no different in terms of handling in hot weather to any other summer tyres. Perhaps very slightly noisier on very hot tarmac in mid summer, but hardly noticeable. In snow they are reckoned to give not quite the same level of grip as a true winter tyre, but they are still very good, and far far better than driving on summers in snow.

Wear doesn't seem bad, perhaps not as good as a Michelin, but I should get over 20k out of them I think. The only downside that I can see is the initial cost. Still cheaper than having two sets of wheels and tyres though.

[DickieG]

Which? have just done a test comparing winter tyres with summer and all season tyres and out of the all season tyres the Good Year Vector4 came out top, however test stated there were compromises with using all season tyres.

Summer tyres gave shorter dry braking distances with performance being similar in the wet, when compared with winter tyres all season matched them on the snow but were inferior on ice. Wet and dry grip was also better on winter tyres.

Personally I'm still waiting for the weather to drop below 10° or for the first frost and with only 3 months of winter left, thoughts of spending hundreds of £'s on winter tyres is becoming rather low on my list of priorities.

[CitroJim]

Not had a frost yet Richard? We have, not a biggie, but enough to ice the cars up well. It was what spurred me into action to fix the Eberspacher...

It's still so mild though - I still have very happy-looking summer bedding fuchsias growing in the garden...

In the remaining three months there is still plenty of time for a proper bit of cold to descend upon us...

[DickieG]

Not had a frost yet Richard?

Nothing, or even getting close to one, heavens knows where my scraper is, it's been so long since I needed it.

[CitroJim]

Not had a frost yet Richard?

Nothing, or even getting close to one, heavens knows where my scraper is, it's been so long since I needed it.

I guess Ken and Boris's Low Emission Zones are having an effect then...

[mlkey]

Always fitted Kuhmo tyres on my C5 all year round, covering about 20,000 miles a year. Quiet, dependable, reasonable wear, will be sticking with them (no pun intended).

[CitroJim]

If/when we get some proper wintery weather it'll be interesting to see how Rattiva copes. She's shod with new 'budget' tyres. I know nothing of them besides they're called Suntek (possibly a bad omen for winter?), were cheap, black, more or less round and hold air...

I do know my journey to work and back along rural byways presents some interesting driving experiences during the winter so we'll see...

The cynical side of me can't help wondering how much of a marketing exercise winter tyres are... "Let's flog these second rate tyres as 'winter tyres' and make a tidy profit"

[Norlander]

The cynical side of me can't help wondering how much of a marketing exercise winter tyres are... "Let's flog these second rate tyres as 'winter tyres' and make a tidy profit"

Happen to have one Michelin Energy Saver and one Goodyear Ultragrip 8 both brand new not yet inflated on rims..... difference in hardness of the rubber treading surprised me, not expected it to be quite so much.

[Dommo]

they're called Suntek (possibly a bad omen for winter?), were cheap, black, more or less round and hold air...

that reminds me of a video of Juha Kankkunen, an interviewer is saying about the importance of tyre choice on this particular stage, and asks Juha what tyres he went for, the response was genius:

"Black, round, Pirelli."

It's on youtube, definitely worth searching for, I cant do it at work or I would!

[Norlander]

I know nothing of them besides they're called Suntek (possibly a bad omen for winter?), were cheap, black, more or less round and hold air...

On the tyre review website, one particular cheapie from China was fascinating in that it was reputedly brilliant in snow, but a fast-slide to oblivion on any other surface.

[DickieG]

The three summer tyres Which? said to avoid were the Sava Perfecta (11.2 meters longer braking distance in the wet and very noisy) the Kleber Dynaxer HP 3 (even worse) and the Sava Intensa HP (pants all round).