Front tyres for Clio 2, why are Michelin's +£26 for mine?

the182guy

I'm in need of two front tyres for a Clio 2 (standard 15" alloys). The car currently has Barum tyres which I understand to be cheap/budget.

In the past I've paid about £150 for two of these Braum tyres on the front. My girlfriend has recently had her two front tyres done and she got both Michelin Energy's fitted for £100+vat :eek:. That seemed incredibily cheap to me so I got a quote for mine but the garage said £75+vat per tyre. Is that normal for the price to vary so much? Her car is also a Clio 2 but the tyre size is different and they are steelies not alloys.

Could it be that my girlfriend's family have a relationship with the garage due to using them for everything for years? I did say I was recommeded by them though:D

I don't want to be paying £76 per tyre [again] for the Michelins. The garage quotes Firestorm tyres for £54 per tyre, are they a good tyre, much better than Barums?

Tyre size is 185/55 R 15 82H

Cheers

MrsBartolozzi

http://www.tyre-shopper.co.uk
Put your wheel size details into the search here. You'll get a list of tyres which are cheaper than you've been quoted. Now you could buy them from here (I've used in the past and they were very good and cheap!) or put in the wheel details for your g/f's car and see how much the same tyres are for her car. The same tyre comes in many different sizes for different cars and there will obviously be a difference in price so it may not be a case of mates' rates for your g/f.

catflea

Firestorm - never heard of em

Firestone however are a good upper mid range tyre

the182guy

Thanks -after getting some prices on that site I'm guessing the garage said Firestone not Firestorm.

I've just checked the vehicle handbook which says the tyre size is completely different to the size that is currently on the car now!

Hand book says 175/65 R 14 T. A search for that size brings the Michelin Energy's up at £56. With my current size they are £94.50!

Also when I do a search by registration on type shopper, it is bringing back the exact size that the handbook says.

Why might I have different size to what the handbook says? I'm not the owner from new but since I've had it (4 years) I've always had the tyres done at NT and never actually taken notice of the size.

Can I have the tyres in the size according to the handbook, will that be a problem with the back tyres at a different size?

Hintza

the182guy wrote: »

Tyre size is 185/55 R 15 82H

Cheers

£78.70 each @ MyTyre for Michelin Energy + say +/- £10-£15 for fitting.

I would probably plumb for one of the major brands around the £50 mark.

blued

the182guy wrote: »

Thanks -after getting some prices on that site I'm guessing the garage said Firestone not Firestorm.

I've just checked the vehicle handbook which says the tyre size is completely different to the size that is currently on the car now!

Hand book says 175/65 R 14 T. A search for that size brings the Michelin Energy's up at £56. With my current size they are £94.50!

Also when I do a search by registration on type shopper, it is bringing back the exact size that the handbook says.

Why might I have different size to what the handbook says? I'm not the owner from new but since I've had it (4 years) I've always had the tyres done at NT and never actually taken notice of the size.

Can I have the tyres in the size according to the handbook, will that be a problem with the back tyres at a different size?

You cant fit 175/65 R14 tyres to your car. The R14 means a 14 inch wheel and you have said you are using 15" wheels. It is possible the previous owner has fitted Clio alloys and your model came with smaller alloys or steel wheels. Your best going with the tyre size you have at the moment.

the182guy

The spare is also 185/55 R15 which suggests that the car has had this size from new. The alloys are the ones that are standard with this model. Maybe a previous owner has changed the alloys then with the exact same ones but in size 15", which is really annoying as I could have had the Energy's for £54 instead of almost double that.

[Deleted User]

I had 2 Kumho KH17's fitted to my 206 at the weekend for £77. Supplied by Blackcircles. Size 175/65/R14.

artbaron

As blued says, you must have aftermarket wheels (if your handbook is correct and for that specific model). You need to fit the same size tyre as you have already.

Look around on the web, and ask around, for decent deals. It's worth spending that little bit more time cos you can save a packet. I bet you can get Falkens with 130mph speed rating fully fitted for £100, and those are more than adequate.

I was recently quoted almost £550 for 4 Exalto 2 16" tyres for my Clio. A bit of shopping around and I got exactly the same ones fitted for £390.

skiddlydiddly

You don't have to fit exactly the same size.Try one of a different width and profile and see which is cheapest.Ten years ago yours would be a common size but tyres are getting bigger and the more popular sizes usually work out less.

The 185 is the width in mm, the 55 is the ratio of the height of the sidewall to the width of the tyre and the 15 is the diameter of the wheel in inches.There's also a letter at the end which is the speed rating of the tyre and a rating for wear.

The only measurement you cannot deviate from is the width(15").Instead of 185/55/15 try looking for 195/50/15 etc and see if it makes a difference.If you drasticly change the rolling radius of a tyre it can make your speedo misread but thats more of a concern when you are changing wheel size.

It seems there is a fair amount of markup in tyres as the prices seem to vary a lot.

catflea

Correct, you dont HAVE to fit the correct size tyres. You do have to declare it as a modification though.

Always best to stick to what the car should have