Tyres.... Again And Geometry....

[Haylands]

Hi all

Those old hands on here will remember my old posts on tyres and the excellent Dunlop Sport 270 that was made for the LS430, well it seems Dunlop have had enough and they have now stopped making this tyre....

Anyway the story starts at Christmas, we went away and the car was "looked after" by a Jockey parking outfit at Manchester airport, it came back with a damaged front nearside wheel and tyre and a distinct pull to the left.... Used the spare and had the tracking checked by one of those 4 wheel laser alignment machines, they got it set to absolutely spot on, not just within the tolerance. It travelled about 200 miles before this was done and it had started already to wear the inside edge of both front tyres, well the spare was used when the geometry was set, so that was a new tyre.

Parked the car in a tight space last week and left it with the lock on. on coming back to the car I notice that the tyre already worn a bit on the inside is down to the canvas and the "new" tyre is badly worn on the inside edge as well.... This is after less that 7,000 miles..... Also both rear tyres are just about bald...

I had a quick look at the boot to see if it had changed to an IS as these have had problems with this as well...

Anyway, went to another tyre shop and got the tracking checked again on the same type of machine and it is still spot on.... They said its a heavy car and this just happens... Then found that they don't make the 270 anymore and they didn't have any 225/55/17's in stock so came home and did some Gooogling... found 3 270's at silly prices...

Then I got thinking, well I don't drive it like a sportscar I just want a quiet smooth ride. Surely I must be able to find a cheaper tyre and not have to spend nearly £150 a corner on Dunlop’s or some other branded tyre so I started looking at different tyres and finally settled on the Firenza ST08. It is from a new manufacturer in Singapore and is advertised as:-

This low aspect ratio tyre is developed in the quest to balance superb driving performance with a smooth and comfortable ride. Achieved through the latest tyre research and technology, Firenza ST-08 offers you the best of both worlds. Just FEEL it.

■ High Performance, Grip Power, Quiet and Comfort

Well don't believe everything you read so a bit more research found an Australian Forum where they were singing and dancing about this tyre, its quiet, with excellent grip and good wear rate, its also has a high load rating and is W speed rated, the same as the Dunlop’s.

Looked around and found a place about 40 miles from me who would do me 4 fitted for £296!!!!!.... I ummed and aaahed for a bit but thought heck they will be worn out by Christmas anyway so I might as well try them out....

He only had 235/55/17's in stock and as the radius is only 5.5mm more it won't make much difference...

Well got them fitted a couple of days ago and they are excellent for the price, they are slightly, and I mean slightly noisier than the Dunlop’s, but they are so supple and soft over bumps and such that the magic carpet ride has got even better, before you could hear and really feel cats eyes, now they are just a slight noise.

The turn in is about the same and there is no tramlining....

So if you are after a pretty good "cheap" tyre then I can recommend these

If you are after a Dunlop 270 then be quick and shop around, there are a few left....

We are off for a Europe road trip in a couple of weeks so I will let you know what they are like after the "Route des Alps"... that should try out the roadholding...

Pete

[Hunt.trophy]

Great info, thanks.

[JellyBean]

Interesting & useful info, Pierre.

They key line is "I don't drive it like a sporstcar", and that is why your tyres will most probably be just fine - and save plenty of dosh. This is not unimportant when a fill-up is approaching £100.

I look forward to your Continental Report on them.

Meanwhile, I can detect no area in which my Falkens are inferior to the Dunlop D8Zs, and a few where they are certainly better. I also did not buy an LS to break the lap record around the Nurburgring, so if there is any deficiency of dry-road grip, I have not noticed it.

[Haylands]

This is not unimportant when a fill-up is approaching £100.

Ahhh you forget I filled mine up today.... 75 ltrs....... £42 (LPG)..... its the only way I could afford a road trip.....

Just come back from a 35 mile "A" road trip and the tyres are great, tried the car on "sport" setting for the shocks and its still better than the ride was on normal before, I can't believe the suppleness of these tyres, especially as they have a higher load rating than the Dunlop's, you would think they should be harder...

Pete

[chrisfs]

This is not unimportant when a fill-up is approaching £100.

Ahhh you forget I filled mine up today.... 75 ltrs....... £42 (LPG)..... its the only way I could afford a road trip.....

Off topic, I know but . . . had my first three figure fill-up the other day. £106. OUCH!!

Chris

[GoldfingerLS]

I just had the two front tyres replaced today and once again went for Dunlop Sport D8z. They are not so easy to come by but Event mobile tyres supplied them for £100 each inc vat, balance, fitting etc. The previous D8zs on the front had given 24,000 miles of mostly city driving and there was a good 3-5k worth of tread left on them but the outer edges were badly worn now. Had my mileage been more motorway miles i could have got more miles out of them.

None the less i'm still very pleased. If next time I can't get hold of them I will probably go for Falkens (around £75 each) rather than a Dunlop SP 01 (£113 each) , based on Mr Jellybean's and other's feedback.

I've done 24,000 miles on the back D8zs and the outer edges are perfect and very evenly worn tread thanks to good tracking alignment, so looking to get another 10k ish miles out of them.