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Have read these posts and a few others besides, am looking to replace my current tyres, michelin pilots, so all has been useful. However, I can't find any recommendations about winter tyres (only some details on the Vredstein Ultrac Sessanta which seem to be summer types, albeit wet and dry) - anyone got a recommendation about what tyres are suitable for winter use on a roadster s?

(apologies if this is a bit off tangent)

MarkEG wrote:Have read these posts and a few others besides, am looking to replace my current tyres, michelin pilots, so all has been useful. However, I can't find any recommendations about winter tyres (only some details on the Vredstein Ultrac Sessanta which seem to be summer types, albeit wet and dry) - anyone got a recommendation about what tyres are suitable for winter use on a roadster s?

(apologies if this is a bit off tangent)

It is slightly off tangent for this particular thread but have a look here for my report on Winter Tyres for my B3S. Others have added their thoughts and there are other threads debating the merits of different brands of winter rubber.

love the dog

Back to the topic...

Car: D3 MT Saloon (2007)
Current Mileage: 39400 miles

Front and rear tyres (original Michelin PS2's) changed at 24600 miles for a set of Michelin PS2's (£839 fitted - Costco Leeds - 06/11/09)

14800 miles currently on the new set which are still like new

thanks - great dog, but she still doesnt get anywhere near the car

Car: Roadster S #108
Front: Michelin PS2 235/35/ZR19(91Y) 15k miles and still going strong
Rear: Pirelli PZero Nero 265/30/ZR19(93Y) just replaced

Pirellis chosen as PS2 are on country-wide backorder and I needed two new rears! Early indications of grip etc are great....

Also posted elsewhere but still:

B3BT - 78,000km from new 2 years ago
Front - Michelin PS2 still original with around 6mm tread
Rear - replaced a couple of weeks ago at a cost of just under €400 each

I do swap out the wheels and tyres each winter so probably more like 40,000km done on them (and quite a lot of that is autobahn and higher than UK speeds!)

Car - E21 323 with 2.7 conversion
Toyo 888r 195/50x15's

Low levels of road noise and awesome grip levels. Progressive when they do eventually let go. They do seem to like a mile or so to generate some heat though.

Just thought I'd add a post to say I have no idea how the first set of ultracs on my B10 made it to 22k miles, previous owner must have done the "driving miss daisy" thing

My rears are now down to just above 3mm after 11,500 miles and that's the point where I like to replace them. I do still rate them very highly though, so much so that I have ordered another two at £135 each from Camskill.

The fronts are down to 6mm.

Cheers,
John

B3 3.3 saloon
OEM fitment Michelin Pilot Sports (always)

1st set fronts - 32k miles
2nd set fronts - 25k miles so far and still going strong with plenty of tread left

1st set rears - 25k miles
2nd set rears - 28k miles

Current mileage 58k

1st set of tyres had a higher proportion of in-town driving. Since about 28k miles mix has been more biased to M, A and B roads. However, all tyres also saw some track day use towards the end of their lives...

[B3S 3.4 MICHELIN PS2- 27K EASY DRIVER

Had 2 sets of Michelin ps and ps2, first set did 39646 mls and the rears were at the wearbars and front scrubbed off at the outer edges. Replaced with PS2's ( £775 for 4 at ATS May 2007)which lasted until 82912 mls but could not replace them with Michelin as the rears were out of stock and not available for 3 months and did not want to mix, so opted for Conti CS2's ( £872 for 4 at Kwik Fit Feb 2010).
Inflated to same pressure as recommended for Michelins but ride was harsh and choppy so ran at 5-8psi below recommended pressures, ride much smoother and roadholding good but rear wear much higher and now close to wearbars after only 17k miles of similar driving style that prodcued 30K miles on the Michelins.
On the upside, the rim protectors on the Contis are excellent and have not added a sratch since they were fitted
Ian

ian burnett wrote: so opted for Conti CS2's ( £872 for 4 at Kwik Fit Feb 2010).
Inflated to same pressure as recommended for Michelins but ride was harsh and choppy so ran at 5-8psi below recommended pressures, ride much smoother and roadholding good but rear wear much higher and now close to wearbars after only 17k miles of similar driving style that prodcued 30K miles on the Michelins.
On the upside, the rim protectors on the Contis are excellent and have not added a sratch since they were fitted
Ian

Mmmmm thats food for thought!
So basically the jist seems to be that Michelins are horribly expensive but grip well and last well.
I was thinking about possibly getting Conti's as and when my Michelins need replacing. But on your evidence the Michelins look to last twice as long, thus proving to be a longterm better investment.

My old E46 came with Bridgestone RE040's and they lasted 35k, I have seen Bridgestone RE050's in 265/35/19 at a pretty decent price so would be interesting to see if anyone uses the Bridgestones and what sort of return they are getting v's Michelin

dayn wrote:So basically the jist seems to be that Michelins are horribly expensive but grip well and last well.
I was thinking about possibly getting Conti's as and when my Michelins need replacing. But on your evidence the Michelins look to last twice as long, thus proving to be a longterm better investment.

And therein lies the original reason for my post.

It is a known fact that Michelins are more expensive than other brands, but when you factor in longevity, I believe that the cost per mile for a Michelin is the same (if not cheaper) than other brands.

That being the case, surely it is a false economy to buy cheaper tyres? Or is it more to do with cash available on the day of purchase compared with cash outlay over the life of the tyre?

Either way, it would be interesting to see what the cost per mile is.

In my case, a pair of rears (original PS) on the B3S cost me £340 and last 20k miles, giving me a cost per mile for the rears of 1.7 pence per mile. The fronts cost me £320 and last 40k miles, giving me 0.8 pence per mile.

In order for me to get better returns, where cheaper rears will last (say) 15k miles, they need to cost less than £255 a pair and on the front lasting (say) 30k miles, a pair of tyres need to cost less than £240.

One brand that has been mentioned are Falken FK452s which would come in at about £270 fitted at the rear and about £240 fitted at the front. As such, there is no cost benefit to go with the cheaper brand (in fact they would cost me more over the life of the tyres) and on that basis, I would prefer to stick with Michelins.

I accept that this example is based on my car and its tyre wear characteristics, but this is a fairly straightforward calculation that other members might be interested in replicating for their own model/variant. It isn't an exact science but I hope my example demonstrates the old adge about looking at price and ignoring value ...

For the D3BT, there are (apparently) widely varying mileages acheived on the rear Michelins. We (Liz and I) are not boy racers....12k will see ours done. Chrisbin was similar; as are others. Therefore, Mich's have no guarantee of longevity...it seems to depend on the car they're fitted to, and the drivers' characteristics. However, they do grip well, and suit the setup of the car and we will refit PS2's later this year, unless PS3's become available for our size in time.