General Tyres: Pirelli

[Argonought]

Thanks TejmaLee

Your post was exactly what I wanted to read and also seems to agree with wotnowarninglight's comments.

As long as they're not noisier than the P6000's I've got at the moment then I reckon they should be fine.

It seems to be fashionable to put Pirelli's down but I can't say I've ever had any issues with them aside from once when I decided they gave too much grip (with sudden breakaway). Changed them for Michelin's which gave less grip but allowed for perfectly controlled drifts through the curves :devil:

(I was a lot younger then )

 

[folgore]

there is a useful article in auto express about tyres , the P7 don`t come out with glory
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/total_tyre_guide/213177/tyre_test.html

 

[TejmaLee]

there is a useful article in auto express about tyres , the P7 don`t come out with glory
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/total_tyre_guide/213177/tyre_test.html

Too bad you don't speak German, because there is another article on:
http://www.adac.de/Tests/Reifentests...rcePageID=8772 as nidza posted.
Don't get me wrong, but I prefer more to trust ADAC (who is all about safety) than Auto Express (who lives out of advertisements)!

Also, as you can see, AE did tests on V and W tires rather than on V and T that are more suitable for our cars. And on Passat caravan!!!

 

[Argonought]

The AutoExpress results don't make too much sense when compared to Which results either (big test in Sep 07)

The Which report recommends both the Pirelli P7 & Michelin Primacy HP ABOVE the top 3 results from the AutoExpress test:
1. Goodyear Hydragrip
2. Vredestein Sportrac3
3. Continental Contipremium-Contact2

Even if you study the individual test results they're not consistent.

Does make you wonder a bit :chin:

 

[wotnowarninglight]

I checked Which, Auto Express, ADAC, Austrian & Swiss ADAC counterparts but made my decision on Stiftung Warentest verdict on 205/55xVR16's.

They decided that Bridgestone Turanza's & Conti Premium Contact 2's were the top dogs but that for the money the Firestone TZ200's, Vredestein Sportrac 3's & Uniroyal 550's were cheaper and very close behind with not much to choose between them.

Bridgstones and Conti's out of my price range/budget, coundn't find the Sportrac 3's locally so bought the 550's @ 232 quid. Dad at the same time, spookily, need new tyres for his JTD MW and went for the TZ200's local to him, at similar money. Not had chance to try the MW since...

 

[Argonought]

Re: Tyres....

You're missing the point guys, I've done the phoning around and the net search and the cheapest I could find was £130 per tyre fitted. I can buy the tyres myself (225/40/18 Toyo Proxes 4's) for £78 each, but I can't find anyone local willing to fit them for me.

I've tried MyTyres but their fitting station wanted £15 per tyre plus and additional £16 for each on top due to my alloys!

£109 is still cheaper than £130 a corner.

Splashing out a bit aren't you I only paid £66 a corner fully inclusive of fitting & balancing for 205/55/16 Pirelli P7's

 

[ChrisMClark]

Re: Tyres....

Tyreland kicks ass...especially their lifetime garanteed exhausts! I hadn't realised they were that cheap though...that's something I'll be looking into!

 

[Argonought]

....made my decision on Stiftung Warentest verdict on 205/55xVR16's.

They decided that Bridgestone Turanza's & Conti Premium Contact 2's were the top dogs but that for the money the Firestone TZ200's, Vredestein Sportrac 3's & Uniroyal 550's were cheaper and very close behind with not much to choose between them.

I notice they put the P7's very close behind the top three (interesting the Which report puts them just behind the P7's)

On that basis I've changed all my P6000s for P7s.

So far the results look very interesting and I'll make full comparison later (P6000 vs P7)

 

[TejmaLee]

Great, hope you will like them! Mine still look like new after 5000km.
This days is really cold (-5* celsius) here, but P7 warms up quite fats, after only few minutes driving they get full potential.

 

[coyotes_uk]

2. Vredestein Sportrac3

I can recommend these especially!

 

[hydie331]

Hi, i have just replace all four tyres on my 1.6 stilo with Michellin. My kwikfit said i would not have a problem with tyre noise, wrong these are rubbish for tyre noise. Does anyone know better tyre for less noise?

Regards

Hydie331

 

[Argonought]

Hi, i have just replace all four tyres on my 1.6 stilo with Michellin. My kwikfit said i would not have a problem with tyre noise, wrong these are rubbish for tyre noise. Does anyone know better tyre for less noise?

The P7's are better than P6000's but I would still class them as fairly noisy although so far they're looking a very good choice for the Stilo (TejmaLee confirms this if you read back).

I think finding a really quiet running alloy based 205/16/55 tyre is going to be difficult unless someone knows otherwise.

 

[wotnowarninglight]

I think finding a really quiet running alloy based 205/16/55 tyre is going to be difficult unless someone knows otherwise.

Uni 550's @ 32 PSI are

 

[Dogspods]

went from goodyear eagles to toyos... was amazed how much quieter the toyos were.... granted i had alloys with 195x65x15's in goodyear, then went to alloys with 225x40x18's in toyo
dont know how much difference the tire dimensions would make to road noise

Toyo's are very quiet - have 225x40x18 on the 'barth and same fitments but in Michelin Pilot Sports on the GF's Golf and the difference in road noise is remarkable.

 

[Zigimar]

Doesnt help matters when the front ones ware on the inside [stilo trait ] and the wider the tread the worse it will be :bang:

They only wear on the inside if you don't get the tracking sorted. Allegedly?

 

[Argonought]

They only wear on the inside if you don't get the tracking sorted. Allegedly?

Hmmm :chin:











....and only drive on straight roads

 

[Zigimar]

Hmmm :chin:











....and only drive on straight roads

Looks like I'll be continuing to support the third world rubber economy then!

I've always stuck to P6000s on my previous cars. Good gripping,harder wearing than normal Pirellis imo. My new buy has Firestones on but as I haven't had chance to put the beast through it's paces on B roads yet, I have no idea how it'll handle.
Anyone else use Firestones? I did buy the motor from a young lady mind.

 

[bozzy]

Re: Recommended Tyres

I have tried all of these on my JTD.

Pirelli P7000, hardwearing, poor grip.
Champiro GT, soft, poor gip
Federal S595, very good grip in dry and quiet.
Uniroyal rainsport? superb grip all weather, too new to say how hardwearing though.

All 215/45/17

 

[bozzy]

Re: Hard Wearing Tyres

Hi, I have gone through a fair few tyres in my Stilo's. Hardest wearing by far were Pirelli 7000's but were rubbish in the wet.

Next best were Federal S595's, budget tyre with loads of grip and hard wearing. Currently I have Uniroyal rainsport and it's too early to tell about the wear but the grip is excellent.

 

[Argonought]

Re: Hard Wearing Tyres

I need to replace my front Avon ZZ3's after only 8K miles, can anyone point me in the direction of a hard wearing budget tyre as I don't want to put anything expensive on it.

Chewed out the inside edge.:bang:

Get your tracking set to 0° TOE IN/OUT and then fit a set of Pirelli P7's

Not exactly budget but you wont see much wear