GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Sootchucker on 24 April 2014, 08:43
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Hi all, whilst my current tyres are quite some time off needing replacing, I was curious as to what to replace my tyres with when the time comes so was browsing around and having a look at the ratings for various units and was wondering what peoples options were.
Like many on here, my GTD was delivered with Bridgestone's Potenza S001 tyres, which whilst not total crap, seem to be wearing quite quickly and have limited traction in the wet. To be fair, in the dry they are not too bad and reasonably quiet, but certainly not the best tyre I've ever had. I know a lot of people swear by Michelin Pilot Sport, but as I said, I went onto black circle's website and had a look at the ratings for various tyres, and to be honest, the Goodyear efficient-grip performance seems to come out best ?
Here's what I found.
Bridgestone Potenza S001 Fuel efficiency - E, Wet Grip- B (???), Noise - 72db, Price £94.32
Michelin Pilot Sport 3 Fuel efficiency - E, Wet Grip - A, Noise 71db, Price - £116.17
Continental Sport Contact 5 Fuel efficiency F, Wet Grip A , Noise 72db, Price £102.79
Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance - Fuel efficiency B, Wet Grip A, Noise 69db - Price £96.42
Pirelli P7 Cinturato Fuel efficiency C, Wet Grip B , Noise - 71db, Price £100.69
(note - prices are indicative only from Black circles website as of 24/4/14 - delivered price only)
What do other people think, anyone have any dealings with these Goodyear tyres ?
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I have had the goodyears as replacements at 13800 and now on 20k, just had a service and they reported 4.5mm on front both sides at the 3no measuring points. The backs are on 5mm all round and still continental 3.
I initially reported in another thread that the goodyears appeared to tramp more in wet but that seemed to dissipate to almost nothing and tbf i cant fault them especially in the dry, always more cautious in wet anyway.
They are very comparable to the Continental 3 probably slightly better in the wet if pushing it round corners, mileage looks to be about the same out of both.
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I've never seen them really mentioned around here, but on my CTR I had Vredestein Ultrac Sessentas on and they must be one of the best sets of tyres I have had. Think you can pick them up at less than 80 quid a corner so are very cheap for their performance.
http://www.camskill.co.uk/m61b758s134p111412/Vredestein_Tyres_Car_Vredestein_Ultrac_Sessanta_-_225_40_R18_92Y_XL_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_F_Wet_Grip%3A_C_NoiseClass%3A_1_Noise%3A_67dB
I've read people with some serious performance cars with these on...if you do a quick google it'll come up with quite a few good things..
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I agree with Mohsin, had them on my 2.2 civic and definitely going to put them on my gtd when the time comes!
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Not sure whether I was lucky to get good tyres with the 2 Sciroccos I had (3 different brands of tyres used between the 2 cars) , or whether there was something in the chassis set up that eliminated tramping, either coincidentally or through design. Seems more than a coincidence that MK5 170TDI tramps a lot, switch to Scirocco (140 and 170 TDI), and neither tramps wet or dry, even with nigh on full throttle take-off from a standing start, my mates MK6 GTD tramps a lot and now my MK7 does again. Scirocco has had the widest tyres, but only just (235s vs 225s on the MK7 GTD), or could it be the standard inclusion of DCC (do MK7s with DCC option tramp less?). My 170TDI Scirocco had Pirelli P7s and they’re only a B for wet grip and I had no tramping, yet a GTD with Bridgestone (also rated B) has loads of tramping.
Looking at my tyre wear as it is right now, about to hit 7k miles, I reckon I’ll do about 12-13k miles on the Bridgestone fronts. Likely October change, just in time for the Winter weather.
Is wet grip rating subjective? I wonder what the test criteria is. Can a tyre have sh!te initial grip for pulling away from a standing start and still get a good rating for wet grip because they won’t slip once up to a decent speed on a wet road? How big is the gap between grades? Is a B that just missed A status massively better than a tyre that just scraped into B status above C status?
I have found that my Bridgestones are worse for tramping on a barely damp road than a properly wet/water lying road.
Going off previous personal experience, I would be looking at Michelin PS3s, not only for the tyre, but also for the fact that Costco would be fitting mine and they’re got good up to date equipment so that wheel damaged caused by the tyre fitting is far less likely through them than some backstreet tyre place with monkeys prising your tyres off with jemmy bars, scratching or even denting the wheel rim.
Catch the Michelins on a fuel card promotion and they can be amongst the cheapest fitted top tier tyres. Costco can fit for £120 a corner all in, and sometimes you’ll get a £30 or £40 fuelcard promo for a pair of 18” tyres, making them as little as £100 each fully fitted/new valve/balanced etc.
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The more I think of tramping in terms of 3 generations of Golf (OK, 2 – 5 and 6 are pretty much the same, save for manufacturing efficiencies) which all tramp, vs the MK3 Scirocco which doesn’t, I am thinking that the tramping is down to the car itself and not the tyre choices. I am hoping though that a better tyre choice will cut down the tramping if not eradicate it.
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I still stand by the Hogoodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2's.
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It's weird isn't it how different brands of tyre seem to suit different cars (and to a certain extent different people).
My MK5 Golf that I traded in in Jan 2011 for my Scirocco ran two sets of Goodyear F1 Asymmetrical's and they were fantastic. I swore when I got the Scirocco, that what ever tyre it came with, when they needed replacing, it would be the Goodyear's again. The Scirocco actually came with Pirelli P7 Self sealers, and they were bloody brilliant. Great grip wet or dry, quiet and lasted until I part exchanged the car for the GTD 2½ years later and 22k miles (still with 3mm on them). Yet I know others hated them, go figure ?
For the next tyre, basically what I want is better wet grip. As Monkeyhanger says, the GTD tramps like a bastard in the wet on the Bridgestones, although in the dry generally they are not too bad. If they are a little quieter or slightly better on fuel then great, but despite the ratings, I really don't think in the real world I'd notice much difference on these two points between premium tyre brands no matter what the ratings say.
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The tramping/wet performance is the reason I am planning on vreds in the future. On the civic (which was pretty torquey) the wet performance was like driving on dry roads, seriously impresive! Worth a read up on. I replaced them with pilot sports and I wasn't impressed.
If they perform as well on the gtd they could be great, at 80 quid a pop too... :)
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The tramping/wet performance is the reason I am planning on vreds in the future. The civic (which was pretty torquey) the wet performance was like driving on dry roads, seriously impresive! Worth a read up on. I replaced them with pilot sports and I wasn't impressed.
If they perform as well on the gtd they could be great, at 80 quid a pop too... :)
Civic torquey? They are renowned for lacking torque, hence you have to rev the nuts off them to get any performance. 193Nm at 5300 revs. Compare that to what the GTD is trying to put down at 1900rpm, and it's a chalk and cheese comparison.
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Mine was the 2.2 diesel which is 340nm at 2000rpm, so not far off the gtd!
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One thing that will bug me when I have to change my tyres is losing the nice black OEM wheel weights. Silver weights just wont cut it.
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One thing that will bug me when I have to change my tyres is losing the nice black OEM wheel weights. Silver weights just wont cut it.
Black touch up pen!!
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Mine was the 2.2 diesel which is 340nm at 2000rpm, so not far off the gtd!
I was convinced you had an R type. I wish the GTD was as free from tramping as the Scirocco is.
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No mate, just Mohsin. I'm interested to see what tyres I get on my gtd and how much tramping I get.
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My GTD on the Continentals it came with does not tramp, dry, damp or wet.
The Bridgestone S001 is very temperature sensitive. The warmer the better for them. Hence their relatively poor performance in cool, damp conditions.
I won't get too much of a choice when I need to change the tyres on my GTD - its a company car... given the choice I'd probably go for either the Michelin (I run them on my 911 and I'm very impressed with them on that application) or the Conti SportContact 5 - I've use them before on other cars and they are a very good all-round tyre.
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Mine will be getting Michelin PS3's when the time comes..
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No ones mentioned Dunlop sport Maxx.
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No ones mentioned Dunlop sport Maxx.
I had my first Scirocco delivered with these and over the course of the first winter I knackered 3 tyres hitting very small/minor potholes at low speeds (and having the DCC set to comfort over the winter to minimise any potential impacts) and getting a sidewall bulge for my troubles. Every one of them went back to Dunlop for "analysis", and I was fed a bullsh!t story each time one was sent that I must have kerbed the wheels very hard and at speed.
I offered to show them that neither my wheels or alignment were affected and therefore their tyres are overly fragile and not suitable for use on UK roads. I argued that there were no scuffs seen on the sidewalls that would indicate such damage/mistreatment. I got nothing out of them, despite it happening 3 times within 6 weeks.
I'd never buy Dunlop again for that reason alone. My dad's GTD came with Dunlops and he's had one go with sidewall damage this winter, but on the upside, almost no tramping.
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Surprised how cheap the 18" tyres are for the GTD. Had a Cinturato P7 put on my Scirocco GT last year - best price I could find was 160 fitted. Seems same tyre in size for GTD can be bought for 116 plus fitting.
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Mark V GTD: That 10mm width lost for the GTD seems to make a hell of a difference in price, the 235s seem to be a solid £40 more than the 225 version for pretty much all the tyre brands. Could it make that much difference in grip in terms of tramping I wonder?
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I'm coming from an Astra GTC which has standard 19" wheels (tyre size is 235/45/19) and the tyres on that are £250 EACH! ON AN ASTRA!
So I'm happy to see that the GTD's are much cheaper!
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So my tyre pressure sensor sounded for the second time in three days same tyre rear left.
I topped up the air the first time just to see what the issue was and also that the my tyre guy is closed until tomorrow. Car was delivered with contis.
My question should I replace with the contis or a different brand only reason I ask is that if in the price range ppl have found that other tyres perform better I would much rather switch brands. I have only ever used mid range toyo t1r on my corrado and MK3 colour concept as I found to be all round good for the price.
Finally, is it true that I will lose the black wheel nut coverings on changing tyres.
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The wheel nut coverings are just plastic caps so you won't lose them. What you will lose is the black balancing weights that balance the tyres. Some tyre fitting places are using them but the majority aren't.
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The wheel but coverings are just plastic caps so you won't lose them. What you will lose is the black balancing weights that balance the tyres. Some tyre fitting places are using them but the majority aren't.
So I have my quotes conti 5 at 104 fitted, toyo 96 fitted, Pirelli p0 108 fitted and kumo at 87 fitted. Whilst the prices seem reasonable. Which ones have people used and advise that I should go for.
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Conti 5's out of those. Others all rave about Michelin's ps3's too
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Conti 5's out of those. Others all rave about Michelin's ps3's too
Michellin PS3's all day long....little bit expensive but you get what you pay for!!
Costco have a tyre offer on ATM....if you are a member you get a £100 voucher to spend in the warehouse (4 tyres) or £50 on (2 tyres). Costco also sell Contis and Brigestones at some warehouses.
The Michellins will probably work out cheaper at Costco than any where else and they use Nitrogen for inflation :wink:
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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.
Costco's voucher promotion on right now isn't quite as generous as all that on standard 18" wheels - 2 tyres gets you £30 voucher and 4 gets you £70, it's £50/100 on 2/4 x 19" michelins. I am a fan of the PS3s though. Best tyre I have ever put on my car - grippy in all conditions, relatively hard wearing and relatively quiet - hard to get a tyre that is all three.
Costco shouldn't scrape your alloys either like some black circles/orange wheels affiliated back street tyre places do (and have done on a previous car), because they've got decent/modern/well maintained tyre changing kit.
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How come people say the Michelin's are quiet when all the tyre sites say they are noisier than other tyres. I know it's not much only 1 or 2 decibels but the ps3's still don't come near the top of the list.
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How come people say the Michelin's are quiet when all the tyre sites say they are noisier than other tyres. I know it's not much only 1 or 2 decibels but the ps3's still don't come near the top of the list.
Can't explain it. Maybe Michelins are a certain db and don't deteriorate over the tyre life and another soon gets a step and is very noisy after a short while, way ouder than their brand new rating. Pirelli P7s get very noisy as they wear. I really don't understand the official grip rating of Bridgestones, they really are sh!te for grip and i've suffered them on 2 Golfs.
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The bridgestones on my mk5 were really good until they wore down and became really noisy.
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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!
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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 ...
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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 :laugh:
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