Rear tyres on FWD car

davetrousers

parking_question_chap wrote: »

I need some 205/55 16 tyres and currently looking at Rainsport 3s for £62 each fitted.

Perfectly reasonable price for this size of tyre. Just get on with it.

Iceweasel

Marktheshark wrote: »

Hmm 38 Years x 25,000 average, more in the old days, less now = Just short of a Million Miles.
On "Ditch finders", that yet never managed to find that ditch.

Might have to ask for a refund ?

Most cars I do pass in ditches, appear to be high performance type cars that have been driven too fast.

I have to agree with your least sentence.

caprikid1

"Most cars I do pass in ditches, appear to be high performance type cars that have been driven too fast."


I can get low performance cars in the hedge quite easily.

Joe_Horner

Having argued the toss with him in a slanging and insults match on another recent thread, I'm with Mark on this one - it's a funny old world

Most "ditchfinders" are simply obsolete tread patterns and compounds copied from mainstream makers - the Chinese don't waste money on R&D when there's an off the shelf solution*. So you're often getting what would have been premium performance 10 - 15 years ago.

If you find ditches with them then either (a) your driving style has got more aggressive or (b) the ditches have got easier to find. What the people who use the "...that one time in an emergency" argument seem to overlook is this:

The person who's driven x million miles without that emergency happening to them will have been in many situations that could have developed into an emergency. It's virtually impossible that they could have driven for 20+ years without being in that "potential emergency" situation many times over.

But something in their observation / planning / anticipation skills or attitude to the road has stopped those situations developing into more than an "I don't believe he did that" moment, where emergency braking or swerving wasn't needed.






* That's a gross over-simplification but the basic point stands

1hourcars

In my experience the biggest noticeable difference for the "average drive" between premium and budget tyres is the level of road noise. I would hazard in blind tests, even driving hard, most drivers wouldn't notice a difference in grip.

andygb

Marktheshark wrote: »

Hmm 38 Years x 25,000 average, more in the old days, less now = Just short of a Million Miles.
On "Ditch finders", that yet never managed to find that ditch.

Might have to ask for a refund ?

Most cars I do pass in ditches, appear to be high performance type cars that have been driven too fast.

Funny that, isn't it Mark? We both use "ditchfinders" and have never managed to find a ditch (crosses fingers and toes;)).
I used Pirelli P6000 tyres on a variety of cars for about ten years, and never had a problem in wet, dry or icy conditions, and I even used them for a number of laps of the Ring back in the early 2000's.
I now have Barum Bravuris on the rear and Avon ZV5 on the front, both correctly inflated, both with a decent amount of tread.

silverwhistle

Marktheshark wrote: »

Most cars I do pass in ditches, appear to be high performance type cars that have been driven too fast.

Like that Ford Ka just off the M3 at the Odiham exit on Sunday? :-)
I think my perception is generally the same though!

As I drive things like Fabias and i20s I don't have many issues, but I do put on winter tyres, particularly for my holiday in the Alps every year.

Joe_Horner

andygb wrote: »

Funny that, isn't it Mark? We both use "ditchfinders" and have never managed to find a ditch (crosses fingers and toes;)).

Possibly because the most common reason for losing grip isn't overcooking the "absolute" performance of the rubber but using harsh, sudden, or "panic" control inputs.

In the absence of ABS even the best tyres can be made to lose grip by stamping on the brake pedal, whereas applying them quickly, firmly, but progressively will let the same tyre keep working. Similarly with steering - yanking the wheel round in a "swerve" is far more likely to lose grip than smoothly steering round something.

Curiously, you can see the difference in a lot of the Top Gear "stars" laps. The harsh (but spectacular) drivers tend to do a lot worse than those who use smooth, controlled, inputs and often look like they're out for a relaxed Sunday drive. Same car, same tyres, same "road", but a big difference in what the tyres will provide!

neilmcl

andygb wrote: »

Funny that, isn't it Mark? We both use "ditchfinders" and have never managed to find a ditch (crosses fingers and toes;)).
I used Pirelli P6000 tyres on a variety of cars for about ten years, and never had a problem in wet, dry or icy conditions, and I even used them for a number of laps of the Ring back in the early 2000's.
I now have Barum Bravuris on the rear and Avon ZV5 on the front, both correctly inflated, both with a decent amount of tread.

Neither of which would be classed as "ditchfinders".

jase1

Cheaper "ditchfinder" tyres seem to be getting better of late.

I have some very, very cheap "Joy Road" tyres fitted to the rear of my car at the moment. I believe these are Asda Tyres' cheapo ditchfinder brand, made in China.

And you know what, they're fine. In the wet, the Avons on the front (all four tyres are near new) are the ones that seem more willing to let go.

I turned my nose up at them at first, but they're staying where they are.