Tyres, Lights and Servicing

[lordgibbness]

Couple of reviews in case you haven't seen them
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2007-evo-tyre-test.htm
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2007-autocar-tyre-test.htm

 

[james walker]

Falkens - they arent the best tyre around, but are a good priced tyre. James - why not try the Asymmetrics next time around - would go well with your mods. Remember newer tyres on rear though!

the falkens stick superb, driven hard they perform really well... no tyre squeel on hard driving, superb in the dry. very good in the wet.

the gsd3s are good tyres, but for the much less price ill be sticking to the falkens, they dont lose grip even when the quaife is working hard, havent lost it a t all yet, i remember caveo also had 452s with 325bhp, quaife arbs etc and he said they also performed very well... better wear rate than the gsd3s aswell.

 

[bombheads12]

Please dont shoot me i expect there is a sticky somewhere but i havent found it?
How the hell do you get the centre caps off a normal 16" ally wheel? that wire thing is an absolute abortion!
Cos if you put grunt behind it the bloody thing straightens out!
Any advice gratefully accepted as well as go away! lol
kim

 

[Andrewcupra TDI]

ul need another then mine works perfect, other than that u can buy tools , like picks ,look like dentists equipment

 

[lordgibbness]

the falkens stick superb, driven hard they perform really well... no tyre squeel on hard driving, superb in the dry. very good in the wet.

Good to hear, but I'd still think with all the money you spend on mods, buying the best tyre around would add to that. When you've spent £5000 on mods, £400 for tyres should be mere change! I wouldn't recommend GSD3s to anyone though as they will have been manufactured quite a long time ago and stitting around in warehouses.

 

[FLK]

woah down to 3mm after 5K! guessing you're using the full capacity of your std car
(mine's std too) were they a full 9mm when you bought them?

I got my figures a bit wrong , used my tread gauge this morning instead of my finger and they're just under 6mm on the front though I've only done 4.5k on them so looks like they'll last until 9-10k at least like the GSD3s did. I don't use my car properly in the week as my trip to work and back is fairly short so car never gets up to temp until I'm too near home or work.

 

[sockpuppet]

I recently got 4 new Goodyear F1 asyms to replace the falken 452 on the front and pirelli P6000's that were on the back. I have to say the F1's are a whole level above the falkens and the price difference was about £15 a tyre (mytyres)

I had the intermittent indicator on the front recently and all I did was take the bulb out and GENTLY pulled the bottom contact of the bulb holder upwards with some long nose pliers which solved this.

Not sure what you need to do with the washer jet? But if its the angle that needs adjusting, with previous cars I have placed a needle in the jet and moved it around.

 

[Dyscontinued]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I thought the Falkens were cruddy. Loud, crashy, harder to turn the wheels, terrible in the wet.

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asyms all the way, though you can tell how soft they are by the fact my front left almost needs replacing yet my front right still has some life left. Roundabouts maybe?

 

[lordgibbness]

Might be worth getting a full chassis alignment check with for-and-aft printouts.

 

[james walker]

that is well worth it, pay for a proper hunter alignment, with before and after prints.... youll fell the difference then. and will sort out the tyre wear.

 

[Dyscontinued]

Where do I go for one of them?

Had a 4 wheel alignment when they were new...

 

[blue51]

Does everyone use summer tyres all year round? Unless you chaps up north have a winter set too?

Autoexpress (and evo) are doing a £1 offer - so downloaded the tyre tests
See lordgibbness' link above for evo test results (GY F1 Asy 1st and Vred Sessanta 2nd)
Autoexpress has GY Hydragrip 1st place and Vred Sportrac3 2nd (but Vred better in the wet)
Scoured tyrereviews.com and others and thinking as I cant get the F1 Asymmetrics or Sessantas in 16", I'm thinking my order of preference is:

1. Vred Sportrac3 / Ultrac Cento (launched Apr 09, less noise and resistance ie fuel cost)
2. Falken 452
3. Toyo F1R

(GY GSD3's seem to get mixed reviews and the issue of old stock ...)

I don't mind spending a few quid more to get better quality, but I'm not sure that anything else is better (P Zeros, Pilots, SportContact3s, Potenzas don't seem to get as good reviews)

What do people reckon - is it a good top three or should I go for one of the premium brands?

 

[Markyboyt]

My GSD3's were made 50th week of 08 and were brought end of march this year so not that old. Obviously if you brought a set now and they were made end of last year there a tad older but still nothing major.

That said having looked at the proper picture of the F1 asyms tread pattern it is quite similar to its predecessor, originally on the system I looked on it said the non F1 asym was the replacement and thats a standard tread pattern which I found a bit unusual but it makes sense now lol.

I imagine my next tyres will probably be the F1 asyms but thats not for a while yet

 

[blue51]

are you impressed with them markyboyt?

what's the deal with run flats - sounds good but hear they may give a harsh ride?

 

[Markyboyt]

are you impressed with them markyboyt?

what's the deal with run flats - sounds good but hear they may give a harsh ride?

Yes they seem very good tyres to me, I think to properly compare tyres you would need to do back to back comparisons, unless one set is linglongs or something of that sort then you dont even need to drive the car lol.

Runflats are a firmer tyre as the sidewall is reinforced, to the extent where with zero pressure its not always noticable that the tyre has lost any air. Cars with runflat tyres do tend to have the suspension set up different to accommodate this though although some people do still switch them to regular tyres due to the price difference and also the fact that only one manufacturer advises repairs on them so a puncture means a new tyre.

 

[blue51]

Bogwoppit's just thrown Hankook Evo v12's into the mix with some good german reviews!

I'm going to go for the Ultrac Cento's ... soon!

Thanks to everyone who helped me with advice