GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: MajorKhan on 20 November 2014, 17:00
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Ive had my GTD for 10 months now, I have covered 14000 miles, the car came with very impressive Conti sport5, I have yesterday noticed very strange understreer and weak handling, checked the tyre ...ITS BOLD just about a 1mm left both fronts, back like new!!! im shocked...so now its time for 2 front , thinking winter tyre ...Conti winter contact ts790 or Dunlop sp winter sport 4d...
so 2 things...shocked at a conti going bold so quick and second whats your views on the above winter tyres?
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Not the biggest news that the Mk7 likes to eat its tyres. :D
Both the TS790 as well as the 4D are good winter tyres. I would go for a second set of wheels though for your winter tyres.
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yes I was thinking that , wanted to get the car tinted and the ABT kit put on aswell, so thinking to but a cheap pair of 18inch alloys would cost another £300 on top...take your feedback on board regarding tyres
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I had new fronts at about 11000 miles (on Bridgestones) - one of them was below legal limit when it was removed
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Conti 5s are not noted for their longevity. 13k miles is roughly what you can expect before they need replacing. Despite that they they are my tyre of choice and my mk6 is on its second set.
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I read the OP and thought that sounded good :smiley:
my previous car was a focus ST: if I got 9000 out of a set of fronts I was happy.
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Majorkhan: Conti 5s on yours? You lucky sod! I'd rather have 14k miles on those than 17k miles on the Bridgestones.
You've not done badly at all. Same again?
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Continental Winter Contact TS 830 P for Winter.
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 for Summer.
Best combination I've ever encountered.
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Yeah looks like conti's winter it is, I do believe they are a step ahead of the Dunlop .... Excellent grip I've had over the last 10 months -14000miles, driven very hard and hardly EVER saw the traction light ....now I've got traction light , flickering constantly , just shows the difference
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Continental Winter Contact TS 830 P for Winter.
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 for Summer.
Best combination I've ever encountered.
Agreed :wink:
Running the exact same tyres myself. Conti's are brilliant and even made my ride smoother and quieter.
Would highly recommend both these tyres to anyone. :smug:
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I'd just be careful running 2 winter tyres on the front/2 summer's on the back, as you might get a false sense of security going around an icy bend! The fronts will bite nicely, then before you know it, the rear will be swinging around like a conker on a string!
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No one has said about running winters and summer tyres together.
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Go for 17" or if you can 16" wheels for winter.... more comfort and if you run into kerb at least it's only the tyre ;)
Also beneficiary to run slightly narrower tyre for traction in snow (I've gone for 205 55 16 on Audi A3 16" Speedline wheels).
For summer tyre life I can recommend the Pirelli P7... they lasted 24k on the front, Dunlop sport maxx rt were down after about 15k.
Winters I will only run for trips abroad since I have to pay for them myself (company car) so wear should not be much of an issue on them.
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Back to OP.
Tests show winter tyres are excellent but our climate fluctuates too much. For example it could be 12-14 degrees for days and days, then it could dip to 3-4 for a day and then back up to seasonal norms. In the mean time your soft compound winters tyres will be wearing our more rapidly than if you lived in a Scandinavian country where it stays at a cooler temperatures for months.
I think it's tricky to make a judgement in this country. Plus, hardly any other buggers fit them in the UK so if you break hard in snow, ice or wet and stop quickly - others will be ploughing into the back of you!
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At one point I used to run winter tyres and later all season tyres on my mk3s... all year, the difference in tyre wear between summer and winter was pretty negligible.
Only if you drive them at temperatures above 15~20 degrees depending on rubber composition you see real differences. Below 7 degrees winter tyres always win, even on dry roads. Between 7 and about 15 you will see a little difference in terms of wear unless you drive them very hard (that's my own empirical study having lived in Austria, Finland and the UK). If you get slightly smaller winter tyres then works out the same in terms of cost (they wear a bit quicker but comparing the price of a 225 45 17 to a 205 55 16 the overall cost for tyres is the same).
Always surprised people don't get fined (more) for not having a "roadworthy" car when they rear end other cars with summer tyres in snow.... with the craze about health and safety about literally everything else in the UK.
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No one has said about running winters and summer tyres together.
The OP read to me like they were considering that. The Conti Sport 5 front tyres had worn out, and they were thinking of 2 winter tyres.
Maybe that's not what they meant, but I would certainly recommend having all winters or all summers. I don't have any choice as my winters are a different size and my car would look pretty strange with little wheels on the front and big ones on the back. :laugh:
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Am I the only one that checks tyres condition and pressures weekly then? Only ask this as not only the OP found his were bald but a visitor next door is running with illegal tyres on the front and didn't realise it is 3points for every defective tyre.
As for mine it has done 13500 and the fronts are just off the wear indicators so around 2½mm left so I will replace them soon. Never mix winter and other tyres as you are asking for trouble and I would be surprised if any decent fitter would only put them on one axle.
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Am I the only one that checks tyres condition and pressures weekly then? Only ask this as not only the OP found his were bald but a visitor next door is running with illegal tyres on the front and didn't realise it is 3points for every defective tyre.
As for mine it has done 13500 and the fronts are just off the wear indicators so around 2½mm left so I will replace them soon. Never mix winter and other tyres as you are asking for trouble and I would be surprised if any decent fitter would only put them on one axle.
I check them fairly regularly, but to be honest my tyres have only needed air once after over a year of being on the car. They seem to hold their pressures very well and since we all have Tyre Pressure Monitoring system then the car will soon tell us when they drop by around 5PSI, assuming it's been set up properly.
I also noticed that some kid has stole my valve caps...again. I'm so tempted to cover them with security paint this time. Little gremlins.
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I check mine every week but it's a tad difficult when it gets cold putting the correct pressures in.
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Am I the only one that thinks the OP has nothing to worry about with his front tyres wearing out at 14k?
My GTI PP has less than 6k on it and I've got 2-3mm left on the fronts and I drive pretty steadily as well as running the thing in for around 1500 miles.
That said, I've gone through a Cypriot summer (40-45 degrees most days at the height of it) which might have accelerated the wear slightly.
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Majorkhan: Conti 5s on yours? You lucky sod! I'd rather have 14k miles on those than 17k miles on the Bridgestones.
You've not done badly at all. Same again?
Lucky is not the word. You and I will probably end up with horrid Bridgestones.
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Service today, 9250 on clock, new front tyres!!!
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Just ordered 2 Conti's with 11,000 on the clock.
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Am I the only one that thinks the OP has nothing to worry about with his front tyres wearing out at 14k?
My GTI PP has less than 6k on it and I've got 2-3mm left on the fronts and I drive pretty steadily as well as running the thing in for around 1500 miles.
That said, I've gone through a Cypriot summer (40-45 degrees most days at the height of it) which might have accelerated the wear slightly.
Slight change in plans - looking for new tyres now! still less than 6k miles but on closer inspection they'll definitely not be legal soon (if not already)!
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7.5k and my front pierelli's are nearing the limit.
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Am I the only one that thinks the OP has nothing to worry about with his front tyres wearing out at 14k?
My GTI PP has less than 6k on it and I've got 2-3mm left on the fronts and I drive pretty steadily as well as running the thing in for around 1500 miles.
That said, I've gone through a Cypriot summer (40-45 degrees most days at the height of it) which might have accelerated the wear slightly.
Slight change in plans - looking for new tyres now! still less than 6k miles but on closer inspection they'll definitely not be legal soon (if not already)!
How have you got through the tyres in 6,000 miles? I'm guessing you have the Bridgestones? Mine are still with 2.5mm after 12,000 miles....
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Am I the only one that thinks the OP has nothing to worry about with his front tyres wearing out at 14k?
My GTI PP has less than 6k on it and I've got 2-3mm left on the fronts and I drive pretty steadily as well as running the thing in for around 1500 miles.
That said, I've gone through a Cypriot summer (40-45 degrees most days at the height of it) which might have accelerated the wear slightly.
Slight change in plans - looking for new tyres now! still less than 6k miles but on closer inspection they'll definitely not be legal soon (if not already)!
How have you got through the tyres in 6,000 miles? I'm guessing you have the Bridgestones? Mine are still with 2.5mm after 12,000 miles....
I got the Conti's - I drive fairly quickly but I'm not driving like a loon. I've had the odd 'play' but I'm not into pulling out of junctions with smoke coming off the tyres. I'm just wondering if the PP diff is making a difference. My previous car (no LSD) would wear the tyres on the inside edges due to higher slippage on the inside wheel but the diff would virtually eliminate this.
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I'm just wondering if the PP diff is making a difference. My previous car (no LSD) would wear the tyres on the inside edges due to higher slippage on the inside wheel but the diff would virtually eliminate this.
More likely that the wear on the inside edge of the tyres is due to you running some toe-out, inadvertently... which is not good, for tyre life or stability under braking.
Diff should have no effect on tyre wear in normal driving and should not change the wear pattern...
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I'm just wondering if the PP diff is making a difference. My previous car (no LSD) would wear the tyres on the inside edges due to higher slippage on the inside wheel but the diff would virtually eliminate this.
More likely that the wear on the inside edge of the tyres is due to you running some toe-out, inadvertently... which is not good, for tyre life or stability under braking.
Diff should have no effect on tyre wear in normal driving and should not change the wear pattern...
Not sure why then - it had the tracking done regularly but was slightly lowered from standard - never any stability issues. I was pumping 280 odd BHP through the front wheels though!
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Not sure why then - it had the tracking done regularly but was slightly lowered from standard - never any stability issues. I was pumping 280 odd BHP through the front wheels though!
The fact is the most common cause of wear on the inside edge of the front tyres of a car is toe-out, not camber... unless you do some fairly extreme driving e.g. lots of time spent cornering hard - lots of track days on a tight and twisty track.
My first Integra Type-R used to root the front tyres in about 7k miles... I had a full four corner geo done and it was there was excessive toe-out. This was reset to a small amount of toe-in and suddenly the fronts lasted over 12k miles... and the car was transformed... Even with quite a bit of camber (within the spec) on my 911, the front tyres wear evenly because it is set with a little toe-in.
I don't know what the tracking parameters of the Golf are, but they could well be 0 + or - a small amount. The thing is if they are set parallel then under load they're like to run with a bit of toe-out owing to the flex in the suspension.
For me, I'd be asking them to set the tracking to allow for a little toe-in if the spec allows.
The amount of power shouldn't make a difference to the evenness of tyre wear... just the amount :grin: unless of course, there's so much that when you use the power it distorts the suspension...
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The camber on my GTI is out but VW refused to fix it because they can't be bothered removing the subframe.
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AFAIK, camber Is not adjustable on the Golf... That means it was out at the factory or some damage has occurred. When you say it's out, how is it out? Is it positive or negative? Is it even both sides?
If it were me I'd be insisting...
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Not sure why then - it had the tracking done regularly but was slightly lowered from standard - never any stability issues. I was pumping 280 odd BHP through the front wheels though!
The fact is the most common cause of wear on the inside edge of the front tyres of a car is toe-out, not camber... unless you do some fairly extreme driving e.g. lots of time spent cornering hard - lots of track days on a tight and twisty track.
My first Integra Type-R used to root the front tyres in about 7k miles... I had a full four corner geo done and it was there was excessive toe-out. This was reset to a small amount of toe-in and suddenly the fronts lasted over 12k miles... and the car was transformed... Even with quite a bit of camber (within the spec) on my 911, the front tyres wear evenly because it is set with a little toe-in.
I don't know what the tracking parameters of the Golf are, but they could well be 0 + or - a small amount. The thing is if they are set parallel then under load they're like to run with a bit of toe-out owing to the flex in the suspension.
For me, I'd be asking them to set the tracking to allow for a little toe-in if the spec allows.
The amount of power shouldn't make a difference to the evenness of tyre wear... just the amount :grin: unless of course, there's so much that when you use the power it distorts the suspension...
Mind you, it was a Vauxhall and all the ones I've owned seemed to wear the inside edges.