Tires.

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Geoffrey Gould
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Tires.

Post by Geoffrey Gould »

Hi all. I need some advise about tires, I have Firestone 185's all round and have the problem of noise, on some surfaces there really is a real roar. I have noticed this because the other BX has Mich's on the front and Pirelli's on the rear and is so much quieter. So what would you go for?
The other thing is that I was going to go up a size to 195's, the speedo is a mile out.
indicated 50 is about 44. 82 is 70. The GTi is dead accurite and the td is out by a mile and I'm sure that one day I'm going to forget and get well and truely stuffed .
Your thoughts gentlemen please.
Cheers.
Geoff.
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Terry Brooks
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Post by Terry Brooks »

Hi ...............I've got a mix of various [cheap] brands of 165's on my '92 TZD.
I dont find road noise a problem.
My speedo reads 4mph "fast" all through the range. [indicated 40 is 36/indicated 70 is 66 etc]
As yours is reading "fast" too I would'nt think you'd have probs getting done for speeding ...........you aint going as fast as your indicator sez you are.
HTH
Terry
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Post by Brian »

Both my BX's indicate 10% high throughout the range.

But that is better than the speedo reading low surely.

Regarding tyre noise and other properties, have a look at some of the companies that sell tyres direct.

For instance, mytyres.co.uk I have used in the past, provide very good tyre properties on their listings.

Tyres I ordered were delivered in 2 days.

Good luck with your search.
tim leech

Post by tim leech »

Tyres noise is down to the compound of the rubber and the design of the tyre itself, i.e. some tyres last a long time as they are harder but are noisy and vice versa.

Michelin "energy" and Pirelli P6000 are a low rolling resistance "eco"tyres so they should be quieter (my service manager worked for Pirelli for 30 years lol so I asked him)

Worth a go I expect!

regarding accurate speedos, my TRS auto is only approx 2mph over when tested against a sat-nav, not bad for 151000 miles, yet my new Golf is reading approx 10 % over at higher speeds.
Geoffrey Gould
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Speed.

Post by Geoffrey Gould »

Thank you all. Terry the problem actually is having one car that is dead accurate and the other that is at least 10% out, one day I am going to swap from the 10%er which I drive over the indicated speed.By what I have calculated to be the amount to bring the speed to just under the limit to the one that is absolutely accurate and get done.
I am not too keen on budget tires as they may last but the wet grip can suffer, Michies well they are the only tire I have ever had a blow out on and it quite simply destroyed the tire completely so from choice probably never again for them.
Cheers.
Geoff.
1991 BX 1-7 td Auto.


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Baldbazza
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Post by Baldbazza »

Very happy with the Michelin Energy tyres that I had fitted to the GT earlier this year - four for £200 all in. Seem to give a more comfortable ride than the tyres of unknown (Chinese) origin that were on the wheels when I got them.

The Michelins were fitted by the garage which also did some MOT work, although www.blackcircles.com quoted almost exactly the same. Have used Black Circles before - excellent service and generally cheapest as well.

I can't recommend Pirelli - I've always found that they give an uncomfortably hard ride, and aren't particularly long-lasting (I replaced the original Pirelli with Continental on the Alfa and got an extra 5000 miles' wear and more comfortable ride).
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Post by cavmad »

Michelin are miles better than Pirelli. Pirellis just don't last long enough to warrant lashing out for them.
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Baldbazza
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Re: Speed.

Post by Baldbazza »

Geoffrey Gould wrote:Michies well they are the only tire I have ever had a blow out on and it quite simply destroyed the tire completely so from choice probably never again for them.
Cheers.
Geoff.
As you posted this whilst I was typing away recommending Michelin... :roll: You might want to consider Continental - way better than Pirelli for comfort and longevity.
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Ian_Fearn
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Post by Ian_Fearn »

Geoff, those P6000's only did about 15k on the front of Elf so we changed the fronts to Michelins which are dirt cheap from Costco.
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Post by MULLEY »

Try vredsteins, cheap & good, low noise yet actually grip in the wet rather than low resistance type tyres....

Theres always a trade off in tyres, depends if u value safey over noise levels etc....

Latest tyres use fancy compounds to eliminate noise, i'm convinced that my winter tyres are quieter than the summer michelins that i had been using, especially at higher speeds....
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Post by docchevron »

Uniroyal Rallye 550 195/60 R14.
Nuff said.
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Post by kiwi »

Interesting debate this!

When I first got my latest BX it had Bridgestone 175/70R14 fitted on it the fronts were soon replced by the correct size 175/65R14 but still I have a 10% speedo reading which basically means I am travelling 10kph faster than the speedo reading. Sitting it at 3000rpm and 91/92kph is apparently the correct speed of 100kph.

Anyways back to tyres what I replced the front with was a set of Goodyear Ducaro which to be honest I was not impressed with pulling out of a side road on a wet day and spinning the wheels. Couple icey days over the winter found the drift a bit less accepatable than in our other car. On the rear just replaced the rear tyres with a set of Michelin taken of the 16RS I had.

To be honest the car even though they have 4mm tread has more grip the Rear Bridgestones the tread on the wheel edges was basically gone even with correct tyre pressure just that wear was unexcepoptable on the outside of the tread.

I am toying around with getting another set of Michelins as they seem to maintain grip better and look wider spreading the loading if that makes sense.

The Ducaros well on a BX are not that great probably better of the Flippin Holdens or Fords so liked over here. Trouble is the roads are a bit more abrassive so european rubber tyres get chewed real quick.

Have not really noticed the noise factor simply beacuse we get so many differant road textures, so still looking for that perfect tyre.
1991 BX19 TZS 04/01/91 (Deceased)
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Post by Kitch »

I've got Michelins on the back and Falkens on the front.

The Michies are quiet and smooth and the grip is pretty good without being amazing. The Falkens are actually not bad as far as slow driving goes as the steering is nice and light with them on, but the grip is a bit iffy. No real difference in noise between them, but the Michelins do ride better.
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Post by MULLEY »

i never mix & match tyres, u can get unpredictable handling as a result, just not worth it to stay safe. By the way you can get 185/60's all in for £120, so why bother with expensive michelin's when they arent any better??
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Re: Tires.

Post by DavidRutherford »

Geoffrey Gould wrote:Hi all. I need some advise about tires.
They're black, round and have some tread on the outside. You fit them to wheels, fill them with air and put one in each corner of the car. [/helpful advice]

I have to say, despite there definitely being differences in the compound and build of tyres, in day-to-day driving I've rarely noticed any difference in the way the car goes/stops. There have been a couple of instances of truly shocking cheap "ditchfinder" specials, but other than those for general motoring, I wouldn't recommend one brand over another.

Obviously that's likely to change somewhat if you drive a car hard, and are "exploring the limits of grip" but, with the greatest respect, I can't imagine you drive like that...
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