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[Ross Fletcher]

Hi. Got a flat yesterday and basically find I need four new tyres due to tread still legal but sidewalls cracking after nearly seven years. (a) I have the original tyres on the car but Load Rating on rear is 97 but only 94 on front. Anyone know if I need to stick to this or will 94 suffice all round? (National Tyres website says 93 is enough.) (b) Anyone any experience of best buy out of Avon, Bridgestone or Continental – or other make if anyone thinks anything better? Price not so much the issue for me as how many miles they will last (don’t want to have to replace them again and expect to do another 30,000 miles before selling the car), plus reasonable road noise etc. Many thanks. Ross.

[Kevin Wood]

If you're doing such a low mileage that the tyres are lasting 7 years I would be inclined to say that tread life is less important since, as you have found, age gets them before wear.

Rather than going for a premium tyre perhaps something cheaper would give better value in the long run?

Of the tyres you mention Continental are generally praised on the Omega, the others less so, but they are at the pricey end of the market. I have used SportContact 3's and they provide good grip in all conditions, low noise and reasonable wear rates for a grippy tyre.

30K is a long life to expect from a tyre on an Omega, IMHO, and you won't get near that from a set of SC3s, IME, but we all drive differently and have different expectations, and hence all have a different answer as to which tyre is best.

I have used various Dunlop tyres. More noise but generally good other than that. I have Kumho KU31s on at the moment and they are fine and competitively priced, IMHO, but, again, won't last 30k.

Members have reported variable results with Falken tyres. They tend to tramline quite badly so might be worth giving a wide berth.

I tend to go for the more grippy end of the tyre spec. and am less concerned about mileage so the above might not be much use to you. I'm sure someone can expand on the above though.

Kevin

[jb]

In my experience the latest goodyear f1 asymmetric is the best tyre I have had on my 3.2 - quiet,sharp steering response,grippy wet and dry ,good price at @ £100,good wear 35 k front,24 k rear.
Previously had Michelin pilot ,a superb tyre but at £145 too expensive,Conti sport 2 great tyres which have only 60% of the life of a Goodyear or michelin.
For an extra £100 try to buy a set of premium tyres,they make all the difference.................

[TheBoy]

I go for grippy tyres rather than durable ones.

Dunlops are my favourite for the Omega.  For budget ones, I found Nexen CP641 to be good until VERY heavy rain, then they were ditchfinders...

[Ross Fletcher]

Thanks for all the replies so far - very helpful. Can anyone shed any light on the first part of my question, i.e. my original tyres have Load Rating of 97 on the rear and 94 on the front. Do I need to purchse the same, or is 94 all round sufficient please? Thanks again. Ross.

[Kevin Wood]

Thanks for all the replies so far - very helpful. Can anyone shed any light on the first part of my question, i.e. my original tyres have Load Rating of 97 on the rear and 94 on the front. Do I need to purchse the same, or is 94 all round sufficient please? Thanks again. Ross.

Mixing load ratings won't be a problem IMHO. Try to avoid dissimilar tyres on the same axle if possible. If they are above the minimum specified for the car they will be fine. In some cases lower is better because the tyre is less rigid.

Kevin

[feeutfo]

93 to 97 is fine ime, currently 93 y sc3 on mine.


30 k is Michelin primacy territory I believe and they are getting on for £600 a set in 17 inch rim sizes. But as Kevin says that's also quite a waist of money to throw away with 3 or 4 mill of tread left. Plus, primacy achieve this sort of mileage with some expense in grip levels, so an emergency stop would be achieved inn shorter distance with softer, and also cheaper tyres. 400 a set perhaps? Possibly conti premium contact?

I'm sure a measure of miles covered to date on those tyres would give an idea on price range before age kills them, if you see what I mean.

Ya pays your money......