Which tyres?????

[jonah406]

Hi all,

Currently running Focus 1.5L Ecoboost St-Line, on 235/40/18 Michelin Pilot Sport 3, and need to replace front tires, had planned on a like-for-like, however on looking at the fuel efficiency grading of these tires, (Grade E) am considering other options.

Anyone any recommendations

Thanks

[jonah406]

Apparently the Pilot Sport 4's are improved with C grade for fuel, and A grade for wet handling, problem solved

[TomsFocus]

Don't get too hung up on tyre economy ratings, you'll find they make little to no difference in the real world.  I'm quite anal about MPG and record every tankful, changing tyres from an F rating to a B rating made no noticeable difference unfortunately, I also find the noise ratings to be a pretty poor comparison.  The wet grip rating does seem to be far more accurate though.  

PS4s are definitely a good choice, you won't be disappointed with them, they're not cheap in that size though so shop around to get the best deal.  

[jonah406]

Cheers Tom,

Tend to agree with thoughts around fuel/noise ratings, but like yourself, do pay more attention to wet handling/braking, have manage to find PS4's for around £136 a corner.

One more question regarding tyres, I want to rotate the current fronts with the rears, but have been told it's not possible due to TPMS.

Is this true?

 

[TomsFocus]

You can rotate tyres with TPMS but you'll probably need to reset the system after doing it.  I have seen a cheat for this on some Fords though, can't remember the exact procedure but essentially you just let some air out of each tyre so the ECU learns the location of each sensor.  

I've had bad experiences rotating tyres though so don't recommend it personally.  Got very odd wear patterns causing excess noise and weird handling.  May not be an issue on a nearly-new car where the suspension etc is all still fresh.  

[Micro]

Had Falken 914's on my car before my winter tyres got put on... then never took the winters off last year! They've got a load of tread left.

To be fair, aside from the Prestivo rubbish that was on the car when I bought it, both the Falkens and the Nokian WR-A3's that are on the car now grip extremely well, and in last years snow the Nokians excelled themselves.

Once these winter tyres are due to be changed, i'll be putting a good brand all season tyre on - looking at Kumho KH31's or the Nokian Weatherproof. Summer tyres, albeit have a better "feel" when driving in hot weather, are a mile away from providing the grip I got from these tyres last winter with the snow/freezing conditions.

[nitten_traveller]

In November I replaced the original Continental tyres on my 2013 Focus with Continental Premium Contact 5.  Researching options etc pointed me towards the Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance tyres (you will struggle to find a bad word said about them on various forums) but KF had a decent discount day on premium tyres plus Continental were running their own offer as well.  Fitted by the mobile van for free too.  The car handles, well, like a car!  It rains a lot here in the winter and they have been fine.

 

[kingsblue]

9 hours ago, nitten_traveller said:

In November I replaced the original Continental tyres on my 2013 Focus with Continental Premium Contact 5.  Researching options etc pointed me towards the Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance tyres (you will struggle to find a bad word said about them on various forums) but KF had a decent discount day on premium tyres plus Continental were running their own offer as well.  Fitted by the mobile van for free too.  The car handles, well, like a car!  It rains a lot here in the winter and they have been fine.

 

I done exactly the same thing, worked out £50 a tyre for 205/55/VR16 Continental Premium Contact 5, first time I've used KF.