Tyres on your Focus

[David990]

1 hour ago, iantt said:

Yep, soft sidewalls lol

Are they the regular BluResponse or the BluResponse with XL?

[iantt]

Regular, I was taking the !Removed!. Lol

[David990]

Fair enough 

[v530anh]

Sorry accidently  posted, cannot delete.

[Patriboo]

I recently bought a MKIII Focus and am also looking to change the tyres (r17's). 

To sell the car the previous owner has put on some really cheap Autogrip tyres up front and left a pair of worn (but legal) Spot Contact 2s on the rear..   There are so many different tyres to choose from it's a bit overwhelming.   I've done a load of research online as to different options that look good but don't have much real life experience with anything other than Toyo's and Michelins, I'm sure they would all be fine for normal driving in South East England but I'd like to get some real life opinions to help me make a final decision.

Using the Tyre Labels I ruled out any tyre that

• Did not have an A for Wet Handling
• Did not have at least a C for Rolling Resistance
• Was <= 72db for noise

This has ended up being my (rather long) short list

Premium Tyre Brands

Michelin Primacy 3 - I've had a mix of Primacy 3's and HP's on my last few cars.  They are reliable, stable performance in dry and wet. wear well and I've not found them to be overly noisy.  Nothing exciting about them but a good benchmark to compare all other tyres too and a safe choice if not one of the more expensive.

Michelin CrossClimate - These look really interesting and if it wasn't for the price i would go for them!  On paper perform equally well as the Primacy 3 in summer but can deal with the few crappy days of snow and ICE we get in the south east every year.

Sport Contact 5's - I believe the Sport Contact 2 was the original tyre for the car. They were on my Dad's MKII too.   The 5's have won a lot of the tyre tests so clearly perform well but they are as expensive as the Primacy's yet known to be noisey.   I believe Sport Contacts wear very quickly too making the cost per mile the highest.

Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2 - Again around the same price as the Primacy's but quieter.and have performed better in the magazine tests (finishing top 5 in all the magazine tests).  Good fuel economy noted.

Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance - On paper (i.e. the Tyre Label) the best performing tyre.  Not much to choose between this and the Dunlop Sport BluResponse but, reviews were generally more favourable for the Goodyear, especially regarding wear.  The cheapest of the Premium Tyres coming in about the same as the Hankook.

Pirelli P7 Cinturato Blue - Not far behind the Goodyear and Dunlop BluResponse for economy (rolling resistance and tyre price) but with supposedly better dry and wet handling.  Noise levels are higher though which is consideration given most of my driving is a motorway commute.

Mid Range Brands

Nokian zLine - Although they don't always stack up that well in magazine review and ADAC tests they are among the highest rated tyres on TyreReviews from consumers.   They're also the cheapest and would come in at less than £400 for all four corners.   Negatives I've read are that they can be a bit noisey and have a slight higher braking distance in the wet than the others in this list.

Hankook Ventus Evo 2 K120 - Asthetically my favourite tread pattern, they also have rim protection which not many other tyres offer.  Came 4th in the 2015 AMS Performance Tyre test but were rated 1st for being quiet and for comfort.  Not much more expensive than the zLine's.

Data is my job, so I tend to get a bit over the top with analysing these things which is why I seek real life opinions to help me make a final choice.  As it stands my top 5 are

• Michelin Primacy 3
• Michelin CrossClimate
• Hankook Ventus Evo 2
• Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance
• Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2

I'm interested to hear what the OP settled on in the end.

 

[David990]

I haven't bought any new tyres just yet. Going to wait until I have been paid before I get anything. I've narrowed it down though to either Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance or the Dunlop SP Sport BluResponse. I'll see how I feel when i come to do it, although like you, I have seen more positive reviews for the Goodyears than the Dunlops.

[djsubtronic]

Been using Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance for just over a year and can't fault their grip and noise levels whether wet or dry. The soft sidewall does seem to make the car seem a little extra rolly on sharp bends but other than that no issues.

[Bagheera]

Michelin Primacy 3 for summer and Conti WinterContact 830 for winter...the last winter season for Contis, I guess I'll renew next year...