Tyres Again.

[bbsirdar]

I know this has been touched on before but with the emergence of Tyreleader and Openeo and the weak euro the tyre market has changed again.

My RX 400 h needs new tyres and I am wondering if changing from 99V to 100V has any impact on ride or comfort. Virtually all the usual tyre choices are available around the £100 mark and I can't decide whether to stick with the OEM Bridgestones ( their E ratings for fuel efficiency and wet handling disappoint) or switch to the Dunlops SP sport or change to something like Hankook ventus S1 evo 2 or Vredestein sportrac 5 s. When these were considered earlier in the forum they were much cheaper than OEM options now they're all much of a muchness. Ride comfort and noise are my priorities. I notice Asdatyres offering Michelin latitude tour H rated at £120 fitted. Would I get away with H on a V rated vehicle? It seems odd that all winter tyres are H which is acceptable (even mandated in Germany) yet Summer Hs are frowned upon.

[rayaans]

I know this has been touched on before but with the emergence of Tyreleader and Openeo and the weak euro the tyre market has changed again.

My RX 400 h needs new tyres and I am wondering if changing from 99V to 100V has any impact on ride or comfort. Virtually all the usual tyre choices are available around the £100 mark and I can't decide whether to stick with the OEM Bridgestones ( their E ratings for fuel efficiency and wet handling disappoint) or switch to the Dunlops SP sport or change to something like Hankook ventus S1 evo 2 or Vredestein sportrac 5 s. When these were considered earlier in the forum they were much cheaper than OEM options now they're all much of a muchness. Ride comfort and noise are my priorities. I notice Asdatyres offering Michelin latitude tour H rated at £120 fitted. Would I get away with H on a V rated vehicle? It seems odd that all winter tyres are H which is acceptable (even mandated in Germany) yet Summer Hs are frowned upon.

Moving from 99V to 100V will make little difference to the ride quality. May be slightly firmer but i doubt itll be noticeable. Its only if noticeable if you go from 99V to lets say 105V.

As for the H rating, it means the tyre can dissipate less heat at speed which means they'll get hotter but H should be fine in reality as the car wont reach those sorts of speeds anyway. Construction of the H tyre will undoubtedly be inferior to the V tyre and this may have an adverse effect on handling but I cant say you'd notice much

[lurch]

I have Hankooks and have found them to be really good and a great price.

[Boxbrownie]

I am sure if you fit a normal summer tyre with a lower speed rating than the car is homologated for it will be illegal, and should fail its MoT and worse case you could be prosecuted under the C&U.

"Unsuitability

All tyres must have a service description (i.e. load and speed index)
If the vehicle was to operate outside the service description indicated on the
sidewall e.g. at a higher speed or overloaded then the tyres would be deemed to
be unsuitable for the use, and a prosecution would follow"

I think the fine is still up to £2500 per tyre.

[Boxbrownie]

I notice top speed is quoted as 124mph? If thats correct then you fine with H rated (130mph)........although as above I wouldn't want to pound the autobahn for a few hours at top speed with H rated

Just a thought..........you might run into probels with insurance if you were to need to claim and the tyres you fitted did not comply with the recommended ratings in the handbook, just saying.

[wackyjim]

I told my insurance broker that I fitted Vred Wintracs which are H rated onto my Rx they in turn put a note on file with the Insurance company who in turn confirmed that everything was fine . I think the moral is tell your insurance company everything and nine times out of ten you will be fine

[Boxbrownie]

I told my insurance broker that I fitted Vred Wintracs which are H rated onto my Rx they in turn put a note on file with the Insurance company who in turn confirmed that everything was fine . I think the moral is tell your insurance company everything and nine times out of ten you will be fine

Slightly different for winter tyre fitment, there is an agreement between virtually all providers and the ABI regarding no additional fee and notice required for fitment, see below

https://www.abi.org.uk/~/media/Files/Documents/Publications/Public/Migrated/Motor/ABI%20guide%20to%20winter%20tyres%20The%20motor%20insurance%20commitment.pdf

The problem with fitting tyres of a different type or rating is that they have not been homologated for use on the vehicle and as such could be described as a "modification", and we know how much Insurance Companies love those!

[bbsirdar]

Thanks for the replys, I have short listed the Hankooks and the Vredestein sportrac 5s. Had vredestein wintrac 4s on a Q7 (H rated) a couple of years ago and they were amazing. By default I ran them well into May and they performed well at higher temperatures albeit we live up in Scotland etc. Its maybe not worth chancing all year round on H's.

[Jaspersilus]

Hi

different car I know, but when I changed from the factory fitted Bridgestones on my RX8 to Avon ZZ5 I noticed a huge difference in ride quality and quietness, just as the guy at the tyre place said I would, if you search the net lots of people have been much happier with their cars once away from Bridgestone Potenzas, which have bad wet grip and extremely little flex in the sidewall ( your primary suspension) which makes them very good around corners in the dry, but not a great all rounder.

Just dont buy cheap tyres, rarely much good, and when people see cheap tyres on a premium car, all they think is you cant afford the running costs, AND when it comes to buying a used car, never buy one with naff tyres on, if they are unwilling to spend reasonable tyres, they certainly wont have spent on reasonable general maintenance costs!