Tyre Choice...... any advice gratefully recieved

[Scopetrekker]

Good morning everyone.

I have recently purchased a lovely 2005 S60 D5 Sport. The car is fitted with some really nice looking 18 inch alloys and low profile tyres.

Unfortunately I have today driven over what was a smallish pot hole and seemed to have put a hole in the side wall so the tyre is trashed!!

The punctured tyre was a really cheap/budget tyre called a Jinyu (235/40/R18/Z)

The roads round here are in awful condition so is if its going to happen again would a more expensive tyre stand up to the bad road surfaces better?

Is it worth spending money on a more expensive tyre or should I just stick with cheap/budget tyres?

Went to Quick fit and they tried to charge me £200 for Pirelli and £220 for a Michelin.

I have had a look at 235/40/R18 size tyres on Blackcircles.com and from what I can see my choice are.....

RUNWAY or ACCETERA budget tyres £81 fitted

KUMHO £125 fitted

GOODYEAR Eagle F1 Assymetric £145 fitted

PIRELLI P Zero Rossa £152 fitted

BRIDGESTONE Pottenza S001 £154 fitted

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.............. at the moment I'm leaning towards spending the £145 on the Goodyear.

Regards

Jezz

[V70 Graham]

Not sure if they do them in your size but a lot of us here have Avon ZV5's and swear by them, I would personally stay well away from 'budget' tyres, especially on higher performance cars.

[Sharkey R]

Hi mate first of all if the pothole was deep enough to damage your tyre take a photo of the offending pothole with something put along side it to show the scale of size and depth and write a letter containing the photo to your council. If its bad enough to damage the tyre that badly then you should be able to make a compensation claim. Have a look at this site : http://potholes.co.uk/

As for tyres everyone has different opinions so its a bit of a minefield really. I had Pirellis on my previous wheels and found there was a lot of road noise. I now run Avon ZZ3s which are very good. Low noise, very high grip.

[T5RPete]

Remember that your tyres are the only thing connecting your car to the road.

On my T5R I have Yokohama Para Spec 2s all round and they're absolutely brilliant.

Also, if you're able to get tyres delivered, and the drive them to a fitting centre, it'll work out cheaper.

I got 2 of the above Yokas fitted for a £5iver at kwikfit after ordering them online.

Try Camskill.co.uk

Maybe some of these:
http://www.camskill.co.uk/m61b0s322p107832/

[JUDGENINJA]

I've just fitted Pirelli P7's to the front of my VAG.. I don't know if they are any good, but it is fu. Going into work as the fronts grip and the rear budget tyres give me lift off over steer

[Scopetrekker]

Many thanks for the advice guys

[MIKESC70T5]

Remember that your tyres are the only thing connecting your car to the road.

On my T5R I have Yokohama Para Spec 2s all round and they're absolutely brilliant.

Also, if you're able to get tyres delivered, and the drive them to a fitting centre, it'll work out cheaper.

I got 2 of the above Yokas fitted for a £5iver at kwikfit after ordering them online.

Try Camskill.co.uk

Maybe some of these:
http://www.camskill.co.uk/m61b0s322p107832/

Your lucky then, as my local tyre place wanted £20 to fit two tyres I supplied. They need to make some money out of it. For a fiver that wouldn't even cover the cost of new valves and disposal of the old tyres.

[T5RPete]

Your lucky then, as my local tyre place wanted £20 to fit two tyres I supplied. They need to make some money out of it. For a fiver that wouldn't even cover the cost of new valves and disposal of the old tyres.

I went in at 9am on a Sunday morning, the place was empty, and asked of they could do it there and then. The guy asked if I was paying card or cash, I said cash.

Let's just say that the fiver didn't go in the till...

[Harvey]

I went in at 9am on a Sunday morning, the place was empty, and asked of they could do it there and then. The guy asked if I was paying card or cash, I said cash.

Let's just say that the fiver didn't go in the till...

Did the same with my one,the going rate seems to be £5 per tyre.

[silverhorse]

Firstly, before you buy nice new tyres and have them fitted, balanced and spend lots of money, get the knackered tyre off the wheel and take it to someone who has a dynamic wheel balancing machine. Most places have them, but just make sure.
Get the naked wheel tested for a bend/twist/buckle. If the force of the pothole was enough to trash a tyre, there is a good chance the wheel will be bent.
They can be straightened so don't panic, but if you put a nice new tyre on a bent wheel, you are still inviting trouble.

I have nice 18s on my V70 and before I had them refurbed got them tested. 2 were nearly square. Like you, my roads are awful.

Secondly, don't be fooled by people saying you MUST HAVE the Pirellis and Michelins of this world. Don't lose sight of the fact that you are driving a diesel Volvo, not a Lotus Elise. Definitely stay clear of the budgets, but mid range tyres are perfectly good for what you need. A friend of mine owns a tyre sales place and he has mid range ones on all his cars (911, Elise, Holdon Commodore V8 Ozzy thingy) and that speaks volumes.
The new EU labeling on all new tyres gives you an idea of noise, efficiency, wet performance. So you can make an informed choice, not the choice you think you SHOULD make or what others think you should make.

PS, welcome to the forum!!

[Scopetrekker]

Many thanks for taking the time to reply and for the advice.

[silverhorse]

No worries mate, hope you get sorted.

[Scopetrekker]

Well Guys finally opted for 2 x Barum Bravuris II which I'm told are made by Continental.

Got a fantastic deal on Ebay - National tyres were selling 2 Barum's fully fitted and balanced at the National tyres centre of your choice for £200.09!

I'm still left with 2 x budget tyres on the back at the moment, In a couple of months i will either buy 2 more Barums or maybe put some Avon ZZ5's on the front and move the Barums to the back..... watch this space!

Many thanks for the advice.

[Leeds_finest]

I haven't tried the Potenza S001...

...but I swear by the Potenza RE040 or RE050 if you can get hold of these? They're not cheap and they do wear quickly but the compound is soft so they grip very well

[cherry1809]

Currently running Goodyear Eagle F1 all-round. Good grip, low road noise but a bit dear.

[Squirtydog]

I tend to wait for the 6 monthly Costco 4 for 3 deal and buy 4 Michelin for all cars (pilot sport 3 on the R). If I only need two, then I keep hold of the other two and they fit them for free at a later date. Wear seems fine, grip is great on the R cos it grips anyway, other cars I tend not to rag too much.

[Gold 'N' Brown]

Has anyone got any experience or heard anything good or bad about Nankang NS2 Ultra Sports? I'm on a tight budget and need 4 tyres before the MOT. Obviously I'd love to follow the heard and put some Mr Sw@nky Pants all singing, all dancing, tyres on the car, but the reality it's just not really worth it in my circumstances. Most of my driving is done in town so I don't need something that offers the pinnacle of high speed cornering grip etc. Having said that, the only criteria is I want something that doesn't spin like a §§§§§§§ in low gears when the weather is wet (99% of the year in Edinburgh) like the current tyres do.

EDIT: How amusing that the swear filter doesn't like the word Swa nky

[silverhorse]

Has anyone got any experience or heard anything good or bad about Nankang NS2 Ultra Sports?

They will be fine. You will spin up ANY tyre in a high power Volvo in the wet.

[M-R-P]

I've had Barums before. They were a good budget/mid range tyre but I found them noisy and didn't last as long as I liked. Did you go for the XL version? they have thicker sidewalls and should survive the potholes a bit better. For the extra 20-30 quid, I'd have gone for the Avon ZV5 as it's quieter, grippier in the wet and dry and can take a serious kicking - as I've found after thrashing them about for nearly 20k miles. Still 6mm+ all round.

[M-R-P]

A little tip for anybody using National Tyres -

Ask to take your old tyres home. They knock - off the disposal fee (about a fiver). Then just donate the tyres to a school. (they use them in the playground or garden).