[jechilt]

Looking to replace my worn out Michelin Sport tires.
Living in Italy, the tire folks say that the Pirelli 6000 provide a better ride and much more quiet than the factory Michelin's.
Any suggestions out there for a 94 Aero with 205/55/16 tires?

 

[Stephen Brown]

When I got my second-hand 9000CD it had Pirelli 6000s on it and I was impressed, especially in the wet. I've now got the second set of 6000s on and I've fitted the Superflex poly anti-roll bar bushes front and rear. VERY impressive road holding and low road-noise with little or no squeal under hard cornering. Now waiting to see how they handle freezing conditions.
Pirelli 6000s get my

 

[microcat36]

Have a look at this link
Tyres

in the link you will see my opinion on p6000's, also some other brands, use the search facility to find some more tyre posts.

 

[jechilt]

thanks for the reference. i think i will not get the pirelli after reading the comments. i prefer to stay with the michelin but not sure i want to fork out the money.
i think the colway sound very interesting. i always liked continental but their pricetag is for the rich and famous (of which I am neither). i am going to have to see if my friend in the UK can hook me up.

 

[john]

Pirelli P6000s are the worst tyre I have so far had on any vehicle Especially with their aquaplaning proficiency at 40-50mph in the wet with 4mm of tread remaining.

 

[jechilt]

as for the hankook...are we talking the optimo H420?
anyone have any feeback on any of these brands:
kumho, falken, sumitomo, nitto, avon?

I am after 3 objectives. first is traction in wet/dry. second is comfort. third, is quiet

 

[CarlyKeith]

As tyres have been on my mind of late I've being giving some thought to what I really want. Low noise/good wear & grip in wet/dry conditions and as for speed rating how many of us will go 100 mph for long periods? Are directional tyres absolutely vital for the average driver on this BB. B4 I replace any of my tyres I'll do quite a bit more soul searching and ofcourse keep my eye on the board.

 

[sgould]

On my 9-5 the 225/45 17 Michelin Primacys are nothing like as noisy as the same 215/55 16 ones on my old 2.3SE. I need to change a pair of tyres. I may gor for the Primacys again. Although they are quite expensive, they seem to grip quite well and last a long time. Seem to have a good miles per £ ratio.

For example, the Primacys on my 2.3 lasted 18,000 miles on the front wheels and were not new when I bought the car. the Bridgestone S-03's that replaced them lasted 10,000 miles but were only 20% cheaper.

 

[andy law]

Got Kumho Ecsta on the front (215-55/16) They are a good allround tyre, they perform well in both wet and dry conditions and are wearing very well at the moment. You can notice the tyre roar at speed however, (a product of the hard compound?)

 

[Steve-Stage 2]

The P 6000's had to go not bad in the dry but hopeless in the wet. Now running Falken 451.... 225/45/17 plenty of grip in both dry and wet conditions and would definatly buy again

Slightly noisier than P 6000.

Steve

 

[Dulux]

I got Kumho ecsta on the front (came with the wheels) and pirelli P7000 on the back.

I am also about to change the fronts but wondering what to go for, I like the pirellis on the back but may go for something a little softer for the front, since wear is not a concern for me probably go down the route of yoko avs/toyo proxies?

The ride is quite hard at the moment running 215/40/17"s, so may try something with a larger profile.

 

[threadd]

I've just [within the last 2 weeks] replaced my fronts with Dunlop SP01 sports. First impressions were a firmer ride at the front but with increased road noise. Can't tell what the wear is yet but they are scrubbing in well across the tread and on the outer edge. No wet weather driving yet so can't tell you anything about that.

However, I think I have noticed a difference in front end grip. As previously stated, the fron end on the 9000 can understeer badly, and had a prime example this morning. Hit a 90 degree righthander at around 30, in the dry and one that I've been around many times before. Started to accelerate and suddenly found the car going straight ahead instead of turning

. Backed off the throttle a touch, straightened and returned and the tyres bit and she turned. Nearly kerbed the wheels [standard 15 inch cross-wires] but didn't touch.

I know I'm a forceful driver, not one for hanging around if you know what I mean but not had this degree of washout before. I'll temper my style until I find the balance between speed and grip with these SP01s.

Just thought I'd share my experience from this morning!

 

[sgould]

What tyres were you running before?

 

[threadd]

I'd had trouble with the rears from when I bought the car, and they were 2 different makes [can't remember what now] and the tyres I did have on the front are now on the rear. I'll just go and check what they are....

They are Firestone Firehawk 700 'Fuel Saver', standard 195/65 R 15. I tend to keep all my tyres at 30psi unless I'm carrying a full load i.e. touring across France with the family, then I go up to 33 psi at the rear.

Having just re-read Bill J's tyre report on his site, perhaps I should boost the tyres to 35 psi, and see if that makes any difference. It's interesting see Bill say that he found the SP01s to be quiet as that's not my impression but there again, I don't have his vast experience yet!

 

[sgould]

Don't know the Firestone tyre. But I'm always looking for the holy grail of a silent, everlasting tyre with lots of grip

 

[threadd]

Now running at 35 psi front and rear. Difficult to explain the difference but it is there. The car feels slightly less 'mushy' around the corners and the feedback through the steering is better but the car now feels a little 'skittish'.

As for the noise, on a stretch of newer tarmac it was less noticeable than on older 're-surfaced' roads.

That's about it from me on this. I'll keep a watching brief on wear and may post an update later if there is any interest.

 

[sgould]

Are all the rubber suspension bushes in good order?

 

[Mr. Person]

I would recommend the Yokahama AVS dB S2 tires as they provide great handling in the wet and dry while being able to tackle light snow conditions. They are also very quite with minimal road noise. However, since you have a bigger tire size you have more options than I do. Matter of fact, your tire size permits to you to get the Pirelli PZero Nero M&S. These tires top the Yokahama in almost every category according to the Tire Rack test results and consumer ratings. I would seriously check them out if you need all-season tires like my self. The price isn't bad either.

Tire Rack: Yokama v.s Pirelli Comparison

 

[kevster]

I've just had 225/50/16 Vredestein Sportrac 2's fitted. They appeared to be a very good all round wet/dry/wear tyre from the Reifentest surveys:
http://www.reifentest.com/cgi-bin/autotest...03z119z104&&&EN

They seem pretty good in the dry but I haven't had them in the wet yet to judge this side of things (and the reason why I was desperate to get rid of my Euromasters).

Kev

 

[philcrombie]

Haven't tried Bridgestone S03s on the Aero yet but unless I am directed otherwise I'll be buying them when the current goodyears wear out as they were fantastic on my old mr2 turbo. Wet grip was amazing in that you could drive as if it were dry and any slip was very progressive. In fact I probably adopted a dangerously carefree wet driving attitude given that I really struggled to wheelspin a 220bhp car in the wet with them.
They seemed to last fine, but maybe they wont last as long as others..time will tell
Oh and they dont squeel on corners - I hate that and the my Eagle NCT5 do it... bugs me!