Alignment or worse?

[YOG]

It would seem sensible to change the "really cheap tyres on the front which I've been meaning to replace for ages", and see if that makes any difference.

[dtulip8]

22 minutes ago, YOG said:

It would seem sensible to change the "really cheap tyres on the front which I've been meaning to replace for ages", and see if that makes any difference.

It sure would, just got to find the money first! This is certainly my next port of call however!

[dtulip8]

37 minutes ago, Botus said:

are you running premium brand tyres of the size and load rating of the originals? budget nasties, different wheels (wrong outset) and stupid sizes won't help (particularly in wet, cold conditions)

your signature says Leicestershire.... at this time of years some roads east of Hertfordshire loose about 80% of their grip levels.  Grease, filth, farming and soil erosion turn the place into a skating rink.  Hard to believe till you drive a semi-powerful rear drive car and realise what couldn't loose traction ever in berks bucks, will do 80mph drifts on 1/2 throttle all day long

 

 

Having formerly lived in rural Hants, I know what you mean and I certainly think this will be a factor. I'm living in the centre of Leiecester now, so maybe not so bad with the farming/soil stuff but cold road temps will certainly still be in play. As I said above, will be getting some decent tyres on the fronts soon (have Falkens on the back). Which ones would people recommend.

[TomsFocus]

8 hours ago, dtulip8 said:

Having formerly lived in rural Hants, I know what you mean and I certainly think this will be a factor. I'm living in the centre of Leiecester now, so maybe not so bad with the farming/soil stuff but cold road temps will certainly still be in play. As I said above, will be getting some decent tyres on the fronts soon (have Falkens on the back). Which ones would people recommend.

What's your budget per tyre?

[FatHead1979]

13 hours ago, dtulip8 said:

Having formerly lived in rural Hants, I know what you mean and I certainly think this will be a factor. I'm living in the centre of Leiecester now, so maybe not so bad with the farming/soil stuff but cold road temps will certainly still be in play. As I said above, will be getting some decent tyres on the fronts soon (have Falkens on the back). Which ones would people recommend.

Autoexpress have just done there annual group test for all weather tyres here

 

Personally I'd previously sworn by the Nokia Weatherproofs as they were good enough in the dry and amazing in the wet/snow but they've been left for dead this year.  As it happens I recently needed to new rear tyres so dropped for 2 of the group winning Continentals and I'm really impressed, not the cheapest option but they seem to perform really well in all conditions.

[dtulip8]

About £65 a tyre, Tom. The Dunlop BluResponse or Yokohama BluEarth AE50 (plus they have an offer on atm) seem good on Blackcircles and within budget. Are these any good, and should I get the fully fitted ones or would it be cheaper to get them delivered and then have a tame mechanic fit them?

[TomsFocus]

Dunlop Sport BluResponse are one of my favourite tyres tbh, would definitely recommend those.  I haven't tried any Yoko's at all so can't comment on them.  The other tyre that is very close to the Dunlops in terms of price and driving is Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance.  (Make sure they are the new Performance ones though, the old non-Performance ones were shocking in the wet!).

If you have a good mechanic, ask how much they'll charge to fit & balance.  Since I no longer know a decent local mechanic I've found it difficult and expensive to get tyres fitted after delivery so it works out much cheaper to buy fully fitted from the likes of F1 Autocentres for me now.

 

I do have a set of Mk2.5 Titanium alloys (16" multispokes) with a pair of Dunlops and a pair of Goodyears on them in storage currently, barely any use on the tyres, probably only covered 6000 miles or so...  They don't fit my Golf lol.  But they wont be any use when I buy a Mk3.5 Focus either, would need different wheel nuts and to have pressure sensors fitted so I'm thinking about selling them tbh…  If you're interested, feel free to drop me a message.  

[rhyds]

I  bought the Dunlop BluResponse earlier in the year and found them very noisy at motorway speed compared to the previous dunlops I had. 

[dtulip8]

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Dunlop Sport BluResponse are one of my favourite tyres tbh, would definitely recommend those.  I haven't tried any Yoko's at all so can't comment on them.  The other tyre that is very close to the Dunlops in terms of price and driving is Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance.  (Make sure they are the new Performance ones though, the old non-Performance ones were shocking in the wet!).

If you have a good mechanic, ask how much they'll charge to fit & balance.  Since I no longer know a decent local mechanic I've found it difficult and expensive to get tyres fitted after delivery so it works out much cheaper to buy fully fitted from the likes of F1 Autocentres for me now.

 

I do have a set of Mk2.5 Titanium alloys (16" multispokes) with a pair of Dunlops and a pair of Goodyears on them in storage currently, barely any use on the tyres, probably only covered 6000 miles or so...  They don't fit my Golf lol.  But they wont be any use when I buy a Mk3.5 Focus either, would need different wheel nuts and to have pressure sensors fitted so I'm thinking about selling them tbh…  If you're interested, feel free to drop me a message.  

Thanks for the offer on those wheels, Tom but I wouldn't have anywhere to store my current ones plus I'm not a huge fan of the look of those. I've plumped for the Dunlops, £130 fully fitted on blackcircles.

 

1 hour ago, rhyds said:

I  bought the Dunlop BluResponse earlier in the year and found them very noisy at motorway speed compared to the previous dunlops I had. 

Can't be any worse than my Linglongs that I have now! 

[FatHead1979]

1 hour ago, dtulip8 said:

Thanks for the offer on those wheels, Tom but I wouldn't have anywhere to store my current ones plus I'm not a huge fan of the look of those. I've plumped for the Dunlops, £130 fully fitted on blackcircles.

 

Can't be any worse than my Linglongs that I have now! 

Ah, Linglong "Ditchfinders", barely any grip in the dry and like driving on bare rims in the wet!

Driving a car with "Ditchfinders" on in the wet =  pants moment 

[dtulip8]

31 minutes ago, 1979Damian said:

Ah, Linglong "Ditchfinders", barely any grip in the dry and like driving on bare rims in the wet!

Driving a car with "Ditchfinders" on in the wet =  pants moment 

I think they’re Constancy’s, not Ling Longs (just use that as a generic name). Even if these Dunlop’s don’t solve the issues, at least I’ll have a decent brand of tyre on there now.