Replacment tyres for GTD / GTI

[mcmaddy]

The bridgestones on my mk5 were really good until they wore down and became really noisy.

[GTD184]

Nitrogen filling is a load of sh!te on anything outside extreme track racing. you will never appreciate the slight differences a nitrogen filled tyre will have over an air filled one (better following Boyles law), except at the very extremes of racing. When the average tyre is filled to 2.4 bar, the tyre will have 1 atmosphere of regular air in it when it is mounted on the wheel, unless it is filled in a vacuum by people in space suits. Then you add nitrogen to get it to 2.4 bar, that tyre will still have about 8% oxygen in it. They could lower the oxygen content by constantly deflating the tyre and reinflating with nitrogen multiple times to purge the air/nitrogen mix. Oxidation of the tyre to the point of ruination will take many years - the outside of the tyre will be exposed to oxygen in the air anyway. Air is not your tyre's enemy on a road going car.

I've not really looked into the science of nitrogen vs oxygen filled tyres. What I can vouch for is on the basis of personal experience nitrogen filled tyres are less prone to tyre pressure loss especially in cold weather.

My wife had PS3's fitted to her A3 Black Edition at Costco and in 13,000 miles the tyres never lost any pressure. Costco will check your tyre pressures at no cost and re inflate as many times as you like as long as you provide a valid receipt for tyre purchases.

In my view Costco provide an unrivalled purchase experience and quibble free warranties when it comes to tyre purchases.....and anything else they sell for that matter!

[monkeyhanger]

Costco customer service is second to none- in anything they sell.

The only thing I dislike about them for tyres is their insistence in putting new tyres on the back, even if there is a very good reason you want the new ones on the front (does this apply with RWD cars too? Apparently so). My Scirocco came with P7s that wore very unevenly on the fronts, but not the backs – after 12k miles they had 6mm on the outsides, but the centre 3rd of the width was down to the markers. They wore like they’d been massively over inflated (but they hadn’t been).

So for obvious reasons I wanted the new Michelin PS3s on the front to wear evenly. Costco were having none of it. The Michelins have to go on the back and we’ll put your other P7s on the front (from the back). I said that normally I wouldn’t care, but for reasons of premature tyre wear (wheel alignment was perfect) I didn’t want P7s on the front and have them shagged way before their time. I said for “reasons of safety” a new car must be a deathtrap with 4 new tyres, but for reasons of taking safety to extreme, If I left the PS3s to scrub in over 300 miles, would they then swap them around? Nope. So I restored the P7s to the back myself after a week of driving with my new tyres.

[Jimmgc51]

I personally have Conti 5's at the moment on the front but still have my conti 3's on the rear, they have been fitted since I bought the car second hand and that was 2.5 years ago. Still going strong!!

As for the fronts I'm changing every 5-6 months!

Is this about right?

[monkeyhanger]

I personally have Conti 5's at the moment on the front but still have my conti 3's on the rear, they have been fitted since I bought the car second hand and that was 2.5 years ago. Still going strong!!

As for the fronts I'm changing every 5-6 months!

Is this about right?

Depends how many miles you do in 5-6 months and what miles those are. I'd expect 45-60k miles on the back, regardless of how you drive the car. 8k on the fronts if you drive a complete nutter, Anywhere from 12 to 18k if you're not, depending on brand. 25k is possible on the fronts if it is all motorway miles.

[Jimmgc51]

I personally have Conti 5's at the moment on the front but still have my conti 3's on the rear, they have been fitted since I bought the car second hand and that was 2.5 years ago. Still going strong!!

As for the fronts I'm changing every 5-6 months!

Is this about right?

Depends how many miles you do in 5-6 months and what miles those are. I'd expect 45-60k miles on the back, regardless of how you drive the car. 8k on the fronts if you drive a complete nutter, Anywhere from 12 to 18k if you're not, depending on brand. 25k is possible on the fronts if it is all motorway miles.

Hmmm maybe I need to try a new brand I only do 10,000 miles a year so I'm going through two tyres in about 5,000. I wouldn't say I drive like a nutter but I do enjoy the GTI from time to time ...

[monkeyhanger]

Jimmyc51: 5k miles per set of fronts? Sounds like you've had fun there! Are they wearing evenly? If not you might have an alignment issue.

[Jimmgc51]

Na there wearing evenly absolutely fine I just thought that's how long tyres lasted on performance cars. Last year I replaced end of Feb and then had to do them again in Nov, the car was actually sliding round corners Id left it that long I'd covered 8,000 in this time so seems I'm on the spirited side of driving....

Going to try a different rubber when these are down Iv'e always had Conti 3's and now the Conti 5's may give the Michelins a go...

[KyleB]

Really close for going for some Dunlop SP Sport Maxx RTs. They get a good write up everywhere barring what I've just read by monkeyhanger. Anyone got any other input? I've got the 19" wheels and need new fronts in the next month or so. These Dunlops seem perfect, quiet, good for traction, get good rolling resitance and excellent wet performance, but the sidewall bulge issue is a worry.

Were your ones the reinforced ones monkeyhanger?

Disappointed with the Pirelli durability, they've only lasted 15,500 before they're on the limits. The back are still going strong which, I guess, is to be expected.

[corgi]

Hmmm maybe I need to try a new brand I only do 10,000 miles a year so I'm going through two tyres in about 5,000. I wouldn't say I drive like a nutter but I do enjoy the GTI from time to time ...

I'm not sure the brand will make much difference... maybe a new right foot is the answer 

I reckon I'll see about 15K miles out of my OEM fit Conti SportContacts...

Not really a "performance car" in the context of suspension setup