Which of these 3 tyres...
Discussion
...for my E34 525i?
On this car, feel and progressiveness is more important than ultimate grip- so whereas I'd usually plump for Continentals, I feel that they'll be too grippy for this car and will take the fun out of driving it. Also, the circumferential tread pattern on contis makes them poor in the snow- and this being a BMW I'm conscious that I should probably go for a traditional tread block pattern.
The wholesalers have given me the following options:
GT Radial Champiro Bax 2 £44+vat
Falken ZE912 £62+vat
Conti Premium 2 £77+vat
...And I'm seriously considering the cheapest option.
On this car, feel and progressiveness is more important than ultimate grip- so whereas I'd usually plump for Continentals, I feel that they'll be too grippy for this car and will take the fun out of driving it. Also, the circumferential tread pattern on contis makes them poor in the snow- and this being a BMW I'm conscious that I should probably go for a traditional tread block pattern.
The wholesalers have given me the following options:
GT Radial Champiro Bax 2 £44+vat
Falken ZE912 £62+vat
Conti Premium 2 £77+vat
...And I'm seriously considering the cheapest option.
HustleRussell said:
...for my E34 525i?
On this car, feel and progressiveness is more important than ultimate grip- so whereas I'd usually plump for Continentals, I feel that they'll be too grippy for this car and will take the fun out of driving it. Also, the circumferential tread pattern on contis makes them poor in the snow- and this being a BMW I'm conscious that I should probably go for a traditional tread block pattern.
The wholesalers have given me the following options:
GT Radial Champiro Bax 2 £44+vat
Falken ZE912 £62+vat
Conti Premium 2 £77+vat
...And I'm seriously considering the cheapest option.
If you're blatting up an down the motorways all day and visiting tracks at the weekend; expensive is usually better.On this car, feel and progressiveness is more important than ultimate grip- so whereas I'd usually plump for Continentals, I feel that they'll be too grippy for this car and will take the fun out of driving it. Also, the circumferential tread pattern on contis makes them poor in the snow- and this being a BMW I'm conscious that I should probably go for a traditional tread block pattern.
The wholesalers have given me the following options:
GT Radial Champiro Bax 2 £44+vat
Falken ZE912 £62+vat
Conti Premium 2 £77+vat
...And I'm seriously considering the cheapest option.
Pottering round town; cheap s
t.OSL- It's a tow car but when the trailer isn't on the back I drive it in a 'spirited' manner. Next week I will be towing the Caterham to Spa, the week after that I'll be doing the 7 mile town commute to work- so mixed use.
I still want to be able to play with the limits like I do on my current Dunlops, I can provoke the car into oversteer with these fitted.
BenBay- I don't get on with symmetrical designs so the Avon ZZ3 is out.
I still want to be able to play with the limits like I do on my current Dunlops, I can provoke the car into oversteer with these fitted.
BenBay- I don't get on with symmetrical designs so the Avon ZZ3 is out.
Is that all you can get hold of? I had Cooper Zeon CS6 tyres on the front of my Omega (Cooper 2XS on the back but they're symetrical and stuck very well) which were pretty cheap, quiet but quite grippy. They always felt pretty progressive too. Could always tell when they were getting close to letting go. On the back of your car you'd be able to get the back end out given enough stick.
Dr Interceptor- Tend to agree but I'm yet to find a single bad review for the GT Radials (apart from 'don't buy Indonesian tyres' type comments).
Treadwear rating is the same as the Falkens though so I doubt they'd be any more 'fun', the Falkens are probably a better quality product. I just hope that, inflated high enough, they'll let me have a play.
I think I've discounted Contis on price and snow performance.
Treadwear rating is the same as the Falkens though so I doubt they'd be any more 'fun', the Falkens are probably a better quality product. I just hope that, inflated high enough, they'll let me have a play.
I think I've discounted Contis on price and snow performance.
The impreza we used to have came with a set of GT Radial Champiros. I binned them with plenty of tread left, they were utter crap. I put a set of Vredestein Quatrac 3 all season tyres on, which one might expect to be a bit more compromised for winter performance, and they were just better in all conditions.
In their favour, the GTs are cheap, will pass an mot and will keep your rims from scraping on the tarmac.
In their favour, the GTs are cheap, will pass an mot and will keep your rims from scraping on the tarmac.
Bax 2 seems to get a few good reviews, though there is only 2: http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/GT-Radial/Champi...
GT are one of the better budget brands.
GT are one of the better budget brands.
HustleRussell said:
...for my E34 525i?
On this car, feel and progressiveness is more important than ultimate grip- so whereas I'd usually plump for Continentals, I feel that they'll be too grippy for this car and will take the fun out of driving it. Also, the circumferential tread pattern on contis makes them poor in the snow- and this being a BMW I'm conscious that I should probably go for a traditional tread block pattern.
The wholesalers have given me the following options:
GT Radial Champiro Bax 2 £44+vat
Falken ZE912 £62+vat
Conti Premium 2 £77+vat
...And I'm seriously considering the cheapest option.
Do not, and I do mean it, DO NOT go for CPC2 (conti premium contact2)On this car, feel and progressiveness is more important than ultimate grip- so whereas I'd usually plump for Continentals, I feel that they'll be too grippy for this car and will take the fun out of driving it. Also, the circumferential tread pattern on contis makes them poor in the snow- and this being a BMW I'm conscious that I should probably go for a traditional tread block pattern.
The wholesalers have given me the following options:
GT Radial Champiro Bax 2 £44+vat
Falken ZE912 £62+vat
Conti Premium 2 £77+vat
...And I'm seriously considering the cheapest option.
CPC2 is a old tyre, it's being replaced by CPC5, and it's one of the worst over priced tyre you can buy, it has no grip, over priced and depends on where it's made, you might be lucky and end up with a normal crap tyre or just pure crap piece of junk.
If you are looking for budget tyres, don't bother with Conti, their budget tyres really are crap, they are worse than some budget ditch finders in terms of quality, but price them 30% higher due to being a better known brand name.
Also, to correct some mis-informed people out there, Indonesia can produce good quality tyres, and tyres maker don't have just one factory in one place, CPC2 is made in Slovakia, Czech, Portugal, France, Germany.
Now, it is known to all who works in tyres, China is the only place that makes the worst tyres for the same model of tyre, meaning, the same model of tyre made in China is much much worse than the same model of tyre made else where in the world, but they charge you the same.
HustleRussell said:
the Falkens are generally praised but I have heard about them going out of balance?
I had 912s on my previous XJ - a car that's very sensitive to wheel / tyre flatspots and imbalances. Never had any problems with that although I thought they wore badly and tended to start a noisy resonance on some rough concrete road surfaces. I wouldn't buy them again and when I do need replacements for the barge will consider somthing like the Kuhmo KH31. That's a mid price tyre that came out very well in independent tests with premium brands.Have a look on Black Circles and Pneues online - lots of reviews there.
I'm afraid I'm going to have to be one of those irritating people who asks your advice, takes note, and then does something completely different!
I've found a source for the (now discontinued?) Dunlop SP2000, which looks quite a lot like the Dunlop 2000E I have at the moment (on my Metric wheels). They're only £57 and I know what I'm getting with them (they look right and they're not too grippy).
Thanks for the feedback on the Contis, Falkens and GTs, it's all good to know for next time when there's no more Dunlops!
Re: the Goodyears- they're probably too good.
I've found a source for the (now discontinued?) Dunlop SP2000, which looks quite a lot like the Dunlop 2000E I have at the moment (on my Metric wheels). They're only £57 and I know what I'm getting with them (they look right and they're not too grippy).
Thanks for the feedback on the Contis, Falkens and GTs, it's all good to know for next time when there's no more Dunlops!
Re: the Goodyears- they're probably too good.
Back to square one, Dunlops discontinued and none in stock (Why did you permit me to order and pay for them then? 
). Getting bloody fed up with these crappy metric TRX tyres... Truth be told it'll probably be GT Radial or Falken, unless the wholesalers have a different selection this time (Toyos hopefully!).
). Getting bloody fed up with these crappy metric TRX tyres... Truth be told it'll probably be GT Radial or Falken, unless the wholesalers have a different selection this time (Toyos hopefully!). Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff