Need some new shoes... (Tyres)

[Vini]

Had my Focus MK2 (06) now since Jan 08 and I put a pair of Pirelli P6000 205/55 R16's on the front at the time of acquiring the car, and then another pair of the same on the rear about 6 months later.

I'm getting close to needing to replace all four. Now... to me, tyres lasting 3 years doesn't seem to be "long" if you ask me maybe I'm wrong. I've done about 25000 miles since getting the car?

My main quibble with the P6000's though is that they're shocking in the wet!

Now I spent a while reading reviews last time and thought the P6000's had decent enough reviews as a good "quality" all rounder. Personally, I've had better budget tyres!

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can go for next?

My dad has just had Toyo Proxies fitted to his MK3 Focus, which were my second choice at the time of choosing the P6000's, he says they're noisy and despite reviews being favourable, a lot of reviews said don't expect them to last long. Thoughts?

I've been driving 8 years and prior to these Pirelli's had never had to replace tyres. When I did, I always went budget and they seemed adequate and to last... What gives?

I appreciate driving style etc comes into play, but I'm no boy racer. I do about 25miles a day commuting, using "normal" roads!

[dave87]

P6000s, the modern automotive equivalent of wooden wheels.

Depending on budget, few recommendations:

Falken FK452 - Got them on my BMW 530i - good tyres, reasonably priced. What I'd go for.
Continental Premium Contact Eco - Continental's offering - similar market to the Goodyear EfficientGrip and Michelin Primacy HP
Goodyear Efficientgrip - good all round tyres, not too expensive, not as high performance as the PS3s though.
Michelin Primacy HP - seem good enough, pricey mind.
Michelin Pilot Sport 3s - Very good tyres, softer than the Primacy HP but much better outright grip.

I've made the names linked to Camskill - where I get my tyres from. Then I get them fitted/balanced locally. Much cheaper than walking into your local MOT/Tyre place and buying/ordering them.

[Butcher]

25,000 miles seems about right to me - if you want good tyres (i.e. with grip) you're not going to get 50k out of them. I reckon my PS3s will do about 25k or so by the time I replace them (about 20k in so far).

[kalniel]

p6000 are shockers I agree. Surprised you thought otherwise.

I've just replaced the same size tyre - it was a toss up between the Michelin PS3s and Pirelli P7 Cintaturo. I was very tempted by the latter, which has some great reviews, but stuck with Michelin for a reason I'm not entirely sure of - possibly there were more user reviews.

Don't think they'll last for ever, but I wanted something a bit softer over the winter months and better with wet conditions.

Previous had primacy HP on - yes, they last, good economy too.. but bad in the wet and cold.. infact bad in anything other than dry hot days

[dave87]

Kalniel - PS3 was never going to be a bad tyre though. I had the original Pilot Sports on my Civic, Dad's had Pilot Sports and PS 2s (Whichever version Porsche mandate) on his Boxster and they've both been very good.

[kalniel]

Kalniel - PS3 was never going to be a bad tyre though. I had the original Pilot Sports on my Civic, Dad's had Pilot Sports and PS 2s (Whichever version Porsche mandate) on his Boxster and they've both been very good.

Oh I know they were going to be good, I just like to get the best - next year's Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 2 is probably even better, shame it's not available in 205 until then.

[dave87]

Sorry, that was typed in a rush and was meant to support your decision between two (very) good tyres. The PS3 was always going to be the safe bet

Had the Eagle F1 Asymmetric (no1) -replaced the Pilot Sports - on my Civic - very good in the corners, but didn't do much for the MPG. If they've managed to retain the grip but improve the rolling resistance, then they have created a winner there!

[GoNz0]

sad as it sounds i cant wait (apart form cost) for the PS2's on the front of the bmw to wear out so i can get ps3's on to match the rears, amazing bits of rubber over the ps2's on the back end, i hardly ever see the traction light flash when throwing it round a wet corner/island in the wet.

not sure why they called them sport 3's as they designed them for more of a grand touring tyre, they do perform better than the ps2's that i did have on the rear, the car was balanced with wider ps2's on the rear but now the front understeers a bit in the really tight bends when raping all 2800cc

[Predator]

Sorry I haven't read the whole thread....

Falkern are a great tyre for the money. Depends how you drive and on what conditions...

If you can get some Toyo P1R's then they could be another contender. - These are what I am getting on my Fiesta ST that has grip issues

[Guy]

Doesn't sound too bad getting that sort of mileage out of them, also replacing the set every 3 years isn't unusual. I wouldn't be complaning.

Mine need changing at least once a year!

As others have said, I have had the *pleasure* of seeing quite how bad P6000's are! I would have hoped they had been discontinued a LONG time ago. Certainly much better tyres out there.

For the price - performance ratio you really can't beat the Falken FK452's. I've run them on a number of cars, from the ST220, to my 530, and they are currently sitting on the Silvia.

[Apex]

Funny thing is i've got P6000's on my Mondeo and they are fine in the wet.

There seems to be two types of P6000 - the bog standard and the powergy series....

Thoes that are saying P6000's are crap can you confirm what car you had these on ?

[Guy]

Thoes that are saying P6000's are crap can you confirm what car you had these on ?

Mk3 Mondeo TDCi. They were truely hateful things.

[Apex]

My experiance is different to yours then.

[Guy]

My experiance is different to yours then.

Yup, the Primacy HP's that replaced them on the same car were much better. The difference was night and day. Since then I've usually stuck to Falkens on the daily drives as they are a good compromise.

[Apex]

But i supose anything is better then have 4 different tyers on the car so these will feel a lot better.....

Falkens seem to be recomended - half tempted to put them on the rear and when it comes time swap the fronts over too.

[Zak33]

My experiance is different to yours then.

I concur with Apex.

I've driven a couple of quick Saab's with P6000's and thought they were pretty good, for a tye that lasts as long as they do.

ok, they're not sport rubber, but the fuel consumption is good, they last and I think they're ok in the wet tbh.

but there are better boots to be had, no doubt.