Tyres on V6 Xantia

[handyman]

Well, as a replacement for my now defunct CX and Activas, I've bought myself another very low mileage Xantia V6.

The car wants for nothing as it all works, as it should, save for a new set of rubber. At the moment, it is shod with Michelins and they look like the originals as they are showing signs of perishing. Given the performance of the car, I am keen to get these changed PDQ.

My previous tyre experience with Xantias has included the now defunct Pirelli P6000, superceded by the inferior P6/P7, Continentals and Michelins. These were all quite outstanding tyres in terms of performance, so I am looking for something similar.

I am tempted to try a set of Barum Bravuris, a manufacturer that is shadowed by Continental and uses their technology but does not carry their 'Premium' price tag. Online reviews score them quite highly in most respects and as I am now officially classified as 'old' having reached six decades, I dont need a tyre with racing performance. My only experience with Barum was with speedway tyres, of which they were the masters.

Anybody got recommendations or experiences? I'm not interested in fitting some of this weird stuff that has emerged from the Far East in recent years, with a myriad of differing names, as much of it looks decidedly iffy.

Handyman

[addo]

Some of the Chinese stuff isn't too bad; I have pedalled hard on a few tyres from "the Far East". However, they're usually pitched for durability (not grip) so with treadwear ratings towards 450-500 you want to use them on hot roads in summer.

Falken, irrespective of where they're made, do some nice boots. I also rate Conti Sport Contact 2, which have held me through a corner where I didn't appreciate the entering speed until it was too late (and had they let go it would have been the end of me). I rate all tyres on their performance once heated up, as it never really stays cold enough here for that not to happen. The 605 will probably get Falken 912s when I go back to original wheels.

[jgra1]

I like the falkens..also I used Khumos on my V6 wheels, albeit on a td, I think they are midrange and decent.. but understand you want something a bit morre special Richard..

[SaabC5]

Go for the Barum Bravuris, i've had them on both my 9-5 and the Vel Satis with great effect. They really are a good tyre with a sensible price tag.

[Timmo]

given the choice, i am very much a tyre tart and always go for the labels! just gives peace of mind etc when your pushing along knowing your tyres are keeping you on the road, the Bx16v has Yoko's on, goodyears before that, yoko's before them, my old 309 was much the same, avon's vredestein's, goodyears etc.

the xantia is on the tyres it came on, has an avon that was the spare zv1, a capitol cp 641?? (a pair but ones on the spare as its goosed!) and a pair of captiva i think, but it doesnt ever get really Pushed hard, not quite the car for it!! when it comes for replacing i'll have a rumage through my mate dave's stock up his unit, (car cleaner,wheel refurbing and tyre shop) as did fore the wife's lil fiat, 2 matching pairs of mid range boots as it just does the 9mile drive into work and back, and she Never pushes it at all!!

is one of the things ive always said and thought, its all very well that tyre companies use the technology and details from the bigger tyre makers like micheline, good year, conti etc. but if those companies were that impressed by them thye'd be prepared to put their name on them! some of thenames of the chineese rubber is comical though!!

[addo]

I've not that much confidence in the traditional "labels", other than to overcharge for mundanity.

Re the names, I reckon Triangle is a poor choice!

[jgra1]

'Hero' is an interesting name..

[red_dwarfers]

I remember someone on here having a tyre branded with 'Fate'

[andmcit]

Well, as a replacement for my now defunct CX and Activas, I've bought myself another very low mileage Xantia V6.

Great stuff Richard - that very nice red one?

I've run Avons, Continental Contacts, Goodyear Eagle NCT's or Vredestein's
and cannot fault any of them especially the last brand I've listed

[reblack68]

I remember someone on here having a tyre branded with 'Fate'

I saw one yesterday and did remark on the wisdom of buying a tyre with that name. I'm sure there was a brand of BMX tyre in the 80s called Dai Yung, which I seem to remember was changed to Tai Yung.

I've nearly always bought whatever was cheapest at my local tyre shop, and all except Federal and Vredstein (who used to make excellent bicycle tyres) have been acceptable. My Transit van came with Hankooks from new. As if being made of greased Teflon wasn't enough, two of them have blown out on busy A roads (A90 and A9) both in between laybys and on both occasions the burst tyre was on the traffic side. On the A9 I had to make for a farm entrance on the wrong side of the road, in the snow, in the dark and nearly 100 miles from home. I don't recommend Hankooks.

[Citroenmad]

'Hero' is an interesting name..

Isn't it just, the grip in the wet is how I imagine a set of tyres would perform if they were made out of banana skins! Totally dangerous!

Many budget brands are very reasonable - I always measure a tyre on wet grip as that is the biggest safety factor. I dont care if they wear quickly, so long as they grip. It is always the way that the worst tyres last forever! I have replaced many nearly new tyres because they simply dont grip.

I remember someone on here having a tyre branded with 'Fate'

Jim had/has Fate tyres on his V6 and I dont think he is too enthused with them Our white XM had them fitted at one point, they were reasonable until they got a bit old and started to desintegrate.

Tyres for a V6 then:

My V6 has a pair of very recent Michelin Energy Savers up front and a not too old pair of Pirelli P6000s on the rear. I really like the Michelins, I have had these Energy Savers fitted to our 2002 C5 hatch a good few times and it currently has them, as does our XM estate. They are superb tyres and suit Citroens well, the sidewall is quite soft, it grips well in the wet and dry, wears well and is quite, a very good all rounder. Though is you tend to be a driver who corners very hard then the soft sidewalls might not appeal - which is why I have not fitted them to my Activa. The P6000s are now out of production, we have had a few XMs with them and they were reasonable, though all were new tyres. I believe once they get worn they really drop off on performance.

My Activa has Continental Premium Contact2s on the front, I have not long had these fitted but so far so good. Wet grip is very good, much improved over the aging Michelins, however under hard cornering they do squeal earlier than other tyres I have used on it. In my experience of Contis they will wear quickly. Dry grip is superb, despite the squeal they really cling on, the best tyres I have fitted to the Activa yet. On the rear I have a fairly new pair of Pirelli P7s, annoyingly they went out of production shortly after I got this pair or I would have bought another pair for the front. The sidewalls are stiffer than the Michelins but wet grip is very good again.

I find Toyos to very decent tyres, often wear faster than most and the CF-1 for the Xantia size is not quite the best gripping wet performer, however it is very decent. I really like the T1-Rs (not available in Xantia size unfortunately) I only got 11K on the front of a C5 but the grip, ride and performance were all very good. For my C5s size I can not fault the Michelin Primacy HP, it is all I use on my C5 with 16" wheels, both of 16v C5s have them. They are expsnsive at around £500+ a set but they are very good. Wet grip is excellent, dry grip among the best, wear is superb - especially with how I drive! Really very good, I just wish they were available in the Activa/V6 size.

I hate Goodyear tyres, all of the ones I have had recently have ended up deformed, causing the car to pull to one side or have a vibration which is not cured by balancing. Grip was generally good (both Excellence and Duragrip) but once they started to get worn the Excellence were terrible in standing water. Going up an incline at a steady 50mph in a C5 with very wet roads the NS wheel was spinning. One pair of Excellence wore badly on the shoulders and revealed a different looking rubber as they wore. The other pair, fitted to a C5 on larger wheels, wore very badly in the centres and had conrete stiff sidewalls. Awful, I wont be buying any more Goodyears.

So in short, I generally stick with top brands but avoid Goodyears and Dunlops (had a set of Sport 2000s on one car which were hardly better than the above mentioned 'Heros'). Continentals and Michelins are my top choices, followed by Toyo and Pirellis.

I also like Vredesteins, though not available in a lot of sizes, the Sportrac3 is superb. They are available in the V6 Xantia size ... Ive just put these on the back of the 2002 C5 and have them on the rear of the XM too. I have used them on the front, the grip is excellent and they look brilliant!

I would go with Michelins if your not on a budget, if you want something a bit cheaper go with Uniroyal RainExperts (superb in the wet) or cheaper still, Falkens.

[red_dwarfers]

I always enjoy reading these tyre threads!

How is Vredestein pronounced?

Don't just say - Vredestein

[Citroenmad]

I always enjoy reading these tyre threads!

How is Vredestein pronounced?

Don't just say - Vredestein

I do like a good tyre thread

Hmm, from me its usually a bit of stuttering as I dont actually know! I think the V is silent?

[andmcit]

Veree-dersh-stien - brand must have something going for it with the 2CV reference! lol

[handyman]

Hi Andrew et al, its VRee-Dehr-schTeen, if its written phonetically. The capital letters denote emphasis. I do speak a smattering of Dutch and as it is such a difficult language for pronunciation, I try to get the emphasis right. I usually get taken for a Sud Afrikaans in Holland when I speak Dutch, as my pronunciation is SO rough! BTW, being called Sud Afrikaans by a Nederlander is not a terms of endearment!

I used to sell Vrederstein tyres when they were first imported into the UK.I did rate them but do remember they had very soft sidewalls, almost akin to Michelins of the time.

As for shadow technology in tyre brands, that has been going on for many years. The companies using technology from the leading companies are usually partly or wholly owned subsidiaries that offer the same technology but in a cheaper format, as the tyre buying public can be snobs when it comes to 'names' on the sidewall. Latest technology usually filters down through these companies after a season or two, to allow the leaders to recover some of their R&D costs. Witness the price drops in the computer hardware industry or AEG, Zanussi and Electrolux all being the same washing machines with different labels.

I did use Vredersteins on my ZX & MG Maestro for a while and also fitted a pair of Fateos, a tyre made in Brazil, with a wear rate of a condom rubbed on sandpaper.

I always used to swear by Michelin tyres, primarily because I could buy them as a hefty discount, , but recent reviews have shown shortcomings, albeit any tyre, whether branded or down market is always going to be a compromise between performance and wear rate.

As I stated earlier, I did rate the Continentals I had fitted to the Xantia estate and they did last marginally longer than the Michelins they replaced.

So it looks like I'll be buying these Barums then, as I can get them at a good rate from a wholesaler.

Tot ziens

Handyman