tyre reviews

having just had to replace my two front tires due to multiple punctures i thought it was time to do a long term review on my tire choise
having had the "general altimax sport" on my car for just over 10k miles and driving daily in all weathers i am seriously impressed with the performance of them . dry and wet grip is fantastic and its only on ice have i lost traction ( what tire wouldnt ?) wear rate is in my opinion is incredible as even after 10k miles there was lots of tread left despite some very spirited runs . now just in case some of you think this is a 4x4 only manufacturer they are owned by continental so have a wealth of performance tire experience behind them
and now for the best part ..... they only cost £69 each

Sounds good for that price

They sound very similar in "user review" to how I'd describe the Kumho KU39's that I have been using for nearly 4 years.
It's good to know that others out there are buying tyres from the "lower end" of the scale and getting great results.
I personally just can't see the point in buying top end tyres at £200+ per corner to then have to replace them every year because they've worn out.


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That's more what I pay for my Ardi tyres, Pete! [emoji31]
Other tyres that I've not used, but are rated by a few people down our way on R53s are the Finnish Nokian brand.
Not that well-known over here I think, but in Europe yes. They apparently do a great winter tyre too.
Keen pricing too.


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I always feel there's a great trade off between cost and quality especially when tyres are concerned. I decided to go down the Goodyear Eagle Asymmetric route this time on the F56. I've used them before and they have a good trade off between durability and grip. I'll be replacing the tyres on the R53 shortly and again I'm going to stick with what I like and trust, Continental Contact Sports. I'm not a big fan of the cheap tyres I've had a few in the past and never felt confident with them in certain conditions. Horses for courses as they say but if you find a good tyre and you're happy with it that's a great result.


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Mitchellin pilot super sports £105 per tyre worth every penny [emoji1303]


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Originally Posted by maxibaby01

That's more what I pay for my Ardi tyres, Pete! [emoji31]
Other tyres that I've not used, but are rated by a few people down our way on R53s are the Finnish Nokian brand.
Not that well-known over here I think, but in Europe yes. They apparently do a great winter tyre too.
Keen pricing too.


...end...

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I've used the Nokian winter tyres before on one of my MINI's and the car was transformed in the cold weather. When we had snow and slush I could carry on regardless [emoji2]. The Finnish do know a bit about cold and wet weather wind you. They were WRG2 model and I would recommend them to anyone. Not sure they make that model anymore...


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Running the new Nankangs which are rated to 150mph and again great grip on new wheels, was using them on my old wheels on the S and have to say I pushed the car on and no point did I feel worried even in the wet. They are made by Yokohama, a lot of people would be surprised at exactly where brands are made. My mate Bruce hauls Michelin tyres from Dundee heading for abroad and they make a few different names all for different markets abroad. And at £52 a corner cant complain, could have got Toyos as well for a wee bit more, and that's for 205/45 17's

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Originally Posted by EcosseGP

I always feel there's a great trade off between cost and quality especially when tyres are concerned. I decided to go down the Goodyear Eagle Asymmetric route this time on the F56. I've used them before and they have a good trade off between durability and grip. I'll be replacing the tyres on the R53 shortly and again I'm going to stick with what I like and trust, Continental Contact Sports. I'm not a big fan of the cheap tyres I've had a few in the past and never felt confident with them in certain conditions. Horses for courses as they say but if you find a good tyre and you're happy with it that's a great result.


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I'm another one who's a fan of the Conti Sports. The tyres that came with my R56 were not a known brand so I changed them out after only a few hundred miles and I could not believe the difference. The car felt so much better for it and gave me more confidence (but not too much) to push on a bit more. True what they say though, you can have the most expensive car on the planet but the 4 black things are the only part connecting it to the ground so spend wisely. That goes for safety too.

All of the above yet again proves that no matter what you personally like, have confidence in and feel comfortable with nearly everyone else has a differing opinion.
[emoji4]
I'm guessing that we all won't be moving to North Korea anytime soon.
[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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I used to be a Conti fanboy, but now I've discovered Michelin Super Sports as my new religion - they are sooo much better at everything, I was really (pleasantly) surprised.

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Originally Posted by CiderFex

All of the above yet again proves that no matter what you personally like, have confidence in and feel comfortable with nearly everyone else has a differing opinion.
[emoji4]
I'm guessing that we all won't be moving to North Korea anytime soon.
[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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You're absolutely right though. Just as well we all have our own personal tastes otherwise we'd all be on here posting pictures of the same car from our homes in NK ;)

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Originally Posted by digi

having just had to replace my two front tires due to multiple punctures i thought it was time to do a long term review on my tire choise
having had the "general altimax sport" on my car for just over 10k miles and driving daily in all weathers i am seriously impressed with the performance of them . dry and wet grip is fantastic and its only on ice have i lost traction ( what tire wouldnt ?) wear rate is in my opinion is incredible as even after 10k miles there was lots of tread left despite some very spirited runs . now just in case some of you think this is a 4x4 only manufacturer they are owned by continental so have a wealth of performance tire experience behind them
and now for the best part ..... they only cost £69 each

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I also used General tyres on my X3 (it had optional 19" Y spokes), found them to grip really well wet or dry & when they let go they slid progressively. I did 12k miles & there was over 4mm left.

Also, General provide a tyre replacement warranty when you buy them so if the tyre is damaged during use, as long as you can provide original proof of purchase, then they refund up to 100% of the cost of replacement.

Kumho KU39's for me too, can't fault them :thumbs up:

This is a format that I use when making tyre reviews on other forums. Unfortunately I've not formed an opinion on the Pirelli Runflats fitted to my F54 yet.

Make and Model plus size of Tyre: Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric II. 215-45/17 XL91 Z.
Car owned: Toyota Celica Gen 7 T-Sport
Type of driving: 'C', 'B', 'A' and 'M' roads and track.
Type of driver: Enthusiastic
Miles covered so far and wear rate: Several sets over a period of 4 years and 30 thousand miles.
Dry use: Excellent. stable handing with good feedback, resistant to under steer.
Wet use: Extremely good down to 3mm remaining tread depth. They give the driver immense confidence in all wet conditions. Braking is excellent.
Snow / Ice use: Drive with care and they will get you there.
Noise: Very good. No appreciable sound intrusion even at high speeds.
Overall opinion / comments / strengths / weaknesses: I have been using this tyre for so long both the MKI and now the MKII my overall opinion of it is that it would be hard for me to choose to replace them with another brand. But I may try and see what the opposition are like in the future. I always change at 3mm remaining and so do not expect to run them for long periods. Using them on track also reduces the wear rate. this is the main reason I use more sets than would be considered normal. I look forward to Goodyear releasing a MKIII version.
Price paid and from where: Locally fitted about £112 each. Can be easily bought online delivered and unfitted for £89.
Rating out of 10: 9.5

Needed a couple of tyres for The Beast, so finally decided to switch to non run flats, as Mom's not using it as a daily runner. Will keep the other 2 runflats as spares for the Convertible.
Thinks that I now need a spare wheel.........anyone got a 17" spare wheel I could buy, preferably one that fits over the Works brakes on an R56. R112 would be perfect......lol
If you don't ask....you don't get ;)

lol


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I just bought a couple of rain sport 3 from camskill £130 delivered
215 35 18s

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Originally Posted by c9aan

I just bought a couple of rain sport 3 from camskill £130 delivered
215 35 18s

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That's what I have - great tyres :)


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Make and Model plus size of Tyre: Pirelli P Zero Nero. 205/45/17
Car owned: MINI Cooper S R53
Type of driving: 'C', 'B', 'A' and 'M' roads
Type of driver: Enthusiastic
Miles covered so far and wear rate: 1000 thousand miles.
Dry use: Excellent with positive feedback and excellent grip.
Wet use: Good but not tested under harder driving conditions.
Snow / Ice use: Not used to date.
Noise: Quieter than previous Continental Contact 3 Sport.
Overall opinion / comments / strengths / weaknesses: I have only been using this tyre for a matter of weeks now so nog term review as yet. For the first 500 miles the tyres struggled in wet and dry conditions and I was wondering where all the previous good reviews had come from. They appear now to have bedded in now and grip is excellent especially in the dry and the car will change direction without any issues at all. The tyre has a race look and sloping shoulder which takes a bit of getting used to as it appears to slide during the first 500 miles and doesn't thrill you with confidence. This slowly wears off after that and the tyres behave impeccably after that.
Price paid and from where: Locally fitted about £86 each. Can be easily bought online delivered and unfitted for around the same price.
Rating out of 10: 8 (short term)


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Following on from my previous post, but thinking of the "spare wheel" issue more seriously. What do you guys do in event of a puncture when running non run flats? Is it a tin of gunk and a compressor, which is ok for a small puncture, or do any of you carry a spare tyre. I know Duncan used to carry a spare on his back seat. For example on the Heartbeat Tour, we will cover a lot of miles in very rural areas and on motorways, not the places to get a puncture! Am I getting paranoid?
Is anyone taking a spare on the HT run......that fits an R56 Works?
Dont know if I'm off topic for this thread, but think it is relevant :confused:

It's relevant very much so ,will carry gunk and a bag of luck ;)on a similar note when William ordered his first MINI he ticked the box for a spare wheel ,some of the BMW's we have had don't even have a jack

Tbh Malcolm I left the run flats on the GP for that reason alone. It meant that if something did happen going to or from shows then it wasn't going to cause me any issues. I "chance" the fact that I run non run flats and if something was to happen locally I'd be ok about getting it sorted. On longer runs its again a chance thing ... I didn't have a spare for the shows last year or the HBT and I've just put new tyres on all round so fingers crossed.
Tyre foam and a compressor are only any use if the tyre is able to take it but you're in the hands of the gods on that account too.


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If somebody has a spare wheel, I'm happy to put it in my back seat for the HT run. in fact it can have the front seat and Sioban can go in the back.........get you priorities right Dad :moonie:

I have been meaning to pick up a cheep wheel to keep at the house, just incase and I can ask nicely for someone to help me out. But just swapped the RF's out and chancing it at the moment [emoji28]


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by weefossy

If somebody has a spare wheel, I'm happy to put it in my back seat for the HT run. in fact it can have the front seat and Sioban can go in the back.........get you priorities right Dad :moonie:

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^^^ thought you'd changed there Malcolm but alas it was just a momentary blip [emoji6][emoji6][emoji6][emoji6]


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I always carry one of these in 1499:

Slime 1800330 10914 Tyre Repair Set for Automobile Tyres with Dispensor
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003QHY0..._5pJ9wbR1NMJEN

I have only ever used it on the ride on mower thankfully though.

I got a puncture a few weeks into buying the mower nearly a year ago and the tyre would deflate overnight. I put some Slime in the tyre and it's been fine ever since.
I know it's not the same as using it in a car tyre but I would happily trust it to get me home in 1499 if the situation arose.
It is a lime green liquid and it washes off very easily with running water and is nothing like the "builders foam" style of tyre repar products.


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To be honest if I had a puncture on the GP I'd buy a new tyre anyways once I got home.
I just wouldn't feel confident hooning it with a picture repair no matter how well it was repaired.
For me personally, using the Slime to get me home would be preferable to trying to ring around finding a tyre fitter that did mobile call outs or calling the roadside assistance to recover me. I'm not too sure how easy it would be to get a GP with a flat tyre onto the recovery vehicle.
[emoji15]



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Thanks Pete, just ordered from Amazon. Thought this would work as a a great spare wheel for The Beast (narrow and light)

http://minigenuineparts.co.uk/mini-p...6_786_220.html

but they only sell them in sets of 4. doh! Anyone else in to share costs? Good that they go over Works brakes.

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Originally Posted by EcosseGP

Tbh Malcolm I left the run flats on the GP for that reason alone. It meant that if something did happen going to or from shows then it wasn't going to cause me any issues. I "chance" the fact that I run non run flats and if something was to happen locally I'd be ok about getting it sorted. On longer runs its again a chance thing ... I didn't have a spare for the shows last year or the HBT and I've just put new tyres on all round so fingers crossed.
Tyre foam and a compressor are only any use if the tyre is able to take it but you're in the hands of the gods on that account too.


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Davy, your comments re. last year's (my first) events got me thinking.
I did all those shows most of them 150+ miles from home, including the excellent trip up to NMS for the Glencoe/Oban Run with nothing but a couple of cans of Tyreweld and a new set of Michelin SSports.
Having AD08rs on 17" rims now, I feel a tad exposed, as the likelihood of anyone stocking a spare on a weekend is limited.
For the season and HBT2, I've ordered a spare AD08r from Camskill today. I luckily have a second set of NM RSe05's, so will get it fitted to one and will schlep it with me in the back where the rear seat aren't![emoji4]
Phew, thanks all for posing the question, otherwise I may have glibly carried on regardless, and I'd be bound to get found out sometime this year...

Not at all T it was a valid point made by Malcolm. I suppose we all "chance it" most of the time but our luck runs out at some point ! Don't know if anyone had any spares last year for any runs, shows or the HBT but sometimes it pays to be prepared ... Could always leave the wheel in the hotel save carrying it about at ...

Good point Malcolm... This has got me thinking now. Was ok on HBT last year and have tyre weld stuff in the boot, but you never know. I might try to get a spare crown spoke as I still have my Contis in the garage. Hmmm... Would need to secure a spare carefully as you don't want a 17" alloy and tyre whanging around your head in the event (heaven forbid) of an "off".

Thought about going down the space saver wheel route but as they have a much higher profile tyre, the diameter of the wheel is only a couple of inches smaller than a 17" wheel with a low profile tyre. And although it's a lot thinner, it weighs just as much because it's a steel wheel. So, managed to buy a 17" R112 wheel on e bay from minitech spares. Wheel needs a total refurb (kerb marks and the fact it's silver) but it is sound with no buckle etc., so will be ideal as a spare. Also bought a spare wheel cover, so it can either go in the boot or on the back seat. Feel happier now that's sorted. Will take it on The HBT, so anyone with a pre F56 car will be able to use it in an emergency. Hope it's a purchase I never use!!

I've just went and bought RS3's for my mini. 4 tyres £240 :thumbs up: