New Tyres

After the Stilo passed it's MOT on Saturday the tester recommended the tyres are almost at the limit and ready for changing. I took the car to Just Tyres where i got 4 fitted, new valves, balanced and old tyres disposed of for £180 which i thought was a great price. OK, they are a brand called "Event" but for my type of driving they suit me fine.

'Event'?? Who are they!!!

Just to put in comparison though, I just got 2 fronts for £80 (avon zz3's) but wasnt fitted or balanced - did that myself at work. So you paid essentially a tenner more than me for balancing and fitted, so not bad!

Exactly. Probably some Eastern European or South Asian manufacturer but the tread pattern and the ride is perfect for me. I've had similar none descript tyres in the past and can honestly say i have been more than happy with the wear rate and road holding capabilities.

What size wheels and tyres are on your stilo? That seems a very good price, although ive not heard of that make before!

It largely depends on the cars setup imo, some cars rely heavily on tryes, so you need a good tyre for the car to grip well, but some cars with a better setup dont rely on tyres as much for grip. If that makes sense?

The stilo seems to be a very grippy car anyway.

My Stilo has Kleber front tyres (i think they use old michelin moulds, they look almost identicle to some energy tyres i have on another car) and i can't fault them. They are looking a little worse for wear though.

There's only 4 points of contact between you and the road, hence I buy Mitchelin Pilot Sport @ £133 each. I'd rather be skint for a few weeks than have a dead daughter!!!!!

Again it depends on how much you want to spend, but since getting my claws ive now had a full set of Vredestein Ultrac's fitted, they look great, grip well and theres not to much road noise. Not cheap tho!

i totally agree, but i was suprised to find that when i got the new wheels after accidentally, killing 2 of the old ones , that the diamondback tyres that came on the new wheels wiped the floor with the toyo proxes i had on before,

even in the wet, the lesser branded tyres out performed the supposably better toyos,


which i was happy about

Event mobile tyre fitting service

http://www.event-tyres.co.uk/faq/

my marangonis are about as good as my bridgestones for 3/4 of the price

Yup, you often find a more budget tyre can be a better tyre than a top brand.

I never get on with Pirellis or bridgestones, usually the latter is quite a noisey tyre imo. Although car and tyre model depening of course.

I always go for premium brand, can't put a price on saftey! Although the tyres on my stilo are what were on when i bought it, dont need replacing just yet.

I've got Pirelli P6000s on the front and the original Contis on the back. I really notice the difference in tyre noise on the Pirellis, ie they're much worse. Still, the grip's not too bad, but wouldn't mind replacing them with some nicer, cheaper one's. Got them direct from Fiat at £80 a corner, fitted and balanced...ripped off ever so slightly

The tyre finder (via Black Circles) on PH is rather good. Loads of different tyres, decently priced and reviews on most, which is helpful. Here's the link... http://www.blackcircles.com/pistonheads.com

Grip factor tends to be less of a problem with low profiles (225/35/19s). I have tried yokos, pilot sports cooper zeon and now kumho ecsta. Kumho is on a par with yokohamas for all weather, in the heat the yokos wins marginally. For wear the Kumho, Cooper and pilots eat the YOKOs (which at 160 each corner was not good). For steering the lower prices tyres require more steering input with the more neutral drive coming from the Yokos and the pilots coming a very close second. All tyres were capable of fast sharp bends and controlled easily when a slip started. Haven't tried fullruns but they're 70 per corner