Tyres?

[docevi1]

A'up,

I've got a standard tune, Mrk2 Toledo 1.9TDi SE (110 bhp) with standard 15" alloys (how can I post an link to an image without spamming the site to get 15posts?!?). I replaced all the tyres in May with Talon Triangles 195/65's - mid range items since I needed all 4 then (a puncture on the rear wall, bad tracking on the front meaning bald insides and the 4th was mid-worn so went on the spare).

The new tyres have been ok in the summer but are absolutely lethal in the wet, never mind what they were like today in the cold/wet. The car is understeering, then oversteering, drifting across the road... The traction control light is pretty much on permentally and the ABS kicks in with even the slightest of braking. As such, I've had enough and am replacing all 4 this weekend.


What do you recommend? At the moment I've got 195x65's on - can I swap them to 205x60 on those alloys ok (I'd prefer the wider tyre personally)? I'm looking at Michellin / Pirelli / Bridgestone etc - a branded tyre which is an excellent all rounder...



Learnt my lessson the hard way with these tyres - I'll never plumb for "mid-range" tyres again! I used to run Toyo Proxy's on my cars (I only ever had kit-cars), so didn't realise how bad "mid-range" actually were!

 

[kewe]

Not sure about the size options but 205x60 would change the overall diameter of wheel+tyre giving speedo reading error of 1.2%, 215x60 is 0.7% error.

For Mid range you might want to look at Falken/Toyo/Hankook. I had Pirelli P Zeros on my Ibiza Cupra and they were awful in the wet. Also check prices on camskill (offline as I type so cannot check) then try to get a local dealer to match them on price.

 

[Viking]

Toyo aswell for me in some cases. Personally I run Michelins on the Altea as I've got the wife driving it all the time. On the daughters car I run Toyo Proxes as they're slightly softer and she hoofs it about a bit, so offsetting some wear for a bit more grip I think. I also run Toyo Snowprox on the van in winter and back to commercial grade for summer.

I will say that I'm glad you discovered the cheap tyre "secret" without any major mishaps.

 

[docevi1]

Not sure about the size options but 205x60 would change the overall diameter of wheel+tyre giving speedo reading error of 1.2%, 215x60 is 0.7% error.

Ah, good point. Forgot about the affect on the speedo and was purely thinking would the wider tyre fit without rubbing! I'll stick with 195's then - don't want to mess up the speedo (although I thought the height was a percentage of the width - 60% of 205 vs 65% of 195?).

I'm shying away from Toyo's / summer tyres. My Toledo is a saloon Diesel, I drive it faster than my dad, but it's not a sports-car hence I'm looking for good long lasting Saloon tyres...

 

[Ratters]

my old escort is really the only car of mine that gets driven really hard & i always used to run bridgestone potenzas on that ~ excellent tyre imo but then they stopped making them in the size i use so have since swapped to yokahama a539's. they are pretty good imo, better than the conti's i tried too - back end used to be all over the place with those fitted!!

 

[kewe]

Ah, good point. Forgot about the affect on the speedo and was purely thinking would the wider tyre fit without rubbing! I'll stick with 195's then - don't want to mess up the speedo (although I thought the height was a percentage of the width - 60% of 205 vs 65% of 195?).

I'm shying away from Toyo's / summer tyres. My Toledo is a saloon Diesel, I drive it faster than my dad, but it's not a sports-car hence I'm looking for good long lasting Saloon tyres...

That is the correct method so the difference is only about 7.5mm overall diameter which might be OK considering speedometers usually read about 10% more than your true speed anyway.

By my calculations:-

195x65x15 = 25"
205x60x15 = 24.7"

Mines is running 225x40x18 = 25" with no rubbing

 

[Slimy]

Kewe is spot on with his calculations of changing the tyres, but I would strongly recommend against running with the wrong sized tyres on. There's a whole load of reasons why tyres should be matched to the wheels, and I've found more and more tyre dealers won't fit an oversized tyre. My car was bought with a size larger on the back, and it took me about a fortnight to get rid of those! And that was only because it took me ten days to get the locking wheel nuts off!! (yep, you did read it right, a front wheel drive car with a size larger tyres just on the back...)

When I finally wear out the chinese POS tyres that I had to take last time, I'm heading for a set of Yoko A539. They're nowhere near as costly as proxes and other 'performance' tyres, but I found them very comfortable in the dry and wet on my old Vectra, and I figure if they're ok for that tank, they'll be fine for the Toledo. In the very early days I had the A520, but some legal wrangle with the tread pattern led me to the A539.

Having said that, even with the black chewing gum that are my current tyres, the only problem I have is chronic understeer. I can still outbrake most cars without the ABS kicking in, and the only time I've seen the traction control rear it's head is when I'm revving the nuts off it. Keeping the revs low and using the torque leaves most cars standing and with very little fuss.

Actually, I've just noticed that Ratters also runs on the A539's! Spooky!