Tyres Question

ESP is Electronic Stability Program - it stops you spinning, by watching the rotation (the yaw angle) of the car. If it decides you're doing something you shouldn't, then it does things (including the braking of one or more wheels, and/or cutting of power) to stop it. I can't remember if you've got ESP or not.

EBD is simply Electronic Braking Distribution. It sends the most braking force to the wheel(s) with the most traction. It basically doesn't do anything that a 4-channel ABS system doesn't already do.

Its not just that you're paying for. You're paying for longer lifetime and very noticable reduction in road noise plus better cornering.

Because I like to hear my stereo without having the volume up full. Because I don't like the sideways feel you get when cornering due ot s**te sidewalls on cheapies. Because when I go round a roundabout in the wet, I actually don't like understeering. Because I don't like having to change tyres every 15000 miles.

Absolutely. Had cheap tyres on the sierra and a truck I drove. Without trying, whenever it was wet I ended up powersliding out of roundabouts with both vehicles.

Is that the sound of the goalposts leaving the stadium?

Why do you insist on making pointless posts? if you want to discuss how in your experience ESP/Tyres/TCS etc works then carry on, Believe it or not I like to hear peoples views even Steve's, we have had many a conversation on MSN shouting about car crap.

You just spout pointless crap, as usual.

Here's the episode if anyone wants it, I will seed it for a few days as well.

If road-noise is entering your car, then change it. My current steed is almost silent on it's no-name rubber.

And you'd spend an extra £400 on four tyres, to cure those issues ?

We aren't talking a couple of quid here - decent rubber for my car is about £150 a corner ! It'd be well over £200 a corner, if I'd bought the 19" rims I was considering last week. I've got better things to spend my money on, than tyres.

At £50 a corner, I'm quite happy to change them every year thanks. A reasonably quick FWD car will annihilate whatever brand you put on it, in a very short space of time anyway.

Yep - I'll concede they may even last 20% longer. And as above, I aren't about to pay a 110% premium for that. Noname tyres offer *excellent* performance for the money - I've got no intention of changing mine :)

Actually, IME, i find that the performance branded tyres (Goodyear F1's etc) last less time than the cheapos...

No, it was an option tho, and the GTi 180 and GTi have it, although ike yours, its switchable. Can't see why anyone would need it in the 120bhp XSi to be honest, it lights the fronts up quite easily, but it requires slight provokage, you have to be s*it to need ESP with that little power.

The ESP only tries to prevent understeer and oversteer - the TCS (Traction Control System) that would stop your front wheels lighting up, is a seperate part of the system :)

ESP + TCS + ABS + EBD + etc. are usually all combined into one system - they all use the same sensors and ABS pump anyway, so the cost of adding on each three-letters is is negligable.

Yup, it costs 250 quid or so to retro fit ESP to a Audi TT well $599

I saw that and really throught they were called Wanki tyres, now that would have been honest advertising.

We can! I've spun a TT with ESP.

The difference in road noise between the Goodyear NCT5 I had and the Conti Premium Contact I have now is both noticable and measurable (5db less). Tyre choice makes a big difference.

WTF are you on about?

If they had "my" ESP system they would not even be able to pull away let alone go round a corner.

Road cars and Rally cars are 2 totally different things, read up first then come back.

Get me another Ka, some balls of steel I'll show you. 3rd gear at 60mph (probably about 4 thousand revs), round a bend I know and you could easily punt the thing backwards with engine braking alone.

I would yes. I'd much rather pay £70 or so a corner rather than £25 quid a corner (for that is what rubber for my car costs), than be wishing I'd spent £70 a corner on tyres when I'm skidding towards something in the wet. Tyres are such a safety critical thing that I always buy them on experience and what my tyre place tells me gives the best wet grip. And there certainly are tyres where you get 50% more grip in the wet compared to some of the terrible cheap s*it out there.

I'm not saying there aren't good cheap tyres out there, but there are plenty of bloody awful ones. I've bought tyres twice because I've put on cheapies and they had naff all grip FFS...