Tyresome decisions

[Gerrycan]

I have plenty of time before I have to change my existing OEM Dunlop SportsMaxx 225X45x17 tyres but I have been looking around the tyre comparison reviews online just to keep abreast of things.
Most of the good reviews for this tyre size are European and generally the best all-round winner is a Continental tyre.

However the runner up is a Dunlop BlueResponse tyre and the outstanding feature on offer that attracts me is the exceptionally low rolling resistance compared to all the other competitors. Unfortunately I cannot find this tyre as being available in Australia.

I know that others have not been complimentary about Dunlops but I actually have no complaints about my current SportsMaxx tyres and they seem to have very low rolling resistance anyway, they are still quiet on most surfaces, braking performance seems good in dry and wet, and I don't drive anywhere near the adhesion limits to know whether they are good or bad. I hope to get about 40k out them which is probably about right.

Two questions I guess:

1. Does anyone know if the BlueResponse is offered by anyone in Australia? It does not appear on the Dunlop Australia website so I am not optimistic.
2. Does anyone know of any independent websites/reviews that I can validate my impressions of the SportsMaxx tyres performance?

[vEnOm_oz]

These may help:
Tire Research: Tire Reviews & Ratings
Tyres Reviews - ProductReview.com.au

[team_v]

I tend to use www.1010tyres.com for tyre reviews and comparisons as they are really good and have tonnes of data.

Is there any specific focus you want out of a new set of tyres such as grip/sports focus or fuel economy/long wear focus?

[Gerrycan]

I tend to use www.1010tyres.com for tyre reviews and comparisons as they are really good and have tonnes of data.

Is there any specific focus you want out of a new set of tyres such as grip/sports focus or fuel economy/long wear focus?

Well obviously I want everything...and at ridiculously low prices.
In reality the fuel/economy/long wear focus as long as braking performance does not suffer too much. That was the attraction of the generally good BlueResponse results although they did not give the 'treadware' rating to assess longevity
The rolling resistance results for some tyres suggested they may have forgotten to inflate them.

Got some reading to do now,
Many thanks guys.

[nat225]

your dunlop sportmaxx rt (i assume rt) is oem for amg cla45 to audi q3.

they are great tyres, very quiet and made in germany.

i'd stick to it if i were you.

blueresponse is a much lower performing tyre compared to the rt.

if mileage is your priority, choose something with wear rating of 400 but dont expect excellent braking distance. dont expect grip.

but there is something with wear rating of 300 and is oem for bmw m3/4, m235i and many performance cars; i.e. michelin pilot super sport. for street use with conservative alignment and driving style, they will last probably 80,000km.

Sent from my GT-I9506 using Tapatalk

[sillyboy]

These may help:
Tire Research: Tire Reviews & Ratings
Tyres Reviews - ProductReview.com.au

I wouldn't take Productreview .com. au too seriously, as I had a review about a local plumber, a 1 star rating (the worse rating) review with all the details, but it wouldn't post, they deleted my review and ask me to provide more details, including a scan copy of the quote, the invoice, and something I found utterly irrelevant, so I couldn't be bother, I just let it be, Later that day, the plumber contact me and offer me 2 movie tickets at Hoyts for my unhappy experience.

I guess what I am trying to say is, productreview. com is probably receiving benefit from many of these businesses, to manipulate the rating one way or another.

Sorry about going off topic, I found Tyre reviews, tests and ratings - TyreReviews pretty useful, make sure you are looking at the summer tyre section though.

[Gerrycan]

The website http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/ brings together, and offers summaries, of all the international reviews and seems the best starting point for my investigations.
One such referenced review was for relative braking performance in dry and wet for nearly 60 different tyres. Seems like anyone can make a tyre that performs well in the dry but wet weather braking is totally different. Of course I knew that but seeing the disparity in hard figures was mind blowing.

Over the last year of so since I joined VWWatercooled and Briskoda forums I have read a lot about contributors experiences and views on different tyres, which has been both very enlightening and confusing.
Most are from enthusiasts who are looking for performance (which is not specifically my thing) but there have been enough inconsistencies in the experiences they relate to suggest there are other factors at play.

One item from a tyre dealership owner stuck in my mind. He claimed that (the major) tyre manufacturers subjected the freshly manufactured tyre to tests and the best went to the car manufacturers, the next best to the dealerships and the rest to tyre distributors.
He verified his claim from having received a batch originally meant for a car manufacturer and they were an absolute dream to fit and balance.
It is fairly standard practice in a lot of industries whether it is Intel subjecting the same chip from the same production at different pricing levels depending on over-clocking results or golf ball 'rejects' being sold as a less premium product at a lower price.

One Briskoda contributor had the same SportMaxx RT tyre as I, and he complained bitterly about the poor ride, lack of grip etc. As he was doing lot of miles he decided to just run them into the ground but gave up after 60+k miles even though they was still legal tread left.
Another complained that his tyres wore after 10k miles even though he drove like Miss Daisy's chauffer.

So even with the best research I think there will have to be a certain leap of faith and luck involved with how successful my ultimate choice will be.

Looking at my existing tyres the Dunlop have a treadwear rating of 240 and the Nexen 'spacesaver' spare is 400.
Glad I am looking now and not when I have to make a quick decision.
In the meantime I'll just take a couple of paracetamol.

[brad]

I think you're out of luck with the Dunlop BlueResponse. Ring Dunlop & ask if they are on the horizon.

Regarding the relative braking performance test - the size was 185/50r15. there were a lot of really crap tyres in that test and a lot or really good tyres left out (because they aren't available in that size).

Some of the manufacturers do have quite a wide spread of quality and while I'm not sure they take the time to test each tyre & send the good ones to the vehicle makers, I know for a fact that the vehicle makers get first priority on stock.

Vehicle makers also get special tyres that are designed exclusively for a particular vehicle. eg: The Accord Euro came with a very special Bridgestone (I think it was the RE030) that had a particular build designation. If you fitted the standard RE030 the handling of the vehicle (at the limit) was noticeably impaired.

I'm not really convinced that eco-tyres can also offer the best grip & road holding. We have Yokohama BlueEarth AE01 on the Odyssey and they are adequate rather than amazing.

My fallback tyre of choice is the Michelin PS3 - it's a great all-rounder. For a bit of extra mileage consider the primacy3

You might look at the Toyo Nano-Energy while you are researching. Looks impressive in the space you are dabbling in.

[GTR27]

Yep, brad is on the money. Michelin PS3 for sportier option (still good for 40k if you are sensible with tyre pressures and rotation/balances) or michelin primacy if ride, NVH and life are more a priority.

For me, PS3's will replace the conti CS2's currently on the car (unless PS4's come out) as I value grip (not for outright speed, just for the additional safety they provide in shorter stopping distances and wet driving).

40K for most people is 3-4 years of driving. Honestly I wouldnt want a tyre on much more than that as they go hard and lose grip.

[brad]

About 4 years is my time limit.

I average 22,000km/year mostly rattling to from work alomg a motorway doing 90kph.

The CSC2 I had lasted 42k; the Michelin Primacy HP = 75k; Bridgestone RE050A = 35k. I think for my usage, 45k+ would be a reasonable expectation from the PS3

[Martin]

I've just worn out my Goodyear F1A2 at 53k (including 2 track days) - this is the 225/40/18 size
The left tyre is below 1.5mm tread due to charging at roundabouts, the right tire has 2mm tread
If I had monitored them better and switched them side to side I would have more mileage out of them

They are a wonderful sports tyre, great traction and braking
They have a stiff sidewall which provides awesome turn in feel and response

The down side is the are noisier than the Michelin PS3

Next tyre pair going onto the front are the Michelin PSS
(Got them on sale in the USA when the exchange rate was 1:1 - landed price was 60% of Oz price)

[tigger73]

I've just worn out my Goodyear F1A2 at 53k (including 2 track days)

That is some pretty decent mileage for a performance tyre!

[k_rider]

"switched them side to side"

What's the advice on switching radial tyres side to side these days?

It was common wisdom years ago that radial tyres should only ever be swapped front to back (and vice versa) but never side to side, as this reversed the tyre's rotational direction. The reasoning had something to do with if the tyre started life rotating one way, the belts would 'bed in' accordingly. Reversing the rotation at some later stage would then "over-stress" the belts leading to premature tyre failure. True or not true?

[brad]

What's the advice on switching radial tyres side to side these days?

It was common wisdom years ago that radial tyres should only ever be swapped front to back (and vice versa) but never side to side, as this reversed the tyre's rotational direction. The reasoning had something to do with if the tyre started life rotating one way, the belts would 'bed in' accordingly. Reversing the rotation at some later stage would then "over-stress" the belts leading to premature tyre failure. True or not true?

What you say is "kind-of" true.

The old Dunlop Aquajets & Goodyear Supersteels were shockers for delaminating if you changed the direction of rotation.

The Dunlops did it because they were rubbish (there's no other term to describe it). The Goodyears did it because of poor manufacture practices in some fairly outdated Australian factories (American owners didn't like spending money locally, just like Holden / Ford / Chrysler). Part of the issue was that the wire didn't bond to the rubber properly due to poor cleaning techniques & the wire also wasn't coated properly, so it would rust (poor techniques).

I worked at Goodyear Hurstville in the 80s and must have done warranty claims on a few thousand tyres - sometimes we changed tyres free of charge without the customer even asking.

I cross-rotate my tyres every 10,000km. Ideally the lazy axle goes straight to the drive axle & the drive tyres get swapped diagonally to the lazy axle. This allows the "set" in the tyre to relax back to the as-built state.

Because the drive tyres wear at a greater rate than the lazy axle this conflicts with the tyre manufacturers other recommendation for FWD that the tyres with the best tread go on the rear, so it's a bit of a juggling act. Generally I just wait until the drive axle is 2-3mm less than the lazy axle (about 10,000km for me) & rotate them then. It's not ideal but works for me.

Martin's swap side-to-side isn't an ideal solution as the tyres are remaining on the drive axles but I doubt it will cause issues.

[Martin]

That is some pretty decent mileage for a performance tyre!

Indeed! Surprised me for sure
They have not been favored, many more disciplined motorists would get more out of them