Recommendations for Activa tyres

[petef]

I am sure this has been asked before but here goes. After maybe 30000km and, more importantly, 18 years, the Michelin tyres on my Activa (205/60/15), have to be replaced. Whilst perhaps still legal here in France they are, quite literally, starting to break up.
Please don't suggest I buy more Michelins, they are very expensive and would cost more than the car is currently valued at. However I will not go out and buy the cheapest tyres available; my experience with the hyper-cheap Chinese front tyres on my C5 x7, which were fitted when I bouight it, was one of an impossibly hard ride. This was totally changed for the better when I fitted Hankook Ventus Prime 3's.
So I am wondering whether these would work well on the Activa, or perhaps Falken Ziex ZE-914's or what? Anyone with direct experience of good mid price tyres on an Activa, please let us know....

Peter

[Hell Razor5543]

I do NOT have any experience with the Activa (let alone the tyres), but I seem to recall that CitroJim used BF Goodrich tyres on his Activa.

[petef]

Thanks James. Would be nice if someone with recent direct experience of tyres fitted to their Activa could let us know - maybe everybody is on holiday???
Need to order some new tyres this week

[Michel]

Having had 2 Activas, and driven others, I would say any mid-range tyre will be perfectly fine on an Activa. My personal preference was Avons or Toyos

[arkweld]

https://www.blackcircles.com/catalogue/ ... 1sQAvD_BwE

[daviemck2006]

Mine was good on uniroyal rainexpert 3. Ok that was on aftermarket 17" wheels, but I have had them in various sizes on various cars and they are good on them all.

[Zelandeth]

Jim's former Activa is currently wearing Michelin tyres, though they are getting towards the end of their life now to be fair.

I'll only be considering two options when coming to replace those - and that will be the UniRoyal RainExpert range as Davie suggests. I've had experience with those over a good number of years, mostly on Saab 900s. The other option will be a mid-range tyre from Kumho.

While 10-15 years ago Kumho were strictly a budget tyre maker, their range has broadened out a lot and they've made a pretty good name for themselves. I've never specifically gone out with them in mind, but at the same time I've never had any complaints about any tyre of theirs I've used.

Brands I'd avoid based on experience:

Falken (Xantia II 1.9TD): Didn't last especially well and were incredibly noisy from day one.

Cooper (Saab 900): Never gripped well at all - forever felt like the first few miles before the protective coating had worn off the tyres. Wet grip in particular was beyond poor.

Good Year (Pug 107): They were like plastic from day one, and started perishing badly after only a couple of years - had to be changed to get the car through its first MOT.

Dunlop (Saab again): Had an out-of-round tyre from new. Dunlop refused to acknowledge that it was possible and instead blamed me for having damaged the tyre by hitting a kerb or something. I ended up having to replace it out of my own pocket to get the car driveable again. Never did get that resolved to a satisfactory standard.

[daviemck2006]

Brands I'd avoid based on experience:

Falken (Xantia II 1.9TD): Didn't last especially well and were incredibly noisy from day one.

Said Falkens were removed from said xantia very soon after I bought her. They are now living in my shed, the ones that were on the front nearly done, the rears would have about 6mm left. Traction and grip were hopeless when down to 3 mm on the front. The car is now wearing the wheels that were on my activa. However it is not a full set of uniroyals now, it has uviroyal on the back with about 6mm and vredestien winter extreme on the front. This made it excellent in the winter time and i cant say about the warm weather as the car hasnt been ran properly for a while.

On my 107 I have vredestiien sporttrack on the fronhy and yokohoma rear, and on my 205 I hafe falkens all round. The fronts are wearing quite quickly, but still ok for traction ans grip, but then its really a fair weather car.

[Stickyfinger]

Most (who retain 15 inch wheels) I know are running Michelin's, most of the French guys who "drive quick" have switched to 16/17 wheels where there is a very large choice of tyre.

[petef]

Ok thanks guys for all the advice. Have just ordered a set of Uniroyals online. It seems the usual way of buying new tyres here - get them online then fitted locally by recommended fitters. The Uniroyals were 58 euros each as opposed to 92 euros for Michelins to the same spec. Then you have to add in 10 Euros per tyre fitting and balancing.

Will report back later when they are on the car as to how I feel it behaves. Currently the ride is a bit jittery, largely due to hardened 18yr old rubber I feel - spheres were replaced recently.

[Stickyfinger]

The car should not be jittery even with old rubber. Has the ECU had the Diode Mod ?

[petef]

Well perhaps jittery is too strong. Ride actually seems to depend a lot on time of day and air temperature. Better when cold. And yes, diode mod and relacement ecu fitted over the years.

[wurlycorner]

Rainsports are excellent, but they do have a habit of picking up stones

I out toyo's on my activa last time and was impressed with the grip, but not the wear, or how week they aged (the car has been sat for a number of years and the Toyo's are cracked and split all kver, while the Michelin's on the rear that were on the car when I bought it (therefore must be well over 15 years old) are still spot on.

[white exec]

Well perhaps jittery is too strong. Ride actually seems to depend a lot on time of day and air temperature. Better when cold. And yes, diode mod and relacement ecu fitted over the years.

Interesting comment. Have been aware of effect of heat on ride quality for some years. With hpn suspension, and even advantageous Michelins, increasing tyre pressure by just a couple of psi can result in a more knobbly ride.

We live up a mountain, with part dirt roads, and some lumpy concrete too. If we leave the house early in the day with a cool car, the ride over these roads is smooth and comfortable. Drive for an hour or two, including motorway, and on the return journey, the same dirt roads always feel more knobbly. Tyres are significamtly hotter, and tyre pressure has increased.

Of course, sispension fluid has also hotted up, so there could be altered damping (although LHM's viscosity is supposed not to be much affected by temp) - and less damping should result in a softer ride, not a harder one.

What is known is that hpn suspension's first line of 'absorption' is the tyres, which is why Michelins are often preferred on these cars. Hopefully your new tyres will give a good ride; what you could experiment with are small changes in tyre pressure (eg 2 psi), and see what happens.

[Hell Razor5543]

What happens to the ride quality after a Citrobics session? If you are not sure how to do the Citrobics (aerobics for Citroens) it is very simple. The important thing to remember is to wait for a minute or two between actions to allow for any air in the system to get back to the reservoir and then escape back to atmosphere.

Start off being parked on a level surface, with the handbrake on. Start up the engine, and then turn the steering to full lock. Wait, then go to the full opposite lock. Wait and then repeat the cycle four or five times.

Now raise the suspension to full service height. Wait, then hold down the foot brake while dropping the suspension to full service low. Wait, then release the foot brake (hang on, the back will drop very quickly!). Wait again, then hold down the foot brake and raise the suspension to full service height. Wait, then release the foot brake (hang on again!). Repeat for a few cycles.

All told, a full Citrobics session can take 20 minutes, but it does help keep things moving smoothly while also moving any air in the systems back to the reservoir (where it can escape). I would now check the LHM level.

EDIT: If you find that there is air in the system it could be worth considering bleeding the brakes. They are the only dead-ends in the hydro-pneumatic system. Bleed the rear brakes first, and then the front ones. It is possible (with care) to bleed them on your own. You should have the engine running (as the brakes are powered, NOT power assisted), and with weight on the brake pedal there will be pressure in the braking system.

I cannot say how air in the system will affect the suspension, other than making it unpredictable. I have not had this problem myself when I had Xantias. However, I did regularly (every month or so) do a Citrobics session when I learnt about them. I felt like it kept things moving properly.