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Choosing a tyre is not easy, as you cannot exactly try before you buy. You rely on feedback from forums such as this & tyre reviews, which can be either truthful or not.
Since I bought my Passat I have gone through 4 sets & are on the 5th. These are the tyres & my experience of them for 235/45R17. We live in the country & travel interstate fairly regularly, driving both bitumen & dirt roads, so my experience is based on our crappy coarse bitumen roads. One of my daily drives in the Southern Adelaide Hills is very twisty and extremely bumpy often with opposing ditches which can throw the car off line while another set will just soak it up holding the line. It's also tyre hungry. Driving experience & passenger comfort vary greatly. I look for a tyre with comfort & grip compromise. It just depends on personal preference.
I have rated these with the number in front, but the list is in order of fitment.
4/ - The factory fitted tyres Continental, ContiSportContact5. I like the overall performance dry & especially wet grip, though side walls are firm & tend to transmit bumps into chassis. Feedback is good with a progressive feel. They are also not an especially quiet tyre. Fuel consumption good. Life, I got about 25k.
3/ - Hankook Ventus S1noble 2, the overall performance was nearly the same as the Conti's only with a slightly softer quieter ride. Feedback is similar to the Cont's just a little more vague on initial turn in. Fuel consumption rose over the factory tyres on average of 0.5ltr/100km. Life, 23k.
1/ - Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus, these are a terrific compromise between comfort, performance, fuel consumption & life. They are a quiet tyre which soaks up bumps well without transmitting into the cabin, overall grip is down a little over the Conti's & Hankook's giving a real surprise grip in the wet holding a line beyond what most would dare. Feedback, in a straight line is positive, though initial turn in feels as if the tyre comes off a flat surface then rolls (if that makes sense) returning back to flat when in corner. Fuel consumption was equal to the Conti's. Life 27k
5/ - Cooper Tires, Zeon RS3-S. These are a AA rated tyre for grip. Oh boy, if you want outright absolute grip these will not disappoint. But, the ride is very harsh in that pump absorption is directly transmitted to your backside & tram line especially on opposing bumps, throwing the car off it's line requiring greater steering input to keep your line. If you like comfort, do not get these. They are noisy too. Fuel consumption is about the same the Hankook's. Feedback is the best however, you know exactly what the front & back ends are doing every time all the time. Confidence inspiring. Life, only 20k, but that may be in part to my over enthusiastic driving.
2/ - Goodyear Assurance Triplemax, my current fitment. For ride quality they win hands down. They just soak up bumps with aplomb. Nothing fazes them. Dirt, not a problem. They absorb external shock without any transition into the cabin. The car feels so much more plush & are the quietest overall of these lot. For long distance cruising the car is more serene. If your into chucking it hard into a corner these are not suited. Your passengers will thank you however for ride comfort. Fuel consumption is slightly better than the Conti's. They are however a soft tyre so ultimate grip is not a match for any of the above. I've done about 8k so far with little signs of wear. I just love the comfort but are wanting for more grip, but it's a trade off. Feedback is a little numb at the straight ahead with feeling progressing along with grip on rotation with a slightly rear bias through twisty stuff. You need to let them settle on the rear before squeezing the go pedal. I do like these tyres & will fit again. Life, with little wear evident I expect a longer life than any of the above.
Next fitment will be a toss up between the Bridgestone Serenity Plus or Goodyear Assurance Triplemax.
Since I bought my Passat I have gone through 4 sets & are on the 5th. These are the tyres & my experience of them for 235/45R17. We live in the country & travel interstate fairly regularly, driving both bitumen & dirt roads, so my experience is based on our crappy coarse bitumen roads. One of my daily drives in the Southern Adelaide Hills is very twisty and extremely bumpy often with opposing ditches which can throw the car off line while another set will just soak it up holding the line. It's also tyre hungry. Driving experience & passenger comfort vary greatly. I look for a tyre with comfort & grip compromise. It just depends on personal preference.
I have rated these with the number in front, but the list is in order of fitment.
4/ - The factory fitted tyres Continental, ContiSportContact5. I like the overall performance dry & especially wet grip, though side walls are firm & tend to transmit bumps into chassis. Feedback is good with a progressive feel. They are also not an especially quiet tyre. Fuel consumption good. Life, I got about 25k.
3/ - Hankook Ventus S1noble 2, the overall performance was nearly the same as the Conti's only with a slightly softer quieter ride. Feedback is similar to the Cont's just a little more vague on initial turn in. Fuel consumption rose over the factory tyres on average of 0.5ltr/100km. Life, 23k.
1/ - Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus, these are a terrific compromise between comfort, performance, fuel consumption & life. They are a quiet tyre which soaks up bumps well without transmitting into the cabin, overall grip is down a little over the Conti's & Hankook's giving a real surprise grip in the wet holding a line beyond what most would dare. Feedback, in a straight line is positive, though initial turn in feels as if the tyre comes off a flat surface then rolls (if that makes sense) returning back to flat when in corner. Fuel consumption was equal to the Conti's. Life 27k
5/ - Cooper Tires, Zeon RS3-S. These are a AA rated tyre for grip. Oh boy, if you want outright absolute grip these will not disappoint. But, the ride is very harsh in that pump absorption is directly transmitted to your backside & tram line especially on opposing bumps, throwing the car off it's line requiring greater steering input to keep your line. If you like comfort, do not get these. They are noisy too. Fuel consumption is about the same the Hankook's. Feedback is the best however, you know exactly what the front & back ends are doing every time all the time. Confidence inspiring. Life, only 20k, but that may be in part to my over enthusiastic driving.
2/ - Goodyear Assurance Triplemax, my current fitment. For ride quality they win hands down. They just soak up bumps with aplomb. Nothing fazes them. Dirt, not a problem. They absorb external shock without any transition into the cabin. The car feels so much more plush & are the quietest overall of these lot. For long distance cruising the car is more serene. If your into chucking it hard into a corner these are not suited. Your passengers will thank you however for ride comfort. Fuel consumption is slightly better than the Conti's. They are however a soft tyre so ultimate grip is not a match for any of the above. I've done about 8k so far with little signs of wear. I just love the comfort but are wanting for more grip, but it's a trade off. Feedback is a little numb at the straight ahead with feeling progressing along with grip on rotation with a slightly rear bias through twisty stuff. You need to let them settle on the rear before squeezing the go pedal. I do like these tyres & will fit again. Life, with little wear evident I expect a longer life than any of the above.
Next fitment will be a toss up between the Bridgestone Serenity Plus or Goodyear Assurance Triplemax.
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