General Tyres - thoughts please

[Muz R]

I have just bought a 2009 1.4 Sport and the last MOT advisory from November shows one tyre is at the limit and all four are showing signs of cracking.

I was aware of this when I bought the car and as it’s only going to be used for local low speed trips I was going to leave it a bit, but I am old school about tyres and am investigating changing them.

I am quite surprised by the prices as I thought they’d be quite cheap, which they’re not unless I go for what are probably “ditch finders”, so some advice please.

I have fitted Michelins to my cars for years but I am not paying around £117 fitted for tyres on this car! It seems that Taurus are highly rated and about £65 fitted. I think that they are connected to Michelin so I am leaning towards buying them.

Anyone on here have experience on them?

Thanks

 

[bugsymike]

I have just bought a 2009 1.4 Sport and the last MOT advisory from November shows one tyre is at the limit and all four are showing signs of cracking.

I was aware of this when I bought the car and as it’s only going to be used for local low speed trips I was going to leave it a bit, but I am old school about tyres and am investigating changing them.

I am quite surprised by the prices as I thought they’d be quite cheap, which they’re not unless I go for what are probably “ditch finders”, so some advice please.

I have fitted Michelins to my cars for years but I am not paying around £117 fitted for tyres on this car! It seems that Taurus are highly rated and about £65 fitted. I think that they are connected to Michelin so I am leaning towards buying them.

Anyone on here have experience on them?

Thanks

I suppose it depends on the miles and mph you are likely to do. I found budget tyres often either wore out quickly or didn't hold the road.
My thoughts obviously depending on local pricing etc. would be towards Avon or Goodyear but others have different favourites.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Interesting review on Black Circles (the UHP model, my bold)

Brilliant for the price. Work well in all weathers and even extreme wet weather grip is similar to previous big brand tyres. These are simply the best budget tyres on the market at present. Note the Kormaran UHP, Riken UHP and Taurus UHP are the same tyres! And all are Michelin brands….can’t go wrong with these!

 

[StevenRB45]

If you're low mileage there's good chance you'll be binning these off in 3-4 years again with cracking so I wouldn't blow the budget by any means.

All I would say is get something at least half decent Goodyear efficient grip performance tends to be reasonably priced, give good all round and be cheap for a premium tyre. Otherwise just avoid anything labelled as eco-tyre..as they tend to be rock hard, you'll save 2p in fuel on a low mileage but you'll have very little grip.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

What size are we talking about btw?

 

[Muz R]

What size are we talking about btw?

185/55/R15

 

[Muz R]

Avon and Goodyear are a similar price to Michelin so I’d go for the Michelin at that price by personal preference

It is just a car for local trips as I have an Alfa Giulia Estrema as well for any longer journeys, BUT having thought I’d just bod about in the 500, it is so much fine to drive I will be driving enthusiastically when the roads are clear enough I now realise

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Kumho Solus 4S HA32
185/55 R15 H (86)​

Makes a good case for itself as a single 'fit & forget' all seasons tyre for very sensible cash on Blackcircles- which we do on both our cars (other mid-price brands). In your position I'd rather go all seasons than high-end.

 

[Muz R]

Kumho Solus 4S HA32​

185/55 R15 H (86)​

Makes a good case for itself as a single 'fit & forget' all seasons tyre for very sensible cash on Blackcircles- which we do on both our cars (other mid-price brands). In your position I'd rather go all seasons than high-end.

Thanks, they seem like a decent compromise and a quick Google suggests they last twice as long as Michelin Pilots

 

[StevenRB45]

Avon and Goodyear are a similar price to Michelin so I’d go for the Michelin at that price by personal preference

It is just a car for local trips as I have an Alfa Giulia Estrema as well for any longer journeys, BUT having thought I’d just bod about in the 500, it is so much fine to drive I will be driving enthusiastically when the roads are clear enough I now realise

My usual place Goodyear's are 100 quid so a fairly handy 70 quid saving over the Michelin.

Also they do discount for AA members of 2.5% per tyre so if you are another tenner off.

The Avon from the same place is 73.99 per tyre. However this could be regional pricing..

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[chris3234]

I have just bought a 2009 1.4 Sport and the last MOT advisory from November shows one tyre is at the limit and all four are showing signs of cracking.

I was aware of this when I bought the car and as it’s only going to be used for local low speed trips I was going to leave it a bit, but I am old school about tyres and am investigating changing them.

I am quite surprised by the prices as I thought they’d be quite cheap, which they’re not unless I go for what are probably “ditch finders”, so some advice please.

I have fitted Michelins to my cars for years but I am not paying around £117 fitted for tyres on this car! It seems that Taurus are highly rated and about £65 fitted. I think that they are connected to Michelin so I am leaning towards buying them.

Anyone on here have experience on them?

Thanks

Not sure where your looking for 117 each

But there some reasonable ones here for around 70 the kumhos and Toyo for 80

Buy Cheap 185/55 R15 Tyres Online And Fitted Locally | Blackcircles.com

Buy tyres online and get them fitted locally with Blackcircles. Lifetime Guarantee now on all car, van & SUV tyres. Peace of mind, at no extra cost.

www.blackcircles.com

But the price of these tyres has gone up a lot since I had my 500 think I paid around 50 for some kumhos

 

[Muz R]

Not sure where your looking for 117 each

But there some reasonable ones here for around 70 the kumhos and Toyo for 80

Buy Cheap 185/55 R15 Tyres Online And Fitted Locally | Blackcircles.com

Buy tyres online and get them fitted locally with Blackcircles. Lifetime Guarantee now on all car, van & SUV tyres. Peace of mind, at no extra cost.

www.blackcircles.com

But the price of these tyres has gone up a lot since I had my 500 think I paid around 50 for some kumhos

All prices from Blackcircles, fitted

I am leaning towards the Kumhos though

 

[StevenRB45]

Not sure where your looking for 117 each

But there some reasonable ones here for around 70 the kumhos and Toyo for 80

Buy Cheap 185/55 R15 Tyres Online And Fitted Locally | Blackcircles.com

Buy tyres online and get them fitted locally with Blackcircles. Lifetime Guarantee now on all car, van & SUV tyres. Peace of mind, at no extra cost.

www.blackcircles.com

But the price of these tyres has gone up a lot since I had my 500 think I paid around 50 for some kumhos

Black circles have gone up for anything that's not ditchfinders of late.

Also the lifetime guarantee is effectively the same as Mercedes rust warranty...it's forever because the thing it's protecting against is basically unheard of or impossible to prove once you get to the fine print.

If you buy a literally faulty tyre we'll replace it...thanks dude isn't that pretty much covered in consumer rights act?

 

[Muz R]

Thanks for your thoughts and recommendations. I have bitten the bullet and ordered Kumhos to be fitted on Tuesday

 

[chris3234]

Black circles have gone up for anything that's not ditchfinders of late.

Also the lifetime guarantee is effectively the same as Mercedes rust warranty...it's forever because the thing it's protecting against is basically unheard of or impossible to prove once you get to the fine print.

If you buy a literally faulty tyre we'll replace it...thanks dude isn't that pretty much covered in consumer rights act?

That just for example of price

An it's not black circle's that have put the price up it's everyone

 

[StevenRB45]

That just for example of price

An it's not black circle's that have put the price up it's everyone

They've gone up more than most places..eg the Goodyear's on blackcircles are 117... elsewhere 100.

 

[porta]

Riken are good tyres, got them on the wife’s renegade, they’re lasting a lot longer than the continentals…my mum now has them on her Kia and she’s happy dodging about.
Was tempted to put them on my Cherokee, but the hifly ATs are lasting twice as long as my generals and are better in the wet and off road than the grabbers. HiFly dont do the ATs in panda size otherwise I’d have them on my cross

 

[porta]

Mates just turned up in his 1.2 500 pop, he’s got Goodyear Ultragrip on his fronts and they were on offer at Central Tyres £80 fitted and balanced…very similar tread pattern to the Goodyear Vector…he’s impressed with them so far!

 

[PAMIC]

I have just bought a 2009 1.4 Sport and the last MOT advisory from November shows one tyre is at the limit and all four are showing signs of cracking.

I was aware of this when I bought the car and as it’s only going to be used for local low speed trips I was going to leave it a bit, but I am old school about tyres and am investigating changing them.

I am quite surprised by the prices as I thought they’d be quite cheap, which they’re not unless I go for what are probably “ditch finders”, so some advice please.

I have fitted Michelins to my cars for years but I am not paying around £117 fitted for tyres on this car! It seems that Taurus are highly rated and about £65 fitted. I think that they are connected to Michelin so I am leaning towards buying them.

Anyone on here have experience on them?

Thanks

Personally I would avoid the cheaper end of the market, once when cash strapped I got some budget tyres for my (Mondeo) well I can tell you the Michelin with 3.0mm on had much more grip in wet & dry. As soon as I could the budget tyres were ditched defore they ditched me (They still had 7mm when I got rid of them.)
My Panda 100HP came fitted with some Nankang on the front axle other budgets on the rear ( I cannot recall brand) Anyway the tyres on the rear made a horrendous noise , which made me think the wheel bearings were u/s, having swapped the wheels around the noise moved so the tyres went. I fitted Goodyear Eagle F1 as OE fit to the rear. A few months later the Nankangs were splitting in the tread area - even though less than two years old , so those were scrapped as well, still with 6.0 mm of tread, legal but lethal. So another pair of Eagle F1.
So in summary go for a at least mid range product, cheap isn't the cheapest route when you are scrapping tyres due to product deteriortation and dubious handling / roadholding characteristics. Personally I always buy premium - usually Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone or Hankook, the decision being down to tyre and vehicle characteristics and how they affect tyre wear along with noise and fuel considerations.
Finally tyres have increased in prices quite significantly over the last couple of years; Brexit hasn't helped but a certain Vladimer is the main reason.

 

[The Panda Nut]

I have just bought a 2009 1.4 Sport and the last MOT advisory from November shows one tyre is at the limit and all four are showing signs of cracking.

I was aware of this when I bought the car and as it’s only going to be used for local low speed trips I was going to leave it a bit, but I am old school about tyres and am investigating changing them.

I am quite surprised by the prices as I thought they’d be quite cheap, which they’re not unless I go for what are probably “ditch finders”, so some advice please.

I have fitted Michelins to my cars for years but I am not paying around £117 fitted for tyres on this car! It seems that Taurus are highly rated and about £65 fitted. I think that they are connected to Michelin so I am leaning towards buying them.

Anyone on here have experience on them?

Thanks

In spite of people here rubbishing Taurus, I have some on our Seat and they are OK on that car. The comments on here concerned me so I took the car out on wet roads and hammered it and the brakes including on corners and it is indeed as the very least safe. Not is good as genuine Michelins but far from awful. I would buy again.