tyre ratings

It does.

Any retailer should have the details available, but one of the best back- to-back comparisons of what's available that I've seen is Camskill's site

- just select the size you want, and look at what's available.

When did you get back?

Just get the RainExperts, or RainSports - I doubt you'll notice any fuel efficiency difference, but you'll definitely notice the wet weather performance - and how well they work if we get a little scattering of snow again.

the michelins I priced for someone the other day were A, C and 2 (noise)

October, but I couldn't be arsed to set Usenet up again until I was bored the other day...

As I am looking to buy new tyres myself I have been doing some research, including reading the EU directives!

Anyway, having digested all that:

The D rating isn't used, so in practice, for fuel efficiency it tends to be a choice of C or E. I assume any manufacturer whose product was borderline would make the effort to get it into C rather than E but that may mean that C is not much better than E. The economy is a lab test and formula for rolling resistance so it probably isn't significant for stop start urban driving. The difference between E and C might amount to 3-4% fuel saving in favourable circumstances.

Wet Grip, again D isn't used, Some are rated A in one sizes and B in another. I haven't noticed anything less than C, but maybe because I have ignored the cheaper brands. Difference between one grade and the next may be about one car length in stopping distance in the wet. But again, based on lab tests etc, so difficult to tell how much real difference.

For me the choice seems to be 175/65T Michelin Energy Saver+ C B 68dB £57 Uniroyal RainExpert E B 70dB £49

If the fuel efficiency rating means anything (I distrust all eco-bollox) then the extra cost of Michelin could be justified by the fuel saving. If not then I am still incline to Michelin on the basis that they will probably last longer and I haven't found anything to suggest that the Uniroyal has a better grip. But if anyone has better information I would be glad to know.

I found no difference MPG wise in going from a mixed load of makes to a set of michelin, however the grip was vastly improved and they last really well (Lexus GS300)

Good trip, then?

I have probably posted this before.

I have RainExperts on my MX5.

They went on in January 2012 and since then have done half a dozen track days, a lot of running about around South Wales / Gloucestershire, a few trips to Cornwall and a trip to Berlin and back, via the Nurburgring.

That's something like 6k miles since fitting them - with some really hard use in there - Llandow circuit is ultra-abrasive and wears tyres very quickly - and the Nurburgring was done during rain so heavy my wipers couldn't keep up.

They still have a lot of life left in them - wear patterns under track use are a bit odd, in the way the blocks wear on a diagonal, but this wouldn't be an issue on roads.

Most impressively, they coped in quite heavy snow on the way back from Oulton Park last year - better than a lot of the SUV drivers who got stuck on the hill near Nant Ddu in the Brecon Beacons.

I'm definitely going to replace them with another set when they eventially wear out.

Hell, yes.

Just remembered, I'd bookmarked your blog.

You're not a million miles away from us now... we will have to catch up at some point.

Uniroyal will have a better grip, but if you haven't approached the limits of the existing Michelin Energy, it might not bother you.