Goodyear tyres

[np]

I need some new tyres for my 406(205/55/16).After some shopping around i`m tempted to get Michelin for £84 f fitted.But i can get Goodyear NCT5 for £57 fully fitted.Cheapest buget tyres are £45,so there not really worth it.I`ve never had Goodyears before although my company use only Goodyear on all our earthmoving machines & all cars & vans.
Anyone used them,are they any good or should i stick to Michelin which i`ve always found to be very good.
Cheers,Neil.

[KP]

I Use Eagle F1 GSD3 on the coupe and they are the best wetn weather tye i have come across and lasted about 18k with abuse as well

Had pirelli P6s on our old xantia all round and they were pretty good for a cheap tyre, i think they were about 190 for all four fitted

[AX_Man]

Although on smaller cars, I've found Avon to be good. My father swears by Dunlops on his Volvo estate - he goes to Costco I think.

[SteveG]

Our local IAM Group had a presentation recently by a guy from Continental Tyres. During the Q&A session at the end he was asked about budget tyres and was quite forthcoming about them. The gist of his comments were that as long as you choose a budget make that is owned by one of the major tyre companies (e.g. Conti, Goodyear, Dunlop, etc.) then they are generally as good as the higher price "branded" alternative - for the average motorist driving a typical Euro-box. They are designed and manufactured to the same EU regulations and have to pass the same quality checks.

In order to make the tyres for less cost they are generally made in "third world" locations and from different compounds, giving a different driving experience. In general, they make more use of man-made compounds rather than natural (expensive) rubber so they are less suited to high performance cars (e.g. Porsche) but, as part of the trade-off, they tend to last longer giving significantly higher mileage per pound.

These comments have sparked quite a debate among our members with some pooh-poohing his comments and others backing them up. Personally, I've driven cars with both mainstream and budget tyres and never found much of a difference. But there again, I don't drive excessively fast or corner anywhere near the limits of the car - which probably means I stress my tyres far less than Mr Average.

[alan s]

I have had people over here swear by GoodYears and many rate them above Michelins.
As far as budget tyres against performance, I have been bitten so many times by these so called performance tyre that I no longer buy them. Problem seems to be that a lot of our tyres we get here come from "banana republics" and places more known for balmy tropical knights, grass skirts and Hula dancers than industrial achievements. Regardless of what propaganda the tyre makers might have us believe about being built up to their standards, some of these places exist on the theory that the bribe is mightier than the sword and IMO there's times when standards of manufacture run a poor second to the branch of the tyre company's profits for the year.
Without naming names, I had two sets of well known and respected brands of tyres on my CX that managed in one case 8,000 klms (5000 miles approx) from brand new to worn out which were replaced by another well known brand that made the car so unstable my wife wouldn't drive it above 60 kph.
When I bought my last CX, it was a bit dodgy in the tyre department, so I bought a set of these:

http://www.bobjane.com.au/Tyres_range/tyres_bobjane.asp

as I was only using the car around town at that stage so reckoned anything would do. They are made by either Bridgestone or Dunlop under contract. They performed so well I rated their performance with the old ZXZ (?) Michelins we used to get back in the 80s. When I sold the car and bought the Xantia, I needed tyres on that also, as a result, I used the same ones on the Xantia and they have been brilliant. I've now done over 36,000 klms and they still look good as new. I'd driven with them in wet, dirt and a variety of surfaces. I had them on last year when I was driving in temps up to 50C air temp whith 5 on board plus a load of luggage at speeds up to 140kph. The bit I like is that when they reach their limit, they start to let go gradually and give you heaps of warning to steady up or take action to correct things.
Best bit is they cost A$69 (28 UK pounds) fitted, each with a lifetime wall fracture warranty.
One of my sons went with these on his Lancer:

http://www.bobjane.com.au/Tyres_range/tyres_Sava.asp

and I fitted them to my BX wagon and they are also an impressive tyre; a bit noisy and a bit rough on the ride, but I suspect a very hard compound, but at these prices (A$59 - A$69) and excellent grip in all conditions, as soon as they begin to wear you throw them off and fit a new set. Anything that saves money on running costs needs to be considered I always reckon.
Best bit is that when the various consumer groups do their tests on tyres, it seems that the budget types are up there with the performance tyres in most aspects apart from price.



Alan S

P.S. If nothing else, these threads show how the other half lives.

[Sl4yer]

I had Goodyear Club tyres (the Goodyear 'budget' brand) fitted to my 1.4i ZX once. After the first thousand miles or so, they were dreadful. Especially in the wet. I'll never fit a second division tyre again.

Saying that, I'm sure Goodyear NCT5s would be great!

The Seat is currently running Michelin Pilot Sport 2s on the front. The wet grip is phenomenal, although they're getting ready for replacement now. I'd recommend them any day.

James

[np]

Thanks for the replys guys.I think i`ll go for the Goodyears.At £56 ish each fully fitted i think is a good deal.There only £10 more than the budget Nankang,which i find is a good tyre anyway.I mostly used Firestones on the Xantia which were good,but the Michelins that i had before the Nankangs were the best.But at nearly £90 each,i`ll think i`ll save the extra £30 odd .
I found the Xantia was a lot harder on the front tyre wear than the 406 so far,but i have`nt been off roading much in the 406 so far.Working as a digger driver i spend a lot of time in quarrys etc,which isnt good for tyre wear no matter how carefully you drive .

[PowerLee]

Goodyear NCT 5 is an obsolete tyre now, the Goodyear Excellence replaced that last year.

The reason those NCT 5's are cheap is because they are old stock & no longer made

[np]

Well,i had 2 goodyears fitted on the front today.1st immpresions are very good.They give a smooth ride,& they have good griplevels in all this wet weather we`re having at the mo.So over all very pleased with them.

[SteveG]

Well,i had 2 goodyears fitted on the front today.1st immpresions are very good.They give a smooth ride,& they have good griplevels in all this wet weather we`re having at the mo.So over all very pleased with them.

Hi Neil, where did you get them? It's about time to replace the rears on the Xantia

[jeremy]

Had Goodyear NCT's on my Scirrocco GTi about 20 years ago - no better than the Firestones they replaced - the thing still was incredibly slow round corners and difficult to set up as it never seemed to be quite where it was supposed to be.

I've put Continentals on both the BD TD Estate and the ZX 1.9D for some time now but at 18,000 per set of front ones on the ZX I decided that they diidn't live up to their economy description (2 pairs only lasted that time - and it can't be the sheer power of the ZX) so I wanted Michelins but ended up with Kleber (which are made by Michelin) which were cheaper that the Continentals.

I'm surprised - they are much smoother and quieter - grip both wet and dry seems good - everything I hoped for from Michelins. Just hope they last - somehow I think they will.

Continetals - made in South Africa I think.

[northway]

Without naming names, I had two sets of well known and respected brands of tyres on my CX that managed in one case 8,000 klms (5000 miles approx) from brand new to worn out which were replaced by another well known brand that made the car so unstable my wife wouldn't drive it above 60 kph.