Skoda RS replacement tyres - interesting

[dodgey]

I had that happen on my MkV GTI on Dunlops too... Around 15-18k kms... Alignment, camber all came back fine.

[dazag]

yeah well looks like it might be a Dunlop problem as I have the Dunlop SP Sport Max tyres fitted. I'll still book it in for a wheel balance, alignment and rotation just to make sure. Annoying if it's a tyre fault. Looks like I might have to go do the track day at eastern Creek in Nov to have an excuse to get some new tyres
Has anyone tried the Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalins?? I ran them on my Merc Van (245/45-18 load rated versions) and they worked well. Dont know how long they lasted as I sold the van before they wore out
just to show it off...... http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/p...rightside2.jpg

[brad]

yeah well looks like it might be a Dunlop problem as I have the Dunlop SP Sport Max tyres fitted. I'll still book it in for a wheel balance, alignment and rotation just to make sure. Annoying if it's a tyre fault. Looks like I might have to go do the track day at eastern Creek in Nov to have an excuse to get some new tyres
Has anyone tried the Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalins?? I ran them on my Merc Van (245/45-18 load rated versions) and they worked well. Dont know how long they lasted as I sold the van before they wore out
just to show it off...... http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/p...rightside2.jpg

It's a tyre & a maintenance problem. Dunlop Sport Maxx seem to start out really well then fall over once they get below 5mm. They need rotating at least every 10,000km (preferably every 5000- 8000km) and it wouldn't hurt to run them on 34psi for a few thousand km then up it to 40psi for a few thousand then dump it back to a more normal 36psi.

A few of the guys at my home forum (see my sig) have run Adrenaline and posted reviews. General consensus is they take at least 800km to wear in. The ride is quite plush. You need to be a very smooth driver to get the most out of them. Unfortunately, these were a "budget" option when they first came out & now the price has risen dramatically.
Most of them are fitting michelin PS2 or PS3, some good reports on the latest Pirellis, if you're on a budget then Kumho KU31. Nobody has tried the Goodyear F1A yet but I might go that way next.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm not a fan of directional tyres. They do give slightly better performance but I prefer to X-rotate my tyres for maximum life & minimal noise.

[dazag]

Thanks Brad, I was thinking of rotating very 5K, but being a bit lazy I let it blow out. I'm going to take the rims off later today and give them a good clean and polish, then switch em front to rear. Will still get the suspension geometry checked for piece of mind, and will check my tyre pressures again. I've been running 38 rear ( been carrying a bit and also doing some towing - maybe that's contributing as well) and 36 front. I ran 40 psi in my previous 18" tyres on the van which seemed to work well for wear and grip ( suprising how well a Vito can handle with good tyres and dropped suspension ).
What is considered budget these days for tyres??

[woofy]

I don't know about the PS3s, but my PE2s have been nothing less than stellar, they have only been rotated if they were done at the 15k service. I haven't done them myself, I don't get time to scratch myself lately. I've looked at them though and they are wearing evenly.

I definitely leaning towards importing them from tirerack, even if it hits $1000 and I pay GST and other crap, I'm way ahead of the $550+ plus price here.

[dArK5HaD0w]

Has anyone tried the Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalins?? I ran them on my Merc Van (245/45-18 load rated versions) and they worked well. Dont know how long they lasted as I sold the van before they wore out

i've been using potenza re001s on my current car (02 astra) for the past 3 years now. 17s though (215/40 R17).
i'll show mine off too hehehe


they're great tyres - awesome grip, good noise levels, no squealing (& i push my car hard - it has been heavily modded with sway bars, strut braces, lowerd suspension & shocks) when cornering hard.
usually last me around 20-25k kms, before the tread levels reach below 10%.
as usual, u pay alot more to wear bridgestone potenzas.

[brad]

What is considered budget these days for tyres??

The stock 205/55x16 on mine in Kumho KU31 come to $450.
If I stick with 225/45x17 that have now in KU31 <$600 IIRC

I think your size in 18" for KU31 you'd get reasonable change from $800.

RE001 Adrenaline will be just over $1k I'd guess.

Woofy, if you import, just get 2 deliveries. It works out cheaper than duties & GST.

[Antiplastix]

In case you haven't guessed, I'm not a fan of directional tyres. They do give slightly better performance but I prefer to X-rotate my tyres for maximum life & minimal noise.

Whoa, just about every tyre manufactorer advises against x-rotation, and has done since the introduction of radial tyres. It was fine in the days of x-plys but once radial belts have run one way, turning them around and running the other way causes all sorts of dramas ie ; seperation and balance problems.

[brad]

Whoa, just about every tyre manufactorer advises against x-rotation, and has done since the introduction of radial tyres. It was fine in the days of x-plys but once radial belts have run one way, turning them around and running the other way causes all sorts of dramas ie ; seperation and balance problems.

Yes, X-rotation was a bad idea back in the 70s & 80s when SBRs first started becoming popular. I worked at Goodyear then & we had the Supersteel (endorsed by Sir Jack for a very nice fee) which would almost get a seppo as they left the forecourt. At about the same time we also recomended that everyone fit their new tyres on the front when only buying a pair. Those bloody horrible Dunlop Aquajets & the Olympics used to go egg shaped all the time too.

Times change, quite a few of the manufacturers including Michelin/Pirelli now advocate X-rotation (actually it's drive tyre straight to the lazy axle & cross over the lazy axle tyre) & new tyres on rear. Both subjects are guaranteed to start an internet argument, so I'd recomend you do whatever you like

I've been out of the tyre industry for 20+ years but I've kept in contact with a guy that works with Bridgestone/Firestone in NZ & he lets me know what the latest thinking/research is. We used to race together (and also used to copy/cut rally tyre designs for our khana-X VW bug) and I trust his knowledge implicitly. I went back to X-rotations about 15 years ago & it's only been good news since.

[woofy]

Woofy, if you import, just get 2 deliveries. It works out cheaper than duties & GST.

I asked someone who used them about a month back, they were told by the tirerack guy that freight is considered separate and that the freight was increased to around $300 AUD in the end. The PE2s come in around $210 AUD at the moment, so on their own they would be under $1k but with freight would be $1140. Would double freight really be cheaper, GST would be not much more than $100 but the duty crap is always hard to figure.