Passat Bluemotion 'special' tyres?

Andreg

daveg72 wrote: »

Just had a look on Camskill's website and they list various Continental Premium Contact 2's including an Eco model. Whats the size of the tyre?

205/55/16
Cheapest fitted price I've found are tyreshopper and national at about £83 each.

kingswaydriving

I can recommend a site in the US for lots of info on how to drive your car economically! I can't post a link - but try 'ecomodder' followed by '.com'

It's a bit of a shock to discover that many new cars are not as fuel efficient as they should be. 'fashions' in car design dictates that some really good and aerodynamic designs would look too 'funny' for us to want to buy them!

It's even possible to improve a Prius via DIY methods to get better fuel efficiency!! But it's mostly its about how we drive... What they call 'adjusting the nut behind the wheel' - fascinating reading!

My 2003 diesel VW Golf estate still gives me 55mpg around town - and I'm a driving instructor, with 'learners' doing most of the driving...

I have Michelin Energy Saver tyres, and may replace them with Continental Eco Contacts, based on the 'Which?' review - but the biggest saving I've made on fuel consumption (apart from driving for economy) came from pumping my tyres up to 40 psi or higher!

daveyjp

Andreg wrote: »

Thanks for all the comments. It does seem from the comments that the tyres are not that special and I could replace them with Michelin Primacy or Energy or various other brands without a problem. However, as I've found out that the ContiPremiumContact2 tyres were 'Which' (sssh) best buy I think I'll get them again.

I have to admit I bought the Bluemotion because it looked good as much as for the fuel saving features. I like the lowered ride and aero shape. Only disappointment is lack of speakers in the back doors and lack of 12V socket in the back or boot.

I still don't know what is the best pressure for the tyres. The manual and fuel flap sticker says 36psi, but someone here said the standard passat pressure is 30psi. How can it be right to pump the tyres harder than standard - won't that make them wear in the middle more than on the shoulders? If I reduce the tyre pressure to the standard 30psi will that give better ride comfort and grip?

The Eco tyres may be designed to accept the higher pressure. My B class has Michelin Energy fuel saver tyres with a recommended pressure of 38 on the rears.

grizzly1911

Have a corsa eco flex and having swapped the continentals eco tyres (at 13500 on the front:-( ) to bog standard have found no difference in fuel consumption. They do have high and even higher pressures on the back.

Also have a bog standard avensis diesel that runs at 35psi all round loaded or not.

Previously had an Astra eco4 on a 53 plate, main changes included a rear wing and lowered suspension on some basic wheels. With a 1.7CDTI engine (117gco2/km) it would regularly do v high 50s mpg often hitting 64/65 on long runs at normal motorway speeds (3/5K per month). The lower gears were short for OK performance from standing and the long top gear never felt dwarfed when rolling. So the engineers know how to make them more efficient but this engine and set up was not really used across the range or since.

Lum

kingswaydriving wrote: »

I have Michelin Energy Saver tyres, and may replace them with Continental Eco Contacts, based on the 'Which?' review - but the biggest saving I've made on fuel consumption (apart from driving for economy) came from pumping my tyres up to 40 psi or higher!

A saving that will be wiped out by the cost of premature tyre wear.

Also the reduced grip could well lead to increased costs down the line if it ends up causing you to have a crash.

worried_jim

kingswaydriving wrote: »

I can recommend a site in the US for lots of info on how to drive your car economically! I can't post a link - but try 'ecomodder' followed by '.com'

It's a bit of a shock to discover that many new cars are not as fuel efficient as they should be. 'fashions' in car design dictates that some really good and aerodynamic designs would look too 'funny' for us to want to buy them!

It's even possible to improve a Prius via DIY methods to get better fuel efficiency!! But it's mostly its about how we drive... What they call 'adjusting the nut behind the wheel' - fascinating reading!

My 2003 diesel VW Golf estate still gives me 55mpg around town - and I'm a driving instructor, with 'learners' doing most of the driving...

I have Michelin Energy Saver tyres, and may replace them with Continental Eco Contacts, based on the 'Which?' review - but the biggest saving I've made on fuel consumption (apart from driving for economy) came from pumping my tyres up to 40 psi or higher!

http://ecomodder.com/

Weird_Nev

Andreg wrote: »

I still don't know what is the best pressure for the tyres. The manual and fuel flap sticker says 36psi, but someone here said the standard passat pressure is 30psi. How can it be right to pump the tyres harder than standard - won't that make them wear in the middle more than on the shoulders? If I reduce the tyre pressure to the standard 30psi will that give better ride comfort and grip?

Something to note is that the bluemotion range use thinner tyres (not necesarily smaller) to reduce rolling resistance, therefore you need a higher pressure in them to support the weight of the car adequately. If you're sticking with the recommended tyre size and specification, then stick with the recommended inflation pressure! Trying to improve ride comfort by reducing tyre pressure is the wrong way to go about it! if VW say 36Psi, then it will have been tested at 36 Psi on those tyres. Thinner tyres won't "balloon" anyhwere near as much as wide section low profile tyres if overinflated anyway.

Bluemotion cars use thinner section width tyres, and have almost "straight ahead" toe settings to reduce tyre scrub and improve efficiency. Sadly this does hurt roadholding and handling when pressing on, but that's the compromise for better fuel efficiency and free tax. The low grip and edgdy near limit handling is (In my experience of driving these cars) a function of thinner tyres and compromised geometry settings, not tyre pressures per se.