In preparation for a Scotland to Eastbourne return drive over the weekend I checked the tyre pressures only to get a shock. 9000 miles and the front tyres are looking very, very low.

1.8t Vector with 225/45 17 PZero's. I am not used to this tyre wear I used to have a GM900 and could get 25k miles from P6000s and lasted 75k on original front pads and disks - so not a hard driver !

Anyone facing the same? - and recommendations on what to put on instead in order to limit the financial damage?

The Pirrelli zero's are a geat grippy tyre. But indeed the tyre wears out quick. Several of our customers got nice slicks after 18k miles. And my boss who's got them on his 2.2 TID 9-5 (But is a very sporty driver) turned them into slicks after only 8k miles.

Aaah! The old trick of putting soft tyres on new cars. Have they gone to the lengths Vauxhall did a few years ago and had "extra sticky" specials made that you couldn't get on the aftermarket?

Anything for a good handling report from the hacks?

Honda still do this on some models. One manufacturer (Toyo?) listed a full range of tyres on the web with some labelled as factory supply only.

You can definately buy PZeros so at least they've not fitted unique tyres to the car!

Currently looking through all the magazines (well Autoexpress and Evo) to decide which tyres to get next - something with a bit more miles hopefully. Looks like either Goodyear Eagles or ContiSportContact

Of course the other option is to drive more slowly ...... but then why did we buy these cars in the first place http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/fawlty.gif http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/fawlty.gif http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/fawlty.gif http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/fawlty.gif

The point I was making is that some tyre manufacturers and car makers do a deal where the factory get a special rubber compound to fit to new cars - usually high grip but short life so that you think the handling is wonderful and you buy the car (as well as the gullible journalist writing how good the roadholding is). When you go to the aftermarket you can still buy the same tyre, same pattern etc, but the "rubber" will be different. You may not notice because the performance of new tyres is always a lot better than worn tyres.

.... and the 215/55 16 Bridgestone S03's on my 9-5 have worn out at the front after 16,000 miles.

I got 18,000 on the (noisy) Michelin Primacy tyres and they were already on the car and part worn when I bought it.

So far the Viggen has managed 25,000 on the Pirelli P6000's from the factory. Lots of freeway driving, but then again, that might be countered by some of my night driving. http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

Originally posted by Adrian W:
So far the Viggen has managed 25,000 on the Pirelli P6000's from the factory. *[/b]Really? With 252bhp at the wheels? http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/fawlty.gif Way to go

Originally posted by Robert with Vector:
Currently looking through all the magazines (well Autoexpress and Evo) to decide which tyres to get next - something with a bit more miles hopefully. *Looks like either Goodyear Eagles or ContiSportContact
[/b]Having been really chuffed with Eagle F1s on my 900T at first, I have just got rid of them after a very disappointing 10-12000 miles.
The shoulders of both sides of both front wheels went completely bald while the centre was hardly worn (and they were inflated for full load and checked regularly). One of the tyres also went off-round due to a twisted ply.

Check Autocar tomorow , there is a tyre test .

So far the Viggen has managed 25,000 on the Pirelli P6000's from the factory. Lots of freeway driving, but then again, that might be countered by some of my night driving.[/b]I've got 5.5mm of tread on the fronts and 4.5mm on the rears at just over 18,000 miles on Pirelli P6000's and 205 bhp on tap.

Saab swap front/rears around at the 6k service and its an option on the 18k (I had it done). I reckon that's a good wear rate from new. The TCS seems to assist wear - my LPT had a much greater wear rate without TCS.

The US board members are surely going to get better wear rates due to the significantly different driving style over there and the fewer "bendy" roads they have, but we have in spades in Europe.

(And despite my view on speeding in another thread - given the open road I do like to bury the throttle )

Eventually had to spend and get new tyres - 13000 miles.

Managed to pick up 2 x 225/45/17 Goodyear Eagle F1 for £200 all-in, which I thought was pretty good, from the local kwik-fit.

Can now drive through puddles again http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/fawlty.gif

Let's see how long they last

Robert,

Think yourself lucky. I get 6000 - 8000 m per set of fronts (Pirelli P-Zero's).

I'd let you know what the Bridgestone SO3's gave, but i'm not counting suffice to say that the Carlsson is on it's 3rd full set this year (12 tyres, 20000 miles) and the Aero its 2nd ( 8 tyres, 8000m).

Andrew

My 350lbft+ CS chews front tyres (about 6-8k on SO3s) but the rears aren't too bad. I reckon I've had about 15k out of them and they're still going quite strong (3-4mm left)

6K for a set of front tyres???, all I can say is that I hope you have a lot of fun for those 6000 miles

Drive a Subaru and you will know about tyre wear.

I tried several tyre types in my 2 years with the car and found the following out:
All the same size 225/45/ZR18

Bridgestone = Not bad all round but tramline after 5K until they are illegal.

Falken FK451 = Better than the Bridgestones but the outer edges were too soft and wore out early.

Toyo T1S = Dont ever fit them,in the dry they are alright but in damp to wet conditions they where dangerous and lasted less than 5K. http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/eek.gif

Avon ZZ3 = By far the best tyre ive fitted to the car,the wear rating is great and grip wet or dry is fantastic,i was a bit worried about fiiting Avons after the disasterous effort they made with th ZZ1 tyre,but when the P Zero Rosso's die on my new 9-3 Aero that is what will be getting fitted. http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/thumbsup.gif

Zippy

Originally posted by Zippy9-3:
Bridgestone = Not bad all round but tramline after 5K until they are illegal. [/b]What do you mean by "tramline"?

Glenn.

Originally posted by Docproc:
*QUOTE
Originally posted by Zippy9-3:

Bridgestone = Not bad all round but tramline after 5K until they are illegal. [/b]What do you mean by "tramline"?

Glenn. [/b][/quote]Tramlining is where the tyres seem to follow ruts in the road and you have to fight the steering a little to compensate. It usually happens to tyres with stiffer sidewalls. Thats the trade off for better cornering grip and feel.
You get used to it soon enough.

Zippy 9-3; the wife's 900 has Avon zz3s on there and we think they are awful. Very Noisy and give a harsh ride. As soon as they can be replaced they will. Maybe they suit the new 93ss suspension better?

The Fox,i had the tyres all mentioned on my Subaru and the Avon ZZ3's are the best choice on that particular car with 4WD, the Avon gave great grip and feel in all conditions.
I pick my 9-3 Aero up on the 28/01/04 and it has Pirreli PZero Rosso tyres on it which i havent tried before.

The Avon tyres might not be a good choice for a FWD car but it should be a while before i need to replace my existing ones.

Zippy

My 93 Vector TiD is 3 months old and has 5K on it so far. The 'Continental Sport Contacts' fitted seem almost untouched on the back, whilst the front seem almost half worn. This alarms me as at least 90% of my driving is on a flat motorway at usual speeds.

Is it the weight of the diesel engine perhaps ?

Hi and welcome to Saabscene!

I had the continental Sport Contact on my 9-5 and they lasted quite well, probably similar to the Michelin Primacys (18,000 ml on the front). In between I had some Bridgestone SO3's which lasted about 60% of the others.

My wife has Michelin Pilots on her 9-3 Vector 1.8t. I would say that they are about 80% worn in 10,000 miles. But the first 7,000 were while the car was a demonstrator. I've often suspected that manufacturers fit special "look alike" tyres with softer compounds to some new cars to enhance the handling.

Dear SGould, you could be right on the softer compounds for new cars.

Although when I used to be in our company car scheme, the lease vehicles we used to get almost always used to come with the Dunlop D8's, which last absolutely forever, on almost very car I had them on.

However there is no such thing as a free lunch in life, and the downside was the c**p roadholding they gave in the wet !