Discussion
Recently bought a Mini Cooper SD. Came with Nexen tyres - N800's on the rear, and N'Fera SU1's on the front (brand new pair).
I was a bit panicked by the brand, but online, they seem to have a good rep.
Trouble is, the car doesn't handle quite as confidently as I'd like. Not bad, but not as sharp as previous Mini's I owned. In the wet, just seemed a bit lacking....last car had Avon ZV7's, which performed well on a 3.5 litre Mercedes! Even on a dry roundabout yesterday, the car wasn't feeling as planted to the road as I'd have liked. Incidentally, driving speeds normal, haven't really booted it. Didn't fancy that on these......!
What do you think? Could it be the tyres? Or the mixing the tread patterns (they are the same on both axles). Just thinking whether it cold be worth getting two for the rear to match the fronts, or just dump the lot and get a new set of Avons?
I was a bit panicked by the brand, but online, they seem to have a good rep.
Trouble is, the car doesn't handle quite as confidently as I'd like. Not bad, but not as sharp as previous Mini's I owned. In the wet, just seemed a bit lacking....last car had Avon ZV7's, which performed well on a 3.5 litre Mercedes! Even on a dry roundabout yesterday, the car wasn't feeling as planted to the road as I'd have liked. Incidentally, driving speeds normal, haven't really booted it. Didn't fancy that on these......!
What do you think? Could it be the tyres? Or the mixing the tread patterns (they are the same on both axles). Just thinking whether it cold be worth getting two for the rear to match the fronts, or just dump the lot and get a new set of Avons?
Get the wheel alignment checked out? My preference is for a bit of toe out on the front, which helps with turn in, but can leave things feeling a bit 'vague' in a straight line.
So yeah, could be tyres, could be worn bushes, a bent track rod end of any of a number of things, but get it stuck on a ramp, get someone to cast their eye over it, and stick a set of tracking gauges on it, and take it from there IMO.
So yeah, could be tyres, could be worn bushes, a bent track rod end of any of a number of things, but get it stuck on a ramp, get someone to cast their eye over it, and stick a set of tracking gauges on it, and take it from there IMO.
I had brand new nexen cp641 on a Suzuki Swift I bought. They were dreadful tyres in the wet. Abs on with the slightest hint of braking and power wheel spin in second in a straight line on part throttle.
I stuck with them for 1000 miles or so thinking they would get better but I had to change them. I went with kleber quadraxer which are not a performance tyre but the difference was amazing. It transformed the driving experience.
I stuck with them for 1000 miles or so thinking they would get better but I had to change them. I went with kleber quadraxer which are not a performance tyre but the difference was amazing. It transformed the driving experience.
Nexens are OEM on most Hyundai's, Kia's, Ford, VW etc, the N8000 is an old pattern and has filtered down to Nexens budget brand - Roadstone, its still classed as N8000. The CP pattern is very old and is also known as Autogrip and Prestivo.
Try swapping front to rear and make sure the tyre pressure and geo are right before swapping tyres. I would always favour Nexens over Avon's.
Try swapping front to rear and make sure the tyre pressure and geo are right before swapping tyres. I would always favour Nexens over Avon's.
I had Hancooks on my TT and suspected that they would be s
te as I had never really heard of them. Yup, garbage and simply cost cutting by Audi. I chopped it in before I replaced them but they were nearly at the wear indicator. When it comes to tyres, best to stick to the known brands and I'm sure that someone will say that Hancook (and Nexen et' al) are known, they were utter kak in my opinion. I'm not saying that Nexen are rubbish as I've never driven a car with them and whilst I'm sure that they would be fine on your average family hatchback, if you enjoy a spirited drive, I would stick with Pirelli, Goodyear, Michelin, Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop etc.
A mate of mine bought a BMW 330d a few years back and came shod with brand new no-name tyres that the dealer fitted to sweeten the deal. When he picked it up, I told him to change them ASAP as he would only end up in a ditch (first rear wheel drive car and quite a bit of poke) and he said that they would be fine. A week later he was at Costco getting Michelins and now appreciates the importance of decent tyres.
te as I had never really heard of them. Yup, garbage and simply cost cutting by Audi. I chopped it in before I replaced them but they were nearly at the wear indicator. When it comes to tyres, best to stick to the known brands and I'm sure that someone will say that Hancook (and Nexen et' al) are known, they were utter kak in my opinion. I'm not saying that Nexen are rubbish as I've never driven a car with them and whilst I'm sure that they would be fine on your average family hatchback, if you enjoy a spirited drive, I would stick with Pirelli, Goodyear, Michelin, Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop etc.A mate of mine bought a BMW 330d a few years back and came shod with brand new no-name tyres that the dealer fitted to sweeten the deal. When he picked it up, I told him to change them ASAP as he would only end up in a ditch (first rear wheel drive car and quite a bit of poke) and he said that they would be fine. A week later he was at Costco getting Michelins and now appreciates the importance of decent tyres.
Merc fit them to some of their approved used AMG's.
Not my first choice of tyre, but no issues so far in the 6k I've done in my car (N'Fera). Still plenty of life left in the rears which is a surprise.
Will be going PS4s next, but that's not because the Nexens have been poor. Just that the PS4s are meant to be really good.
Not my first choice of tyre, but no issues so far in the 6k I've done in my car (N'Fera). Still plenty of life left in the rears which is a surprise.
Will be going PS4s next, but that's not because the Nexens have been poor. Just that the PS4s are meant to be really good.
Edited by Terzo123 on Monday 13th May 20:27
Thanks guys, all very helpful.
Maybe given the N800's on the rear are the poorer tyre, and that the higher quality ones on the front are new, maybe it would be worth getting a couple of those for the rear, and get the whole thing laser tracked?
Didn't really want to chuck the new front two if they're a pretty good tyre choice.
Maybe given the N800's on the rear are the poorer tyre, and that the higher quality ones on the front are new, maybe it would be worth getting a couple of those for the rear, and get the whole thing laser tracked?
Didn't really want to chuck the new front two if they're a pretty good tyre choice.
I had a set of Nexens on our family Skoda Superb - about £120 cheaper for 4 than the Bridgestones they replaced. However, as mentioned already grip in the wet not as good as the Bridgestones and would break traction at the front with the slightest provocation.
Currently trying a set of Yokohama’s which seem better than the Bridgestones.
Currently trying a set of Yokohama’s which seem better than the Bridgestones.
Chris32345 said:
They are fine unless you drive like a ******
Or want to stop in a hurry.Budget tyres are, by and large degrees of kidding yourself, I personally wont drop below the Mid Range stuff like Toyo, Falken and the like.
Makes me wonder how many people are driving round in severely compromised cars due to having cheap s
t tyres, the fulfil the basic MOT tread requirements and keep the rims from sparking on the road but otherwise they are generally poor, they look like tyres but you get what you pay for.Bloke at work got some fitted saying they are "Made by Continental", well if they were, I suspect they would say Continental on the side.
Tyres are usually a distress purchase for most owners and then, for a lot, its "Fit the cheapest" as four are needed and its either 250 quid for the cheapies or 400 odd for the decent ones.
I know a family who have an unreasonable amount of accidents, 2 of them ended up on their roofs in old French hatches, both were inexperienced drivers on wet roads, on cheapo tyres and no ESP to even start to bail them out.
Might sound snobby but every car we have had that has come on Ditchfinders has been compromised, even my wife notices and she isnt that fussy (obviously not
) and am sure some folk manage fine but I just dont trust cheapo tyres,Experience of Jinyus, Doublestars, Nankangs, Triangles, Linglongs and a few others and they are were all poor, Jinyu were the least bad, Triangle I couldnt understand how they sell them legally.
I am a committed tightarse and believe me, if I could buy them and be happy, I would,
Until recently the only experience I had had of non premium tyres was when I bought my daily a few years ago. Its was fitted with 3 half worn contis and because one had some damage to the side wall the dealer replaced it with a Nexen CP641...it was always the 1st wheel to spin or lock up all the time so I moved it to the back until the three contis were shot.
I then went for Goodyear efficient grip performance which were great but wore down quickly. I was looking to replace them again 18 months ago and I was recommended the Nexen NBlue HD Plus...I was skint at the time and despite my doubts I went with the recommendation and haven't regretted it at all and would happily fit them again.
Grips fine in the wet and dry and looks like they will last a bit longer than the goodyears too, also nearly 30% cheaper. Also seem to do well in snow compared to other summer tyres I have had.
I think Nexen have made huge advances in the past few years and as already said are OEM tyres on many models now. I would certainly look into other underlying suspension issues before changing the tyres.
I then went for Goodyear efficient grip performance which were great but wore down quickly. I was looking to replace them again 18 months ago and I was recommended the Nexen NBlue HD Plus...I was skint at the time and despite my doubts I went with the recommendation and haven't regretted it at all and would happily fit them again.
Grips fine in the wet and dry and looks like they will last a bit longer than the goodyears too, also nearly 30% cheaper. Also seem to do well in snow compared to other summer tyres I have had.
I think Nexen have made huge advances in the past few years and as already said are OEM tyres on many models now. I would certainly look into other underlying suspension issues before changing the tyres.
I was originally going to change the set, but then started to read good things about their newer tyres, as per the two on the front.
I've always used mid-range and above.....I can't seem to fathom whether Nexen fall into mid-range or not!
Hence the idea of getting two new rears to match the front (the newer style), or just dump the lot! I don't scrimp on rubber (within reason), so want to make sure they're okay....it's all that keeps you on the road.
I've always used mid-range and above.....I can't seem to fathom whether Nexen fall into mid-range or not!
Hence the idea of getting two new rears to match the front (the newer style), or just dump the lot! I don't scrimp on rubber (within reason), so want to make sure they're okay....it's all that keeps you on the road.
You've got something like the size of a sheet of A4 doing all of your steering, braking and acceleration.
As with winter tyres, there are literally hundreds of videos online proving beyond any doubt that premium tyres are worth paying extra for. Here's the first one that popped up when I Googled: https://youtu.be/a_j-2W2uZ8c
As with winter tyres, there are literally hundreds of videos online proving beyond any doubt that premium tyres are worth paying extra for. Here's the first one that popped up when I Googled: https://youtu.be/a_j-2W2uZ8c
My Focus ZS came with continentals out the factory, really impressed by their performance. But foolishly when it came to replacing them I decided to save a few quid and went for nexens. Perfectly ok tyres but nowhere near the grip of the conti’s, especially in the wet, plus it was false economy as they didn’t last nearly as long.
The mrs has a Mini Cooper SD and we’ve stuck with Michelin. It’s got a lot of power for a small car, and it encourages you to push on and throw it around the corners, so having a decent set of tyres makes sense in my opinion. Based on my experience with nexens on my focus I don’t think I’d feel comfortable with them on a more powerful car.
The mrs has a Mini Cooper SD and we’ve stuck with Michelin. It’s got a lot of power for a small car, and it encourages you to push on and throw it around the corners, so having a decent set of tyres makes sense in my opinion. Based on my experience with nexens on my focus I don’t think I’d feel comfortable with them on a more powerful car.
Many thanks to all for the super response.
Guess it's cemented what I was thinking - dump them!
Suppose I was hoping to hear 'they're actually great' - I don't normally scrimp on rubber, but wanted to check before I change the set, especially as the two fronts are brand new (fitted by dealer, not me).
I did actually like the Avon ZV7's on my SLK 350, thought they gripped well.
I only do about 3/4000 miles a year, as I walk to work - so longevity of the tyre is not an option. So long as it does the job of gripping - if it wears quickly, it'll still take a good few years for me!
So I guess it's Avon ZV7, Bridgestone Potenza, Uniroyal Rainsport.....or what I've never gone for.....the Michelin Pilots (they are £120 a corner).
Guess it's cemented what I was thinking - dump them!
Suppose I was hoping to hear 'they're actually great' - I don't normally scrimp on rubber, but wanted to check before I change the set, especially as the two fronts are brand new (fitted by dealer, not me).
I did actually like the Avon ZV7's on my SLK 350, thought they gripped well.
I only do about 3/4000 miles a year, as I walk to work - so longevity of the tyre is not an option. So long as it does the job of gripping - if it wears quickly, it'll still take a good few years for me!
So I guess it's Avon ZV7, Bridgestone Potenza, Uniroyal Rainsport.....or what I've never gone for.....the Michelin Pilots (they are £120 a corner).
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