Tyres Avon zv7

I’ve got Avon zv7 tyres all round. I’ve read there summer tyres. I drive less than 4000 miles a year. Use the car every day. Any recommendations for which tyres I need. Thanks

If you like them why not use them up.

Summer tyres are ‘normal’ tyres, ie not winter tyres or cross climate, most of us run summer tyres.
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I have the same tyres on mine, use it all the year round, been fine.

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“Use them up”. Presumably you mean down to the wear bars, because thats what regulations considered 30+ years to be safe.

Legal depth in the UK is 1.6mm. That’s not much tread. I change at 3-4mm. As the tyre wears, its characteristics change, that’s why tyre makers work hard on the distribution of “silica” (silicone dioxide) in the tyre compound. Its used to promote wet grip and is not always evenly distributed.

The Avon factory was shut down a few months back.

How many miles you drive a year is largely irrelevant to which tyre. Tyre recommendations and experiences vary according to which variant of the MX5 you drive. There are loads of threads on the topic, and the forum can be searched.

It might be more helpful to actually read the question and make relevant comments.

Presumptions and pontifications don’t actually contribute meaningfully to posts.
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I’ve never truly understood the summer winter tyre mentality thing
And I personally always ‘use them up’
I won’t chuck a tyre away until it’s down to the wear indicators.
Been driving 43 years now and never had a crash.
Go figure.

Play nicely :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

Are you wanting to replace them because they are summer tyres, or because they are worn out and you need new ones?

If you live in the South, there’s really no need to change to all seasons. If you like the feeling of security, then you can always fit all seasons, but they won’t be as good as decent summer tyres for spirited driving.

I think if you’re happy with the existing Avons, just stick with them.

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Hello Bubble.

No need for any other tyres in our climate really.
If it snows there’ll be little difference for an MX-5. Any light, rwd car will struggle no matter what tyres are fitted.
Temperatures here in the UK don’t often stay low enough to fully justify specific winter tyres (although manufacturers might try to say otherwise).

Good to hear you’re using your car year round.

Cheers.

I resisted to comment in the event folks find it boring (tyre threads etc) Kumho have been my go to tyres. Three sets have been fitted to various cars one non MX-5 and I class them as an all season tyre.
Obviously in really prolonged cold, frozen, snowy climates you need a special tyre, just wet or dry the above do a very good job.

My first NC had Avons, they were ok but getting towards finding replacements, especially the fronts. They just seemed to go hard before they were worn down enough to warrant changing, past their use by date I guess.

To add a little to the conversation, I have Goodyear Vector AllSeasons on my original set of 16" wheels for autumn/winter and Kumho PS71 fitted to 17" wheels for spring/summer. I wouldn’t recommend an All Season tyre all year round on an MX-5, as steering directness and outright dry weather performance aren’t as good. You certainly notice a difference between the two tyre types, but grip and ability in poor weather are more important to me during autumn and winter.

If you’re on the south coast, I doubt you’ll experience any benefit from this sort of setup. So the short answer is I’d use the Avon ZV7 until the tread has worn to an appropriate level for replacement, then look at a standard (‘summer’) tyre to replace it. As Mick says, the Kumho PS71 is an excellent match in my view.

I also use my '5 all year round, but probably in slightly different weather conditions to what you experience. Although it depends where you drive for your 4000 miles a year! If it includes a drive to the Alps, your mileage may vary :wink:

@TOGs_driver - I can’t agree that fitting a proper all season or winter tyre to an MX-5 makes little difference - I can definitely confirm it does. It continues to grip and steer with aplomb… with tyres suitable for the conditions.

@MickAP - I certainly don’t class a Kumho ‘PS’ range tyre as a proper all season, although I know what you’re saying. It does a pretty good job in colder temps admittedly, if roads are clear and gritted, but I could certainly feel the diference when I swapped over.

Cheers,
Steve

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Rainsports are pretty decent too, had those on a Mk2 which I drove all year on.

I was very close to going with kumho ps71 per the recommendations of forum users and had a good opinion of kumho ecsta brand tyres having had them before, but when I priced them up for a small amount more I went with eagle f1 assymetric6. No regrets but I’m sure I would have been happy with the kumho for how I use the car (which is currently, not at all :joy:).

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