[jonnyg30]

hi guys, been a while since of posted in here!!

Unfortunately a rather expansive issue has arisen with my car, I'm getting uneven wear across the front tyres. both front tyres are almost bold on the edges with the centre line still having tons of life left!

The cars 2 years old and done 16000mi, tyre pressures are kept correct and I've had tracking done, nothing seems to cure this unusual wear!!

has anyone else had or noticed this??

Due to said wear I'm now having to look at replacements which opens up a whole new issue. At the moment it's running good year vector 4 seasons, unfortunately my experience with these tyres has been that they aquaplane far far too easily!!! and living in the east of england I'm thinking the likelihood of these tyres ever meeting snow or ice lessons considerably as the years pass ( I haven't seen snow thicker than 1cm in roughly 3 years!!!!).

Whilst I'd like to keep the same tyres on the car to help hold the value and keep it as it was when purchased, there seems to be cheaper tyres with much better wet weather, noise and fuel ratings which got me thinking should I switch them out?

for example,

Good year vector 4 seasons

efficiency rating = C
Wet weather rating =C
noise level = 68dB
Black circles fitted price = £113.24 per tyre



Good year Efficient grip

efficiency rating = B
wet weather rating = A
noise level = 66dB
black circles fitted price = £89.30 per tyre



it just got me thinking are the original tyres really the best tyres for the money? and more importantly are they the best tyres for the general UK environment? granted Scotland gets a fair bit of snow but the rest of us mainly have to deal with wet weather, so are winter tyres really the best option??

thoughts and opinions??




Edited by: jonnyg30

 

[PaulE]

Hello jonny. I understand that manufacturers tend to have contracts with one tyre manufacturer to supply tyres at a discounted price, which is why Peugeot has the Goodyears on the 2008, just the Citroens I have owned have all come with Michelins. It doesn't mean they are the absolute best for the cars, though the manufacturer would want to ensure that the tyre on the newly supplied car was a suitable, good tyre. As for alternative tyres, you pays your money and takes your choice. I must admit that tyre type/price is not something I have skimped on, given that the tyre is the only thing that connects you to the road and in an emergency you want something you can rely on. As for your choice of tyre, my opinion is:
1. The Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons has had good reviews. It is not just a snow tyre, but should be better in the cold wet weather, though your experience puts that into question. I wonder if the uneven wear on your car also impacts on the ability of the tyre to cope with wet weather without aquaplaning. You may be aware that a newer version of the tyre was anounced in the autumn. I don't know if it is available yet in the size for your car, but if it is you may wish to consider it. It is the Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons Gen2
2. An alternative all season tyre that is receiving rave reviews in the press is the Michelin Cross Climate and you may wish to consider this.
3. If you want to plump for a summer tyre, I understand that the Efficient Grip is good, though I haven't any experience of the tyre. I had the Efficient Grip Performance on my Citroen C5 a few years ago and thought it was a good'un and significantly better than the original Michelins that came with the car.
A final thought. I don't know the answer, but I wonder where you stand with your insurance company of you change from a factory fit all weather tyre to a summer tyre.

 

[Frank Bullitt]

Is it the outside edges only or the inside and outside edges? I would suggest dropping the pressure a little if the latter, or slowing down in roundabouts of the former!

Ignoring the odd wear, 16k is impressive for a set of tyres - perhaps I have diving boots, but I get about 12-14k out of a set (I replace at 3mm).

Personally to keep the grip control from having a hissy-fit I would retain the same tyres.

 

[burty]

I have 30000 miles and are still on my original set of Goodyear Vector 4 seasons tyres. Most of that is motorway miles, hence the low wear, but the fronts are wearing on the outside edges, (slightly more heavily in the left tyre - which I suspect is a roundabout thing) but I wouldn't consider that particularly excessive.

I am in two minds about these tyres, they seem OK but I am not convinced by the wet grip, but I have no comparison with other tyres on this car obviously. I can't say that I have had any real aquaplaning experience with these but given the relative width of these tyres I wouldn't be surprised if they were susceptible to that. I have also wondered about the merit of the four season tyre given the lack of any snow in the last 3 winters, dspite my reservations I am inclined to say that I will likely replace with another pair the same, which is something I have been contemplating for a while, but all the time they still have reasonable tread left I have been leaving them for another week or so.

 

[uncletone]

Isn't it funny how with different years of manufacture that the same car from the same manufacturer , ie Peugeot supply the car new with different makes of tyre.

For instance "madams" car came with Michelin Energy Savers and we replaced them recently for the new Michelin Cross Climates for the winter.

When we changed them over the Energy Savers had done 18k miles and there was 4mm on the fronts and 6mm on the rears so wearing well.

I know that Goodyear have changed the profile and compounds on the Vector 4 Seasons to the new Generation 2 's . Was that because of tyre wear...I don't know. In fact its the first time I've heard of a car manufacturer supplying a car with essentially an all season tyre.

With regards to swapping tyres from Summer to Winter or vice versa or even to all weather to dry as long as you let the insurance company know there isn't a problem..

With regards to actually just replacing the fronts you need to check that.

Below ids an article about the Michelin's that makes good reading

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/miscellaneous/2015-02/michelin-crossclimate-tyres/

 

[burty]

I am pretty sure that different models of the 2008 has always come with different tyres. Cars with Grip control had the Goodyear Vector 4 seasons, the others Michelin Energy Savers. There is logic in that.

I saw the Michelin Cross Climate and did wonder how they compared with the Goodyears. That said Goodyear have never made a poor tyre. So despite concerns I suspect that the Goodyears are as good as any.

 

[jonnyg30]

Burty, I'm exactly the same. wearing both inside and out shoulders, outside shoulders worse with the left hand front noticeably more worn than the right. it's not like I drive around like a boy racer either! it's the only car I've ever owned that's done this. slightly comforting knowing it's not just my car. the tracking was miles out but even after having it done they are still wearing in this way.


lowering the tyre pressure cures over wear of the centre line due to over inflation, increase of pressure cures over wear of the shoulders due to under inflation......at least it does on aircraft, I wouldn't have thought the physics behind it would change much for cars?, I could be wrong though, please feel free to correct me if I am ???

don't know about insurance company's, in my experience of 2 accidents they've never seemed to care about what tyres are fitted as long as they were legal at the time of the accident, however it may be different for a new car or changed since then as it was quite a while ago! I honestly don't know!!!???

I'm going to be honest and say the 2008 with the vectors on has to be the No.1 worst car I've ever owned for aqua planing and wet weather driving, even at low speed (20/30mph) it's dodgy in the wet (Norfolk is barely above sea level as is not to mention the poor state of the roads which have a tendency to gather a fair bit of water when it rains). I have no doubt the tyres are to blame, just looking at the tread pattern you can see a definite lack of water dispersion grooves so it just can't clear the water out the way fast enough. look at any tyre rated highly for wet weather handling and you'll see these grooves. It's geared around snow grip, vectors are labelled all season but they officially meet all standards for pure winter tyres hence my thinking they may not be the best choice for a warmer UK that sees little to no snow fall compared to our EU counterparts.

I too don't like to skimp on tyres, however, as I mentioned in the initial post I'm not convinced about spending extra money on tyres that don't seem suited to a UK climate when marginally cheaper ones such as the goodyear effcient grip/ef grip performance would be far better suited to wet roads by design. was curious to see what other users were finding/ doing and if anyone had switched tyres and got better handling because of it. All said and done I'll replace like for like if I have to but they certainly haven't won my confidence.

 

[burty]

I can't argue with any of that.

 

[jonnyg30]

I can't argue with any of that.

hahaha, wasn't looking for one so that's good news

just interested in everyone else's views/findings, especially those in the motor trade and anyone that knows of any "unseen" consequences of changing to a different style of tires.

The only thing I know is that there's no legal requirement for the use of winter tyres in the UK. unlike other EU countries the car aimed at that do require the use of certified winter tyres by law at certain times of the year so I can see why they chose vectors for the 2008.

but as for the consequences or UK rules about mixed season tyres or swapping from one to the other I am totally clueless!!

 

[KEN]

Had a similar problem with mine. 25,000 miles on the clock now and both front tyres have worn on the outer edges. Dealer says that it's due to under inflation. I have found that I regularly have to inflate the tyres (much more often than on any other car that I have owned) to keep it hem at the correct pressures.

 

[KEN]

Should have mentioned its on the outer and inner edges.

 

[GarryH]

I have the Michelin Cross Climate on my Citroen C3 and I really rate them, its my going to work bus so out early morning on the frost no prob. Apart from a slight loss of fuel consumption I cant falt them.

 

[juraj3108]

I had exactly the same problem, I have around 29,000 km on the clock in 18 months of ownership.

I've exchanged my front tires for the rear ones, and I have no problems now. However, I will have that checked in the couple of days now

 

[uncletone]

I've asked madam and a couple of the guys what they reckon to the Cross Climates on the 2008 and like Garry, they are really impressed with them in the wet we've been experiencing recently in the sunshine state. They said no or very little aquaplaning.

One of the Managers swears by Goodyears so when he rates them better than the Goodyear Winters he has on his A6 that his high praise in deed.

I wish they made them for the Jag.

Edited by: uncletone

 

[burty]

This review of All Season Tyres makes for interesting reading. It appears to suggest that the Vector 4 season Gen 2 tyre is better than the original, and just beats the Michelin Crossclimate.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-AutoBild-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm

Michelins entry into this market segment was a surprise, and the new CrossClimate tyre doesn't like to be called an "all season" tyre, but a summer tyre with winter capabilities. This has left us wondering whether it's the perfect tyre for the UK climate, as traditional all season tyres overly focus on snow and ice performance, instead of the wet grip we need for the UK winters.Goodyear have ruled the all season market with the Vector 4Season, which has always had an extremely strong snow performance. While the original Vector 4Season was usually near best in category in the wet, it never really got close enough to the summer reference tyre to be classed as a true all season tyre, until now. With the gen-2 Vector 4Season tyre, Goodyear seem to have followed the same path as Michelin, and traded a little snow performance for wet grip.

So which of the two tyres is best for the UK? That depends on your preference. The Michelin and the Goodyear trade blows in the wet and dry, with the Goodyear narrowly beating the Michelin in the wet, and the Michelin being slightly stronger in the dry. The dog fight continues with the rest of the tests - the Michelin is slightly quieter, the Goodyear has slightly better rolling resistance, the Michelin does more miles, but then the Goodyear is slightly cheaper so the price per mile is almost identical. In the end, the snow performance of the Goodyear wins it for Auto Bild overall, but either tyre would be a fine choice for the UK. The magazine negates to touch on the subjective differences of the tyres, something we're looking into in the next few weeks.

 

[uncletone]

I read that too Andrew, and I suppose at the end of the day, like most of these things, because they are similar it would be difficult in normal driving I would imagine to notice any difference as they are so good.




With the majority of drivers, because we don't put the tyres or cars thro' the paces testers do, it'll be down to personal choice I would imagine.

 

[burty]

Agreed. I think the improvement in wet weather grip in the vector 4 seasons tyre backs up the experience we are having with the originals. Plus its good news for those planning to replace tyres.

 

[burty]

Except, it looks like the gen 2 tyres might not be available in the right size.

 

[juraj3108]

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/apps/rec...280257D1900432C18&freeText=Blank&tx=0.4067041


Guys could this be the issue? Is this connected with our uneven wear problem? My car is under the VIN's which are mentioned in the post...

 

[burty]

As an update to this thread, my front tyres are pretty well worn now, but I have been holding out on replacing them for as long as I could bear to. Anyway driving in the torrential rain the other day reminded me that it really was that time as it was almost impossible to get a shift on and to stop the front tyres from breaking traction. Much fun was had mind. So I have ordered four Michelin cross climates and these will be fitted on Saturday.

I will report back how I feel they perform, although it's never an exact science to compare given that we will be comparing our memory of a set of fairly well worn Goodyears.

Over 32000 miles on the original tyres is pretty good too IMHO. The rears are really only part worn too, but I wanted a full set of the Michelins.