Which tyre brand

whiteboard

Hi,

I have decided to change the tyres on my car (03 opel corsa) through work and for my car the following brands have been offered to me. Toyo, Semperit, Dunlop, Bridgestone. There is also a budget option which I have ruled out; but I would like to know what people think of these specific brands and which ones they would buy.

Cheers
Whitey

unnameduser

Bridgestone/dunlop

BrianD3

Tyre brand won't make a big difference on a Corsa (or most other road going cars for that matter). I'd pay more attention to the treadwear number than the brand.

mikedragon32

If you don't have to change the tyres, why bother?

Unless you've come to a thread depth of less than the legal limit (5mm afaik) I can't think of any reason to do so (unless it's for cosmetic purposes).

Do-more

It's a really difficult thing this, unnameduser likes Bridgestone, but I had a set on a Corsa a few years ago and they were lethal in the wet, I mean really dangerous.

Auto Express do very comprehensive tyre tests every so often, I tried Googling for them, didn't get what you wanted but did get this which is of interest...

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/200867/tyre_tread_safety_shock.html

crosstownk

The legal limit is 1.6mm

I'd go for the Semperit tyres. They are mid range brand and are owned by Contenintal. Continental also manufacture GT Champiro tyres. All tyres on sale should meet EU requirements - but some tyres exceed the requirements.

Sundy

BrianD3 wrote:

Tyre brand won't make a big difference on a Corsa (or most other road going cars for that matter). I'd pay more attention to the treadwear number than the brand.

`

Hmmm really?
Some tyre brands definitely perform much better than others. i have just changed to BF Goodrich and they are miles better than what i was using, traction is way better.

Seth Brundle

When I got my current car there were a mix of tyres on it. They worked alright together.
Currently Im using Goodyear Eagle F1s. The car does not lose any traction unless I give it plenty of good reason to. Despite being at the limit, the rear wheels do not step out even in the wet.
Tyres do make a difference to the handling of the car.

Avns1s

whiteboard wrote:

Hi,

I have decided to change the tyres on my car (03 opel corsa) through work and for my car the following brands have been offered to me. Toyo, Semperit, Dunlop, Bridgestone. There is also a budget option which I have ruled out; but I would like to know what people think of these specific brands and which ones they would buy.

Cheers
Whitey

Any of the Semperit, Dunlop, Bridgestone tyres or other well known brands will be fine on your corsa. More important to have all the same and have the tyre pressures correct.

Automan

Check out eiretyres, when your looking at the tyres there is a link for reviews and tests for that particular tyre.
I had a set of Pirelli 6000 they were crap in the wet but good in the dry and did not last very long.
Through reading some of the reviews on the site I have now changed my tyres to Bridgestone Potenza RE 720 grip in the wet has improved a lot, grip in the dry is just as good and they have so far lasted twice as long as the P6000.

http://www.eiretyres.com/start.html

bazz26

I had Bridgestone tyres originally on my car and found them to be rubbish to be honest. They were poor in the wet, they wore pretty fast and had lots of road noise.

I changed to Vredestein about 2 years ago on the recommendation from a friend. I have found them to be an excellent tyre with plenty of grip in the rain, a good thread and alot quiter than the Bridgestones. They cost roughly around the same price as the Bridgestones too.

hiscan

dunlop simple as that

Automan

bazz26 wrote:

I had Bridgestone tyres originally on my car and found them to be rubbish to be honest. They were poor in the wet, they wore pretty fast and had lots of road noise.

I changed to Vredestein about 2 years ago on the recommendation from a friend. I have found them to be an excellent tyre with plenty of grip in the rain, a good thread and alot quiter than the Bridgestones. They cost roughly around the same price as the Bridgestones too.

Which Bridgestone tyres did you have?

whiteboard

BrianD3 wrote:

Tyre brand won't make a big difference on a Corsa (or most other road going cars for that matter). I'd pay more attention to the treadwear number than the brand.

Thanks for the replies guys. Its looking like the Dunlops so far.

I have had the car since new and the tracking needs doing; from a confidence and safety point of view, I had promised myself a new set of tyres after the summer.

What is the treadwear no. and where do I find it ?
Does it signify the proposed rate of wear for the tyre?

Whitey

bruce wayne

kbannon wrote:

When I got my current car there were a mix of tyres on it. They worked alright together.
Currently Im using Goodyear Eagle F1s. The car does not lose any traction unless I give it plenty of good reason to. Despite being at the limit, the rear wheels do not step out even in the wet.
Tyres do make a difference to the handling of the car.

Snap on my TT........

dont know if it would make that much of a difference on a small car like a corsa though

bazz26

Automan wrote:

Which Bridgestone tyres did you have?

Bridgestone Turanza, if I remember correctly. I got them as part of a deal with the alloy wheels.

peasant

To make matters even more complicated, it is not just a question of make or tyre type but also size.

While a certain make and a certain thread might perform wonderfully allround at a certain size, three sizes up or down it could be rather woeful. This has to do with the fact that certain thread patterns only really work well in a set relation to width and surface on the road. Scaling that pattern up or down doesn't always work.

The German ADAC (AA/RAC equivalent) has shown this in many tests. So to get a definitve answer to which tyre is best on your corsa, you really need to find a test that compares tyres in your size.

This being (wet) Ireland I'd rate a good performance in the wet a lot higher than dry performance, though.

BrianD3

whiteboard wrote:

What is the treadwear no. and where do I find it ?
Does it signify the proposed rate of wear for the tyre?

Should be on the sidewall. Treadwear numbers vary from about 150 to 400. Lower numbers generally mean softer grippier tyres with poor longevity. Higher numbers generally mean less grip but better longevity (although if the car is sliding around a lot and spinning its wheels then maybe not) Very few people check these numbers and tyre fitters don't usually pay attention to them either. So you get a scenario where someone puts Brand X with a 190 treadwear on his car and gives out about how they wore out very quickly therefore all Brand X tyres must be crap. Someone else sticks Brand Y with treadwear 350 on his car and gives out about how they've no grip in the wet therefore all Brand Y tyres must be crap.

I personally find that the Champiro GT tyre with a treadwear of 250 is a decent tyre and compromise beitween grip and longevity and price. I notice little or no difference between the performance of this tyre and the performance of a Michelin tyre with similar treadwear number which cost about 60% more.

Also I'd agree with the comment that tyres can perform well in one size but poorer in another size. So the type of car come into it too.

MercMad

I would suggest you look at what similar Corsa's use, or new ones, if the are the same size. Usually the manufacturer will pick what is most suitable from a few good tyre makers !

el tel

As peasant says, it's very difficult to compare tyre brands in general. Some makes have excellent reputations however when you get down to the levels when you are comparing actual tyres like-for-like often they don't produce the best tyre, or tyre that suits you best.

http://www.blackcircles.com is a site worth having a dukie at, it has info covers most of the tryres and most of the car makes.