Tyre Ratings

[TnTkr]

In Finland remoulded car tyres have some share of the market, and we even have couple of domestic companies making those. I've had some remoulded tyres coming with the car, but they've felt so horrible to drive, that I 've always got rid of them pretty soon.

We have Nokian winter tyres ( on steel rims ) for our cars,  have to say they are fantastic on snow.  Finland should be be proud of their own tyres.

I am not a fan of Nokian tyres either. Their sidewalls are very soft causing lousy stability.

[culzean]

In Finland remoulded car tyres have some share of the market, and we even have couple of domestic companies making those. I've had some remoulded tyres coming with the car, but they've felt so horrible to drive, that I 've always got rid of them pretty soon.

We have Nokian winter tyres ( on steel rims ) for our cars,  have to say they are fantastic on snow.  Finland should be be proud of their own tyres.

I am not a fan of Nokian tyres either. Their sidewalls are very soft causing lousy stability.

I thought flexible sidewalls were  must have for winter tyres to allow the tread to sit squarely on the surface it is in contact with,  soft sidewalls never bother me because I limit my speed in slippery conditions and don't expect winter tyres to have the same handling characteristics as summer tyres.   Michelin energy savers have flexible sidewalls.  Winter tyres are made of softer rubber and other materials that are flexible at lower temperatures,  OK maybe with studded tyres you can have firmer sidewalls but studded tyres  illegal in many countries.

[TnTkr]

In Finland remoulded car tyres have some share of the market, and we even have couple of domestic companies making those. I've had some remoulded tyres coming with the car, but they've felt so horrible to drive, that I 've always got rid of them pretty soon.

We have Nokian winter tyres ( on steel rims ) for our cars,  have to say they are fantastic on snow.  Finland should be be proud of their own tyres.

I am not a fan of Nokian tyres either. Their sidewalls are very soft causing lousy stability.

I thought flexible sidewalls were  must have for winter tyres to allow the tread to sit squarely on the surface it is in contact with,  soft sidewalls never bother me because I limit my speed in slippery conditions and don't expect winter tyres to have the same handling characteristics as summer tyres.   Michelin energy savers have flexible sidewalls.  Winter tyres are made of softer rubber and other materials that are flexible at lower temperatures,  OK maybe with studded tyres you can have firmer sidewalls but studded tyres  illegal in many countries.

I'm not an expert on tyre engineering, but somehow Nokian makes it differently, and the result is mediocre stability. They have had the same problem for decades with both studded and studless car tyres, and also heavy tyres.

[richardfrost]

In Finland remoulded car tyres have some share of the market, and we even have couple of domestic companies making those. I've had some remoulded tyres coming with the car, but they've felt so horrible to drive, that I 've always got rid of them pretty soon.

We have Nokian winter tyres ( on steel rims ) for our cars,  have to say they are fantastic on snow.  Finland should be be proud of their own tyres.

I am not a fan of Nokian tyres either. Their sidewalls are very soft causing lousy stability.

I thought flexible sidewalls were  must have for winter tyres to allow the tread to sit squarely on the surface it is in contact with,  soft sidewalls never bother me because I limit my speed in slippery conditions and don't expect winter tyres to have the same handling characteristics as summer tyres.   Michelin energy savers have flexible sidewalls.  Winter tyres are made of softer rubber and other materials that are flexible at lower temperatures,  OK maybe with studded tyres you can have firmer sidewalls but studded tyres  illegal in many countries.

I'm not an expert on tyre engineering, but somehow Nokian makes it differently, and the result is mediocre stability. They have had the same problem for decades with both studded and studless car tyres, and also heavy tyres.

I have a full set of Nokian Weatherproof on my RAV4 AWD Hybrid. They have been amazing this weekend in the ice and snow, and they are only an All Season tyre, not Winter. Most impressed with the performance of the car and tyres.

[Westy36]

Well, lots of input there. Thanks.  I know tyres have been covered to death, but its interesting to hear peoples opinions. The market has changed so much in the last 10yrs, what with EU labels and the different unheard of brands.

I had a look at the tyres on our Jazz, and it's got Michelin Energy Savers fitted. The one previous owner didn't scrimp on servicing it at his Honda dealer, and indeed according to the paperwork I found, he even had the Honda garage replace the tyres! 

I would normaly buy a budget option of a brand I know, like Avon. Not the cheapest, and not the most expensive. But when I read that the tyre companies did the own EU labelling or as @culzean put it "The tyre ratings can be the equivalent of students marking their own exams......." it makes you wonder as to accuracy of the ratings.

The 2003 Vauxhall I purchased recently came with Chinese tyres, and as I said before, my opinion as to how terrible they are has changed.

If the Michelin tyres on our Jazz ever wear out I'll let you know what I went for!

[culzean]

Well, lots of input there. Thanks.  I know tyres have been covered to death, but its interesting to hear peoples opinions. The market has changed so much in the last 10yrs, what with EU labels and the different unheard of brands.

I had a look at the tyres on our Jazz, and it's got Michelin Energy Savers fitted. The one previous owner didn't scrimp on servicing it at his Honda dealer, and indeed according to the paperwork I found, he even had the Honda garage replace the tyres! 

I would normaly buy a budget option of a brand I know, like Avon. Not the cheapest, and not the most expensive. But when I read that the tyre companies did the own EU labelling or as @culzean put it "The tyre ratings can be the equivalent of students marking their own exams......." it makes you wonder as to accuracy of the ratings.

The 2003 Vauxhall I purchased recently came with Chinese tyres, and as I said before, my opinion as to how terrible they are has changed.

If the Michelin tyres on our Jazz ever wear out I'll let you know what I went for!

Got Avons on our Jazz and Civic ( I can still remember when Avons were the best motorbike tyres around ) and very happy with both - especially wet grip,  as I said I used to get Michelin ES because i was doing 25 to 30 K a year and sort of tolerated the lack of grip for the extra wear,  but now I don't really care about tyre life as they will probably fall apart before they wear out.  Avon were taken over years ago by Cooper tyres from USA,  but still a lot of tyres made in UK by them.  Got Avon Storm 3D XM ( dual compound ) on my motorbike and find them great,  much better than the Dunlop shoes it came with as OEM.  Dual compound means harder rubber in centre of tread and softer on the sides,  most single compound motorbike tyres wear actually 'flat off' in centre of tread long before the sides wear out,  dual compound means instead of 3 to 5K miles from tyres you can get 10 to 15K. 

At £150 a pair + £12 each fit and balance the Avon Storms were a steal....

[Jocko]

I had a mate wore the sides out before the middle. That and his knee pads. He was a lunatic.