ST220 tyre choice quandary...
Discussion
OK, help, please...
I recently bought a near-spotless ST220. It is very nice indeed...
Stupidly, I clipped a kerb this morning, and put a gouge in the sidewall of one of the back tyres. My quandary and irritation is as follows - the tyres are matched side to side, but not front to back; it has nearly new Continental Sport Contact 3s on the front, and (previously) good condition, lightly worn Dunlop SP Sport 9000s on the back. I was hoping to just replace just one tyre, but apparently the SP 9000 isn’t made anymore.
The question is, do I buy the nearest equivalent Dunlop, get stuck with the front-to-rear mismatch, and introduce some side-to-side mismatch as well, or do I take a deep breath and buy two Sport Contacts? The Contis seem to be more expensive than the Dunlops, too – do any users on here have opinions as to which is better?
Ta very much, one and all...
I recently bought a near-spotless ST220. It is very nice indeed...
Stupidly, I clipped a kerb this morning, and put a gouge in the sidewall of one of the back tyres. My quandary and irritation is as follows - the tyres are matched side to side, but not front to back; it has nearly new Continental Sport Contact 3s on the front, and (previously) good condition, lightly worn Dunlop SP Sport 9000s on the back. I was hoping to just replace just one tyre, but apparently the SP 9000 isn’t made anymore.
The question is, do I buy the nearest equivalent Dunlop, get stuck with the front-to-rear mismatch, and introduce some side-to-side mismatch as well, or do I take a deep breath and buy two Sport Contacts? The Contis seem to be more expensive than the Dunlops, too – do any users on here have opinions as to which is better?
Ta very much, one and all...
neiljohnson said:
Dunlops are good when new but go downhill quickly im not a great fan of the conti's either but imho they are the better tyre.
How bad is the gouge modern tyres have extra rubber on the sidewalls to protect the wheels if the cords are not visable then the tyre will still be ok
Thanks.How bad is the gouge modern tyres have extra rubber on the sidewalls to protect the wheels if the cords are not visable then the tyre will still be ok
Unfortunately, the cords are showing... relieved that I didn't damage the rim, really, but still peeved about being so careless.
I rather think I should replace a pair, so anyone have suggestions as to the preferred tyre for the ST220, if not the Contis?
Podie said:
I used to work for an independent motor research company, and we had people who were tyre testers for a living, and some of those guys couldn't tell the difference between the old model of a tyre and a new one.
Oh.Well they seem a wee bit quieter and, of course, grip better than the old worn out CS3s. Although you're right it's probably the placebo effect, however they're certainly no worse, and it makes sense to get the newest iteration in my book.
Howard- said:
Podie said:
I used to work for an independent motor research company, and we had people who were tyre testers for a living, and some of those guys couldn't tell the difference between the old model of a tyre and a new one.
Oh.Well they seem a wee bit quieter and, of course, grip better than the old worn out CS3s. Although you're right it's probably the placebo effect, however they're certainly no worse, and it makes sense to get the newest iteration in my book.
- having worked in this field it always amuses me that people comment that x tyre is better than y.The one that always gets me is that "it came with this tyre, so it must be the best" - nah... that's just the one they got a good deal on. Take the Ford Puma - great handling little FWD coupe, but it was sold with P6000s. You don't find many people lauding them...!
Thanks gents.. two new Sport Contact 5s, it is then. Damn - must be more careful in future.
Minor point, though... looking on the Black Circles website to get an idea of prices, there seem to be several different sub-types, all called "Sport Contact 2/3/5", with slightly different prices, and some with a manufacturer's logo against them. Do I need to take any notice of this, or just get an SC5 from my friendly discount tyre chap, and not worry about exactly which one it is..?
Thanks again.
Minor point, though... looking on the Black Circles website to get an idea of prices, there seem to be several different sub-types, all called "Sport Contact 2/3/5", with slightly different prices, and some with a manufacturer's logo against them. Do I need to take any notice of this, or just get an SC5 from my friendly discount tyre chap, and not worry about exactly which one it is..?
Thanks again.
Howard- said:
The 2 and 3 are just older versions of the SportContact tyre.
Yes, I got that bit... but there is more than one version of the 2, the 3 and the 5, apparently. I'll talk to the chap at the tyre place, and make sure he knows exactly which car it is for. Thanks again chaps.
Podie said:
NLB - we need pics!
ST220 has a bit of a following round these parts.
Pics will be forthcoming now I've found the camera (which wasn't where the kids had dumped it, or where Madame had tidied it to - in spite of my accusations of both - but was in a corner of my desk... ooops).ST220 has a bit of a following round these parts.
Hatchback, black, red interior, under 25,000 miles from new (going up fast in my ownership though). I test drove cars with much flasher badges, that cost three times what I paid for it, and was left wondering why one would buy anything else. It is also a good answer to people who think that the only thing that matters about a car is which wheels are driven...
Tyre buying tomorrow, a wash, and then pics!
Thanks again for tyre info...
My boss picked up a red (think colour is rare) estate for @ 3k with a few issues that were quickly sorted car had done 150k & still pulls well (once the air flow metre was changed) very nice car & for the money unbeatable
He runs pilot sport 3 michelins after I recommended (my focus rs runs the same size) them & rates them highly they are expensive though
He runs pilot sport 3 michelins after I recommended (my focus rs runs the same size) them & rates them highly they are expensive though
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