Tyres

Koukku · Unread post by **Koukku** » 31 Aug 2010, 13:12

You should also pay attention to the load index. It says something about the sidewall stiffness too.

Toyo T1R's are notorious for having soft sidewalls. They may handle the weight of a Smart Roadster, but even a C2 VTS seems to put too much stress on them. They are cheap though, and the grip is good.

rmunns · Unread post by **rmunns** » 11 Oct 2010, 07:44

Just an update on my posting, 'cos we've now had some deluges!

Tyres really shift water, was very impressed on a 120mile drive on motorway here, no tyre issues despite having to have wipers on fast all the way.

They've now done 8000miles, time to change fronts to back and vv.

Justa note again about different makes of tyres on same axle. Here in France it's a definite no-no, fail MoT and on-the-spot fine if stopped. I know, when I lived in UK I did it as well. Even having the wrong size tyres on the car is a technical offence here.

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 11 Oct 2010, 20:44

rmunns wrote: Justa note again about different makes of tyres on same axle. Here in France it's a definite no-no, fail MoT and on-the-spot fine if stopped. I know, when I lived in UK I did it as well. Even having the wrong size tyres on the car is a technical offence here.

Just to make it clear ... to have different branded tyres one one side of the axle to another is an MOT fail in France? So having a michelin on the OSF and a Bridgestone on the NSF is a no no?

Wow, thats quite a strick tyre rule. However i have noticed in France that most cars have very good tyres, rarely see a car with a bald tyre, or an underinflated one, and they are often fitted with Michelins. Sometimes i think the tyres will out-value the cars they are fitted too!

Here you can often see cars with bald tyres, cars with a soft tyre or a full set of underinflated tyres. Very poor tyre knowledge in this country it seems.

I never mix tyres across the axle however, if i replace one then the other side must be replaced too. Usually with high quality rubber.

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 01 Apr 2011, 16:13

Koukku wrote: Toyo T1R's are notorious for having soft sidewalls. They may handle the weight of a Smart Roadster, but even a C2 VTS seems to put too much stress on them. They are cheap though, and the grip is good.

I agree there, I do like Toyos but they are soft compound and with soft sidewalls.

I had Toyo T1-Rs on my last C5, they wore out in 11/12K miles (3K of which were on the rear rest on the front) and the edges were bald way before the rest of the tyre due to the soft walls - had them at the correct pressure of course.

I was looking through the Activa section and came across this, thought it might be of interest to me now.

Anyone else have tyre experiences on the Activas?

Surely an important aspect of the Activa is to have it fitted with good tyres. Though it would seem a lot of tyres in the Activas size (Is 205/60/15W is the standard size? ive also seen 205/55s?) are more comfort or eco orientated rather than grip/sporting. Such as the Michelin Energy Saver, while I think these suit the Xm well they are quite soft in the walls.

W rated tyres in that size are few and far between, blackcircles are only showing the Pirelli P7. Id be tempted by the Uniroyal RainExperts in a V speed, though not very sporty they get great reviews, especially in the wet when grip really counts.

Not sure what Id pick to go on an Activa.

Xaccers · Unread post by **Xaccers** » 01 Apr 2011, 16:38

P6's are excellent. Fitted them to Juliet as they were cheaper than michelin energies and was so impress I had a pair fitted to the front wheels of Cassy as I throw her around like a rally car.
Energies used to last 3-5 months, these P6's have gone over a year

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 01 Apr 2011, 17:53

Have the Pirelli P6s been replaced by the P7 Xac?

Ive only got experience of one Pirelli tyre, the P6000 which I used to get for the Xms before swapping to Michelins. I found them to be good but didnt use them much in the wet and they were pretty new.

Did you go for Ws or V rated?

Does your Juliet wear 205.60s?

holmedog · Unread post by **holmedog** » 01 Apr 2011, 20:28

I've always used michelin energy on my xantia's. now i have an Activa i have found they do have a short life especialy as my journey to work is all country roads with lots of high speed corners. But i get a good deal on part-worn michelin energy as he always has plenty in stock so all four corners only cost me a total of £50.

Xaccers · Unread post by **Xaccers** » 01 Apr 2011, 21:10

Citroenmad wrote:Have the Pirelli P6s been replaced by the P7 Xac?

Ive only got experience of one Pirelli tyre, the P6000 which I used to get for the Xms before swapping to Michelins. I found them to be good but didnt use them much in the wet and they were pretty new.

Did you go for Ws or V rated?

Does your Juliet wear 205.60s?

KF are showing both P6 and P7 available, with about £10 difference.
Juliet runs 205/60/R15Vs

Jenny currently runs 205/55/R15's not sure of the speed rating, but they were fitted to get her through the MoT as 3 of the wheels were that size (although one of those 3 had been put on the wrong way round by a different MoT centre the year before!)

Koukku · Unread post by **Koukku** » 04 Apr 2011, 12:34

Citroenmad wrote: Surely an important aspect of the Activa is to have it fitted with good tyres. Though it would seem a lot of tyres in the Activas size (Is 205/60/15W is the standard size? ive also seen 205/55s?) are more comfort or eco orientated rather than grip/sporting. Such as the Michelin Energy Saver, while I think these suit the Xm well they are quite soft in the walls.

W rated tyres in that size are few and far between, blackcircles are only showing the Pirelli P7. Id be tempted by the Uniroyal RainExperts in a V speed, though not very sporty they get great reviews, especially in the wet when grip really counts.

Not sure what Id pick to go on an Activa.

At the time when Activa was a new car, 205/60-15 was probably considered an appropriate size for a sporty car

Nowadays not so much.

Continental Premium Contact 2's are available in W rating, and they've performed quite well in tyre tests.
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... s412p60916

I'm currently running 215/45-17 Hankook V12 Evo's on my Activa. Not as noisy as R-S2's, and certainly not as twitchy on uneven surfaces. And far better on wet tarmac.

Toby_HDi · Unread post by **Toby_HDi** » 04 Apr 2011, 12:53

I shall be trying out some Uniroyal Rain Experts as they can be obtained with a W rating.

I already run Uniroyal Rainsport 2 on the Coupé and am very very impressed.

handyman · Unread post by **handyman** » 04 Apr 2011, 13:27

Hi Toby, that looks like a good choice, if they are anywhere as good as the Rainsports I had on one of my Activas.

I hope you are going for the correct profile: 205/60R15 91W as this will give you the stability in cornering that the car needs.

My Activas are either P6000 or Michelin shod at the moment, but I have been trying out a set of 16" rims with 55 profile tyres to give more choice of makes for load factors and speed ratings.

I have driven other Activas with incorrect tyres sizes and, frankly, they just dont perform well. The worst was fitted with a set of 50 profile tyres which picked up all the minor marks on tarmac, along with making the gearing ludicrous.

Handyman

Citroenmad · Unread post by **Citroenmad** » 04 Apr 2011, 20:06

Mine has 205/60/15V tyres, which are a good mixture of brands ....

NSF: Fulda Carrat Progresso :4mm but worn on edge
OSF: Kumho KH17 :6mm looks about new
NSR: Fulda Carrat Progresso :6mm
OSR: Firestone TZ200 :2-3mm looking tired and worn

So I could do with sorting those out.

Either swap the front Fulda to the back so it has a pair of matching tyres on the back. Then get a new Kumho to replace the firestone and match the one on the other side. Need to research into this Kumho to see if they will be any good.

Or replace both of the worst tyres with good quality new ones. Ive been wanting to give Uniroyals a try, might go for those if i go for a new pair. I can imagine Activas like to eat tyres mind.

Yes, quite high profile tyres for a sporty car, though they do seem to manage better than the Xms do. The higher speed rating and tyre pressure must help there.

Just priced a few tyres:
Pair of fitted Pirelli P7s, V-rated = £172.76 W-rated = £230.36. £57 more expensive for Ws...

£144 for a pair of fittted V Uniroyals, cant find Ws.

Dunlop Sport 01 V £154 for the pair fitted.

One Kumho KH17 V £63 fitted - will match up with the other one.

Hmm, what to do.

Koukku · Unread post by **Koukku** » 06 Apr 2011, 08:32

Citroenmad wrote:Mine has 205/60/15V tyres, which are a good mixture of brands ....

NSF: Fulda Carrat Progresso :4mm but worn on edge
OSF: Kumho KH17 :6mm looks about new
NSR: Fulda Carrat Progresso :6mm
OSR: Firestone TZ200 :2-3mm looking tired and worn

That would be quite illegal where I live. Different tyres on the same axle is MOT failure, and you risk getting a ticket if the cops happen to notice (very unlikely..). Personally I'd be a little scared driving such a setup because of different grip levels...

Yes, quite high profile tyres for a sporty car, though they do seem to manage better than the Xms do. The higher speed rating and tyre pressure must help there.

Well, it's just that they don't really make 205/60 tyres for sporty cars anymore (like SX GT)

Speed rating is one clue for tyre stiffness, but I've found that load index is maybe even bigger. I've had 225/50-16 and 225/45-16 Hankook R-S2's on my Activa, and the latter was noticeably softer, even though it had the same speed rating and lower profile. The difference came from a lower load index.

XantiaMan · Unread post by **XantiaMan** » 06 Apr 2011, 10:56

Personally i would get another Fulda, they seemed to grip very well on the NS, then put the two best ones on the front, then buy a Kumho KH17 to match up with the nearly new one on the OSF, and switch it to the OSR.

That will keep you going for a while. No point paying vast sums for a W rated on the road, i doubt you will notice much difference unless you did track work.

messerschmitt owner · 06 Apr 2011, 12:30

Koukku wrote:You should also pay attention to the load index. It says something about the sidewall stiffness too.

Toyo T1R's are notorious for having soft sidewalls. They may handle the weight of a Smart Roadster, but even a C2 VTS seems to put too much stress on them. They are cheap though, and the grip is good.

are they really - I can think of numerous other big brand tyres with softer sidewalls - they are strengthened! A smart roadster on Toyos weighs in at 800-850kg unladen. Seriously, I know what soft sidewalls are like in a smart roadster and it's scary!

I have CF1s on the XM and they handle extremely well.