the good and the bad.....

[guest2074]

My first Honda (after many other make of cars) and after 17 month's here's my take. Good: Space, economy, looks (I think it's a good looking car) comfort. Bad: cheap internal plastics (lots of scratches) paint seems soft, lots of chip's etc. and front tyres (Dunlops) shot at 13000 miles. I'm a bit peed off at that as they are £90 each (She is an EX) But....for some reason I love her.... 

[DV]

I agree with the paint chips but not with the tyres.
I`ve 47135 miles in my tyres (rotated every 6000 miles front to rear) and now down to 2.5-3mm, 70% driving on motorway (not Michelin EnergySaver).

[guest2074]

Hi DV, maybe I should have rotated my tyres but does that mean replacing all four in one go? Not sure what I have done wrong to wear the fronts out so quickly. All I am doing is driving to work and holidays.... The only car I have ever had that did this was a Fiat Panda.

[chrisc]

13000 miles on tyres is a rather short life.  Its mainly braking and cornering that wears away the rubber, have you tried gentler braking (easier to say than do I know), which is awkward in traffic, but comes with practice?

Of all the cars and vans I have had both personally and in the business, Michelin tyres last the longest by a wide margin.  They might cost 15% more but you get 50% more mileage out of them.

I also rotate my tyres, once a year but it does mean replacing all 4 at one go.  Also shop around for tyres.  Here there are at least 30 dealers selling tyres and the prices vary by a considerable margin.  One time it was worth my while to have some tyres shipped from Johannesburg (1400km away) since the discount was so great.

[monkeydave]

im up to 15,000 miles on my orig tyres (mitchelin) and they have only gone down 2mm front and 1mm rear still look nearly new and i don't rotate, i can't be bothered just replace two at a time and at £53 each who cares about rotating

you must be heavy on the accelerate and brake

[madasafish]

The last car which I drove where tyre life was under 20,000 miles was 40 years afgo: original Mini on crossply tyres. and 10inch wheels iirc.

[guest2074]

I'm not heavy on the the throttle or the brakes, I just drive normally!  (I have been driving since 1978) I can't be the only one who is not happy with the Dunlop tyres on a 2011 EX?

Have been told by a local dealer that the latest Jazz eats tyres and to fit Bridgstones, anybody else have these?

Monkeydave (great name)! where can I get tyres for £53 for an EX?

[guest1521]

Here's a source for good value tyres. For the EX there's a Nankang (among a number of others) here at around £50. One of the great things about this supplier is the independent tyre test ratings.
http://www.mytyres.co.uk/

[guest3250]

Mytyres is a great place to peruse for tyre options. Also the link to the 'reifen test' is quite helpful.
I am not sure about the Nankangs as they often get put down for not being the best at stopping in the wet.
Sadly the 185/55/16 size gives you a seriously limited choice and, for eg, does not even include Michelin.
My solution, and I recommend this whole heatedly, is to change to 195/55/16 tyres. These will be around 5% cheaper - but the choice range is way bigger - so you can shop for something a little less expensive if you need to.
Handling is fine with these and if anything the ride is slightly less bumpy. Speedo reading is still OK - I noted that with the Dunlops 3/4 worn I was over reading about 4.5% at 70mph - with brand new 195's that has gone back to about
2% (bearing in mind also the new tread will also have some effect).
I used Black circles which gave me about 30% saving over my local garage
This time I have tried the new Falken ZE914 and can report this is an excellent tyre (once initially worn in for around 100miles) Lots of feedback and great handling wet or dry and even when I seriously pushed it way to fast around a corner - it went round with a very slight feeling of slither - but maintained the line! - warning me not to go much faster - very safe indeed!!
Oh - I will never use those Dunlop 2030's again they had perished before wearing out.

[chrisc]

Bridgestone and Michelin are both superior tyres.  In SA, Continental (Germany) tyres are advertised a lot, mainly by dealers who give you a "free" set of drinking glasses or a cool bag.  But, apart from Michelin, Bridgestone and Hankook, plus some obscure Korean and Chinese brands, all tyres are made in South Africa and many at the same factory!  I believe the rubber compound is considered "hard" compared with Europe as it has to contend with high road surface temperatures (often over 60 deg) to make the rubber last longer.

[guest2853]

http://clubjazz.org/forum/index.php?topic=2988.0

even the new paint is beginning to chip....

[guest2074]

Thanks to you all for the advice concerning tyres. I have been on the 'Honest John' site and it seems that I am not the only one having problems with front tyre wear. Still pissed off at having to replace tyres so quickly!

The question is, do I keep the car when it comes to trade in or go back to Toyota ? (wrong thing to ask on a Honda site)!

[guest3250]

I guess we just need to rotate the tyres a bit more than normal - I had the same thing on my old Scenic -
fronts didn't last more than about 13K miles - 14K at a push...
On the subject of tyres  - which I am unhealthily enthusiastic about! - one important German brand - mentioned above has had a recent history of Pinholes in the sidewalls - resulting in slow deflation or more often full on puntures.
we had both fronts on a Smart car - separately go that way and a brand new one on the back of the Jazz.
The Falken I mentioned appears to be pretty close in overall performance at a fraction of the price, but there are plenty of other good alternatives.
As far as wear is concerned - it would upset me if I had spent £130 or £140 which I was quoted for two brands!
But I generally don't rack up a lot of miles and would prefer better grip over long life. £68= for tyres that seem as good as the best alternatives seems great to me!

[chrisc]

The CEO of Continental Tyres was interviewed on a TV Consumer show and he attributed the pin-hole story to urban legend or else smearing by his competitors.  Nevertheless, he had no answer for the fact that Michelin and Bridgestone tyres scored better overall than his brand, with road grip both wet and dry, comfort, long life and pothole resilience.

What I don't understand is why some posters manage much higher mileage on their tyres than other people.  We have 3 FWD vans (Ford 1/2 ton) at the business, driven hard in town conditions by guys.  The tyres on these last between 25000 and 35000km unless they drive up a kerb and cut it.

[guest1521]

ChrisC "What I don't understand is why some posters manage much higher mileage on their tyres than other people. "

Presuming same car and tyres... it largely lies in how people habitually drive. Whether fast, slow, smooth or hard. (The rest lies on the types of roads and surfaces they drive on.)

In F1 Alain Prost was thought to be a 'boring' driver. Nigel Mansell was considered 'exciting.' Both were FAST. Both were World Champions, Prost more times than Mansell.  Prost was renowned for smooth driving, so no drama. Safe. Mansell was harder on his car and sometimes you could 'see' the drama in his cornering. A smooth driver can be faster than a hard driver because he can maintain higher levels of grip for longer - and stay on the track, so finish.

Admirable drivers in their time, both.