AAA tyres for first gen Nissan Leaf

ReadySteadyGo

I'm a novice buying tyres, but I decided to do some research into the labels and which tyres to put on the car this time. And I thought it might be useful for someone else also.

My main priorities was safety, followed by total lifetime costs.

For safety - the only thing I can go on is wet grip, And an A rating is the best you can get.

For total costs - our tires are more likely to die of "old age" (original tyres are still on the car), than mileage, but I wasn't sure how to find a tyre that will age better (not from use, but just from sitting around in the elements). An A rolling resistance should reduce my cost per km, But I'm not sure I would get significant saving going from a B to A on rolling resistance.

I ended up pricing around for an AAA tyre. Who doesn't like less noise and more range. And based on our very low mileage, the tyres are likley to be on the car for years, so the additional euro cost per year is not that high.

The original tyres on the car were Bridgestone Ecopia 205/55 R16 91v. The back still has plenty of thread, but is showing some aging. The fronts are low on thread and could do with replacing.

I found the following AAA tyres online

Nokian eLine 2 - 205/55 R16 94W XL
Dunlop Sport BluResponse - 205/55 R16 94V XL - this is available as AAA and ABA - the AAA one is more expensive and harder to find.

Note the 94 vs the 91 on original, that is about the total weight the tyres can carry, so this tyre can carry more weight than the original, i forget exactly but something like 670kg instead of 640kg

Note the W vs the original V, in theory the Nokian is rated for an even higher top speed.

The Nokian - I had priced around and best price was 79 on Tyreleader.ie
The AAA version of the Dunlop - best price I found was 88, also on tyre leader (typical price ~100).

The tyre ratings are self certified by manufacturers, as I understand, and I feel a bit more comfortable going with a brand I recognise. From a future selling car point of view, a buyer is more likely to recognise the dunlops also as premium brand, so I think I would lean for the Dunlop over the Nokians, given the small price difference.

I will have to add ~20 per tire for fitting/disposal/balancing - so that would 108 per corner.

It looks like I can get the Dunlop (205/55 R16 91V) ABA (B on rolling resistance), all in for 90 euro . (I might be able to get it lower, as I didn't do much shopping around on this).

Questions for folks who have more experience and knowledge:

Is is worth the extra 18 euro to go form ABA(B on rolling resistance) to AAA?

Should I consider another tyre, given my preference for safety and total cost of ownership?

How much will is save over the liftime of the tyre by going from B rolling resistance to A rolling resistance?


For the record, here is the results of my pricing around the various online sites for
Dunlop Sport Bluresponse 205/55 R16 94V XL
AAA - note this is the aaa one - on most sites the only way to see the different is to look at the tire label, but it appears they have different product codes, just they don't tend to show the product code on the site - the codes might be (R-275139 or 5452000547026)
68db
Passenger summer
Tyre leader 88,37€
Oponeo - 95
Tyre outlet 102
Mobile mech 102
Tyre mechanic 102
Tirendo 103
Eire tyres 105
Tyre-pneus - not sold?

ReadySteadyGo

Strangely enough I can't find the AAA tyre on Dunlop's site...

https://www.dunlop.eu/en_gb/consumer/tires/results.html?w=205&h=55&r=16&l=94&s=V&type=size&sn=SUMMER&fe=A

I chatted to someone in the trade, who confirmed it did exist, but that Dunlop didn't appear to bring them into Ireland. I guess the online sites are getting their supply from somewhere else.


Is there any reason this tyre would be less safe/unsuitable for Ireland?

quenching

If safety is your main concern then you really need a set of summer tyres as above plus a set of winter tyres, not for snow etc but for lower winter temperatures. Or you could buy Michelin Cross Climate tyres which are summer tyres also certified for winter use (countries were you are legally obliged to fit winter tyres also allow the Cross Climate tyres and other “all season tyres). I’ve had them on several cars and they are excellent, I don’t think I’d be persuaded to buy anything else.