General I need new tyres!

[Advanced Driver]

The tyres on my 100HP have loads of tread, but today I noticed that the insides on my fronts are bald! That's one year and less than 10,000 miles!

What should I replace them with? Driving in the snow was a struggle, but this wouldn't have helped. I thought I saw an all-season tyre a while back, but can't find it now. If I found an all-season tyre then that may eliminate the need for me to get some winter wheels (I'm might get some winter wheels/tryes later this year).

Are there tyres which could give me better fuel consumption and last longer? Handling/grip doesn't really bother me because the car seems to have more than enough grip. I'm going to spend a bit of time looking for some tyres but I don't know whether anybody has any advice.

This car's getting expensive. It drinks loads of oil, drinks loads of petrol, and now it's eating tyres

 

[trackdayqueen]

I quite like the S-Drives. They aren't any harder than the F1s so I wouldn't expect them to last any longer though.

Do you really find it expensive to run? It seems relatively cheap compared to my other cars. Though I do admit in terms of running costs it's not exactly stella for such a small engine.

 

[Advanced Driver]

I quite like the S-Drives. They aren't any harder than the F1s so I wouldn't expect them to last any longer though.

Do you really find it expensive to run? It seems relatively cheap compared to my other cars. Though I do admit in terms of running costs it's not exactly stella for such a small engine.

Well my last car was an 899cc Seicento, so I think most cars are expensive in comparison. Although having said that, modern cars are supposed to be 'green' so they should consume less resources, but I'm struggling believe that modern cars are any better. Even the insurance is a bit more on my Panda. Although it's not really a huge amount of money, it does seem like a waste when it doesn't really do much more than my old car did. DIY servicing on the Seicento was less than half what it is costing me now, and even when I do DIY servicing on the Panda I will still have to do extra things like the timing belt which the Seicento never had.

If I take the purchase price into consideration though then it is pretty good value. I don't think there are many cars that offer such good value. A 1.2 would probably be a lot more economical, but I didn't like it.

 

[Advanced Driver]

I've been doing some research and I'm looking at some Firestones now. They do a couple which look interesting. If you search the Internet for the the 'Eagle F1 Snow' then you'll get a few hits saying that they are bad in the snow (but very good on dry and wet roads), so I want to try to find something that handles snow a bit better.

Firestone SZ80 are all-season tyres so they should be better in the snow. Firestone TZ200 are engery saving tyres which should improve fuel consumption and last longer. It's difficult for me to decide which one is best. The price diference is negligible, and they are almost the same price as the Eagles. From searching the Internet it sounds like the Firestones won't grip as well but will last longer. I think I might try the energy savers and consider trying the others if it snows. Any thoughts?

 

[doctorchris]

You may find all-season tyres an inadequate compromise that fails to perform well either in winter or the warmer seasons.
This year's snow was exceptional and is unlikely to be repeated for quite a while, so you might be best off buying summer tyres that perform well.
I've just fitted my daughter's 1.1 Active with Uniroyal Rainexperts but she does live in Manchester!

 

[DavePanda100]

I've just ordered some Toyo Proxes T1-R 195/50/15 from Tyre Shopper, £158 for four, to be fitted this Wednesday coming.

And for the next winter I am going to source some steelies or some cheap alloys with winter tyres, sod tip-toeing around like Bambi on ice.

 

[Advanced Driver]

I've just ordered some Toyo Proxes T1-R 195/50/15 from Tyre Shopper, £158 for four, to be fitted this Wednesday coming.

And for the next winter I am going to source some steelies or some cheap alloys with winter tyres, sod tip-toeing around like Bambi on ice.

Do you know that's not the correct profile? It should be 195/45/15. The correct size is actually more expensive.

I suspect that most tyres will be better than the Eagles on ice, but it's still not nice when you have hills etc. Good luck trying to find wheels (steel or alloy) that fit becauase it seems to be impossible wheels that fit correctly.

 

[DavePanda100]

Do you know that's not the correct profile? It should be 195/45/15. The correct size is actually more expensive.

I suspect that most tyres will be better than the Eagles on ice, but it's still not nice when you have hills etc. Good luck trying to find wheels (steel or alloy) that fit becauase it seems to be impossible wheels that fit correctly.

I know they should be 45, but it's cheaper for 50s and it will hardly make a difference to the car handling etc. Also somebody else on here has the exact same tyres and they said there is no difference.

I've seen a sets of 15' et35 alloys on flea bay going for £40 to £60 recently, not in the best of condition but for the winter I don't care.

 

[Advanced Driver]

I've seen a sets of 15' et35 alloys on flea bay going for £40 to £60 recently, not in the best of condition but for the winter I don't care.

For Winter tyres you actually want 14" wheels (it's in the handbook).

 

[gareth111278]

Remember to fit the new tyres on the rear!

I said in another topic that I would put them on the front, I had to 'get my coat'!

 

[Advanced Driver]

Remember to fit the new tyres on the rear!

I said in another topic that I would put them on the front, I had to 'get my coat'!

A car that doesn't go sideways is boring :devil:

I'm going to put them on the front for a few reasons. Firstly the rears still have loads of tread left (about 6mm) and that shouldn't cause any aquaplaning issues. Putting the new ones on the front will allow me to compare the new tyres to the old ones. In the snow my issues were with trying to pull away, so I want the driving tyres to be the best in snow.

I've seen some mixed reviews about a lot of tyres (some reviews saying the exact opposite about the same tyres), and I am now looking at P7's. The only issue with P7's is the noise levels, which I'm sure I can cope with. I'm also going to get my tracking looked at.

 

[BigAl54]

A car that doesn't go sideways is boring :devil:

I'm going to put them on the front for a few reasons. Firstly the rears still have loads of tread left (about 6mm) and that shouldn't cause any aquaplaning issues. Putting the new ones on the front will allow me to compare the new tyres to the old ones. In the snow my issues were with trying to pull away, so I want the driving tyres to be the best in snow.

I've seen some mixed reviews about a lot of tyres (some reviews saying the exact opposite about the same tyres), and I am now looking at P7's. The only issue with P7's is the noise levels, which I'm sure I can cope with. I'm also going to get my tracking looked at.

Nothing wrong with that. Putting new tyres on the front doesn't suddenly render the rear ones useless despite the many reasons given on this forum previously.

 

[chauspain]

I highly recommend Vredestein Sportrac 3's. I'll be replacing the Eagle F1's with them when the time is right (although my F1's still have 3mm of tread left at 24k).

 

[trackdayqueen]

Nothing wrong with that. Putting new tyres on the front doesn't suddenly render the rear ones useless despite the many reasons given on this forum previously.

Well exactly unless you are going from one extreme to the other, ie bald rears and brand new fronts the difference is not exactly extreme. And if there's a car that could benefit from a bit less understeer, the 100hp is it.

 

[doofus_hp]

Do you get much snow in Berkshire then?

Even in the exceptional snow this year there was only one day that I questioned my sanity trying to get to work, and still didn't get stuck.

The chance of snow isn't really going to affect my tyre choice next time round.

 

[S-X-I]

New tyres always on the rear, the top tyre manufacturers don't make their safety guidelines up you know.

 

[doofus_hp]

Well exactly unless you are going from one extreme to the other, ie bald rears and brand new fronts the difference is not exactly extreme.

Exactly, and if your rears are so worn you'd be replacing them too.

 

[S-X-I]

Exactly, and if your rears are so worn you'd be replacing them too.

Correct.

When ever I need new tyre on the front axel I ways get the new ones put on the rear and the rear tyres moved tio the front.

Therefore the car retains the balance of having the most tread at the rear.

 

[babbo umbro]

I highly recommend Vredestein Sportrac 3's. I'll be replacing the Eagle F1's with them when the time is right (although my F1's still have 3mm of tread left at 24k).

Looking forward to your impressions as I'll probably opt for these.

 

[LeanMeanRacing]

I have just replaced all four tyres and decided to go for 195/50/15 Federals.

On worn Goodyear F1's

On new 50-profile Federal's

Obviously, a direct comparison is impossible, due to the Goodyears being down to 2mm. However, the harshness has gone when hitting potholes or driving over speedbumps. Dry grip is great and having a slightly taller sidewall means that the alloys have additional protection when my students are pulling over at the kerbside! The arches are also filled a little more which improves things visually, I think?