They're lower load and speed.

Required: 95Y = 690kg, 186mph
These: 92W = 630kg, 168mph

You don't want to fit a lower speed rating either.

My understanding is that it's not as simple as the car's max speed. A Croma has never done 186mph or 168mph. It's all to do with the heating effects of the car's load, cornering forces, braking force etc, etc.

It's more of a heat rating than speed. I wouldn't fit a lower spec'ed tyre than required - there will be a good reason why Fiat decided it needed a Y rating. If they could have got away with fitting cheaper tyres I'm sure they would have.

In fact they're the wrong profile too (should be 45). They're wrong in almost every way, so don't be so daft to save a few quid! You'd probably be uninsured too if an assessor saw them.

I think mine did actually have 92W's on when I bought it. They were awful.

but how come if you fit 17 they are allowed a W rating 5% off the profile i could live with as long as they aint going to pop.

some of the budget brands worry me, my mate has a scrap yard and every time you find a set of nearly new tyres they are on a car that has front damage and turn out to be some strange unknown brand, was a bmw up there the other day had a set of tyres matching what i need, when we looked them up they was only £40 a corner new, makes me think that the tyres are causing the crashes.
I know toyo t1r stick to the road like glue in the wet, but they dont make them any more

Perhaps the 17s don't get as hot as they have a higher profile, so more air inside and sidewall area to dissipate the heat.

I would really like to see more independent or official tests. We're all taking a stab in the dark really - we don't know whether we're getting something dangerous with the cheapies or wasting our money with the more reputable brands.

One possible theory with the scrap cars - write-offs are normally only written off as they're not worth much, so not worth repairing. People put cheaper tyres on older cars, so they will be more common on scrapyards.

I don't drive like a vicar, and I can't find a fault with the particular cheapies I have (accelera phi). Now I've found them I wouldn't waste money on posher ones, and wouldn't take a chance on any other cheap ones.

I also wouldn't personally buy second-hand tyres. You don't have a clue what's happened to them - they could have been run under-inflated, been kerbed, or could be old. Plus you pay the same fitting charge whether new or used.

dave said:

why does the 18" have to be 95Y but the 17" only 91W Found a set of yoyo t1r with only 2k miles on 18s that might go cheap but they are 225/40r18 92w

do i divide the cars maximum admitted load by 4 to work out tyre load index needed?

Click to expand...

Confusing isn’t it – particularly when compared with other Epsilon sister ships like the Signum Estate that fit … wait-for-it … 225/40R18 92W

I’ve only heard today that FIAT have signed Nexen as OE tyre supplier for the Multipla/Doblo from 2013/14.
Also that the VW Up is to get Falken tyres.
Good to know that the mid-range players are getting the contracts.

-----------
Prestigio 1.9/16v150 (Falken FK452 225/45ZR18 XL95Y)
120614

Caravadossi said:

Confusing isn’t it – particularly when compared with other Epsilon sister ships like the Signum Estate that fit … wait-for-it … 225/40R18 92W

Click to expand...

I could be wrong, but I'd bet that the Signum is lighter than a Croma. It may be longer, but it's not as tall and doesn't have Fiat's rock-solid bodywork (cough, splutter).

I wonder whether the taller body, even if the same weight, means that extra load is applied to the tyres when cornering. Due to the higher centre of gravity it will rock more.

I still reckon that Fiat would have fitted cheaper tyres if they thought they could get away with it. Or perhaps GM like to live a bit more dangerously.

Caravadossi said:

Prestigio 1.9/16v150 (Falken FK452 225/45ZR18 XL95Y)
120614

Click to expand...

what does the XL mean?

eXtraLoad or ReinForced – although I don’t think there is a Standard Load FK-452 in that size.

They’re supposed to take 40+psi – but I never tried above 39 … bit too jangly on my dental work.

Ok, Cheap tyre update. I put the cheap tyres on in late March/early April. The Croma had about 60K miles on it. It just turned over 70K yesterday. So 10K miles and basically 6 months use to date. Up until the last couple days I would have given these tyres an excellent review and have had absolutely zero issues. Whats changes in the past week you ask? My guess is temperature, moisture and treadwear. The last few chilly mornings(around 6 degrees C) with it raining or very wet out the car has felt very loose cornering. As in, corning at a rate that had felt very safe previously, felt as if I was on the edge of loosing grip. Being intrigued and wondering if I was interpreting the feedback I was getting from the car correctly. I pushed the speed up just a little and sure enough almost instant under steer started. Mind you this is during my commute to work, so its safe to say I am very familiar with the route and normal speeds. So I guess ill just be going a bit slower when its cold and wet.

Anyhow, thought I would stay objective and inform everyone of my experience.

John

jadento said:

. The last few chilly mornings(around 6 degrees C) with it raining or very wet out the car has felt very loose cornering. As in, corning at a rate that had felt very safe previously, felt as if I was on the edge of loosing grip. Being intrigued and wondering if I was interpreting the feedback I was getting from the car correctly.

Click to expand...

This is normal and has nothing to do with cheap or expensive tires. It is recommended that you change to winter tires when the temperature drops below 7C. The winter tire is not only for snow or mud like many people believe, it is for all winter conditions and shall be used below 7 degrees.

Regarding the summer tires, same as bobbyblue, I bought 4 Fiat genuine 18" wheels and equipped them with Barum Bravuris 2 225/45ZR18 91Y. So far I've done 2.5k and I'm very pleased with my choice. I drive sporty and they perform very good and they are very noisy, way better than the Bridgestone Turanza 225/50ZR17 and Fulda Carat Excelero 225/50ZR17 I had using for 5k.

Now I am looking for winter tires and after some searches I've remained with two variants:
- Nokian WR A3 215/50R17 95V
- Continental WinterContact TS830P 215/50R17 95H
Now the Nokian is 25% cheaper than Continental, but it is more fuel efficient ( less rolling resistance, less wear).
The bad thing for both is that they don't have the ZR rating and I guess there is no rim protection.

Both are excellent winter tyres. I would go with the Nokian as it is a newer technology performing really well in major tests and cheaper too.

Vredestein Wintrac xtreme have rim protection

dave said:

Vredestein Wintrac xtreme have rim protection

Click to expand...

I will check on them. Are you satisfied with them ? Are they 215/50ZR17 ?

Roberto Blanco said:

I will check on them. Are you satisfied with them ? Are they 215/50ZR17 ?

Click to expand...

i haven't bought any yet, lots of people in the 500 section winter tyres thread rate them well though

I've found that with mine, the wheels do an excellent job of protecting the tyres when you hit a kerb.

notorious said:

Both are excellent winter tyres. I would go with the Nokian as it is a newer technology performing really well in major tests and cheaper too.

Click to expand...

You are right, many reviews are positive about these Nokian tires, I'm still not determined. Still searching for the ones with rim protection, but they have to be good also. I don't understand why the winter 215/50R17 don't have the the rim protection, but the same dimension for summer has this. It's not only snow during the winter...

Update:
It seems that both Nokian WR A3 and Conti WinterContact TS830P, on 215/50R17, have the rim protection. I called few online stores and asked about both models. I found out that the winter tires, well at least these brands, don't have the ZR, but if they are rated XL (extra load) or MFS (Maximum Flange Shield), they do have the rim protection.

I've decided, finally, to go for the Nokians WR A3 winter tires and I already ordered 4 pieces which I will receive next week.

Drive safe !

i know i've not got a croma

But i have some Super cheap HI-Fly M+S Tyres on

They dont work well at all
They easily lock up in wet conditions, wheel spin very easily in damp conditions

However they handle really well in the bends untill understeer kicks in

Would i have them again? No
Not good enough under emergency braking

ziggy

Ziggy122 said:

i know i've not got a croma

But i have some Super cheap HI-Fly M+S Tyres on

They dont work well at all
They easily lock up in wet conditions, wheel spin very easily in damp conditions

However they handle really well in the bends untill understeer kicks in

Would i have them again? No
Not good enough under emergency braking

ziggy

Click to expand...

an M+S mark on its own isnt the same as a winter tyre mark, if there is no snow flake its not a winter tyre

http://www.rezulteo-tyres.co.uk/breaking-news/are-m-s-tyres-winter-tyres-1627

Chinese tyres are a pain. XL (extra load) are NOT necessary or suitable for standard cars and make for a bad ride. Also they will be awful in the wet weather. Of course, you may not be able to pick these things up, it's all down to the sensitivity of the driver. My mum notices something is wrong generally when the vehicle does not go forward any more. I can tell the difference in ride quality and wet grip by 1psi, certainly 2psi. But then I'm a car nut and I will drive on the limit at times and drift the car to see how it's gripping/handling, when safe obviously.