Thought this might be a good idea. Could also be helpful for getting advice following MOT reports...

My Stilo (aka Mario) is in for his MOT, and I'm dreading hearing the news. I've noticed a rattle on the left side suspension for a start, there's a chip & scratch in the windscreen....and when they tried to get the bonnet open, he was having none of it :roll eyes:

The last two points are obviously the more minor issues here. But I know they'll probably find more. The rattles on the suspension sound expensive already as well.

When I get him back with his rap sheet, I'll post back..

:worship: *Praying to the MOT gods to be kind.

The susp knock will be anti roll bar drop links

let us know what its failed on

J you are right. I knew it, but couldn't remember / find the right words to describe. They were flagged as an advisory on a previous MOT, but on this one haven't been mentioned. However it's annoying the heck out of me and they are quite cheap, so I've asked for them to be looked at and done.

Mario has failed on:

Worn front tyres. Gonna need 2 new ones at about £45 each.

Brakes all round need work. I'm not sure if it was just pads or maybe discs as well, I've not had him back yet with the paperwork.

But the total for him has come to £290. A bit more then I was expecting, but still not a complete disaster. The tyres & MOT take about £140 of that. So I'm happy.

I have cosmetic work I'd like to sort out with him over the next few months & the remote key needs syncing again(key scratches, fading allows). But other then that it's a good car !

Failing on tyres.. Rookie error!

Mind you.. my 145 once failed for a number plate bulb...

Ralf s.

Have you had the bits replaced at the garage?

To me, the tyres looked fine. But I didn't go over them with a depth gauge. Besides it's nice to know that as the weather gets colder, I have fresh boots on. Granted they are not winter tyres, but new rubber is still beneficial.

Yeah already done at the garage.

There was also an adjustment needed on the headlights. I looked at how much new brake pads would be all round and that's another £80 or so. Then the bonnet release is another £15. He's probably had about £50 of labour out of me, which I don't mind. Yes these things are minor and doable at home. But I'm so busy atm & needed the car back to travel to a funeral last night. So it seems a reasonable price for the parts needed and time.

The one thing that did concern me when I get the paperwork back was the emissions limit. It's .200 for HC and my Stilo got very close to that at .187. I'd like to get that down a bit. Any ideas?

Wow I'd really look forward to driving a biggish car like the Stilo through the winter on 45 quid tyres.

NOT!!

New tyres have deeper sipes, which is good and the rubber blocks will be bigger, move around more and generate more heat than more worn tyres.

If they were £45 then that's just how much they cost, not a reflection of how good they are... I think new tyres of dubious branding would be better in dodgy weather than worn out "premium brand" for instance.


Ralf S.

No No No.

The UK is unfortunately now flooded with container loads of cheapo Chinese tyres that penny-pinching motorists are only too happy to have flogged to them.

They are cheap for reasons of quality, development and materials and it is weather conditions like we are having now that should make you wonder if it's really worth saving the cost of half a tank of fuel just to put any old tat between your wheels and the road for the next few years instead of a half-decent mid-range tyre from a recognised brand.

Whoa! Let's make love and not war here.

Ralf, you are right and so is John. New tyres will initially perform well, but if the design and construction are poor... This advantage will fade quicker then a decent tyre.

I've checked my tyres....they are a make called Landsail. With a name like that they are indeed Chinese. But to be fair, in recent testing they did quite well. Only a couple of. 1's behind some well known competition... And actually beating Michelin and Firestone. There are some horrible cheap wheels out there but these seem respectable.

I trusted my mechanic to pick something suitable and these are okay. The car feels better then it did.But you are correct... For an extra 30 quid there are better tyres out there.

I'm happy with them. But I looked at the rear tyres this morning and they aren't long for the next life. My plan will be to move these Landsails to the back and then go for some tyres that little bit nicer on the front. Not immediately because I don't use my car a lot. But quite soon. Probably the Xmas period.

Edwardo85 said:

My plan will be to move these Landsails to the back and then go for some tyres that little bit nicer on the front

Click to expand...

Tyre manufacturers actually recommend that you put your best tyres on the back, not the front. People often get this wrong, because it's counter intuitive.

In the wet, a progressively understeering car is very much easier to control than one with potentially 'snappy' oversteer - which can often result from a combination of good front tyres, less grippy rears, and foul weather. This is arguably even more true of a front drive car, where passively induced ('pendulum' rather than 'power') oversteer can be hard to control, because there is neither engine braking nor power available to correct the attitude of the skidding wheels.

The AA recommend this too, and Kumho have a helpful explanation here. And here's similar advice from Michelin. Oh, and Dunlop, and Falken.

For the same reasons (i.e. high-speed stability and controllability) a racing car never has grippier tyres on the front than the back...

Basically true, but...

When they recommend the "best tyres on the back" they generally mean "newest tyres on the back", although for the same reasons but mainly deeper tread depth so the back doesn't lose grip first. You could interpret it as "better quality on the back", this is fine if you want to wear out and replace your fronts first.

Most people would want the best tyres on the front since they do nearly all of the important work.

Landsail is one of those brands I was referring to... they seem to have arrived big-time into thebudget market. If research shows that they are reasonable, then fair enough. But you will probably lose in terms of noise, economy, wear and often wet grip.

If you've committed to them and are happy then you could fit a matched set when the time comes, rather than an unbalanced mixed setup.