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"New" car has a fairly horrible mismatch of tyres and since I'm getting the wheels refurbed I can get mailorder tyres fitted for free at the same time, so just going to swap the lot. It's a subaru legacy gtb so reasonably quick and awd, but it's also a UK estate so it doesn't need or want mad tyres, just something quality and dependable. 225/45/17, if it makes any difference (OE was 215/45 but it has wider aftermarket rims on and 225 is notably cheaper)
I was just going to stick Goodyear F1 Eagles on it because they're ace, but I've spotted a couple of others- the Bridgestone Turanza T005 which is almost the same price (£70 or so a corner) and reviews a litle better, and has a B economy rating instead of the Goodyear's C... The Nexen Nfera SU1 as a sort of wildcard as they're £50 each and have an EU C/A/69 rating and good if not amazing reviews (and also, Nexen is nice to say).
And inevitably the crossclimate+ which are a good chunk more expensive at £90, have a slightly worse wet grip rating at B instead of C, and have the whole "worn out before they're worn out" thing where you end up losing the winter performance long before they reach the wear limits and it's all a bit irritating.
I have a second set of wheels for it with (cheap) winter tyres on so I don't need the allseasons but I do like that option regardless- I could sell the wheels and get back my tyre shelf in the garage, and I won't want to have the winters on constantly as they're not going to be anything like as good in normal conditions.
And that's it, that's all the decision making I can cope with right now. Any thoughts?
The ratings are, a far as I remember, a bit bollocks.
Eagle F1s are usually what my dailies wear, or Continental SportContacts. Had a brief flirtation with Proxes T1r and S but couldn't get on with them.
Falken 453 (or whatever the modern equivalents are) really impressed me on a budget.
Michelin Pilot sport3s from delticom?
Or perhaps a wildcard vredestrein ultrac?
Also saw the Fulda Sportcontrol in that size which is a c/a/67
Pirelli P Zero; I've run them on a Merc estate and they've been great.
I’ve got MichelinPilot PS4s on my Golf GTD.
Awesome tyres. Confidence inspiring wet or dry.
Had Bridgestones before which were great in the dry but poor in the wet.
I've used Falken winters on both my older (same style as yours - though not the mental bhp version!) and newer legacy. Been good on both. I've found tyre wear on them to be very good, possibly due to the AWD.
Had Bridgestone Turanza on my previous Ibiza. Didn't think much of them.
I've had Kumho in the past which have been pretty good, especially for the price, but not sure what model would be available in that size - ku39 maybe?
I recently had some Falken ZE18s which were fine, but seemed to wear quite quickly.
Rubbish name, but I keep coming back to Matador Hectorra MP something's. I think when I started buying them, they were mp44, but are now up to 46 or 47. Great value, grip well and seem to last OK. Parent company of Matador is Continental, so it's not like they are a complete unknown.
Vredestein Ultracs as commented above could be a good shout.
Another for MPS4's
Have a look at the Hankook Ventus V12 Evo. Pretty much a summer tyre, and the pair fitted to the front of the Mazda6 2.5 vvt petrol estate I bought a few months' ago have impressed me over the couple of thousand miles done so far, certainly in the dry and also in the downpours we've had. Clearly, I can't speak about longevity, however the reviews suggest they wear as well as any other similar tyres out there and online they're less than £50/corner.
There is a group tyre test on evo magazine.
Not sure if it's your size, but might be worth a read?
I went from Turanzas as OEM fitting on my Octavia VRS to Vredestein Ultrac Centos, and when it came to change again I stuck with the Vredesteins. Only downside is they can be tricky to find IME.
Cheers all- some really good comments there.
(Incidentally Slackalice the Ventuses last really well)
Aside; 15% off from some sellers on car parts right now, including mytyres.
ive got the dunlops on mine and they are ok.
I've used both Goodyear Eagle F1s and and Michelin Cross Climates on the same car: A Leon FR that's had a blufin upgrade so has about 250bhp.
The Goodyears have a bit more grip in the dry and feel a bit more positive but - and for Scotland its a big but - the Michelins are miles better in the wet, much better traction, much more predictable dealing with standing water. I've also found they actually wear pretty well.
Plus the added bonus of them actually working pretty well in the snow.
So on the basis that they are the best wet weather tyres I've used I happily recommend CrossClimates to everyone
That's good to know northwind, what's deterring you from getting the Hankooks?
Nothing bad, though I never found them especially good on the front they've been fine overall. I just fancied something hopefully a little stickier.
Incidentally, bought the Bridgestones, ignoring much advice on here- price was right, and found a straight up eagle vs bridgestone review that more or less said "the same only better".