Xantia HDi Tyre Choice

[pete_wood_uk]

Thought I'd bore everyone by starting a new tyre choice thread...
I've just picked up an ex-contract hire 2000 Xantia HDi Exclusive Hydractive Estate (86k miles, nice car!). It currently has a pair of fairly worn Michelin Energy XH1s on the back, and a pair (1 good and 1 very worn) of Michelin Pilot Primacy (V-rated for some reason) on the front. All are 205/60/15. Spare is nearly bald. H-rating is the recommendation.
I live in the UK, in East Anglia, and have a commute that involves winding and badly cambered fen roads that are often wet and muddy and have big big ditches either side. Grip is important, especially when trying to Make Progress .
Any suggestions? Never had Pilot Primacy before, are they any good? The turn-in at present certainly feels good and crisp, I haven't had the car long enough to explore its limits but it does seem to stick pretty well and be fairly neutral, I presume that's the Hydractive keeping it flatter and therefore making better use of the wider rubber.
Some background (which may be useful for others, so I'll offer it here). On my other Xantia (97 TD SX hatchback, 152k so far) I had MXV3A and then XH1, and the car was adequate if uninspiring. Then I put the latest "energy" tyres on the front - E3A - and it was appalling. Very poor turn in, car felt like a cat on wet lino even in the dry, and was simply frightening in the wet. Understeer all the way. So I moved the E3As onto the back (they'd cost a lot of money, I wasn't going to throw them away!) and put Goodyear Eagle NCT5 on the front. Much much better - crisp turn in, more neutral, much stickier. This is all on the standard 185-section tyres. Lost 2-3mpg, but frankly it was worth it not to be scared in wet corners!
Previously, on the CX, I'd also replaced MXV3A by Goodyear, this was my first non-Michelin purchase, forced by unavailability of Michelin in relevant sizing, and if anyone's interested then a CX25GTi (non-turbo) just lurves Eagle NCT3 on the back and Eagle Ventura on the front.
So here we go. All suggestions welcome. I'm pretty convinced I don't want E3A. Has anyone any other experience? Comparative UK pricing (for non-UK readers) is E3A: £82.50; NCT5: £62.50; Pilot Primacy: £85. These are just comparative prices I picked off one website, haven't shopped around yet.
Many thanks in advance for your help.
Pete

[reffro]

There's only one choice of tyre for your situation, Goodyear Hydragrip. It has just superceded the Eagle Ventura, and has also just won the Autocar magazine tyre test by a huge margin. Its wet weather performance is unbeatable, and they aren't that expensive either, similar in price to a NCT5.

[madasafish]

Almost all low energy tyres: I have Frestones on a Fiesta - and had Michelin on a Audi A4 - have poor wet grip.
I personally would never buy by choice..Great for motorways and summer. terrible for side raods, mud and corners. Getting out of our drive (300feet above sea level) involves a stop straddling a hump in our drive, and a right turn on a a blind right hand corner. So with fwd all weight transfers to the rear when starting and turning. Classic for wheelspin if you are havy footed. Add some horse dung from riders and it tests tyres very well.
The only good cars with bad tyres in these conditions are 4wd.. (a Subaru was great but 25mpg:-(

[Thunderbird]

Pete,
I also own a Xantia HDi. Original tyres were Michelin Energy XH1.
I have replaced all four tyres with Michelin Pilot Primacy.
It has to be "V" because Primacy at 205/60R15 only has V and W speeds.
Pros:
It seems like a new car - grip is incredible when compared to Michelin Energy. Cornering stability is tremendous, handling and braking too. It is a much performant and safer tyre.
Against:
Rolling resistance increased.

[np]

I`ve had 2 sets(8 tyres)of Firestone firehawkes 700`s on my Hydractive estate.The 1st set were 185/65/15 H.They all lasted about 30k,as i swaped them around after a while.They were a good all round tyre.Never had a problem with grip,wet or dry,noise was low.When they needed replacing in the summer,i upgraded to 205/60/15`s.F/stone f/hawkes 700 on the rear,& f/hawkes TZ 200`s on the front.Both V rated as that`s what the 205 size are.The TZ 200`s are the replacement of the 700`s.They have a much more "sporty" tread pattern.After 4k of mixed,sometimes hard driving,they still look brand new.Best of all,they were only £50 each.£3 more than the 185`s.I know what i`ll get next time again.

[pete_wood_uk]

Just thought I'd update this thread, since I asked the original question - my Xantia HDi is now wearing Michelin Pilot Primacy all round. I had a tail-out moment a few weeks ago on a fenland road, and a week later my wife had one at slow speed on a roundabout and badly scared herself, so I decided that the only-part-worn Michelin Energy XH1s on the back had to go. Life's short enough already .
It's been wearing the new rubber for about 3 weeks. Over the christmas break, I made some deliberate attempts to unhook the rear on a couple of greasy roundabouts, and couldn't. I'm now much happier about wife and baby driving it around...
Hope this information is useful to somebody.
Cheers
Pete

[IanR]

Mine's not an HDi (are the wheels different?) but I was thinking that the tyres will need changing soon, and I've never been too happy with the wet-road grip of the originals, in fact it's much poorer in this respect than the BX it replaced. Any recommendations?

[pete_wood_uk]

My HDi is on 205/60/15 Michelin Pilot Primacys now. My older TD is on 185/65/15 tyres. Like you, I slid around too much on the original Michelin Energy tyres. So as I said at the top of this thread, it's now on Goodyear NCT5 and it's like a different car. Other people recomended other things, it's horses for courses, but the summary here seems to be that if you value grip over mileage, then don't use Michelin Energy (XH1 or E3A).
Cheers
Pete

[NiSk]

ALWAYS put the tyres with the best grip on the rear! Otherwise you're fooling yourself and the first time the rear lets go you're in the ditch.
//NiSk