Forgive me... Tyres....

[Donatello]

Our Mk1 Golf came with a very new set of Pirelli P6000 tyres all round. The tyres are scary in the wet and the car is completely standard so roles all its weight around in the corners.

I am considering getting some G60 steels for winter (and to keep the original wheels safe!) and need some suggestions for a decent all season/wet weather tyre in 195/45/15 size?

I am pretty much useless with tyre choices as I don't understand what makes a good tyre or bad tyre really...

[dan5oclocksmith]

You'll now get a million answers, each suggesting a different tyre.

I'll open the batting with the Falken 452 - cheap and decent.

[HorneyMX5]

Uniroyal rainsport II's are excellent int hat size.

Nick

[jagnet]

I'm struggling to find all season/winter tyres in that size. What's the standard tyre size on the Golf?

Otherwise I'll second Nick's suggestion for the Uniroyals in the wet. Being summer tyres though, don't expect them to perform on snow/ice.

[MX7]

HorneyMX5 said:

Uniroyal rainsport II's are excellent int hat size.

Nick

Agree.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/

[10 Pence Short]

Get some winter tyres, otherwise your car will explode as soon as the temperature drops below 7 degrees.

[Hudson]

Am i the only person that used P6000's without dying in a huge, multiple car pileup as soon as i turned the ignition?

[Donatello]

Well I would imagine the sidewalls being massive doesn't help...

I think the current size is...

165/65/14 but I want to get the steels and keep the standards in storage until summer. I think 195/45/15 is the right replacement :S

[jagnet]

10 Pence Short said:

Get some winter tyres, otherwise your car will explode as soon as the temperature drops below 7 degrees.

Why does every thread that mentions winter tyres descend into sarcastic comments, suggesting that advocates of winter tyres claim that to not fit them will result in an untimely death at the first onset of cold weather. Please point me to posts where anyone is claiming this.

Hudson said:

Am i the only person that used P6000's without dying in a huge, multiple car pileup as soon as i turned the ignition?

They seem to be very car dependant, so whilst some have no problem with them, others do. When I had them on a 306 cabrio, in the wet they gripped fine, but the feel through the steering wheel all but disappeared compared to their dry weather feel. It was not particularly confidence inspiring and they wouldn't be my first choice.

[Marf]

Hudson said:

Am i the only person that used P6000's without dying in a huge, multiple car pileup as soon as i turned the ignition?

They work better on heavier cars it seems. What does your Mondy weigh? 1600kg?

[jagnet]

Donatello said:

I think the current size is...

165/65/14 but I want to get the steels and keep the standards in storage until summer. I think 195/45/15 is the right replacement :S

It seems an odd way of going about things: running low profile tyres in winter and keeping the high profiles for summer use. Can you not get hold of 14" steels for the car? It'll open up the range of tyres available substantially.

The Uniroyal is a very good tyre in the wet, but as you've already got summer tyres and you're fitting these just for the winter, it'd make more sense to fit tyres specifically designed for use in those months.

The Hankook Optimo 4S all season is available as a 165/65/14 and rated very well in the Auto Express winter tyre test, or if you wanted a full winter tyre then the Goodyear Ultragrip 8 is available, as are plenty of other very good winter tyres.

[treetops]

There is so much tosh talked about tyres.

Buy any decent branded (not LingLongs or anything of that ilk) and you'll be fine.

Mid-Range Toyo's, Hankook, Khumho etc will also be fine.

The only thing I would add is never mix brands keep the whole car consistent.

[sparkyhx]

Donatello said:

Our Mk1 Golf came with a very new set of Pirelli P6000 tyres all round. The tyres are scary in the wet and the car is completely standard so roles all its weight around in the corners.

I am considering getting some G60 steels for winter (and to keep the original wheels safe!) and need some suggestions for a decent all season/wet weather tyre in 195/45/15 size?

I am pretty much useless with tyre choices as I don't understand what makes a good tyre or bad tyre really...

oooo the dreaded 'Ditchfinders' Falkens, Federals Nexian seem to be reasonable all round mid priced tyres - go on Mytyres.com they have reviews and marks for tyres

[Donatello]

jagnet said:

It seems an odd way of going about things: running low profile tyres in winter and keeping the high profiles for summer use. Can you not get hold of 14" steels for the car? It'll open up the range of tyres available substantially.

The Uniroyal is a very good tyre in the wet, but as you've already got summer tyres and you're fitting these just for the winter, it'd make more sense to fit tyres specifically designed for use in those months.

The Hankook Optimo 4S all season is available as a 165/65/14 and rated very well in the Auto Express winter tyre test, or if you wanted a full winter tyre then the Goodyear Ultragrip 8 is available, as are plenty of other very good winter tyres.

I know it seems a little backwards, but they aren't 'specifically' for winter. The original wheels are completely immaculate with not a mark on them, so I want them out of the way for shows etc... and if I am going to buy new wheels of any kind, I think that 15's would look better. The 14's do look kinda small.. Plus G60 Steels are so easy to get hold of and look brilliant!

I'm not bothered about keeping it original looking for normal driving, I can just put the old wheels on for shows like I said.

[Hudson]

Marf said:

They work better on heavier cars it seems. What does your Mondy weigh? 1600kg?

According to the internets:

Kerb Weight (lbs): 2935

This was on my ST24 btw, my rep-mobile has some budget, MOT center spec tyres, but as it doesn't get treated like a track day car on the daily commute so they're OK.

They performed well on the ST24 however, it must be weight specific but i certainly never experienced the horror stories i read about on here of people sliding off the road like an ice rink...

[HellDiver]

Uniroyal RainExpert is their new tyre - I've got a pair on the Mondeo and they're really quite good. Rate them up there with the Bridgestones I also have on the car.

[Donatello]

Hudson said:

According to the internets:

Kerb Weight (lbs): 2935

This was on my ST24 btw, my rep-mobile has some budget, MOT center spec tyres, but as it doesn't get treated like a track day car on the daily commute so they're OK.

They performed well on the ST24 however, it must be weight specific but i certainly never experienced the horror stories i read about on here of people sliding off the road like an ice rink...

The only reason I started this thread was because it is our only car and my OH uses it as well as me. It doesn't fill me with confidence in the corners and I'm not exactly someone who is easily put off by that kind of thing.

If my OH had a crash I would blame myself for being a tight bd and not buying better wet performance tyres

[jagnet]

Ah fair enough then - the way I read it then you'd be using the existing wheels all summer long and not just for shows. Go with the Uniroyals then - very good dry grip, excellent in the wet and a good looking tread pattern. For a mid-range tyre you'll struggle to beat them without paying a lot more for top-end Continental/Goodyear/etc, which on a Mk1 Golf seems a little OTT.

£56.50 from mytyres - not a bad price at all.

[Marf]

Hudson said:

Marf said:

They work better on heavier cars it seems. What does your Mondy weigh? 1600kg?

According to the internets:

Kerb Weight (lbs): 2935

This was on my ST24 btw, my rep-mobile has some budget, MOT center spec tyres, but as it doesn't get treated like a track day car on the daily commute so they're OK.

They performed well on the ST24 however, it must be weight specific but i certainly never experienced the horror stories i read about on here of people sliding off the road like an ice rink...

As you've found with your mondy, they work ok on heavier cars.

They work just fine on my Mum's V40D Estate.

When I were a new driver, I had a Charade Turbo, around 800kg of turbocharged tin can. I bought a set of alloys for it and they came with nearly new P6000s.

Being a naive young upstart, I had no clue WRT to tyres and thought "well they're Pirelli, they must be OK?!".

They were shockingly bad, but I didnt realise just how bad until I obtained yet another set of wheels with Bridgestone Potenzas on them. The difference was night and day

[BoostMonkey]

I would stick these on http://www.camskill.co.uk/m53b0s92p69261/MICHELIN_...

or

Blackcirlces do Toyo T1-R's in your size, I have run 2 sets of these on a fiesta ST and they were IMHO the best tyre, but they do wear a bit faster than others.

Edited by BoostMonkey on Thursday 20th October 15:55