Tyres

[David Stanton]

I know its an old chestnut but I couldnt find a reference to Michelin tyres in the archives.

Does any one have any experience with Michelin... good or bad? I need to replace my tyres and can get a good deal on Michelin so any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

[Dave Murphy]

If your getting a real good deal, then i say go for it. You can`t really go wrong with Michelin`s as they`re a good quality brand name. It all depends on how hard you push your tyres, you should get a good year out of fresh rubber at least. If you change them regular, then perhaps go for a soft compound that wear out quicker, but give lots more grip.
Personally i`ve used Pirelli`s (P600`s) for the last few years as they are a very hard wearing tyre, and last for yonks! The only down side is that they can be a little hard to predict when it`s damp
dave

[Marcel Spoelstra]

I fitted the Pirelli under my car ,only a bit wider than standard The grip has improved a lot, no unusual wearing. When I bought the car the tyre specialist recommend the Michelin, Pirelli or Falken. I bought the Pirelli because they are cheaper as the Michelin.
Marcel

[Adrian Furniss]

Sorry I have no first hand experience of Michelin but ....

My Cappo came with four Goodyear Eagle Venturas (175/60R14) already fitted on Suzuki Sport wheels. Receipt indicates that they were a little under £60 + VAT each.

Despite being a budget tyre, they seem to grip superbly. I've certainly not been moved to replace them.

I think you will pay more for Michelins but may of course get better tyres.

[Douglas Whittle]

My local tyre specialist recommended Falken 175/60R14-79H. Not only cheaper than the alternatives but as they are slightly wider they give excellent grip. My first set lasted 45,000 miles compared with the originals which were well worn after 35,000. I would certainly recommend them if you can find them.

[Mark Shane]

My local tyre specialist recommended Falken 175/60R14-79H. Not only cheaper than the alternatives but as they are slightly wider they give excellent grip. My first set lasted 45,000 miles compared with the originals which were well worn after 35,000. I would certainly recommend them if you can find them.

I can also highly recomend Falken, most capps imported into Australia had Falken tyres put on them by the importer.

[David Benson]

But you can't beat a nice set ofYokohama's

The Falkens have a real good following with the Mini's at the moment and there are some nice ones out there with plenty of grip inc. wet weather..

At the end of the day the Capp is so light your hard pushed to use a tyre up in two years of normal to hard driving.. in my experience and looking at other peoples tyres you can see the side walls cracking and splitting with age after this sort of time.. whats the point of changed only part worn tyres

Yeah you can tyre a nice set of A509 or A539's on a 175 tyre..

Beware don't overtire by being tempted for a 185 on the standard rim

Dave

[Marcel Spoelstra]

I agree Dave. Lets burn some rubber! (not the clutch...)
Marcel

[Ian Linden]

Have a look at http://www.tyres-online.co.uk/tyretest/tests.asp. A lot of information from a large number of essentially subjective tests on a wide variety of tyres.

Unfortunately, it doesn't address price.

Ian

[Barry Moore]

(not the clutch...)

I think I need to get my eyes checked. When I read this early this morning I thought you had said not the Dutch . Just seen it again and it makes a lot more sense now that I'm awake

[Marcel Spoelstra]

Barry, They both smell bad when you burn them!!
Marcel

[Mark Dobson]

Last year we fitted the recommended Yokohama 175/60s to our Cappo, replacing the original Bridgestones which were beginning to show signs of aging although we could have probably got another 6 months hard driving out of them.
Result: Apart from having to drop the tyre pressure down to 24.5 PSI from the fitter's 32PSI (boy was the Cappo skittish!!!) the ride is smooth and grip is phenominal. Atb last years Dutch run managed to screach the tyres only after dropping clutch around a cobbled corner!
Tyre wear is very good, but we do not drive the Cappo hard. Also judging by the plumes of spray that we chuck up on wet roads, I would say that the tyres certainly clear the water to get in contact with the tarmac.

Yokos get my vote and I would fit them to our next car!

[Nicholas Claydon]

I'll second that

Recently fitted a set of Yokohama A539's to my Cappuccino 175/60/14 H rated .
The grip is superb.

Was unsure about tyre pressures , currently at 28 psi.

Does anybody else have A539's in this size and if so what pressures are they running front and rear ?

Thanks

[Mark Dobson]

Apologies, should have included that we had the A539 same size (175/60/14 H rated) fitted.
Suzuki recommend 23PSI for the standard tyre, Graham after some calls and investigation to Yokohama (I think it was) found that Yokohama recommend going up 1.5PSI for the size change from 165/65 to 175/60 to assist with keeping the middle of the tyre tread in contact withthe road and prevent the edges wearing too quickly. - note to Graham F: did I get this right?
We find that the 24.5PSI in the A539 175/60/14 offers excellent grip and reduces sidewall deformation when cornering.

[Jon Stones]

I have put 175/60 on my cappo but noticed a significant
drop in fuel economy. I used to get around 250 miles
per tank full but now i only get 200ish. Presumably
due to the extra rubber on the ground. Has anybody
else found this to be a problem?

Jon

[Thomas Waterhouse]

We had a discussion along these lines before, and I think we agreed that although it would make some difference it wouldn't make very much - certainly not 50miles per tank.

Maybe you have another problem, is it going as well as it usually does?
Things like the timing slipping way off may affect it a fair bit. I'd think you'd notice a performance difference though.