Tyre choice for a 350...
Discussion
Had a mishap a couple of days ago with a lump of metal in one of the rears.. Only 4mm of tread left so thought better to replace both rears rather than risk repair.
However...
Anyone any experience of the following on a wedge?
Michelin MXV3A...
I've got a pair on the front of my Civic Vti... Work much better than the Dunlop or Goodyear things I've had on before (including NCT's)
Goodyear NCT5
NCT's were fitted by the factory when the "my" wedge was built... RE71's must have come later.
Goodyear Eagle F1's
No experience of these at all.
Needless to say Micheldever come tops for prices..
Any comments of these tyres chaps, any others worth looking at?
Regards,
Brian (and a Red 350)
with a poorly tyre.
However...
Anyone any experience of the following on a wedge?
Michelin MXV3A...
I've got a pair on the front of my Civic Vti... Work much better than the Dunlop or Goodyear things I've had on before (including NCT's)
Goodyear NCT5
NCT's were fitted by the factory when the "my" wedge was built... RE71's must have come later.
Goodyear Eagle F1's
No experience of these at all.
Needless to say Micheldever come tops for prices..
Any comments of these tyres chaps, any others worth looking at?
Regards,
Brian (and a Red 350)
with a poorly tyre.
Had 4 x NCT5 on my 350i until recently. Found them to ride and wear reasonably well. Grip not the ultimate but not too bad either. Slightly slippy in damp conditions.
Recently replaced the rears with Goodyear F1's and IMHO these are much better suited to the car. Grip is much better especially in damp conditions and the car just feels much happier cornering at speed. I will be replacing the fronts with F1's in the next month or so.
One note on the F1's, they do take a couple of hundred miles or so to scrub in. They may seem a little slippy at first, but persist with them and they settle down well. Also don't let the people who fit them over-inflate them. The chap who did mine was about to blow them up to the 30 odd psi of a normal car. Stopped him just in time. They run nicely at the standard rear pressure of 20psi.
I paid £70 each for the F1's including valves, balancing, VAT etc.
Sniffer
Recently replaced the rears with Goodyear F1's and IMHO these are much better suited to the car. Grip is much better especially in damp conditions and the car just feels much happier cornering at speed. I will be replacing the fronts with F1's in the next month or so.
One note on the F1's, they do take a couple of hundred miles or so to scrub in. They may seem a little slippy at first, but persist with them and they settle down well. Also don't let the people who fit them over-inflate them. The chap who did mine was about to blow them up to the 30 odd psi of a normal car. Stopped him just in time. They run nicely at the standard rear pressure of 20psi.
I paid £70 each for the F1's including valves, balancing, VAT etc.
Sniffer
Following on fromo arcturus I also think that the F1 is the best tyre that you can buy. Be sure to get the F1 GS-D3 though and not the F1 GS-D2.
MXV3s seem to work much better on heavier cars like BMWs. Wedges were generally fitted with NCTs because they were thought to be the best tyre at the time; RE71s are later and the NCT5 is a much later rep-mobile tyre.
Other tyres to consider are Toyo Proxes and SO3PPs but I'd stick with the F1 GS-D3s and fit 205/55/15 all round.
PS "Standard pressure is 22psi."
MXV3s seem to work much better on heavier cars like BMWs. Wedges were generally fitted with NCTs because they were thought to be the best tyre at the time; RE71s are later and the NCT5 is a much later rep-mobile tyre.
Other tyres to consider are Toyo Proxes and SO3PPs but I'd stick with the F1 GS-D3s and fit 205/55/15 all round.
PS "Standard pressure is 22psi."
Had the Michelins: not good in my opinion.
In the rain they were dangerous, because one rear wheel could get unstuck very suddenly. In the dry: in fast corners felt like "green soap" was poored over the front wheels.
In general you could not feel when they would let go (not even in a straight line).
Remark: It could be that the tires were "old". I don't know how old, because they were on the TVR when I got it.
Now Bridgestone RE720 in original 350i dimensions, and happy.
Rob
In the rain they were dangerous, because one rear wheel could get unstuck very suddenly. In the dry: in fast corners felt like "green soap" was poored over the front wheels.
In general you could not feel when they would let go (not even in a straight line).
Remark: It could be that the tires were "old". I don't know how old, because they were on the TVR when I got it.
Now Bridgestone RE720 in original 350i dimensions, and happy.
Rob
Just any old cheap rubbish on mine: makes the handling interesting. I think the rears are Marshall, they've done about 7000 miles and have two wheelspins left 
Fronts are something allegedly made by Hankook under a different name, from recycled condoms. I threw the car around a bit yesterday and it didn't seem any worse than with the (unevenly worn) Yokohamas that came off. In fact at the legal limit (ahem ;-) it seemed there was less commotion through the steering wheel.
Quite a few tyres at the cheaper end of the scale are actually 'last year's' named brand, 'cos the big makers flog the moulds and the compound formulae to the Chinese etc. to rake in a bit more cash. You can tell if a tyre's half-decent by the crispness of the moulding. If it's covered in rubber flash, it'll be CHEAP.
Ian
Fronts are something allegedly made by Hankook under a different name, from recycled condoms. I threw the car around a bit yesterday and it didn't seem any worse than with the (unevenly worn) Yokohamas that came off. In fact at the legal limit (ahem ;-) it seemed there was less commotion through the steering wheel.
Quite a few tyres at the cheaper end of the scale are actually 'last year's' named brand, 'cos the big makers flog the moulds and the compound formulae to the Chinese etc. to rake in a bit more cash. You can tell if a tyre's half-decent by the crispness of the moulding. If it's covered in rubber flash, it'll be CHEAP.
Ian
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