New tyres for Mazda 3

duffman3833

I currently driving a 10 Mazda 3 1.6d with crappy Centara Vanti HP tyres i got when i bought the car so now its time to get rid of them.
I was looking on oponeo.ie and have been comparing tyres and i narrowed down to a few.
Im only currently looking for 2 front tyres and not spending over €100 a tyre.
Can anyone tell me if any good
Tyre 205\50R17

Nexen N'Blue HD Plus €72
Imperial Ecosport2 €53
Hancook Ventus Prime2 K115 €91
Toyo Proxes CF2 €85
Kumho HS51 €74
Falken ZE 914 €80

Just looking on general advice on these tyres. Does brand matter or are the EU ratings actually a guide to go by
Thanks

biko

You can find reviews by user on www.tyrereviews.co.uk, besides what people may suggest here
Example http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Kumho/Ecsta-HS51.htm

Nuw

Out of the bunch I'd go for the Hancook, but in fairness I'm a Michelin guy meself and don't know a lot about the others, so it might very well be because it's the only brand I recognized . I also tried Yokohama (the bluearth ae-1 if memory serve) and was quite happy with them.

Tyres of different brand/prices answer different needs. At the end of the day it's all about expectations, budget and driving styles. I myself would never save a few quid on tyres because I expect good grip and good stopping distances, especially in the wet (living in Ireland and all ).

PaulKK

Can't go wrong with Falken or Kumho.

duffman3833

for example, the Kumho and Nexen are very similar but im unfamiliar with Nexen brand but stat wise the nexen is better, but would anyone even recommend it. Im not trying to cheap out but i want good value also
Kumho
Nexen

colm_mcm

If you're getting 4 tyres you may as well change to 225/45R17 as they're a much more common and cheaper size.
The outside radius is virtually identical.

kerten

I bought Falken ZE914 for wife's car in 185/55/16 size. It is fine grip and noise wise. Sidewalls are pretty stiff and reduces comfort due to low profile.

duffman3833

colm_mcm wrote: »

If you're getting 4 tyres you may as well change to 225/45R17 as they're a much more common and cheaper size.
The outside radius is virtually identical.

im still learning more about tyres, so maybe a dumb question but the alloy itself, would it take that new profile of tyre?

duffman3833

i think ill go with Toyo Proxes CF2, they have good grip, decent value and seem to wear well, according to ratings anyway.
The Nexen N'Blue HD Plus is similar trye with similar ratings but im not sure on the brand itself
If i can to 225\45R17 ill save a few quid also
Lastly, how much should a tyre fitter charge to fit these?

Nuw

It's usually 10 quids a corner fitted and balanced.

Cee-Jay-Cee

duffman3833 wrote: »

im still learning more about tyres, so maybe a dumb question but the alloy itself, would it take that new profile of tyre?

Wheels will generally take a multitude of tyre widths. For example a 7" wide rim would take anything from 195mm to 245mm wide tyres without any problem. The different side profile makes zero difference.

duffman3833

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Wheels will generally take a multitude of tyre widths. For example a 7" wide rim would take anything from 195mm to 245mm wide tyres without any problem. The different side profile makes zero difference.

grand so ill go for 225\45R17 Toyo Proxes CF2. Hopefully it will be a good buy

duffman3833

LIGHTNING wrote: »

They are a lovely tyre!

for some reason i thought you typed lovely horse and i straight away started singing in my head, my lovely tire running through the ...... field
think all this tyre research is getting to me

The Rape of Lucretia

LIGHTNING wrote: »

They are a lovely tyre!

There is such a thing as a 'lovely' tyre ?