Al D said:

Pressures on a 4x4 32 front 30 back. Those high pressures Simon. Would expect it to ride like a pogo stick but obviously it doesn't. And your trip to France it should be fine too. Maybe better handling on the '12 model affects wear rate. Not as if there's a lot of power though.

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Standard 35 / 32 on the Cross.

Is it me or is there always a good tyre deal when don't need any. Tyreleader were allegedly doing Continental fitted for around £63 last week. Place local to me I'd rather use wanted £95! If had to pay them £26 to balance the wheels later I'd still be quids in. How they are still going at 32,500 am not sure. Coped with some standing water the other day too. Maybe 3.5mm now, so October decision day. :idea:

Was that for their AllSeasonContact? Very good price, if so. I'll also be needing 2 new ones for the front in a month or so. Can't complain after 36k miles on the originals!

gar074 quote for the TA 4x4 Cross Contact Winters that were allegedly being phased out. The Goodyears for yours if 185/65 15 88T can be had now in slightly more economical and quieter versions for around £70 fitted. Whether rear of the car would suddenly be noisier than the fronts. But only 1db in it.

Standard fit for the TA Cross are H rated, so it would be more like £75 a corner for the Gen2. Gen1 Goodyear 4Seasons are still available from some suppliers, and a few quid cheaper than Gen2, but their economy rating isn't as good as the Gen2. I reckon even a marginally better mpg over 36k miles would more than compensate for the slightly higher purchase price of the Gen2.

I haven't worked out whether the even better fuel efficiency (apparently) of the Michelin CrossClimates would make up for their even higher cost. I'll need to find a calculator for that!

As Autumn arrived today, illustrates why winter tyres so good. And why I should have overpressured them when weather got warmer. Have been underinflated, which explains the inner edges being on the way out. Got myself a digital depth gauge which should arrive today and give me accurate idea of how long they have. 4mm is minimum if expect to handle snow apparently, may get a bit longer from them, will see (just hit 33k).

Goodyear Ultragrip 9's going on Monday afternoon (glad organised as front edges 1.9mm). 3db quieter and tyre tests seem to rate them, though one publication seem to suggest brilliant. Then another suggests best to get the bus instead. More fuel efficient apparently than Continental so maybe 2mpg . Car drinks fuel so won't be much of a difference.

It seems the new Conti Winter Contact TS 860 is the tyre to beat, consistently in the top 5 for most tests and tyrereviews even suggested it as a year-round tyre. It's also priced well enough (in most regions at least) that the increased wear of using them year round could be offset. That being said, I'm not seeing many reviews of the new AllSeasonContact pop up, and it hasn't even made its way to my part of the world yet.

oyumurtaci said:

It seems the new Conti Winter Contact TS 860 is the tyre to beat, consistently in the top 5 for most tests and tyrereviews even suggested it as a year-round tyre. It's also priced well enough (in most regions at least) that the increased wear of using them year round could be offset. That being said, I'm not seeing many reviews of the new AllSeasonContact pop up, and it hasn't even made its way to my part of the world yet.

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Of course, the standard-fit tyres on the 4x4 are 'winter' tyres, like the TS860. The Panda seems to wear tyres very slowly and unless driven like a race car, does pretty well on winter tyres through all the seasons (in the UK at least)

Do car makers get paid fortune to wear a tyre maker's brand? Why Fiat had Continental for 6 years, wish I knew. Definitely not imagining it, these Goodyear Ultragrip 9 so much better. Ride, braking, less noise (can turn music volume down). Lot less skittish too. Not much better on Autumnal greasy roads, maybe no tyre exists that is. Fuel economy 'C' rating looks like a fib. But the most noticeable thing is lot less understeer and body roll. I am so impressed.

The standard fit tyres usually have more to do with what kind of mass-purchase price and long-term fitment contract can be negotiated than with how well the tyre suits the car or the specific performance of the tyre. I'm glad they even bothered with fitting tyres with Mud + Snow markings to the 4x4 and Cross in the first place rather than just some econorubber. There are also regional arrangements, such as places where certain models of vehicle are sold but the tyre manufacturer has a weak presence in the market (such as India and Brazil), or where certain tyre types are required by law (Nordic countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland). This all has to be balanced out with the vehicle purchase price, and with negotiations between the vehicle and tyre manufacturers based on supply, demand, longevity of contract, manufacturing capacity for both parties, breach of contract terms, projected sales figures, purchase assurances (I promise I will fit a million of your tyres to my cars over 4 years vs I promise to sell you a million of my tyres over 4 years at this price with this percent increase for each year) etc.

c 40 something k on the fronts and now at 56k rears holding up (c 3mm left) Fronts were replaced with same model contis. Likely to replace the rears with same model when the time comes. Have also used mytyres, who are ok and then get local garage to fit,

Al D said:

Do car makers get paid fortune to wear a tyre maker's brand? Why Fiat had Continental for 6 years, wish I knew. Definitely not imagining it, these Goodyear Ultragrip 9 so much better. Ride, braking, less noise (can turn music volume down). Lot less skittish too. Not much better on Autumnal greasy roads, maybe no tyre exists that is. Fuel economy 'C' rating looks like a fib. But the most noticeable thing is lot less understeer and body roll. I am so impressed.

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I have the Ultra 9’s and used them to great effect on my 500 during the snow back in March, they were great but clearance ended up been the problem with the 500 and it would get bogged down in deep snow despite the traction

I've had Nokian Weatherproofs for a few years, first lot lasted 26000 on the front (I'm far from gentle on them) and they had good grip in the snow but wet braking was awful.

Swapped the fronts to Michelin Crossclimate last year and now I can't turn corners in the wet, they're awful so I put them on the back and brought the Nokians to the front again, massive improvement.

I’ve not had any problems with the CrossClimate on the front of my Panda, quite the reverse, I found them rather skittish on the back where there’s no weight on them.

I’ve only got a 2wd panda so can’t really have a direct comparison with the 4x4 but I much prefer the Nokians. I’ve got 4 Crossclimates on the Skoda Yeti and they’re fantastic on that but the vast weight and endless amount of electronic aids probably help.