Four new tyres needed. Should I just replace like for like?

Got a 2011 MX5 Miyako currently running Bridgestone Potenza RE050A 205/45/R17 84W. Today I renewed the MOT but was advised that all tyre depths are below 3mm so I’ve decided to replace them all. The existing tyres were supplied with the car when it was new - the car has covered 24,500 miles.

My question is this. Should I just replace like-for-like (cost: circa £450) or should I consider another make/model of tyre?

Thanks.

 

 

Definitely something else like Kumho.

^^^^^^ what mick said. Soooooooo much better with decent tyres 215/45/17 and alignment

Thanks guys, I have the same tyres as Peter on my 2012 Kuro and next month will need four tyres.

On your recommendation i will seek some Kumho tyres.

Cheers

Dennis

Kumho tyres are real budget make. Are they good enough?

You want tyres that suit the car. Kumhos will.

Cheap isn’t always bad. Expensive isn’t always good.

Replaced the original Continentals on my NC with Kumho. Felt much better and I felt more confident in the car.

They aren’t just good value they are good all round.

 

Read the tyres etc section of the forum. It’s been said before, some tyre review sites don’t really tell the full story of how they fare in real time use Yes they can be classed as a budget to mid range priced tyre, doesn’t mean they are a budget to mid range in the performance table.

Other brands available for sure just as said have a look at the forum comments on each.

Bridgestones of that age will not have much grip because the rubber hardens off. Definitely time for a change.

Putting fresh rubber on my NC made an enormous difference after I bought it; it had the original Potenzas, having done only 17,000 miles and looked perfectly OK with 5 to 6mm tread, but six years old and the treads were stiff as Bakelite and the side-walls were shot inside and crumbing badly.  The Dunlop Maxx that NickD put on for me were superb, quiet and very grippy, if a bit pricey.  At five years old now their grip is still excellent, and the DSC light remains off, unlike with the Potenzas where it was flickering if I did anything with steering or pedals. 

Kumhos will be as good on grip if a bit noisier, but a lot less expensive than the Dunlops.

If you see a recommendation from NickD you can believe it.

You can go so, so, so much more budge than that. 

Many thanks to everyone for the advice. The Kumhos seem to fit the bill as they are around 30% cheaper than the Bridgestones and appear to be more suited to the car.

It’s my wife’s car, in fact, and when I told her about the research I had carried out on here suggesting Kumhos are the better option she accused me of being a cheapskate and insisted she wanted like-for-like so the Bridgestones it is…

Cheapest I’ve seen for the 4 x Bridgestones, including fitting, etc., is £426.80 via Asda Tyres…

Kumhos are made by Bridgestone ----------------------  .       Worth a try

Nick D is the real expert. He has done track testing on YouTube of Kumho versus Toyo and it is plain to see that the Kumho are better. Nobody on here has a bad word for them.

Let her read this thread. She will be happy with Bridgestones I’m sure but tell her that you would be happier if she had tyres that will give her better grip and make the car feel planted on the road. The drive of my NC was transformed when I switched to Kumho.

How about this. Fit Kumhos and give her the difference between the price you pay and the Bridgestones for her shoes and handbag fund.

It would be a shame if she never knew how good her car can be.

LOL 

 

No one is going to die fitting either of those tyres. You are not going to save money either way as any saving will be spent in making amends!

The Bridgestone is a great tyre and part of why Mazda will have spec’d it and if you drove the typical 12K or so average annual mileage in a spirited sports car way then you would likely be replacing them well inside 18 months and think they are great tyre. Where they tend to fall down is the rubber seems to harden more or quicker than most and so a typical OC type car that has 5 or 6 year old tyres on particularly with significant tread left is going to find that in less than dry conditions the grip is significantly less than what many need. There are a fair number of people on this forum that have been caught out that way.

As for like for like, while Bridgestone have now reintroduced a 205 45 17 84W tyre for the Fiat Spider, the MK4 uses the S001, I very much doubt it is the identical spec as the one originally fitted to the MK3 which they stopped making some reasonable time before the MK3 ended production, the late MK3’s had 88 load rated tyres. Non of this matters at all, but as for getting like for like, I doubt they actually exist. 

I am blessed with Bridgestones on my daily driver, can’t wait to ditch them (not literally) poor grip when trying to get away quickly on wet surfaces, well it is FWD. They’ll have to stick around for another few miles although coming up to 5 yrs old as Nick says they are getting hard and also I’ve noticed splitting around the tread outer edges.

Many thanks for the additional contributions, guys, following which, I’m happy to report that, in this regard at least, my wife has been prepared to compromise.

Having ordered the Bridgestone Potenzas, we decided to change the order and go for the Bridgestone S001s instead.

 

Thanks again for everyone’s assistance.

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 are just superb, fit them and you will not be disappointed…

  

 

'Ere, that’s S&M  and that banned on 'ere innit?

 

Nick spends most of his time in & around rubber… not much else to say really

Ditto. I’ve got PS4 and they are gr8. Expensive but they are chalk and cheese compared to my old  Potenza’s which were awful in the wet