The Official Polo Tyre Thread

[FL00DY]

Hang on PSY604, if your fronts are scrap and you rears are fine, have you ever rotated them? Because I got more use out of my conti's on my GTI and thats with light track use. How many times have you driven off-road in that 27K. Yes they are a softer tyre.

[PSY604]

Yep - ive rotated them once - I probably should have rotated them more.

and taken them off-road with a full-load a good 10 times in that 27K.

[FL00DY]

Yep - ive rotated them once - I probably should have rotated them more.

and taken them off-road with a full-load a good 10 times in that 27K.

wow that sounds like a lot then. I agree it's a tough little car, but you're crazy for taking it off road. I guess you know the roads well enough to know you wont get into any trouble.

[PSY604]

I agree it's a tough little car, but you're crazy for taking it off road. I guess you know the roads well enough to know you wont get into any trouble.

Its either the polo or take my partners volvo 850R - causing shattering and loss of teeth when driving over very mildly corrugated dirt roads
Unfortunately all the nice places to camp and hike are led to by dirt roads and the polo is pretty much the designated camping car.

Would a different profile tyre be beneficial with the type of use my car gets? and what sort of difference would this make around town/on highway because I do like the feel of whats on now for normal driving use... I'd just like something that wears a little better is all...

[kaanage]

I agree it's a tough little car, but you're crazy for taking it off road.

The stock non-GTi Polo sits quite high and has fairly roly poly suspension so it's a pretty good choice for driving on dirt roads that aren't heavily rutted. Plus the awesome torque off idle of the TDi lets it potter over lumpy bits.

The only way to really improve the car for this sort of use would be to fit spring distance kits to raise the car a bit and get 14x5.0 inch rims so that higher profile tyres could be fitted to soften the ride further. But the improvement would be marginal since it's still only a FWD so I wouldn't bother.

As for better tyre life, I'd ask a good tyre dealer that isn't affiliated with a particular brand for their opinion (eg Jax, Bob Jane)

[seangti]

PSY604 - Option1 garage sell Kumho's at a very competitive price. They'd be under $100 each for your size. My KU31's (for a gti) were $100 each, fitted and balanced. You may not want a "performance' oriented tyre.

Driving on rocky roads will root your tyres, light car or 4WD. It's par for the course. More regular rotations and alignments should help wear (my std conti's got 30,000km with trackdays, they still had some tread but I'd cooked em and the integrity of the tyre was shot), but rocks flog out tyres. I wouldn't say a few hundred km's on dirt over that life span is a concern, but perhaps your speed on the roads is contributing. But not got flats, that may not be a fair comment either...

[Diesel_vert]

Hi all - this is a big thread and whilst I have tried to read as many pages as I can - I think a quick ask might get me the answers I need!

Ive got a 2009 polo tdi running the stock contis (premium contact 2 195/55/15) with less than 27K on them.
The front ones are pretty much scrap as far as I can tell - the rear seem to be fine.

These seem to be quite soft tyres and probably are no good for the driving I get up to a few times a year (i.e. dirt roads for a good 50+kms, camping, mud, awesomeness!) I am seriously surprised I have not had a puncture on the dirt roads as yet - the car is a little beast though and handles it really well!

I'll probably get a new set of tyres soon because under 30K with that much wear is just crap - can anyone give me some recommendations? I dont drive around town too much (short trips of under 20km maybe 3 times a week) and the majority of my k's are done on the highway, But as above - It does go off the beaten track a few times a year.

im looking for something that is decently wearing and good in the wet, able to handle a few off-road trips and isnt too expensive (Im a student and only work 2 days a week - car payments and rent pretty much take up the lot.)
I should mention I have a little bit of a heavy foot off the lights - perhaps I should change that

Any recommendations?

Thanks!
Eileen

Maybe consider getting the Goodyear Assurance ArmorGrip which might be suited to your driving conditions.

[PSY604]

Coolies - Thanks for all the replies, Im going to have to check a few tyre places out in the near future.

I think the tyres can take one more rotation and then i'll replace the lot.

[Eddy]

Hoyhoy.

Laugh if ya like, me just put on 205-50-16's on standard rims & it looks the goods, no photos because you'll drool.
The Little Blue Girl has highly modified suspension which is fairly stiff even on soft settings so me thought me would try this set up, nice looking if ya like the original look, but do have 15mm spacers all round.
Did have 10 mm on the front, then changed the camber to minus 2% for the street & minus 3%-plus for the track.
This has filled the wheel arch that extra bit I was looking for, plus corrected the speedo reading from 9% over read down to 5%.
Tyres = Federal 595-RSR @ $155.00 which were $110.00 cheaper than the Yokohama's AD-07's that were great, but no longer available.
Plus me wan't to try the upper size.
10 Km's so far, so no report.
Me use a totaly different set of wheels for the track.

[seangti]

Eddy, keep us posted on the Federals, and where'd you get them for that price. Tyres and More quoted $240 last week, Option1 were like $180 if I recall correctly. I'm thinking about grabbing some but will use them for track too. Ideally want to source another set of rims.

[Eddy]

Hoyhoy.

Sean, have a friend with a tyre shop in Tweed Heads, but saying that I think that I only get a small discount & he's only a small set-up & doesn't freight them.
Try ringing him & say that Eddy put ya onto him. Rod @ Roadrunner Tyres - 0755361400
Also try I think it is this mob, they will send them at a better price.
Welcome to F1 Wheel and Tyre

[kaanage]

I wanted to stick with fuel saving tyres for the Bluemotion and the Energy Savers are probably the best in this category, I'll let you know after they're fitted.

Any update on how your car is faring with these vs the OEM Dunlops, Big Al?

[vwthunder]

If you want to save fuel with your tires, wouldnt it be cheaper to buy a scooter, or just walk lol

[kaanage]

It's about pushing limits

[PeterHBne]

Has anyone in Bris/G.C/Tweed tried to source/know of anywhere to get Marangoni Zeta Linea? Prices?

Thanks!