Having fitted new discs & pads all round, the 5 passed the MOT this week HURRAR
1 advisory was the rear tyres were approaching the limit.
Now in 15 years of MX5 ownership I have never logged the tyre mileage but just replaced pairs as & when required.
Because I’m thinking of replacing this car I checked miles since rear tyre renewal; 8500 miles.
Because I’ve never bothered checking before I have no idea if this is good, bad or terrible.
Any comments?
Is your mpg also not good? And DSC turned off? Is your right foot very heavy?
More seriously, is the alignment correct? Had the front brakes been binding?
When I bought my NC at six years old it had done 17K on the original Bridgestones and they still had about 5-6mm of evenly worn tread left all around. But they were gripless and hard. I would have expected in normal 10K miles per annum they might well have done 30K.
8500 miles is terrible. Most of my experience isn’t in a 5, but most of my tyres last between 20,000 and 40,000 miles. My current Michelin Sports on the 5 have done 9000 and look like new still. I drive close to 40,000 miles a year in 3 different vehicles for the last 30 years, so I’ve bought a lot of tyres.
Tyres were firestones. rubbish but they came new with the car & I was damned if I was going to throw them away.
alignment ok, pressure always checked, discs were just worn so no binding. very heavy right foot (size 12) & rubbish MPG as a result but it’s only a fun car so what the hell. I blame the FAB exhaust sound which is even better when working hard
Always got loads of miles from the shopping trolley Kia though.
Mine’s still on all 4 of its factory tyres after 24,500 miles; I did have the wheels swapped front to back a couple of years ago to even out the wear (rears were slightly more worn than fronts) as I’d prefer to replace the tyres as a full set.
Tread depth for all of the tyres was recorded as “just under 4mm” when I had it MOT’d 6 weeks ago.
Still drives fine too - plenty of grip, mine don’t seem to have gone hard as some people find. I did read somewhere that tyres can go hard if left standing for long periods, when used there’s some sort of compound within them that becomes active & keeps them supple?
I shall be replacing all 4 when they get down to 3mm.
So it’s me & my right foot then? mind you, it does feel great driving the mountains in Wales which is where 75% of my motoring happens.
I think your choice of exhaust has something to do with tyre-life Joe!
For sure, it does with me - decat and dual-exit on my Mk1 would sound pretty boring (for me and my lad anyway) if I tried to preserve my NS2R’s
Enjoy the sound, the grip and the scenery in Wales as much you can
8500 miles brilliant, driving it like it should be driven
If you’re only getting 8500 miles and there’s nothing wrong with the car, I’m a little envious you’re having that much fun.
Tyre life 20,000 to 25,000 miles on my MX5’s. The rears going first.
Tyre life 20,000 to 25,000 miles on my MX5’s. The rears going first.
[quote=Taxi_Driver]
It’s only a standard 1.8 but driven “incorrectly” it’s good fun on the bendy bits & you don’t have to rev it’s little goolies off. Just have to make sure the fun is only on the bends that give you a view of what may be coming the other way!!!
A few years ago I was in the Brecon Beacons “enthusiastically” tackling a left hand bend when the nearside front wheel dropped off the ragged tarmac edge ripping out the inside sidewall. That was fun. Not.
I once tried out drifting on a closed area but after 10 minutes, got bored. You can have just as much fun at 15 mph in 3rd gear on an icy car park.
Joe, well done for driving your car like the designers of a sports car intended it rather that a a promotional tool for car polish.
I don’t give advice on car polish as any I have is probably 15 years old. I don’t have any tyres that are 20k old either, but I can tell you what stops, turns and grips.
hey Nick, I’m going to be buying a new pair of rear tyres soon. As they dont last me that long what would you, as the tyre expert, recommend that doesn’t cost too much?
Well any the way you drive!
If you enjoy the driving and can feel what the tyre is telling you rather than just expecting it to grip (especially in the wet) and being scared or not reacting when it doesn’t then as decent price conscious choices, I would go Nankang NS-20, which you should be able to get for under £60. You should be able to get a Kumho HS51 for that sort of money too which is a communicative and progressive tyre. Then for a little bit more there is the Vredestein Sportrac 5 and the Nexen Fera.
my garage guy who is also a tyre supplier recommended thre kumho as well so I’ll go with that
cheers
I fitted a pair of Kuhmo Solus KH17 tyres to the rear of my MK2.5 in September 2015. They are not quite down to the tread wear indicator but pretty close.
They are a terrible wet weather tyre, the back end would kick out even on a damp road. I found them OK in the dry with a nice progressive breakaway, but in the rain they were just so unpredictable.
Tomorrow I am replacing them with a pair of Kuhmo KU39’s which I already have on the front plus all round on my M3.
My rear suspension is fine, the tyres have worn down evenly across the tread.
The KH17’s have lasted just over 5000 miles, there may be another 1000 miles left in them but they are getting changed because of their abysmal wet weather characteristics.
Ive been more than happy with the Kumho KU39’s.
Nick, Am I right in thinking that this tyre has been discontinued? If so what is Kumho’s direct replacement?