Hi Guys,
My Question isn’t really anything about which tyre brand/model to choose, I already have a short list and can read the reviews and recommendations then make my choice.
I have noticed that there can be quite a wide difference in price on a particular tyre depending on the size, i guess this is down to supply and demand for the manufacturer.
Also, Would i be safe in assuming that the DSC system won’t be affected as long as all 4 tyres are the same size ?
Keep to the standard size of 205 50 R 16 which is the tyre on the owners manual. Changing them to a different size on a 16 inch rim throws up all sorts of problems especially with insurance. Money spent on quality tyres is never wasted.
I will drop my insurers an e-mail see what they say.
I once put some cheap tyres on a Fiat Brava i owned a few years ago, replacing the OEM Conti’s.
My missus and daughter were in the car, they went round a wet corner that she had driven round thousands of times in previous years. She had cars in front and cars behind all doing very similar speed. Our car lost control, spun and crashed into a wall = Total write off. No injuries and none of the other cars crashed.
Valuable lesson learnt- i don’t buy the cheapest tyres now - however i do choose carefully from a list of mid to premium tyres and some ‘slight’ variations in size are usually acceptable.
As NickD pointed out to me, a half worn 215 tyre will be smaller than a brand new 205. Can’t see that making much difference?
Unless you change to a higher profile 205/55R16 I don’t see much benefit from a cost perspective. I’ve had a quick look at blackcircles and it seems that the 205/55 is very much cheaper but 195/55 is about the same and 215/50 don’t seem to exist.
The efficient grip in a 205/55 are good tyres for road use (i use them on my vauxhalls in 195/65R15 and 205/55R16 sizes) and they grip well and are quiet. Whether they’ll have much effect on the handling of a 5 is up for debate as the profile is about 12mm taller when comparing new with new over a 205/50R16. They’ll certainly soften the ride out a bit.
Rolling radius:
205/50 R16 (205*.52+1625.4)pi = 1921mm
205/55 R16 (205*.552+1625.4)*pi = 1985mm
Speedo will read approx 3.3% higher than stock
The missus was nagging me about spending another nice sunny afternoon sitting at my PC looking at tyres…
& and I can’t say that i blame her .
I have gone for 205/50 R16 87W Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance x 4. Will post back my findings in due course.
Gonna get the old tyres off then wheels resprayed (powder coated) before fitting.
I am sure that everything will be performing better and looking better than what i have fitted now - Dull wheels and a hotch potch of 4 - 6 year old mixed make tyres.
I compared my car speedo to my Tomtom sat nav and the speedo is showing about 1 -2 mph less than the sat nav between 30 -70mph on my current part worn tyres.
Sounds like a wise choice. Changing things is always a lottery. Stock sizes on new tyres should make the world of difference.
Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance 205/50 R16 87W
So Far , so good. Only done about 160 miles so far, however temperatures as low as 4 deg C and wet on my commute to work.
No problems, no scary moments cornering. seem a bit quieter than the previous mixed bag that was fitted.
Also non-directional with no inside/outside markings. Should make wheel rotation easier.
Good reviews online that are well deserved especially for wet handling and braking which i was after.
Not the most expensive, not the cheapest either.
I bought mine online ( 123 tyres ), shipped directly from Germany, all week 6 /2019 date stamped so should last a few years too - maybe…
I didn’t bother getting the wheels re-sprayed in the end as they were in pretty good nick. Spending the money more wisely getting the car serviced this week with all fluids being replaced.
Glad to hear they are working out well. I like them on my vauxhalls. I sploodged on a set of michelins PS4s for my 5 and the difference to the mixed bag I had on there is remarkable (although that could equally be put down to the four new drop links and bushes I have fitted at the same time)