Hi Sorry to keep posting my problems. I need four new tyres, most firms seem to come up with a make called 'Budget' - I've tried many on line suppliers and Quik-Fit. Fitted at home inc balancing and VAT. I don't intend to drive like a maniac - but what do other people use? Can you get better tyres? Ray
Bridgestone Potenza 165/50 R15 Simply the best tire available in "Copen" Size Buy Bridgestone Potenza RE 040 165/50 R15 73V online @ giga-tyres.co.uk Other Tyres are made in China (Nankang etc.). They are ok when dry but dangerous in wet conditions. Do not save money on tyres, even if it is tempting, they are the only thing keeping you on the road
Bassoon, I have 4 spare Copen wheels with 4 bridgstone potenza tyres on them with loads of tread left, I'm looking for £200ono. Let me know if you're interested
I just abandoned the standard size, I'm running 195/45 R15 Uniroyal Rainsport 3 on Dezent Ti 5" wide wheels, 45 offset (same as standard). They're inside the wheel arches, doesn't seem to be any scraping at full lock, ride is slightly smoother over bumps and the handling doesn't seem to be affected as far as I can tell. If you're sticking with the standard size, I'd buy those off JanesAddiction for the spare wheels or some new bridgestone, definitely not cheapo budget tyres. If you fancy a change, I've attached a PDF from the German forum MicroRoadster with a list of wheels/tyres some of them are using, just copy and paste the column headings into google translate
Thanks for the ideas everyone. I checked the Bridgestones but the speed/rain/braking/rolling resistance are the same EU ratings as the four cheapos I can have fitted and balanced on my drive for £166 inc VAT....? I've never had a cheap tyre slide in the rain even under severe braking/swerving - could it be that Chinese tyres aren't as far behind the technology curve as European dealers would have us believe? Ray
Eu ratings put a tyre on a machine to test how much torque it needs to spin for efficiency rating, wet grip rating is tested by the friction of the wheel at 40mph and by braking distance, which are combined to give the wet grip rating. It doesn't measure handling, tyre stability, resistance to aquaplaning, dry braking or durability however. I read a bunch of tyre reviews, the nankang are the best of the budget tyres but have a lot of complaints about wet performance and I live in Manchester so that's no good to me, the bridgestone are better but still not awesome wet, so I looked at changing size. Uniroyal Rainsport 3 have an A rating for rain and the only complaints I've seen are about durability, but I'm perfectly happen to run with a softer compound tyre for more grip and replace it a little sooner, than run a harder wearing tyre and lose grip when it might be important. Your whole car rests on your tyres, everything you do in your car comes down to your tyres gripping the road, whether accelerating, braking or turning. You don't need the top performance tyres for normal driving, but I'm happy to spend 40-60 more every 3-4 years on the best of the 'medium' performance tyres for some extra security on the road.
Have you ever noticed these EU ratings are not worth much? The chinese tyres might be good in the first year but they age a lot quicker and thus may not perform as good. I have had some bad experience with Kumhos (made in China) on a different car, they were loud and did not have a lot of grip, got a lot of wheelspin when getting going. Changed to Goodyears and it improved greatly. I deal a lot with chinese products and I definitely do not want to say that all chinese manufacturers are scammers, but I often shake my head at the quality of some of their products. Sometimes you are lucky and the quality is on par with european standards, sometimes it isnt. Especially with tyres I would not want to gamble
I'm now using Nankang tyres. They've lasted TWICE as long as the previous Bridgestone Potenzas with no noticeable loss of performance or grip in wet or dry. And they were cheaper.
Waspy also has Nankangs fitted and no issues in wet or dry. Dawn drives sensibly (her car) but I give it a good thrashing especially through the "twisties" and roundabouts where I try not to slow down if it is all clear and it still sticks to the road where other cars wouldn't
Been using the Nankangs for 4 years now, very happy with them, last double the time Bridgestone do as well.
Ray, I was searching the forum for guidance on tyres and came up with your post. I have only had my car since January. The tyres have lots of tread, but are badly perished. A couple of local places said they could only get "budget" tyres in the correct size. I'd be happy to pay more for a recognised make, if I could get them. What did you do in the end? Sandie
Buy Bridgestone Potenza RE 040 165/50 R15 73V online @ giga-tyres.co.uk Take those to your local tyre shop
