Xantia Alloy Wheel Balancing & Tyres

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XantiaExclusiveHDI
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Post by XantiaExclusiveHDI »

Well I've ordered my tyres :D

My local HiQ dealer beat everyone else with a price of £255 all in for the four Sportrac 3s. Got to wait three days for them to come in from Holland.

The guy there said he had balanced lots of no through hole wheels without any problems. He reckoned it was down to the type of balancing machine - the correct adaptor and the skill of the operator.

He said the adaptor for his machine cost in excess of 2.5K so most companys couldn't justify the expense given how few wheels of that type they would get through the workshop.

Oh well - we will see :)

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Post by dnsey »

He said the adaptor for his machine cost in excess of 2.5K

But those I've seen are only a casting with bolts, adjustable to suit the pitch circle of the holes in the wheel, and a simple system for fixing to the balancing machine mandrel! :shock:
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Post by XantiaExclusiveHDI »

dnsey wrote:
He said the adaptor for his machine cost in excess of 2.5K

But those I've seen are only a casting with bolts, adjustable to suit the pitch circle of the holes in the wheel, and a simple system for fixing to the balancing machine mandrel! :shock:

Yeah - that sounds like the system the KwikFit guys had - which failed to balance my previous Xantia Alloys :?

Incidentally the HiQ guy said that different branches of their chain had different balancing machines. Just so happened I struck lucky with the price and this particular branch having the correct equipment and hopefully a suitably skilled operative 8-[

He did say if for whatever reason they failed to balance a wheel they would refund me the cost.
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Post by Citroenmad »

I hope you are happy with the sportrac3s, they are a superb tyre. They have won awards for a few years for being the best in a particular size - 195/65/15 actually, the same size the Xm uses, hence why we went for those.

Michelins do grip well, i cant say ive had any issues there, but the sidewalls are a little soft. Spirited cornerning often results in the tyre rolling onto the sidewall. Ive not had that problem with the sportracs on the xm though.

You can get tyres with too stiffer sidewall, which make for a horrible ride and harshness through the steering wheel. Sportracs seems a very good choice.

Goodyear Excellence is another tyre i would possibly consider.
addo wrote:I have recently changed over to Yoki C-Drives. Compared to the Toyo Transas, they seem slightly less grippy - although it may be partly due to extra tread block height on a newer tyre. They do grip better than previous Uniroyals on the same car, however.

What really stands out, is how differently tyre brands behave at similar pressures. People who doggedly follow the manufacturer's inflation guide are doing themselves a disservice if they don't experiment.
Interesting to hear thoughts on Yokohamas. I had those on my last car, A539s, which were super in the dry, really sticky tyres. They didnt get along well with wet weather though, more of a summer use tyre maybe.
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Post by XantiaExclusiveHDI »

OK - Four new Vredestein Sportrac 3s fitted today.

I drove around 15 miles home in the rain.

My first impressions are very favourable! I immediately noticed the car is way more compliant over potholes and general ridges / imperfections on the road surface. It's as if the suspension has softened up quite considerably which I just wasn't expecting :o

The car is more sure footed and I feel much safer throwing it around corners - whereas before I felt I had reached the envelope of cornering before something would give :P
Road noise is noticably attenuated and understeer feels like it has all but disappeared - I guess until I get used to things and push a little further. Which incidentally I doubt I will do as I'm a relaxed driver these days 8)

There is some minor vibration feedback at between 70 - 80mph but nothing to report either side. I'll have to investigate this further tomorrow on a longer fast run.

Altogether I pleased so far! It 'feels' like the tyres are well suited to the suspension.

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Post by addo »

Your fitters probably pumped the tyres to the minimum advised pressure for your car. This will give an impression of riding more softly.

Go easy on the corners until your new tyres are broken in! A few hundred miles of mixed driving should ensure they are at full grip.
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