Medium Saloon Tyres

In message , Pete Smith writes

Its a Mk2.

Or you're below-average competence/sensitivity ;)

I've been able to do that for years - I used to be able to tell a difference of 2 psi in my Manta (measured with the same little stick - they might not have been the right amount of PSI, but the difference could be trusted!). Let alone being able to tell on a test drive if a car had mixed tyres.

And before you say a Manta isn't a 7 year old family saloon, I should point out it was 8 or 9 years old (C-reg in 1994) and was fundamentally the exact same car as a Vauxhall Cavalier Mk 1 ;)

Richard

Is there room for 2 in the back? Could always turbo it and add Nox.

any probs let me know.

The same difference it makes to any car. Which can be the difference between good grip and bad grip. That affects almost all aspects of a cars handling, regardless of whether it's a supercar or a 'cooking family runabout' as you put it. Having said that, all tyres are a compromise. Basically between grip and longevity. I care more about how well they grip, than how long they last.

OTOH when tyres are a comparitively cheap item in the costs of running a car, why be satisfied with less than the best. What are we looking at. A saving of maybe £150-200 at most, over 2 years of average motoring. Not a lot compared to the cost of VED, insurance, petrol, servicing and depreciation, over the same period. Plus the fact that good tyres can make the difference between a car being nice to drive, and maybe one that doesn't inspire confidence as far as roadholding or possibly wet conditions are concerned. Mike.

Good advice, tyres are one area of a car where you can really suffer by skimping on cheap budget brands. I'd much rather beable to stop thanks!

Phew.

It sounds like the "ludicrously expensive 17" on the Ghia X" of the Mk 3 then!

Pete.

Well, he did have his last car upside down ;)

OH, Sorry.... Its You... Dervman who had the KA on its roof isnt it?

DervMan ( snipped-for-privacy@ntlworld.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Far better than the (new) P6000 that was on one corner of the XM when I got it. That's been the spare ever since.

The age is irrelevant.

It's obvious if one end is grippier than the other. Clues might include the ABS triggering on one end and not the other, understeer or oversteer when turning into or pulling out of a junction.

Don't confuse your own stupidity or insensitivity with mine. Would you like me to explain what understeer and oversteer are?

-- Dervy Google

Firestone TZ200's were fine on my saab - plenty of wet grip. Also Pirelli P6000's were OK.

Anybody tried maxxis tyres?

My mum and dads Mk3 (they're the new shape yea?) has the standard 17s, they don't seem that silly prices?

What the f*ck are you doing triggering the ABS?

One end has wheels that change direction as well as go round and round.

I'm afraid I don't give any credence to the opinion of someone who refers to a vehicle by a "name" and a gender.

And you verified this with a control set of tyres and a placebo set of tyres?

And there's independent, objective figures to back-up your assertion?

It was confirmed when I had a full set of new Yokos all round. Brought the tail back in line.

It's all about feel, rather than anything you can put on paper.

Being sideways in a FWD hatch isn't desireable in the rush hour.

Fuck, you better tell all those Formula 1 teams to throw away those expensive dataloggers, then.

Don't you think that the drivers might actually have the final say on tyre choice, given that they're the ones who actually have to drive the cars?