Fiat Panda - Uniroyal tyres?

Kintarō Hattori

Hi Chaps,

I had asked my mechanic if he could fit some Bridgestone or Continentals to a 2005 Fiat Panda 1.1 but he's come back with Uniroyal tyres... a pair fitted for €140. First question is, what's that brand like? And second, is that a fair price? I seem to recall that a pair of of Continentals for a 320i were around the same price?

CiniO

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Hi Chaps,

I had asked my mechanic if he could fit some Bridgestone or Continentals to a 2005 Fiat Panda 1.1 but he's come back with Uniroyal tyres... a pair fitted for €140. First question is, what's that brand like? And second, is that a fair price? I seem to recall that a pair of of Continentals for a 320i were around the same price?

Uniroyals are amazing on wet roads - provide excellent grip possibly better than premium brands you mentioned.

Unfortunately, they seem to have very soft sidewalls, which makes them easier to damage on kerbs, potholes, as well as makes handling worse.

If you don't drive fast and don't like fast cornering, you should be fine, but I got a set for my pug 407, and I'm really disappointed with how much worse the car handling was affected. But I agree that grip on wet is excellent.


70 for panda size is probably bit on expensive side. Look online at oponeo or eiretyres to see how much they'd cost there in your size

markc1184

I have Uniroyal Rainsport 3 on both of my cars. I quite like them, good grip in all weather imo. My tyres which I'd presume are bigger than you need are in and around €100-€110 each.

bazz26

€70 a tyre for a Panda sounds a bit expensive to me. What size rims are on the Panda, 14"?

biko

Uniroyal are good budget tyres with a good grip for Irish wet roads, I have recommended them lots

Kintarō Hattori

bazz26 wrote: »

€70 a tyre for a Panda sounds a bit expensive to me. What size rims are on the Panda, 14"?

They are indeed 14". I'm a little concerned by CiniO's feedback. While I know the Panda isn't exactly a drivers car, I am fond of taking it on the back roads and really enjoying the drive- so I'm not exactly a Sunday driver but would drive within the speed limits. I really like how it handles B roads so perhaps Uniroyal aren't the best option?

VeVeX

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

They are indeed 14". I'm a little concerned by CiniO's feedback. While I know the Panda isn't exactly a drivers car, I am fond of taking it on the back roads and really enjoying the drive- so I'm not exactly a Sunday driver but would drive within the speed limits. I really like how it handles B roads so perhaps Uniroyal aren't the best option?

What is the exact size?

Kintarō Hattori

VeVeX wrote: »

What is the exact size?

165/65 R14.

markc1184

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

They are indeed 14". I'm a little concerned by CiniO's feedback. While I know the Panda isn't exactly a drivers car, I am fond of taking it on the back roads and really enjoying the drive- so I'm not exactly a Sunday driver but would drive within the speed limits. I really like how it handles B roads so perhaps Uniroyal aren't the best option?

I have them on a Subaru that gets used on plenty of twisty roads and I have no issue with handling.

Kintarō Hattori

Thanks Chaps, it's going in for a general service on Thursday morning so I've asked him to fit the Uniroyals.

VeVeX

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

165/65 R14.

It should be RainExpert 3 in that size. Make sure its not the previous generation. The RainExpert 3 is an excellent tyre. Comfortable, low noise and as good as you'll get in the wet in that size. I'd expect to pay around €60 per tyre fitted in a B&M maybe a little less if you were buying four. Personally I'd have no problem paying a bit extra if its convienient and you're happy with the service. Either way you cant put a better tyre on your car for the money you're spending.

Kintarō Hattori

VeVeX wrote: »

It should be RainExpert 3 in that size. Make sure its not the previous generation. The RainExpert 3 is an excellent tyre. Comfortable, low noise and as good as you'll get in the wet in that size. I'd expect to pay around €60 per tyre fitted in a B&M maybe a little less if you were buying four. Personally I'd have no problem paying a bit extra if its convienient and you're happy with the service. Either way you cant put a better tyre on your car for the money you're spending.

That's good advice, thanks. He's right around the corner from where I work and we've been going to him for 3 years with the missus' BMW as he's a BMW specialist. A little embarrassing rocking up to him in a Panda but it's handy!

JohnBoy26

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

165/65 R14.

I think it's a bit on the expensive size for that size of tyre. You can get a premium brand for in or around the same money if you shop around

colm_mcm

They're €48 on eiretyres, so adding €15 for fitting wouldn't leave you too far off €70

That said if you're getting 4, it's a €28 saving.