Discussion
I would be grateful for some help/information on switching from RF to non-RF tyres on my BMW 118d. At the moment it has RF Firestone Potenza 205 50 17 which are near the end of their life, so thought I would switch all four over to non-RF Conti Contact Sport 5 which Camskill are selling for £98. I was about to order them when I noticed they are not XL - so the question is; do you need to replace RF with non-RF which are XL or will "normal" tyres be okay? The XL Conti's are quite expensive so might have to go for Falken 452 and would welcome any comments on these.
On a slightly separate point, I checked the tread depth on my front tyres which was just under 3mm and wondered how much performance decreases until it reaches the legal minimum, and and at what point PH's change their tyres?
On a slightly separate point, I checked the tread depth on my front tyres which was just under 3mm and wondered how much performance decreases until it reaches the legal minimum, and and at what point PH's change their tyres?
Arun_D said:
My gf (another PHer) swapped the runflats on her Mini GP about 3 weeks ago for Falken 452s, completely transformed the ride. Had no problem sourcing them whatsoever, contrary to the post above.
Looks like the 453 is the replacement for the 452 - http://www.falkentyres.co.uk/2012/07/
I cant help really, but I would advise on reading up on the tyres that you are planning on buying. I stuck a pair of contis on the back of my car a couple of months ago, just because that was what was available there at the time, and I spent a good few weeks thinking that my diff was on the way out. The road noise from them is doing my head in, I dont know if its the particular type that I bought but Im changing them as soon as I need new fronts.
I put 4 new Falken 452s on my car about a year ago and I've been impressed with the road holding and noise, better than the originals - however, although they came in at several hundred pounds cheaper than 4 Pirellis (which were OE) they don't have anywhere near as good rim protection.
I don't know if my driving has got worse or I've just been plain unlucky but I've badly damaged both o/s stainless steel rings on my 20" BBS alloys and it's going to cost me nearly £400 to sort them out- which wipes out the initial saving
I don't know if my driving has got worse or I've just been plain unlucky but I've badly damaged both o/s stainless steel rings on my 20" BBS alloys and it's going to cost me nearly £400 to sort them out- which wipes out the initial saving
I hear lots of stories of people ditching the runflats, usually on 3 series.
Most of them seem to go for the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2, and 100% of them are over the moon with the extra grip, much less noise, much more comfort, no tramlining etc. As these aren't available in your size, the Sport Contact 5 is an excellent alternative.
XL tyres will behave a little more like runflats, but there can be little in it these days. An XL tyre isn't going to offer you any sort of runflat ability, so as long as the load rating at least matches the OE spec you'll be fine.
Most of them seem to go for the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2, and 100% of them are over the moon with the extra grip, much less noise, much more comfort, no tramlining etc. As these aren't available in your size, the Sport Contact 5 is an excellent alternative.
XL tyres will behave a little more like runflats, but there can be little in it these days. An XL tyre isn't going to offer you any sort of runflat ability, so as long as the load rating at least matches the OE spec you'll be fine.
These are good value for money and better than the Falkens IMHO
http://camskill.co.uk/m54b0s304p60671/Uniroyal_Tyr...
http://camskill.co.uk/m54b0s304p60671/Uniroyal_Tyr...
tim0409 said:
Looks like the 453 is the replacement for the 452 - http://www.falkentyres.co.uk/2012/07/
Disappointed with that tread pattern. Expected another directional tyre.Any other options? I've tried the Kumho Sports and they're not that great.
Pints said:
Disappointed with that tread pattern. Expected another directional tyre.
Any other options? I've tried the Kumho Sports and they're not that great.
If tread pattern is top of your list then you can't go wrong with Vredistien Sessantas; luckily they're not just a pretty tyre and their performance is very, very good, especially in the wet.Any other options? I've tried the Kumho Sports and they're not that great.
CurvaParabolica said:
If tread pattern is top of your list then you can't go wrong with Vredistien Sessantas; luckily they're not just a pretty tyre and their performance is very, very good, especially in the wet.
Not overly concerned with the look of the pattern but I thought the performance of the 452 was great (especially for the price) and they've gone and changed a proven formula. I'm certain that one of the reasons for the praise the 452 received was owing to the tread pattern.I only hope the Fk453's perform as well as the 452's do. I agree that the rim protection on the 452's is v poor. I have also suffered some damage to the rim since fitting them it seems just by being close to the kerb.
The grip has been great in both dry and wet although compared to the P zero's they replaced they are wearing faster so much so that I wonder if it is worth paying 50% a corner more. If with the 453 they can achieve the same sort of grip but reduce the wear then it will be a winner.
The grip has been great in both dry and wet although compared to the P zero's they replaced they are wearing faster so much so that I wonder if it is worth paying 50% a corner more. If with the 453 they can achieve the same sort of grip but reduce the wear then it will be a winner.
Arun_D said:
My gf (another PHer) swapped the runflats on her Mini GP about 3 weeks ago for Falken 452s, completely transformed the ride. Had no problem sourcing them whatsoever, contrary to the post above.
What I was getting at if you read my post is that he will struggle with continuing to run the same 4 tyre in future as they ARE discontinued! They are no longer importing 452's into the UK and what you are getting is what is left on the shelf. If you know better than me Arun thats fine but my source spoke to Falken HQ when struggling to source a tyre in my size after it was damaged. In a few months they will be like hens teeth!Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff