# Anyone Know About Tyres?



## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

I am shortly going to have to replace a full set of tyres. I need 235/65V17 and the original fits are Continental Contact 4x4.

Kwik-fits online price for 4 including fitting etc is Â£566 for these. Cheapest is Bridgestone Dueler Sport at Â£437 and the dearest is Michelin Diamaris at Â£872. They have Goodyear Wrangler HP All weather at Â£464. Goodyearâ€™s own website doesnâ€™t rate these particularly high for either winter or off-road which is putting me off a bit. Road noise is also important to me.

Iâ€™m tempted to stick with the Continentals as they have been good and I will probably have got the best part of 25,000 miles from them. I wonâ€™t be going for dearer ones so this leaves me to choose between Continental (Â£566), Goodyear (Â£464) and Bridgestone (Â£437).

Does anyone know about tyres or can point me to a good comparison to help me choose?

(Ps I know not everyone likes Kwik-fit but Iâ€™ve never had a problem with them and they do good deals if you buy 4)


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

Robert said:


> I am shortly going to have to replace a full set of tyres. I need 235/65V17 and the original fits are Continental Contact 4x4.
> 
> Kwik-fits online price for 4 including fitting etc is Â£566 for these. Cheapest is Bridgestone Dueler Sport at Â£437 and the dearest is Michelin Diamaris at Â£872. They have Goodyear Wrangler HP All weather at Â£464. Goodyearâ€™s own website doesnâ€™t rate these particularly high for either winter or off-road which is putting me off a bit. Road noise is also important to me.
> 
> ...


Not bought 4x4 tyres but many others ,take your time looking you may even get advice off a Land rover forum . I Dont use quicky fitty or any other shop like that .Go for a tyre specalist only and compare .

Best of british ,me personally id use a cheaper indian brand provided they were safe ones ,credit crunch so buying 4 you have some barter


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

I had a look at a LR forum but I don't think they take Freelanders seriously


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

Robert said:


> I had a look at a LR forum but I don't think they take Freelanders seriously


Sorry you through me when you said off roading h34r:


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## Stan (Aug 7, 2003)

The original spec tyres will be well suited to the vehicle, I suspect.

I'd go to several local tyre specialists and see what the come up with. European tyre makers may be more in tune with European driving conditions and habits than a far eastern manufacturer, unless they specify a particular tyre for the conditions you drive in and prove it works better than the rivals.

Mud and slush varies throughout the world. 

Skimp on watches rather than tyres, watches rarely save lives.


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## William_Wilson (May 21, 2007)

I do not have personal experience with the tyres you have mentioned, but I have years of experience installing thousands of tyres on vehicles of all types. Here are some general things to remember. Tyres with a solid centre sipe are quieter. Tyres with super high tech traction features are great onroad but these features don't do that much in the mud and slop. All road rated tyres are a compromise, so bias your choice towards what is most important to you. 

Later,

William


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## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

Tread carefully h34r:


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## Johnny M (Feb 16, 2007)

There's an online forum for most subjects. :thumbsup: Perhaps you may find something useful here? http://www.tyrespec-multibrand.co.uk/forum/


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

If you want to know more about the technical side of tyres, have a look at

http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

don't ask me i only get 8k from a set


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

spankone said:


> don't ask me i only get 8k from a set


Good lad! I used to get between 6 and 7 on all 4 on my Scooby and about that on the driving tyres of other cars... shortest was 120 miles on a supermoto rear tyre... It was a race compound and unbelievable for backing it in and sliding as well as grip, but one good ride and it was to the canvas... sigh... at amost 200 quid a tyre I wonder why people moan about the price of car tyres LOL


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## jwg663 (Feb 26, 2004)

Have a look at Black Circles (google them).

Good prices & delivered to a local guy to fit.

.

Take it easy...

.

Jim...


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

JonW said:


> spankone said:
> 
> 
> > don't ask me i only get 8k from a set
> ...


I did a set in less than 5k on my 1.4ltr polo but it was stripped and decked. with very soft rubber.

my golf kills tyres in 8k however I drive


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

Johnny M said:


> There's an online forum for most subjects. :thumbsup: Perhaps you may find something useful here? http://www.tyrespec-multibrand.co.uk/forum/





> Statistics
> 
> Total posts 15 â€¢ Total topics 10 â€¢ Total members 9


 :lol:

Spankone, you should be an expert at buying tyres then

Jim, Black circles offer differenet brands which is going to confuse me. For cheap ones for the 710's car, I've gone to Performance Tyres in Carmunnock (also in Ayr). Cheap brands but she ony does 1k miles a year at no more than 30mph :lol:

I'll have a look at car bibles. Imagine I'm going to go for the standard fit replacement unless I can find any facts on the cheaper ones to convince me otherwise.

Thanks all for your input


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

spankone said:


> it was stripped and decked


 :blink: :huh:


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

Robert said:


> Johnny M said:
> 
> 
> > There's an online forum for most subjects. :thumbsup: Perhaps you may find something useful here? http://www.tyrespec-multibrand.co.uk/forum/
> ...


Well I only have Goodyear on mine not f1's though as they can be a bit soft and not so good in the wet. I feel I get the best compromise between mileage and performance.

I wouldn't have perellis to soft, dunlops are good can be soft to, falkens are good and uni royal rain sports, Michelin handle like crap but last for miles my future 710 got over 45k out of a set and the only reason they got replaced was because of age rather than tread depth.

but I'm generalising.

as with any thing its about compromising

hard tyres more miles more road noise less grip

softer less miles less road noise more grip

also ask tread depth between the different tyres. some have more than others.


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## spankone (Sep 17, 2008)

Robert said:


> spankone said:
> 
> 
> > it was stripped and decked
> ...


here it is decked but I dont have a picture of it stripped


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Have you tried Avon, I put two on the front of my truck last years replacing Goodyears on the recomendation of a local Land Rover guy, he said that was what they were all buying these days. They are quiet and have lasted well at about Â£120 each which seemed reasonable. Minor problem is that I probably need another four for the back this year.

B.


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

If you have liked the Conti CrossContacts have a look at the Conti CrossContact UHP.....they are a better tyre, quieter, much more grip and a smoother ride....OEM for the likes of Porsche Cayenne, BMW X5 etc.....I have a set on my Lexus RX AWD and they are bloody magic!


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

Or if your feeling cheap but still want a great tyre......try these....they get rave reviews but not exactly mud pluggers, more for winter roads and dry conditions.

http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php?plid=m26b0s251p12412


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

Boxbrownie said:


> If you have liked the Conti CrossContacts have a look at the Conti CrossContact UHP.....they are a better tyre, quieter, much more grip and a smoother ride....OEM for the likes of Porsche Cayenne, BMW X5 etc.....I have a set on my Lexus RX AWD and they are bloody magic!


The UHP's are only Â£530, the other Contis are Â£566. 

Does the load index make much difference? Mine are 108 - can i go for 104's? Never heard of the load index before :blink:


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

I had all sorts of problems with some tyres I bought for my Corvette, trying to get someone to fit them for me, all the big boys wouldn't fit them because I didn't buy them from them and I ended up having to go to one of those back street places to get them fitted and they were rough. Depends how expensive your wheels are

One minor thing to consider if you buy them mail order.

B.


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

Robert said:


> Boxbrownie said:
> 
> 
> > If you have liked the Conti CrossContacts have a look at the Conti CrossContact UHP.....they are a better tyre, quieter, much more grip and a smoother ride....OEM for the likes of Porsche Cayenne, BMW X5 etc.....I have a set on my Lexus RX AWD and they are bloody magic!
> ...


It makes a difference, how much depends on your vehicle and its GVW (gross vehicle wieght), you can find this out from the manual under "towing weights" or in the specicfications or from the VIN plate stuck (usually) to one of the body door pillars.

Your exsisting tyres will take up to 1000Kg each so 4000Kg GVW (unless you drive a tank, eh Bond? :lol: this won't be an issue!) the new UHP take 3600Kg GVW....so I would hazard a guess and say your vehicle GVW will be well below that....take a squint at the specs to check though!

As an example my Lexus RX300 4X4 is GVW 2310Kg.....its a big car and still well below the limit of the UHP tyres...what do you drive, if as I suspect it was the LR Freelander its got to be under or around the same.....I am sure my Freelander was lighter than my present vehicle


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Boxbrownie said:


> unless you drive a tank, eh Bond? :lol:


Beats driving a Toyota any day of the week

:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

BondandBigM said:


> Boxbrownie said:
> 
> 
> > unless you drive a tank, eh Bond? :lol:
> ...


Toyota in a party dress...if you don't mind...thank you :tongue2:


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

Thanks David. It is the Freelander.

Kerb weight 1770kg â€" Max Laden weight 2550kg â€" Max towing 2000kg.

Looks like the UHPâ€™s will be the ones


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Boxbrownie said:


> BondandBigM said:
> 
> 
> > Boxbrownie said:
> ...


Yep we used an RX as a works runaround in Singapore but a lot of people personally imported Toyota's over there that were identical but about Â£10K cheaper. You don't see them in Europe, why would you when Toyota can fleece you for an extra few quid by re badging it as a Lexus.

Expensive badges

B.


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

BondandBigM said:


> Boxbrownie said:
> 
> 
> > BondandBigM said:
> ...


.....and the Toyota version is called a "Harrier".....would you? I wouldn't :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

Blimey...I'm havin' a bad night tonight....need a drink.....off to watch a movie....no more editing! :lol:


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

Robert said:


> Thanks David. It is the Freelander.
> 
> Kerb weight 1770kg â€" Max Laden weight 2550kg â€" Max towing 2000kg.
> 
> Looks like the UHPâ€™s will be the ones


Remember rule one never open the package h34r:


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Boxbrownie said:


> Blimey...I'm havin' a bad night tonight....need a drink.....off to watch a movie....no more editing! :lol:


 :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## Guest (Jan 16, 2009)

There are quite a few part-worn tyre dealers on eBay. I bought some for my Alfa GTV about three years ago before I got rid of it. I'd had it from new for about 4 years but it was time for me and the Alfa to part company, due to financial reasons/moving.

I got a set of four tyres that had done less than 5,000 miles each for about Â£150. If I'd bought 4xGoodyear Eagle F1 replacements it would've been easy Â£80/tyre.

I always pass an Alfa 156/147/GTV with a bit of longing for the old days when I'm driving round in my bog-standard, but reasonable, 406 nowadays. :blink:


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## marmisto (Jan 1, 2009)

I found the best way was to find someone selling a complete set on wheels as the 4x4/poser group are always changing up, i got 4 big alloy wheels and brand new tyres off a pick-up owner, when he sold his vehicle, for Â£300 when the tyres alone are Â£150+ each.

shop around and checkout local trade papers.

good luck


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

Marmisto, does that mean you are part of the poser group - changing up 

Tyres are one thing I wouldn't buy either part worn or second hand as you may not find out how badly they have been previously treated until you really need them. I may be tight on a lot of things but not tyres.


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