Good 14" tyres?

Turbulent Bill

I'm looking for recommendations for new 14" tyres, 185/65/14 to be exact. The EU tyre labelling is useless given it's self assessed, and comparative tests are usually for bigger sizes, so I'm confused.

Priority is grip, wear not an issue as I do small miles, must be available in Dublin. Mid to premium priced, any advice appreciated.

Toyotafanboi

i got firestone (tz400 i think) in that size. they were €65 a corner from fast-fit.
pretty happy with them, they've done well all winter, they are night and day compared to the chinese ****e that was on the car, notable improvement into corners and stopping distances.

George Dalton

Hankook and Semperit should also be available for similar money and are both a massive improvement over the usual plastic shíte.

GarIT

Ring around a few local places, see what brands they have and check them here http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/

biko

Uniroyal RainExpert
Dry Grip 85%
Wet Grip 91%

Continental Premium Contact 2
Dry Grip 85%
Wet Grip 78%

Miscreant

I would recommend Atlas for tyres. I got very similar 185 60 14s for my Cappuccino there last year and paid about €240 for a set of Kumhos. They are a very good tyre and I have had no issues with grip in the wet or the dry.

joujoujou

biko wrote: »

Uniroyal RainExpert
Dry Grip 85%
Wet Grip 91%

[...]

+1

Yawns

My car had 185/65/14 too but tbh the last time I went and got 185/60/14 and ended up getting Continental ContiEcoContact 5 for €60 each and €40 to fit them which including replacing valve and balancing.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Continental/Eco-Contact-5.htm

Dry Grip
94%

Wet Grip
89%

Road Feedback
93%

Progressiveness
94%

Wear
86%

Comfort
84%

Turbulent Bill

GarIT wrote: »

Ring around a few local places, see what brands they have and check them here http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/

That's what I've been doing so far, but the reviews are so varied that it's hard to get a real feel for what's good. Might just look at the percentages and ignore the comments.

biko wrote: »

Uniroyal RainExpert
Dry Grip 85%
Wet Grip 91%

Continental Premium Contact 2
Dry Grip 85%
Wet Grip 78%

biko, where'd you get the Uniroyals from? I already have a pair of different Uniroyals on the rear and am happy with them, but can't find a list of Uniroyal dealers anywhere (the place I bought these from doesn't stock them any more).

Thanks for all the suggestions, keep them coming.

analfabets

biko wrote: »

Uniroyal RainExpert
Dry Grip 85%
Wet Grip 91%

Continental Premium Contact 2
Dry Grip 85%
Wet Grip 78%

joujoujou wrote: »

+1

+2
Uniroyal RainExpert is probably as much wet grip as you can get from a tyre. They are noisy on a motorway though.

joujoujou

Turbulent Bill wrote: »

[...] can't find a list of Uniroyal dealers anywhere (the place I bought these from doesn't stock them any more).

Thanks for all the suggestions, keep them coming.

Probably in the net only.

eiretyres.com has them. camskill.co.uk too.

analfabets wrote: »

+2
Uniroyal RainExpert is probably as much wet grip as you can get from a tyre.

Agree. Apart from racing/semi-racing tyres of course.

analfabets wrote: »

They are noisy on a motorway though.

That's the price for grip.

kerten

analfabets wrote: »

+2
Uniroyal RainExpert is probably as much wet grip as you can get from a tyre. They are noisy on a motorway though.

+3

using 175/65/14s for last 27k kms on a yaris and I can't fault them for grip and comfort. They have soft side walls that some people doesn't like though.

BostonB

Hard to get 14" in a decent brand in stock in this country. The tyre sellers here seem want to push cheap chinese dire tyres on you. I got Kumhos on mine, but I had to order them in. The Kumhos were good, but I think they aren't going to last that long. They aren't as good now when I first fitted them, I guess I've done 12k on them.

tc20

Turbulent Bill wrote: »

I already have a pair of different Uniroyals on the rear and am happy with them, but can't find a list of Uniroyal dealers anywhere

try Dave McCann in Coolmine Industrial Park. I got 14" Uniroyals there previously for an old Mercedes. Good guy, and reasonable too.

http://www.davemccanntyres.com/

Turbulent Bill

tc20 wrote: »

try Dave McCann in Coolmine Industrial Park. I got 14" Uniroyals there previously for an old Mercedes. Good guy, and reasonable too.

http://www.davemccanntyres.com/

Just to complete the story, I ended up getting the RainExperts here for €55 each. Had to order them in but only took a few days, overall very pleased with the purchase.


Weather hasn't been wet enough to really test them yet, but they're fine in the dry.

Thanks for all the advice.

wonski

Yawns wrote: »

My car had 185/65/14 too but tbh the last time I went and got 185/60/14 and ended up getting Continental ContiEcoContact 5 for €60 each and €40 to fit them which including replacing valve and balancing.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Continental/Eco-Contact-5.htm

What is the tyrereviews based on really?
It seems it is more of a customer satisfaction based than proper tests?
Kind of scary that we assess tires based on some anonymous reviews on internet. Am i wrong?

joujoujou

wonski wrote: »

[...]
It seems it is more of a customer satisfaction based than proper tests?

More than likely. :rolleyes:

wonski wrote: »

Kind of scary that we assess tires based on some anonymous reviews on internet. Am i wrong?

Well, in fact - it depends.

Of course I agree with you that someone's amteur-like review may be worthless, but can't forget that "professional" reviews performed by (more or less) official bodies can be sponsored - if you know what I mean. :cool:

IMO is good to look at both sides.

Yawns

wonski wrote: »

What is the tyrereviews based on really?
Kind of scary that we assess tires based on some anonymous reviews on internet. Am i wrong?

If you go down the route of looking at reviews, at the end of the day they are all made up by someone else. Be it from scientific tests or day to day usage. That site is combined of daily road users & tests apparently. So far for any tyres I have used, the reviews are pretty accurate. I was also advised by a tyre fitter about avoiding the continental contact 3 when I had mentioned I was getting the 5. He said hte 5 was great but make sure not to get the 3 as they are not worth it.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Continental/Eco-Contact-3.htm

It seems it is more of a customer satisfaction based than proper tests?

But it seems to be from customers who actually have a clue about the tyres. If it was a typical average motorist who doesn't know the actual function of a middle lane on a motorway for example, then I don't think they would take the time to review a tyre. If it was a car enthusiast however who likes to drive and have good stuff on his cars, then would it be a bad thing to take into consideration.

At the end of the day, it's just a review by others and to be used a guide if you will. If there was no review site such as this, I think even more people would be fooled into buying cheap rubbish on the advise solely of the seller. When I was shopping about, I got quite a number of sellers telling me the that triangles & Sunny were a great tyre, top seller & I'd be mad to spend the money on Continentals as those 2 are as good as, if not better.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Triangle/CNNT-CLS.htm

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Sunny/SN3800.htm

I pity those people who would take his word and not have anywhere to check out even online for it.

BostonB

I wouldn't trust reviews or opinions I want to see them tested

Yawns

BostonB wrote: »

I wouldn't trust reviews or opinions I want to see them tested

Does that go for everything in life tho? People buy stuff all the time without having seeing tests in person. Does your local tyre seller show you the tests conducted?

Ever had food out of a take away on the basis that your friend said it was good?

BostonB

Off topic much? Do you usually start discussions about take-away in the motoring thread? Are you swiss toni with crazy comparisons?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBw-aEixWuo

Most peoples opinions are not based on back to back testing of one tyre against another. So its a very flawed basis for a review. Its better than nothing. But lots of magazines to car tyre tests. Thats where you find out whats a good tyre. The problem in ireland is 9/10 tyre fitters just push out what they have in stock. They'll sell any old crud, which is why so many are driving on chinese tyres or mediocre summer tyres when they aren't the right tyre for our weather. If you do a ring around car fitters trying to get them to give you make and model name is like asking for blood out of a stone.

Yawns

Ok I'll keep the comparison motoring related even tho you get the idea. If you are looking to buy a car and had a list of say 15 cars to see on a Saturday. You're working all week so you only have a few hours on Saturday to do a test drive. You need to whittle down the list to just say 5. How would you do it. One of the ways most likely would be to ask some people have they driven any of those cars and if you get a good or bad review, it might make you decide to go on and test drive it or not.

I don't base my tyre making decisions on that website alone. I do quite a bit of research into any possible tyres I might buy. However that website is handy as part of that research. Nice to see some feedback from people who use the tyres. As I said, any tyres I have used before, when I check the reviews given, they seem to be spot on. I would agree with the reviews. So when I buy tyres, I like to check what kind of review they get on that website plus some other research I do.

BostonB

On that website you can get people giving the same tire very different opiniosn. Sometimes they've a mixed set of tyres front and back on the car, switched from a premium tyre to a cheap tyre, switched to a new car etc. Very unbalanced reviews. Occasionally you find a set of reviews that are consistent with each other. But its hit and miss.

But my point is, you really want to find a test where people have tested a full set of tyres on the same car, against other sets of tyres on the same car.

TBH I wasn't really commenting on that site, I meant the review/opinion of a Tyre fitters, who have a vested interest in selling you their existing stock vs anything else. I should have quoted that so it was clear. My bad.

Yawns

I get what you mean re the tyre sellers. They will tell you triangles are great as so many people have bought them. But it'll be people who haven't a clue and just want the cheapest tyre. As I said, the stats of the tyres and the reviews I look at for my own purchases are usually spot on. I wouldn't leave my tyre buying decisions up to a review alone, but I would read reviews as part of a process.

BostonB

Incidentally I got these Hankook/OPTIMO-K715 in 14". I found them vastly better than the chinese crud that was on previously. Best thing I could get a short notice in Dublin, at the time. I would call them decent but not outstanding.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Hankook/OPTIMO-K715.htm

cena

what are these like.

http://www.oponeo.ie/details-tyre/maxxis-ma-307-165-70-r14-81-s#warranty-tab

Mr Mike

Hi,

I know I am a bit late but if anyone else is interested in finding good tyres look at the ADAC test (German AA).

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.ie&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/reifen/default.aspx&usg=ALkJrhgneU2Bv2IdWv0aMa3hXHtUDhdh2w