New tyres again!!!!

[phantom]

Had a slow puncture , drove to natinal tyres , off with my wheel , the lad found the puncture ,marked it with chalk , drilled the tyre , tyre off the wheel.........only to be the exact spot of a previous puncture repair! I was with the lad the whole time so he wasn't trying to have me over.

New tyre time , my other tyre had 3-4 mil on it , so what was a £15 pucture turned into 2 new tyres

Anyway i'm skint at the mo , so i went for 2 Conti Contact 3's £300 all in fitted and balanced.

Thats twice now ive gone for a pucture and eneded up buying 2 new tyres and there not cheap!

So i just thought i'd ask you long time quattro owners what you would do?

The Conti's are a hard-ish compound ,would you have them on the front and keep the Softer Michelin pilot sports on the rear? ( 7 mil on the pilots )

Thanks

p

 

[Savage]

Were you offered tyre insurance when you purchased the car? Up to 5 tyres in 3 years I believe.

Has anyone taken this out and made successful claims?

 

[JohnS3]

Anyway i'm skint at the mo , so i went for 2 Conti Contact 3's £300 all in fitted and balanced.

Ouch, you've been had, 2 of those tyres cost £255.24 from black circles fitted and balanced.

 

[phantom]

Ouch, you've been had, 2 of those tyres cost £255.24 from black circles fitted and balanced.

Thats it , since ive had the car ive replaced all four tyres , each time ive only gone in for a puncture!!!!

Ive not shopped for tyres as such yet , so ive had to pay for them , and thats with discount!!!!

So would you have the harder Conti's on the front and softer Pilots on the rear then John?

Thanks

p

 

[JohnS3]

Mmm, tricky one, perhaps put the tyres with the most tread on the front as the car does put most of the power through the front wheels most of the time. Unless you drive it like you stole it.

 

[phantom]

Mmm, tricky one, perhaps put the tyres with the most tread on the front as the car does put most of the power through the front wheels most of the time. Unless you drive it like you stole it.

p

 

[JohnS3]

That's a yes then?

 

[Von Maximo]

I'm up for some new tyres in next week. As I do a lot of Motorway miles I'm looking more value/miles/comfort than sporty'ness.

Been looking at Michelin Primacy. Has anyone had any experience with these or any views?

http://www.michelin.co.uk/uk/front/affich.jsp?codeRubrique=20060301144632&tyreSelectorType=car&marque=AUDI&gamme=A3&modele=A3&cylindree=2.0+TDi+140&saison=S&annee=03/2003-0/0&retour=1

Most most of the comments I've seen on other websites are quite good.
It's just a shame that nobody has done a scientific comparison of all major tyres as they all claim to last longer, have better wet grip, shorter stopping distances etc. Who do you trust? And can you really tell a difference? lol

 

[phantom]

I don't know about the Michelin primacy , but the Mich pilot sports are a cracking tyre , decent miles , soft and grippy , and compy , almost silent.

Only downside is there pricy , but unlike me if you have the chance to shop around they can be had at a fair price £150 fitted. they wanted £200 a pop at Natinal today! lol

p

 

[Stevie C]

just fitted the new vredestein. which are proving to be as good as perelli nero awesome tyre! ugly tread pattern though if your fussy!!!!

 

[Von Maximo]

They're the ones that I'm replacing now and have to admit they are a very good tyre which is why I'm not being drawn away from Michelin

 

[JohnS3]

Just been quoted £108 a corner fitted for Good Year Eagles F1 GSD3s. That sounds like a good price to me.

 

[RobB]

Evo did a tyre test a few months back on the 225/45/17s. Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics came out top, the Conti 3's were rated highly too. Will dig out if I remember over the weekend.

 

[hatmeow]

Thats it , since ive had the car ive replaced all four tyres , each time ive only gone in for a puncture!!!!

Ive not shopped for tyres as such yet , so ive had to pay for them , and thats with discount!!!!

So would you have the harder Conti's on the front and softer Pilots on the rear then John?

Thanks

p

I would suspect that you would have much more understeer that now if you put the contis in front. I would not enjoy driving with this combination.

I understand its a money issue but I dont really recommend mixing the tires... Many years ago, I had a set of Sticky Bridgestones in front and Fuldas on the back of my Golf Mk2 (yes I know, Its a bit extreme combination) and I spun out in a motorway exit... Luckily didnt hit anything...

 

[phantom]

I would suspect that you would have much more understeer that now if you put the contis in front. I would not enjoy driving with this combination.

I understand its a money issue but I dont really recommend mixing the tires... Many years ago, I had a set of Sticky Bridgestones in front and Fuldas on the back of my Golf Mk2 (yes I know, Its a bit extreme combination) and I spun out in a motorway exit... Luckily didnt hit anything...

I agree in a ideal world , you would rotate the tyres and change all four at the same time.

I don't think having one brand of tyre on the front and one on the rear is dagerous as long as there the same-ish level of tread and the same-ish level of quality.

I'll run it with the Conti's on the front to soften them up, and then see who it feels!

p

 

[QuickNick]

Just put 2 Goodyear F1 Assymetrics on my S3 - paid £230 for the pair fitted. Seem OK so far, but only done about 75 miles

 

[Spin140]

Just put 2 Goodyear F1 Assymetrics on my S3 - paid £230 for the pair fitted. Seem OK so far, but only done about 75 miles

That a great price Nick.

General rule of thumb Phantom states new tyres to rear axle as understeer is the 'safer' option according to the motor industry as easily controllable by lifting off, I hate my tyres to be mis-matched so would and do still opt for the swap front to rear and buy them in sets of 4, its no more expensive if you budget for it - having said that it's not easy when getting punctures as the exact same thing happened to me on the S3, very upsetting

I paid £104 fitted per corner for GSD III F1 Directional.

Spin

 

[John @ DW]

Mixing tyres is not good in my experience, I had a new set of wheels on the way and got a puncture (typical) and put 2 Fuldas on the back as a temp solution with p zeros on the front. The back end was all over the place which was not a nice feeling when you are expecting the car to understeer!

The Goodyear F1 Assymetrics are meant to be the dogs danglies, I fitted a set for a customer and he said once they had bedded in they are amazing!

 

[phantom]

The two lads on here who have mixed there tyres and had trouble ( back end going ) have had Fuldas tyre on the rear.....Mmmmmm could it be that there sh*t?

I know mixing tyres is not ideal , but as said up top , if the quality is the same and the level of tread is nearly the same 8mil Vs 7mil then i shouldn't have a problem ( touches wood ) i also have the better tyre IMHO on the rear.

Thanks

p

 

[warren_S5]

Mine came with Conti Sport Contact 2's from new, and whilst they were very good in the wet, in the dry they were only average really.

For years I'd run Toyo Proxy T1R's and Goodyear GSD-3's (Eagle F1) and for the money they were very good. Always tended to run a compliment of the same 4 tyres all round.

I couldn't get hold of the new Goodyear Asymmetrics as there was no stock, so went with Michelin Pilot Sports and am pleased to report they are exceptional in the dry. You really notice it where you have to successively change direction, they seem much more willing to turn and grip than the Conti's did. I had all 4 tyres changed at 11k as they were all knackered. Michelin's not quite so confidence inspiring in fast corners in the wet, but generally stable so no moaning.

I can't be ***** with axle swapping, just change them as they need changing really.

 

[Dandle]

For info here are a few 2007 tyre test results from Uk magazines, all test were very comprehensive.

This is EVOs results on a Mk5 Golf 2.0GTi.
Tyres tested:
1. Bridgestone Potenza RE050-A
2. Continental Contisport Contact 3
3. Dunlop Sport Maxx
4. Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymmetric
5. Kumho Ecsta STP KU31
6. Michelin Pilot Sport 2 PS2
7. Pirelli PZERO Nero
8. Vredestein ULTRAC SESSANTA
9. Yokohama S.DRIVE

Wet Handling:

Lap Times:
1. Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymmetric - 100%
2. Vredestein ULTRAC SESSANTA - 99.05%
3. Continental Contisport Contact 3 - 98.38%

Lateral G:
1. Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymmetric - 100%
2. Vredestein ULTRAC SESSANTA - 97.85%
3. Continental Contisport Contact 3 - 97.34%

Subjective:

1. Vredestein ULTRAC SESSANTA - 100%
2. Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymmetric - 96.15%
3. Continental Contisport Contact 3 - 94.23%

Aqua-Planing:

Straight Line:

1. Dunlop Sport Maxx - 100%
2. Bridgestone Potenza RE050-A - 98.85%
3. Continental Contisport Contact 3 - 97.01%

Cornering:

1. Vredestein ULTRAC SESSANTA - 100%
2. Bridgestone Potenza RE050-A - 83.37%
3. Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymmetric - 80.09%

Braking:

Wet Braking

1. Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymmetric - 100%
2. Bridgestone Potenza RE050-A - 98.19%
3. Continental Contisport Contact 3 - 97.44%

Dry Braking - Very little to choose between top and bottom [7% difference]

1. Michelin Pilot Sport 2 PS2 - 100%
2. Vredestein ULTRAC SESSANTA - 99.08%
3. Bridgestone Potenza RE050-A - 98.94%

Best at the Pumps:

Resistance (rolling):

1. Yokohama S.DRIVE - 100%
2. Michelin Pilot Sport 2 PS2 - 97.88%
3. Kumho Ecsta STP KU31 - 92.72%

Dry Handling:

Lap Times:

1. Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymmetric - 100%
2. Michelin Pilot Sport 2 PS2 - 99.79%
3. Bridgestone Potenza RE050-A - 99.18%

Lateral G:

1. Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymmetric - 100%
2. Michelin Pilot Sport 2 PS2 - 97.19%
3. Bridgestone Potenza RE050-A - 96.18%

Subjective:

1. Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymmetric - 100%
2. Michelin Pilot Sport 2 PS2 - 95.55%
3. Pirelli PZERO Nero - 93.33%

Road Route:

Subjective:

1. Vredestein ULTRAC SESSANTA - 100%
2. Dunlop Sport Maxx - 92.50%
3. Michelin Pilot Sport 2 PS2 - 90.50%

OVERALL RESULTS:

1. Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymmetric - 96.4

A decisive win for the new Goodyear, with more table-topping performances than any other tyre. Better still, those wins came in both the wet and the dry objective test, and subjectively it was voted best tyre on the dry handling course.

2. Vredestein ULTRAC SESSANTA - 95.3

3. Continental Contisport Contact 3 - 93.5



Autocar did there test with these results.(There was a link on the website to the test but I can't find it now)

With result of
1st: Goodyear Eagle F1
2nd: Michelin Pilot Sport 2
3rd: Contintenal ContiSport Contact 3
4th: Bridgestone Potenza RE050A
5th: Pirelli PZero Nero and Rosso


Heres an older review but still very good although the goodyears and contis have been replaced by newer models.
Hope that helps.

 

[JohnS3]

Thats a big help. You just convinced me to go with the F1 GSDs (which I think I was going to get anyway!)

 

[warren_S5]

Thats a big help. You just convinced me to go with the F1 GSDs (which I think I was going to get anyway!)

John, be careful when you order these that they are the Asymmetrics and not the GSD-3's. I know somehow who was sold the old model under the pretence they were the new ones. The new Asymmetrics are quite a development over the GSD-3's.
cheers
W

 

[JohnS3]

Cheers. Can you tell by the tread pattern?

 

[warren_S5]

Cheers. Can you tell by the tread pattern?

yep, thats a GSD3 you have posted. The new Asymmetrics have a similar pattern to the Michelin Pilot Sports, back to the more traditional split section tyre blocks:

 

[JohnS3]

Thanks Warren. I'll make sure I get the correct version.

 

[sjahS3]

Another garage for the address book..

Bracknell Tyres.. in Bracknell funnily enough.. t: 01344 411323

If you're in the south of England then give them a bell, they get people from Devon/Cornwall driving up to use them.

Getting 2 x Conti SC 2's from them for £112/corner inc VAT + balancing.

-Sal-