Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: DMC on 16 September 2010, 23:12:53

Title: Tyres
Post by: DMC on 16 September 2010, 23:12:53
I am just about to buy to new front tyres for my 2002 2.6 cdx Omega saloon. Would welcome any past experience of the best make of tyre.
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: Kneepad on 16 September 2010, 23:28:48


Kumho tyres have been getting a good write up recently from members on here.
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: Broomies Mate on 16 September 2010, 23:29:48
Firestone Firehawk SZ80's  Not overly expensive, and are absolutely fantastic.

Tyre brands and models are extremely opinion based.  Some people prefer qualities which other people detest.
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: feeutfo on 17 September 2010, 01:09:33
There's many a tyre thread on oof, so worth a search.

Also depends what sort of tyre your looking for?

Some consider a good tyre to give loads of grip.

Others to last for 50k. Both would be nice of course, but sadly no such beast exists obviously.

Kumho ku31 seems to give good results I gather, good all round performance for fair money. I have sc3's fitted currently, which I love, but ain't cheap.

Ps avoid falkens if straight line stability is important to you, quiet tyre but awfully wayward.
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: dragonlord on 17 September 2010, 06:35:08
on my elite iv all ways found the p6000 pirelli the best all round tire

ie good grip and long lasting theres better griping tyers but none that last as long and grip well

tying two pirelli P7`s on it know and the seem just as good albe it a bit more roads noise compared with p6000
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: robson on 17 September 2010, 08:06:49
I bought Kuhmo good price and seems to be good allround
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: Kevin Wood on 17 September 2010, 10:08:55
Quote
Kumho ku31 seems to give good results I gather, good all round performance for fair money. I have sc3's fitted currently, which I love, but ain't cheap.

Agreed. Maybe very slightly more noise with the ku31 and the handling is different. SC3s inspire more confidence IMHO. KU31s don't turn in as sharply and feel almost like they are understeering but in reality the level of grip is the same. SC3s certainly not 40-50 quid a corner better.

Not everyone wants maximum grip, though, and these are both fairly fast wearing tyres. You pays your money...

Kevin
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: TheBoy on 17 September 2010, 12:47:33
I'm rapidly running out of choices, seeing as Dunlop have pulled my preferred SP9000s, which are the tyre I always kept coming back to on the Omega, and always regretted trying other tyres.

For the ones I've tried on the Omega, this is the order I'd put them in - remember, my needs may be different to others.

Dunlop SP9000/SP9090 (MV6)
Conti SC2 (MV6)
Conti SC3 (MV6)
Nexen CP641 (Tractor/TB2)
Dunlop SP200 (Tractor)
--------------------------------------
Dunlop SP3000 (MV6)
Pirelli P6000 (Tractor)
Khumo (cant remember type, sorry) (TB1/Tractor)
Michelin Pilot Sport (Tractor/3.2 Elite)
Avon ZZ3 (Tractor)


Those above the line, I would have again, those below, I really wouldn't.


I do get to drive a fair few Omegas, though as they belong to other members, I obviously would test the tyres as much as I test my own.  But notable very bad ones include Chrisgixers at Asheridge (Faulkens?) and Tunnie's 2.2CD beyond he hanged the tyres (Goodyear?).  Cant remember the tyres beyond make, hopefully they can fill the gaps?



The ones that impressed me were the budget Nexen CP641 on the tractor (which had a fairly viscous power delivery, and often lit up the rears ::)).  Stonkingly good in the dry, every bit as good as some of the premiums (maybe not the SP9000s), and OK in the 'normal' wet. Downside, utterly leathal ditchfinders in VERY heavy fresh rain on greasy roads.  Touching cloth does not even begin to describe a couple of moments I 'enjoyed' in the tractor in those conditions. Fun though.
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: TheBoy on 17 September 2010, 12:48:47
BTW, I've mentioned the cars in brackets, as that plays a part. For eg, I would probably not stick the Nexens on the MV6...
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: TheBoy on 17 September 2010, 12:50:13
Further to that, I think different tyres work better on different cars.  I have already suggested I would fit Pirelli P6000 to an Omega again, but I won't fit anything else to the Rover I have, after trying others on that car, always came back to them...
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: PhilRich on 17 September 2010, 12:59:42
What?! no-one got a good word to say for the Wanli Ditchfinder then?  ::);D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: feeutfo on 17 September 2010, 13:08:07
Falkens where 912's at Ashridge, bordering on dangerous with a third of tread left. Their 452 is similar, although not as bad, can definitely see the breading through the falcon range, ie poor.

Ver quiet tyre though, poor grip on the 912, but then it is the harder compound. Binned them with roughly 5k tread left, appalling tyres IMO. >:(
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: Jimbob on 17 September 2010, 13:08:31
We have Toyo Proxies on one, grippy, good handling, not the best wear, noisy.

and I have 2 Avon ditchfinders, and 2 Vredstein Ultra C sessanta's which are currently my tyre of choice , quiet, good handling, quite good wear
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: feeutfo on 17 September 2010, 13:11:59
Quote
We have Toyo Proxies on one, grippy, good handling, not the best wear, noisy.

and I have 2 Avon ditchfinders, and 2 Vredstein Ultra C sessanta's which are currently my tyre of choice , quiet, good handling, quite good wear

There was great excitement on the wim forum when Tony announced he could supply those, interesting. Pricey?
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: Jimbob on 17 September 2010, 13:19:09
Quote
Quote
We have Toyo Proxies on one, grippy, good handling, not the best wear, noisy.

and I have 2 Avon ditchfinders, and 2 Vredstein Ultra C sessanta's which are currently my tyre of choice , quiet, good handling, quite good wear

There was great excitement on the wim forum when Tony announced he could supply those, interesting. Pricey?


They are an unusual tyre, and as I understand it only certain dealers are allowed  :-/ to stock them...

the tyre depot within a mile of my house is one.

iirc I pay about £100 a corner (235 45 17), they are not dear!  I like em.

I was a fan of the Conti SC's but at £50 a corner dearer was just too much for me.
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: aaronjb on 17 September 2010, 13:20:36
Quote
Quote
We have Toyo Proxies on one, grippy, good handling, not the best wear, noisy.

and I have 2 Avon ditchfinders, and 2 Vredstein Ultra C sessanta's which are currently my tyre of choice , quiet, good handling, quite good wear

There was great excitement on the wim forum when Tony announced he could supply those, interesting. Pricey?

Zorks.. I just did a quick check at mytyres.co.uk - comes out at £180!  I'm guessing they're no longer a cheap source of tyres..  ;D

[edit] Wait.. I was looking at the wrong tyre. Yeesh, what is wrong with me recently!

£93.40 for the Sessanta, £180 for the non-Sessanta..
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: Jimbob on 17 September 2010, 13:21:29
looking at the tyre websites, I think prices are down about £15% from when I last looked.
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: Jimbob on 17 September 2010, 13:24:19
Quote
Quote
Quote
We have Toyo Proxies on one, grippy, good handling, not the best wear, noisy.

and I have 2 Avon ditchfinders, and 2 Vredstein Ultra C sessanta's which are currently my tyre of choice , quiet, good handling, quite good wear

There was great excitement on the wim forum when Tony announced he could supply those, interesting. Pricey?

Zorks.. I just did a quick check at mytyres.co.uk - comes out at £180!  I'm guessing they're no longer a cheap source of tyres..  ;D


eh? what size you after?

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=32346862.110.13880&typ=R-149350&ranzahl=4&Breite=235&Herst=Vredestein&Quer=45&Felge=17&Speed=W&weiter=0&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=15&Transport=P&F_F=1&dsco=110&sowigan=So
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: aaronjb on 17 September 2010, 13:27:46
Quote
eh? what size you after?

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=32346862.110.13880&typ=R-149350&ranzahl=4&Breite=235&Herst=Vredestein&Quer=45&Felge=17&Speed=W&weiter=0&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=15&Transport=P&F_F=1&dsco=110&sowigan=So

It's OK, I was looking at the wrong ULTRAC .. the 'plain' ULTRAC looks more like a road legal track day tyre (and it's the £180 one) .. the Sessanta is much more reasonable!
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: Jimbob on 17 September 2010, 13:31:47
Quote
Quote
eh? what size you after?

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=32346862.110.13880&typ=R-149350&ranzahl=4&Breite=235&Herst=Vredestein&Quer=45&Felge=17&Speed=W&weiter=0&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=15&Transport=P&F_F=1&dsco=110&sowigan=So

It's OK, I was looking at the wrong ULTRAC .. the 'plain' ULTRAC looks more like a road legal track day tyre (and it's the £180 one) .. the Sessanta is much more reasonable!


yes, found it and see what you mean  :y
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: aaronjb on 17 September 2010, 13:34:53
:)

The Ultrac does actually look quite interesting - unfortunately they don't make it in a size I can try on the track-day car (it runs 15" front, 16" rear) or the other-other car (which runs 16" all round), which is a bit of a shame.
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: Jimbob on 17 September 2010, 13:51:49
yes, they only do a few sizes, and start at 17" I thinnk
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: aaronjb on 17 September 2010, 13:59:22
Yeah - I'll stick with the Yokohama Advan Neova LTS (S1 Elise standard fitment) on the MR2 I think.. and it's been so long since the other-other car ran, it's probably just a rust heap in the garage now anyway  ;D

Anyhoo.. back to Omegas, apologies for the drift :)
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: TheBoy on 17 September 2010, 14:12:50
I think the price of rubber is quite high at the moment, so tyres are a little higher than normal.


My beloved SP9000s were always around £100 a corner, 235/45ZR17
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: cem_devecioglu on 17 September 2010, 17:43:36
tire selection imo is really a personal choice..

depends on your driving style, road surface you drive daily and the general weather conditions..

for example if your roads are wet or snowy in most of the time and you see a dry road rarely , winter tires alone will perform better and economical..

and the question "what is your priority" defines the tire also..if its budget then you may go for kumho or toyo or nexen.. if you are after performance, then for what season ? winter or summer..

personally I wont advice all season tires as they perform badly in all seasons than the seasonal tire..

I also tested many tires in my cars and friends ..
I would recommend
for winter - Good year UG7+ or UG500
for summer-Bridgestone Potenza S001 (Adrenaline expensive I'm using currently)
                 Bridgestone Turanza er300
                 Goodyear Eagle F1
                 Continental SC3

but of course I must note that my countries/city climate is different than yours.. Summer is very hot and dry,springs rainy , Winters very cold snowy etc..

and another experience , although micheline pilot sports 2 is a good tire and very expensive they quickly make baloons on our bad roads..which bridgestones dont..


Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: bigdods on 17 September 2010, 17:55:45
I've tried lots of different tyres over the years on my migs. In the end I have realised that its just not worth trying to save a few quid. Its a heavy car and needs some decent rubber. I currently have conti SC3's on the back and dunlop sport max on the front. SC3's were £123 a corner, the dunlops were £107 all inc vat and shipping.

I can honestly say they have transformed the handling worth every penny.

Whatever you do dont put Falkens of any sort on. They work well on lighter cars, and I swear by them on my Golf and the TVR but on the Omega they turn it into an accident waiting to happen.
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: feeutfo on 17 September 2010, 18:59:15
Quote
I've tried lots of different tyres over the years on my migs. In the end I have realised that its just not worth trying to save a few quid. Its a heavy car and needs some decent rubber. I currently have conti SC3's on the back and dunlop sport max on the front. SC3's were £123 a corner, the dunlops were £107 all inc vat and shipping.

I can honestly say they have transformed the handling worth every penny.

Whatever you do dont put Falkens of any sort on. They work well on lighter cars, and I swear by them on my Golf and the TVR but on the Omega they turn it into an accident waiting to happen.
Must confess, i did think that might be the case, even though i slated them outright earlier. Fallen into my own trap a little i suppose, bad experience with a brand name does not necessarily mean i chose the right tyre for my car,  even though i know what i want from a set if boots.

A BMW forum is apparently awash with praise for falkens, transform the car they say, which i can see that they certainly do, depends what BMW though.

Yes tyres are very individual, but re a tyre sticky thread discussed with admin previosly, i still maintain we have a unique oppertunity to sort the wheat from the chaf with the one make car we have here. Certainly i would not want anyone to go throught the falken nightmare with an omega, really is bad, and should be documented as such.

However, as TB says, re a sticky tyre thread, it is difficult to pin down, some may not notice an issue with falkens and be quite happy. Although i have no idea how, i even sent them back to Dunlop, who import them for falken, examined and nothing wrong. Thats how they are, he said on the phone.
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: Jimbob on 17 September 2010, 19:11:18
It is one of the most asked questions on here, but also the most subjective

I guess to even consider a tyre thread - of which the maintainance wouldnt be easy,



Ill have another think on this one....

Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: TheBoy on 17 September 2010, 19:15:12
Next, we'll have an oil sticky ;D
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: Jimbob on 17 September 2010, 19:18:28
Quote
Next, we'll have an oil sticky ;D


nah, if oil's sticky youve got problems  ;D ;D ;D

stick to VX semi, thats normally never sticky  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: TheBoy on 17 September 2010, 19:20:39
Quote
stick to VX semi, thats normally never sticky  ;D ;D ;D
My driveway would disagree ::)
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: Jimbob on 17 September 2010, 19:23:18
oils not sticky...

disolved tarmac is a different story  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: aaronjb on 17 September 2010, 19:26:23
Quote
Next, we'll have an oil sticky ;D

I'm groaning at the sticky oil jokes.. you're all terrible..  ;D

We've got an oil sticky on the other forum I frequent (ok, admin) - takes a lot of policing to keep it from being an argument..

Speaking of which, I'm surprised you don't have 'oilman' (Opie) on here (since he gets everywhere else  ;D )
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: TheBoy on 17 September 2010, 19:27:07
Quote
Quote
Next, we'll have an oil sticky ;D

I'm groaning at the sticky oil jokes.. you're all terrible..  ;D

We've got an oil sticky on the other forum I frequent (ok, admin) - takes a lot of policing to keep it from being an argument..

Speaking of which, I'm surprised you don't have 'oilman' (Opie) on here (since he gets everywhere else  ;D )
Oilman is on here ;)
Title: Re: Tyres
Post by: aaronjb on 17 September 2010, 19:33:16
Ahh .. I'd just never seen him (well, them) post then and assumed he wasn't about :)