Tyre recommendations and TPMS reset not possible?

[supraruss]

Today on a journey to the shops just behind we arrived the tyre pressure warning light started flashing.

Didn't realise the MK2 has TPMS system but looking in the book it certainly does. As the car had been driven quite a distance I was unable to check the pressures as shouldn't check when tyres warm so a quick visual didn't show any significant signs of deflation. I then spent 30 mins on my phone trying to find out how to reset the TPMS warning light and realised there isn't a way to do this and nothing in the book either as I had expected faulty TPMS sensor.

After an hour at the shops I checked the tyre pressure and nearside front was low by about 8 psi. Inflating a little and with a careful drive home I expect a slow puncture.

Whilst focusing on the tyres I realised that they are all quite badly worn. 3 are Divanti branded and only about 2 years old but are worn and cracked all over. There is an older Falkien tyre but that's also quite worn.

Comparing to Goodyear's on my other cars that are much older than these the wear is incredibly different.

Has anyone got recommendations on good longer lasting tyres for a car that won't do many miles so subject to cracking from little use? I think I'll be returning to Goodyear but they are expensive. Toyo Proxes Comfort seem to get good reviews but I don't think they are hard wearing. I had Toyos on my Supra back in the day and they were okay there but that was years ago.

Thanks
Russ

[Lord Voltermore]

As the car had been driven quite a distance I was unable to check the pressures as shouldn't check when tyres warm so a quick visual didn't show any significant signs of deflation.

Although you should normally set/check  tyre pressures  when 'cold'  (because the pressure rises when they warm up) it  doesnt matter if they are warm if you are just checking  the tyre pressures because of a tpms activation.   This would still have shown  that one tyre was 8 psi  down compared to the other three. (Which was not obvious just from your initial visual check)      But bear in mind that the remaining 3  tyres will be showing a higher than normal pressure because they are hot. Dont reduce their pressures . 

If you dont do many miles Its perhaps better not to get fixated on  whether they are " hard wearing"  .  Budget quality tyres often boast  good tread wear characteristics (ie high mileage)  but this may be the result of  a harder rubber compound   which is more prone to cracking and has inferior grip .

I cant recommend a particular brand, but i'd avoid budget quality tyres.      I always  suggest taking the opportunity to fit all season tyres.  These tend to have quite good tread wear life. 

I am not suggesting this is the  case here  but anyone running a car which could be reaching end of life in 2 -3 years   could still benefit from paying extra for  top quality winter rated all season tyres.  If the car is destined for the scrap  yard the wheels dont necessarily have to go with it.  Someone may be willing to pay a few quid for a set of wheels with decent winter rated tyres , and maybe do a wheel swop.   Enough to offset the higher initial cost of the tyres. 

 I bought an extra set of wheels with  all season tyres for my 2021 car. I used the summer wheels and tyres in summer, swopping to all seasons in winter.(legal requirement for my  continental journeys)     A big initial  investment but its now paying off.   I never needed to  replace any summer tyres (despite total mileage of 27K ) and now using the winter wheels and tyres on my 2024 car.   

[Kremmen]

I can't remember which exact model has the valve sensors but apart from that model TPMS should be available when stationary with the handbrake on

[guest334]

Check the tyre wheel pressure guide on drivers door panel.
If youy Jazz has the  grey plastic valves they are TPMS but they only fitted from 2013-15 .
Never us rubber valve caps always fir plastic caps - plemty on Internet.

As regards tyres - buy the best you can afford, Ive had customers using Toyo Falken & Goodyear always have the tracking checked after fitting new tyres.
You can fit a full sized spare wheel in the boot if yours is Mk2 Jazz .
Check blackcircles mytyres co uk then go along to your local tyre place ask for a quote fitted by them

[supraruss]

Thanks all for the helpful replies. I haven't had a chance to reply back yet but today I've got a new set of tyres fitted.

I certainly agree with all season tyres mentioned. I actually have these fitted to other cars (I'm a fan of Goodyear Vectors). They didn't have these tyres for the Jazz and seemed to be less overall choice especially for all season.

So ended up ordering Toyos... Until the tyre garage called and could only get me 3! Not helpful when you want 4. The alternative I didn't want and by this time was desperate as noticed the potential reason for the loss of pressure was a big rip on the interior sidewall of the tyre.

Ended up with a set of Giti tyres which I never heard of but they are OE spec for some expensive cars including some VWs.

At £75 a tyre that's only a little more than budget and they seem okay.  For winter we'll see how it goes and option for steel set with winter tyres if need be.

Since monitoring the air loss and keeping an eye on the pressure the warning has not come back so the tyre pressure warning seems to be doing a good job. I seriously wouldn't have realised the quick pressure loss without this warning so thankfully we have these. Even if you check pressure weekly it only takes a slow puncture and you may not notice until too late.

Thanks for helpful advice all. Hope the Giti tyres last longer than the 1-2 years from the old set!

[guest334]

Keep the forum posted on wear braking and noise results if Giti rubber
Happy motoring

[Westy36]

I too would be interested in your opinion on Giti tyres once you've covered some distance.  According to google AI Giti are "a global tire manufacturer, ranked among the top ten largest in the world by revenue". Sounds good to me.
 
I've owned cars with cheaper tyres and brands nobody has heard of before including supposed Chinese 'ditch finders', and never ever had a problem. I sometime think folks just go brand because they always have and the reassurance of the known. The last cheap tyres I purchased were Tomket, Czech made and proving to be great so far in all conditions. Reading reviews, there are sometimes such small margins in performance between known and lesser brands, that I'm just not convinced they justify the often large extra outlay. Pays your money etc