Gislaved Speed 606 tyres - first fortnight

[ABZSTILO]

OK, so part of the 'taking the Alfa back deal' involved two nice shiny new tyres being put on the front of the Ti with a nominal payment from yours truly. 215/45/17 W tyres ain't cheap, so when asked which brand I wanted I said Uniroyal Rainsports XL which were epically good on the Stilo in our fair Scottish 'summers'. Fair play, I could have said I wanted pretty much anything (my favourite Vredestein Quartrac 3, Bridgestones, Contintentals.... you get the idea) but the Uniroyals were so good on the Stilo it seemed like a logical choice, especially when you consider how blessed we are with wet weather.

When I picked the car up I went for a 'walk around' with sales manager and the first thing that caught my eye were the tyres....
"Funny" I said "didn't know Uniroyal was spelt Gislaved". 'WTF' says sales manager and looks in disbelief at the front tyres, which aren't Rainsports at all but Gislaved Speed 606 tyres. Cutting the rest of the story short (it goes on...) I've now had a fortnight with the Speed 606 tyres on the Ti.
Last winter I bought a set of 15" Alfa alloys and bunged on a set of Gislaved winter tyres. They were very very very good in the rough winter we had and (as I can get them at a favourable price) the Speed 606 was going to be my summer tyre choice for the 17" Ti alloys if I was dipping into my own pocket.

So now I have a pair on the fronts of the Ti and first impressions of the Speed 606 are favourable.
'Proper' standing water wet weather performance is very good, not brilliant, but impressive.
Tyre roar is noticeably less than the cheapo tyres that were on the alloys before.
Grip on 'damp' roads is so good it's alarming just how much the rears want to break away.... they will need to be changed and they will be Gislaved Speed 606 too. I'm sold on them.
Now I've been around long enough to know that the longer term review on these tyres will be the key to how good they are (or are not). I suppose I've done maybe 500 miles on them in all conditions and that's not enough to say that they're the best thing since sliced bread.
However, so far, excellent. If you're shopping for tyres and can find them - get some Gislaveds. I really don't think you'll regret it.

 

[imported_richard33dees]

Always good to give unknown/lesser known brands a chance, sometimes they turn up trumps. Looking forward to the next instalment

 

[muppet42]

Never heard of them before this thread, but nice as Rich says to have a perspective on them for future reference

 

[ABZSTILO]

Gislaved is a Swedish brand and have been around a long time, they became part of the Continental tyre group in the early '90s. You can see more about their tyres and the company history on their website:

http://www.gislaved-tires.com/generator/www/com/en/gislaved/automobile/general/home/index_en.html

Handily, there is a distributor for them in Inverness (trade only) and the winter tyres sell like hot-cakes, based on my own experience of the winter tyres I would happily use Gislaved all the time, but will comment again once the Speed 606 tyres have 'bedded in' a bit more.

 

[Venters]

Shame the range of sizes is so small. They son't do tyres to fit anything I have.

 

[imported_richard33dees]

they became part of the Continental tyre group in the early '90s.

Dam, that's just spoiled it for me. Not been impressed by Continental's in the past

Shame the range of sizes is so small. They son't do tyres to fit anything I have.

Very limited range imo, nothing for either of my current cars either.

 

[muppet42]

Looks like they stock my size, which is something to keep in mind I guess

Had the original Conti's on the Stilo when I picked it up in '06. Seemed to perform decently with the standard suspension, but given it wasn't something I threw into the corners, I never really noticed how well they performed. Certainly the Pirelli P6000's that went on the front to replace them in '07 weren't as good - more tyre noise I felt and they didn't wear as well. Happy with the Dunlop's I've got now in comparison though the winter/wet weather performance could be better, they're wearing the miles brilliantly

 

[Andi9386]

Rob Pirelli's are soft Rubber, hence why they wear down so quick.
I noticed a difference ingrip when I changed the Sei's tyres from Pirelli to Nankang.
Standard Sei Sporting tyres 165/55 R13 70H are limited to Pirelli P700 & Nankang.

On the GP I've currently got 2 Michelin Energy savers on the rear, 2 Mowhawak's on the front (Farmer Autocare classic range) & a Bridegstone on the Spare.

The Mohawks are good on the dry but not so good in the wet, whereas the Michelins are a good all rounder.

 

[Ovisan]

Dear sirs,
My name is Ovidiu and I am from Romania.
I own a Fiat Stilo, 5 doors JTD. I intend to buy at least 2 Gislaved speed 606 tyres. Please be so kind and tell me more about these tyres - if you have any remarks about.
Thank you very much.

 

[Andi9386]

Hi Ovidiu if you want to know more about the Gislaved Tyrs then send a PM (Private Message) to:
Craig Johnstone (Johno933) he will be able to say how good or bad the tyre is, as he is a garage owner.
David Halley(Rallycinq) again he may be able to tell you more about the tyres, as he is also a garage owner.

 

[mrcinquecento]

Hi Ovidiu if you want to know more about the Gislaved Tyrs then send a PM (Private Message) to:
Craig Johnstone (Johno933) he will be able to say how good or bad the tyre is, as he is a garage owner.
David Halley(Rallycinq) again he may be able to tell you more about the tyres, as he is also a garage owner.

why pm? surely opinions on a product is best put in a public area where it can help more people?

 

[Andi9386]

why pm? surely opinions on a product is best put in a public area where it can help more people?

Just thought they'd be the best peeps to ask.
David being a garage owner & Craig Franchise Garage owner

 

[mrcinquecento]

Just thought they'd be the best peeps to ask.
David being a garage owner & Craig Franchise Garage owner

and, why pm though? it's a public forum with info for the public domain, pm'ing answers to questions asked on a forum helps very few, why help one when you can potentially help hundreds looking for an answer?

 

[Andi9386]

Well thought PM for David as he doesn't come on here much, spends a bit of time on FF.

 

[Ovisan]

Thank you very much for the help.
I have already sent PM messages to Johno933, Rallycinq and Abzstilo.

 

[Johno933]

Not much i can say about the Gizlaved tyre....have never run the tyre, but have bought them in for a few customers...They seem to be a good tyre at a fair price, the folk that have ran them seem to liken them to a vredestien for wear and grip. I have not heard any major probs with them...Abzstilo will be the man to rate these tires...lets see how they are after a couple more hundred miles....i need a new pair for my own Stilo, so if the feedback is good, i may well be tempted to run a pair..

 

[ABZSTILO]

Several hundred miles in (yes, the Alfa has kept running) and the tyres are working out well.
Although wet weather grip is generally very good aquaplaning in the deeper stuff is a wee bit of an issue but with low profile 215/45/17 I'm not expecting miracles either. Wear seems low and in all conditions I've been impressed with the tyres so far.
I have a few suspension issues with the Alfa so my driving has been a wee bit subdued although it would also be fair to say I've tried the car out fully within the confines of the national speed limit in all weathers the great British summer throws at you.....
I will need another 2 as the backs let go far quicker (they're pants Prestivo tyres) in all conditions than I'd like, but all these things are on the back burner at the moment as I consider replacing most of the suspension on the Alfa.
Or buy a Jag.
I am now 40, after all.

For our Romanian tyre query I'd say go for it, I've been happy with the Gislaveds. However, I went through several tyre types on the Stilo until settling on Vredestein Quatrac 3 as the best all-round tyre I've ever used.
But in my view there's just no point in spending any money on decent tyres for a Stilo until you've got the suspension bang on.... and that means throwing away the standard set up. Otherwise, it will just eat tyres. That annoyed the hell out of me, so I'm sure it would do the same for most folk.


H

 

[muppet42]

I've certainly noticed decent tyre wear on the Stilo since I put the Eibach kit on. Even wear throughout on the Dunlops and they're wearing well too - fairly decent, cheap tyre I reckon. Proper tracking really helps with wear as well of course

And Hamish, some Jag's are pretty cheap. Well, to buy anyway :laugh: