This part of the latest update of the thread should’ve been buried in the “what have you done to your mk7 today?” thread I guess, but due to a pretty horrific few days last weekend with personal disasters going off left right and centre it missed its slot.
So without further ado I’ll introduce my new boots, a shiny set of Michelin PS4S fitted last Friday.
Aside from the “free” sets of tyres supplied on new cars it’s been some years since I bought more than the odd new tyre.
I tended to buy aftermarket wheels for my cars and often re-used tyres I already owned as I did a minimal mileage so the round black things lasted years.
The Ed40 Clubsport was always intended to stay fairly standard in my hands after a lifetime of me lightly modifying cars.
I was never keen on the original Belvedere wheels but didn’t share the hatred of the original fit Bridgestone tyres which most here slate. They do the job ok in my eyes and the guys who developed the Clubsport chassis seemed to rate them. Maybe I never drove them hard enough when they were cold(?)
The Bridgestones were very noisy on certain surfaces though.
As soon as I could I picked up a set of very tidy used Pretoria wheels which coincided with Booth11 getting some new PS4S tyres, so I took on her old Conti 5’s.
These tyres were only intended as a stop gap but had reasonable tread on them and with the occasional use the car was getting they lasted me nearly a further 18 months until they were down to below 3mm.
The Conti 5s were grippy enough, slightly harsh and very noisy at times but for an OEM sports tyre they were very good for general road use so long as the radio was cranked up a few notches!
Alas, all good things come to an end and it was out with the old and in with the new a week or so before the car’s second service.
Booth’s boots went in the skip and I followed the footsteps of many on here, just like Rebecca that set of Conti 5s were replaced by some Michelin PS4S.
I’ve been driving for well over 30 years and am well familiar with the effect even replacing one set of tyres with an identical unworn set can have as regards to ride quality, noise and grip, traction etc.
I was expecting great things of the Michelins.
I still am after all the glowing reports and forum love in’s for them!
Initial thoughts are the usual new tyre placebo of extra comfort plus slightly reduced noise depending on road surface and speed.
They’re still very new and need bedding in.
Time will tell whether they’re 25% better than say a Rainsport 3 to reflect the 25% or so extra cost!
But as a direct competitor to the likes of Continental etc I’m more than happy to trust the word of fellow forumites who swear by the PS4S, and it gives me a break from Contis which I’ve been running almost exclusively for seven or eight years (with the odd few months of OEM Bridgestones thrown in).
The tyre fitters mercifully didn’t mark the wheels when fitting the tyres and remarked to me that they much preferred the CS’s looks compared to the Lapiz R on the ramps next to it! The fitter actually called the R an R-Line...
And that brings me up to the point of the car’s second birthday.
Happy Birthday little white car (slightly belated by a few days).
It still gets loads of compliments from passers by and I still love it as much I did when I first brought it home.
Considering it’s just a boring Golf at the end of the day, it’s surprising just how special it feels to drive and own day to day.
Second birthday equals second (expensive) service due and it’s booked in very soon...
