Choice of Tyres

[BigJase88]

It is funny, and this goes with all car manufacturers, we choose their product, being a Formentor or whatever, which means we trust them and we put our money to them and then we turn around and say, no, we know better than them , the tires they put on are crap. I've said that before and I will say it again, if you were a Cupra developer, executive whatever, would you really put crap tires to a car you count on introducing your brand with and basically depend on making a good name, especially today when the competition is fierce? Didn't they know better, or do we think that we know better? We are talking about a sporty to performance car, don't you think that they have tested different brands before they choose which one suits best? Would they put a crap tire to their car so that it would feel unsafe and difficult to drive? Would that bring more customers to them? Who on earth would allow this in a sporty performance brand? Yes, ofcourse decisions about tires and every part of a car are also decided basis the production cost and economics but not to the degree that this decision would harm the brand, especially a new brand. The Bridgestones are not considered cheap, they are in the same price range or very close to similar Michelins or Continentals. Yes Michelins or Continentals or any other brand may seem, according to our liking, marginally or way better, still this is mostly subjective and depends on a lot of factors, like where you live, weather conditions, road conditions, driving style and so many more. No tire maker can make a tire that will outperform under any conditions any other tire. All these premium tires are all worth their money, there are no crap tires in that range, its all about personal preference, you win some you lose some, and although I would have preferred to have Michelins from factory, since I'm a Michelin guy, I'm happy with the Bridgestones, for 15000 kms so far never have they let me down once.

It's not about what is the best tyre for the car.

Cars can ship with a variety of different tyres.

One model year may be Bridgestone. One model year may be Michelin.

It entirely depends on who they have the contract with that year / what they can get them in for.

They may have 3 or 4 different approved tyres for each vehicle. Just depends what stock they can get in / the price they have to pay

 

[G.P]

The Spory Maxx RT's i had were RFT so maybe that gave a firmer sidewall.

A recent review I was reading on some Hankook test's, unsure which of their tyres they were testing, but their run flat version had softer sidewalls and provided a more comfortable ride than their none runflat version.

Such a shame we can't test a tyre before purchase..

 

[pkaps]

BigJase88, yes, that's what I'm saying, there surely were different tire brands tested as with every car manufacturer and as you note there may be 3-4 approved tires, so that means that any one of them, be it a Bridgestone/Michelin/Continental or whatever, are all fulfilling the car's performance requirements, so the Bridgestone's that are widely fitted on Formentors are doing just that and cannot be considered as 'crap'.

 

[BigJase88]

BigJase88, yes, that's what I'm saying, there surely were different tire brands tested as with every car manufacturer and as you note there may be 3-4 approved tires, so that means that any one of them, be it a Bridgestone/Michelin/Continental or whatever, are all fulfilling the car's performance requirements, so the Bridgestone's that are widely fitted on Formentors are doing just that and cannot be considered as 'crap'.

They are though

Above a budget but still rubbish. Good enough for the school run i suppose

 

[pkaps]

I guess my friend you know better than those who made the car. I also guess that they at Cupra must be really stupid choosing this tire , selling the car like that and most importantly giving it to the press for testing like that. Unless they forced them to only do school runs with the car!

 

[chris_louk]

It is true that manufacturers make deals with tyre companies and so they are kind of obliged to ship their cars with their tyres, they are not necessarily the “best fit” for the vehicle.

I wouldn’t go as far as saying that the Bridges are crap. They are comfortable, fuel efficient, silent, last for a lot of miles and have very low rolling resistance.
But as the name suggests (TOUR-anza), they are touring tyres. Touring tyres are more optimized towards comfort and efficiency.
And you can’t have it all, which is why they lack in the sporty aspect. They can’t provide as much grip and traction, or brake as well, or give as good road feedback through the steering wheel in comparison with sport-dedicated tyres such as the PS5.

I think that the Bridges are a good choice from Cupra for the weaker variants of the formentor. I mean anyone that has the 1.5 TSI didn’t buy it to race and throw it around the corners, but rather to cruise comfortably without burning too much fuel.
On the other hand, equipping 245 and 310 hp cars with touring tyres is mean..

 

[LetsForment]

I guess my friend you know better than those who made the car. I also guess that they at Cupra must be really stupid choosing this tire , selling the car like that and most importantly giving it to the press for testing like that. Unless they forced them to only do school runs with the car!

This is a bit fatalistic in expectations. Yes, the manufacturer made choices that are right for them. Commercial, legal, supply, look and feel based. But to assume that that the very best for every use case, is established and sold as the base package for everyone and everything, seems very odd.

If you were right, there would be no after market mod industry - there wouldn't even be a tyre business since everyone would just get the same thing and from the dealer network!

Let's be honest here, cupra made some good choices. We are now trying to make the choices better for our use case, our experience and our expectations. Let's say cupra gave us a nice starting point

 

[G.P]

They are though

Above a budget but still rubbish. Good enough for the school run i suppose

So, we are better buying a mid range then over a Bridgestone?

 

[G.P]

anyone that has the 1.5 TSI didn’t buy it to race and throw it around the corners, but rather to cruise comfortably without burning too much fuel.

Sometimes some do as that is all they can afford, or that is what they prefer to drive, doesn't mean they can't get a car around a corner and it is easier to get a lower powered car on its limits regardless of what grip a tyre provides, so which car is more fun to drive I wonder, or just a different drive, the important fact is the tyre provides feedback and doesn't float around on its walls..

 

[Korefan]

Continental Winter Contact TS 870P and Continental Sport Contact 7.

 

[BigJase88]

So, we are better buying a mid range then over a Bridgestone?

For the cost saving i would pick a midrange over a bridgestone.

Some mid range tyres i would personally rate higher than a Bridgestone. Example Uniroyal Rainsport

 

[BigJase88]

Sometimes some do as that is all they can afford, or that is what they prefer to drive, doesn't mean they can't get a car around a corner and it is easier to get a lower powered car on its limits regardless of what grip a tyre provides, so which car is more fun to drive I wonder, or just a different drive, the important fact is the tyre provides feedback and doesn't float around on its walls..

To be fair what with the state of the roads and speed camera's and a 60 or 70mph speed limit whats really the point in having a fast car.

I used to enjoy a back road blast. However it is no longer enjoyable as im constantly on the look out for potholes. The roads are so bad and have taken a massive decline over the last 20 years.

 

[chris_louk]

Sometimes some do as that is all they can afford, or that is what they prefer to drive, doesn't mean they can't get a car around a corner and it is easier to get a lower powered car on its limits regardless of what grip a tyre provides, so which car is more fun to drive I wonder, or just a different drive, the important fact is the tyre provides feedback and doesn't float around on its walls..

I’m not denying that some people take the 1.5 for a more “fun” purpose, but I would assume that this category is the 5% of total buyers and the other 95% just wanted a cool-looking comfy crossover..

 

[Chalie]

I have got Michelin Pilot sport cup 2's, what are these like?

 

[G.P]

For the cost saving i would pick a midrange over a bridgestone.

Some mid range tyres i would personally rate higher than a Bridgestone. Example Uniroyal Rainsport

Blimey, you have a bad experience with Bridge. to put it at the bottom of the midrange, or the test results by professional company's are missing something, but if we consider cost/value & grip levels then do midrange offerings save us any money as, some have a harder compound to make them last with lower grip, others soft compounds so wear quick and many as they wear just do not maintain performance levels like Mich./Bridge. Rainsports been a perfect example, soft compound so wear quick and once below 3/4mm struggle so maybe not as cost effective compared to Bridge./Mich. throughout the lifespan, they also have the weakest walls in the business so for that reason I'd steer clear. Shame the tests down to 2mm aren't published.

One midrange always overlooked is the Maxxis VS5, which when tested came above the Pilot Sport 4, however, id still recommend the PS4 as I suspect the PS4 performance once below 3mm will be far superior..

 

[pkaps]

The advantage of Michelins to the competition is that they maintain their characteristics throughout their life span better than any other tire, this is my opinion from years of using Michelins. Also had a very good experience with Bridgestone's Adrenalins which were simply great in dry handling , better than any other tire, but would wear faster and not so good on wet, every decent brand tire has its plusses and minuses. Overall I think Michelins offer the most complete package but I think also that tires as the Bridgestone's Turanza also offer a decent package , decent handling, decent mileage, decent noise maybe not as good but similar to the Michelin's Primacy or Continental's Premium Contact, all of them being touring tires, so not fair to be compared to Michelins PS or similarly sportier tires.

 

[BigJase88]

Blimey, you have a bad experience with Bridge. to put it at the bottom of the midrange, or the test results by professional company's are missing something, but if we consider cost/value & grip levels then do midrange offerings save us any money as, some have a harder compound to make them last with lower grip, others soft compounds so wear quick and many as they wear just do not maintain performance levels like Mich./Bridge. Rainsports been a perfect example, soft compound so wear quick and once below 3/4mm struggle so maybe not as cost effective compared to Bridge./Mich. throughout the lifespan, they also have the weakest walls in the business so for that reason I'd steer clear. Shame the tests down to 2mm aren't published.

One midrange always overlooked is the Maxxis VS5, which when tested came above the Pilot Sport 4, however, id still recommend the PS4 as I suspect the PS4 performance once below 3mm will be far superior..

Check this video out

Check the wear from 14:00

 

[pkaps]

This is for the Bridgestone Turanza haters, better know more before you speak!

 

[BigJase88]

DEKRA real world convoy test.
Results speak from themselves

 

[BigJase88]

This is for the Bridgestone Turanza haters, better know more before you speak!

See above post