Hi, new to the forum as I recently bought a 2004 Fusion 1.4 tdci. I have given the car a full service , replaced the rear seatbelt catch, fitted a towbar (30 quid off ebay!) and given her a ***** good clean and polish.

now however I need to start thinking about new tyres, looking around I quite fancy some Toyo nanoenergy 3s however the current tyres are 195 60 15s and the toyos are only available as 195 65 15s so the question is this , will they fit and is there likely to be any real detrimental affect? I dont drive like a loony (too old for that!) just want something decent at as cheap a price as i can get. the current tyres are a mix of makes I've never heard of and feel a little wayward to say the least and I'd like to replace all 4 at the same time.

thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Neil.

By changing to those tyres you'll throw the speedo out.

3 minutes ago, Luke4efc said:

By changing to those tyres you'll throw the speedo out.

Correct. Bigger profile tyres will have a bigger sidewall and therefore larger (outside) diameter. This will probably cause errors in Speedo and milometer.

You can get the Toyo CF 2 in your size, which I don't think are too bad. Why do you want Nano 3s? They both have the same EC rating, 'B' in Wet, 'C' for fuel. I have no experience with either, although did run T1Rs on previous car 10 or so years ago.

Hi and thanks for the replies guys, the reason that I was looking at the nanos was purely around cost/reviews, at about £40 a corner/known make/ decent reveiws it just caught my interest. never thought about the CF 2 so I'll take a look at those. 

I did realise that the speedo would be slightly out but was more concerned about any fitting issues ie clearance although I know that there isnt much difference in diameter.

I normally say never skimp on tyres, it's the only thing that is in contact with the road! Toyos are a well known mid-range tyre brand. I always advise not to buy cheap budget (Chinese) tyres.

The CF 2 are OK in tests, Tyre reviews - Proxes CF2 Some Kumhos do quite well in tests, (top in your size) so could be a good an alternative. I don't know how much extra they will be, but won't be as much as premium (Goodyear/Conti/Michelin, etc) will be.

hi Jim, 

I'm in total agreement with you regarding not skimping on tyres and always go for premium brands on my main car which is used for long distance high speed journeys on the continent, however for the type of use the fusion is put to which is 99% local low speed journeys I really don't want to spend a lot but at the same time I will be avoiding cheap chinese rubbish like the plague! 

just looking to find a sensible balance really, i have now looked at the CF2 and will take a look at the Kumho's.

just out of interest i found a tyre size comparison site which indicates that the speedo error at 60 mph would be 1.6 mph so I don't think I'm going to worry about that as every speedo i've had has over read by at least 3-4 mph at that speed ie 56 at an indicated 60.

thanks for your advice , it is genuinely appreciated.

Neil

Have a look at this test, which I was referring to. It's for 195/65 15s https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2018-AutoBild-Summer-Tyre-Overview.htm  The only downside is it's from 2018

I have just realised it was a Hancook that came top, not Kumho. Both are still well known names, though. I think I looked at another test.

Thanks again Jim, 

I've just taken a look at that test and I was pretty impressed with the results especially when I saw how far down the list the likes of Michelin were! Of course I realise that there are far more aspects to the performance of a tyre than just dry/wet braking these look like a good fit for the type of use the car get's.

The test also bares out my thoughts on the Vredestines which our boss insists on having fitted to the emergenct response cars and I personally feel that they are pretty crap totally lacking in feedback and failing to inspire confidence.

We have ran Vredestines on or previous cars (not mine though). Both Summer and All-season Quatracs, with no problems. HiTrac and Quatac 2&3s used to be the top tyres in Auto-Express. We found them great in the snow, although I'm sure the small skinny (185) size helped.

Our Fusion came with Hankooks from new, and lasted nearly 35k, so did the second set.  We did swap front to back to equalise wear.