Good Deal on Good Tyres

[ringway]

i cant believe you are paying that much for your tyres ! There are some super buys on e-bay,& in particular 2 dealers in Macclesfield, & if you fetch them they fit for free. Much cheaper than than you mentioned.

Do you have the details of the Macclesfield dealers?

Regards,

Paul.

 

[bennesspipers]

Not quite paul, but if you get on e-bay & look up item numbers 200349586601 & 150348698086 you will find them.

 

[TonyVianoAmbiente]

Do you have the details of the Macclesfield dealers?

There are two firms in Macclesfield: Here's a link to their eBay listings:

eBay UK Shop - the all new tyre: 205 55-16, 2155516, 2153518

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/ears-motorsport_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZ

Tony

 

[ringway]

Not quite paul, but if you get on e-bay & look up item numbers 200349586601 & 150348698086 you will find them.

No Michelin's but plenty of Falken's and others and the prices are good.

 

[Andy Stanton]

As promised, here's the update on the Michelin's and Nitrogen usage...

Noise Levels - No change from my Dunlops so no issues there. Can't remember if the Contis were quieter but I'm happy as is, especially as the IPOD blares most of the time anyway!.

Nitrogen - Naff all difference noticed. Apart from some shocking green dust caps that need replacing. The OEM metal ones vanished ages ago but I can't cope with green. They've got to go.

Michelins - Very happy with the ride. I suspect the tracking and balancing has made it seem even smoother than the tyre change alone. No more wheel vibrations etc.

So it seems a new set of Michelin's with Nitrogen was a pleasant 'non event' experience. My world hasn't changed and I'm happy with my ride.

Two things to note though...

1) Costco (Reading) did a great job with the fitting. Went in Friday afternoon (about 3pm) and got straight onto the ramps. Took an hour from checking in to picking up the car. Got to do some shopping while there too. Great stuff. They also put the balance weights inside the alloy, out of sight, which is something I forgot to request and had a minor panic over. Very thoughtful.

2) Curiously, and clearly non scientifically so don't jump on me, I've consistently hit 36mpg per tank for as long as I can remember. However, I've been checking over the last couple of days with the new tyres and I'm now seeign 39mpg....

 

[Mactech]

As promised, here's the update on the Michelin's and Nitrogen usage...


2) Curiously, and clearly non scientifically so don't jump on me, I've consistently hit 36mpg per tank for as long as I can remember. However, I've been checking over the last couple of days with the new tyres and I'm now seeign 39mpg....

Michelins are normally regarded as having low rolling resistance and I have got my very best mpg figures on my S Class with Primacy HP tyres on....but it could just be lower mass of the nitrogen!?

 

[geoffd]

The appliance of science !

Being in the market for some new tyres, I've been following this (and other) thread with interest. Apart that is for the absolute tripe being stated about nitrogen. Isn't it time this particular myth was finally laid to rest ?

Below are the so called 'Pros for the use of nitrogen' from the article quoted earlier in the thread - along with some truth.

Nitrogen reduces the running temperature of the tyre. The moisture content of nitrogen leads to a cooler running tyre, which is advantageous when the car is operating at its maximum load and speed capacity.
Not so - when nitrogen is used in racing or aero duties, it is dry nitrogen - and even if it wasn't as long as there is no liquid water present, the water vapour behaves like a gas anyway. The heat is generated by the rubber flexing and has little to do with the gas fill.


Nitrogen in tyres improves the ride quality. That gas is very slightly lighter than air and thus, benefits the tires in terms of un-sprung weight.
Nitrogen is 3% lighter than air. An average 16 inch diameter 7 inch wide tyre at about 30 psi contains about 60 grams of air. 3% of which is about the same as removing the valve cap !

It is assumed that Nitrogen increases tyre life. It reduces the operating temperature during times of load and speed and thus, enhances the life of a tyre.
How ? As stated above, the heat is generated by the rubber flexing and has little to do with the gas fill.

It is believed that nitrogen keeps tyre pressures more constant. The gas is assumed to provide more stable pressure range in connection to the tyre temperature. However, again, the factor is applicable in times of heavy load/high-speed conditions.
Impossible - whatever gas is used to fill the tyre - even water, as long as it is gas with no liquid water present - behaves according to the gas laws (Boyle and Charles laws). These make no allowance for the gas involved and simply relate volume, pressure and temperature. Also, any water vapour (or steam !) present cannot cause 'huge' pressure changes as stated in an earlier thread.

Tyres are susceptible to loss of pressure as a result of being porous in nature. Due to its chemical structure, Nitrogen leak out slowly as compared to compressed air. Therefore, it slows the rate of pressure loss.
Rubbish - air is 80% nitrogen, and the rest is oxygen plus a tiny amount of five or six other gases. Oxygen and nitrogen molecules are more or less the same size and shape, so cannot react differently to pores in the rubber, even if there were any.

Oxygen reacts with the tyre and rim materials causing oxidation or the rust formation in the metal parts. Nitrogen, being an inert gas, does not react with the tyre and rim materials.
To form rust, water has to be present, and once it has done so, it can't form any more rust, so again as long as no liquid water, no problem. And the same is probably true for alloy rims too. And as for the oxygen, the outside of the tyre is in contact with an inexhausible supply of the stuff - it's called the atmosphere - from which you can't protect burning magnesium aero wheels either !

Rant over.

So having sorted out the physics, what tyres should I buy ?

Geoff

 

[del320]

As per my C124 refurbishment thread, I'm replacing four tyres with Michelin Energy Saver 205/60 R15v.

This is the state of one of the rears - Michelin Primacy Sport - after five and a half years and 24k miles:

The front ones have much more tread but the o/s one has a cut on the sidewall. The n/s is being used to replace the spare (unused original 13 years old) which is a 195/65.

Got a deal via the bodyshop and Kwik-Fit - fitted and balanced, £320 all in.

 

[Mactech]

Being in the market for some new tyres, I've been following this (and other) thread with interest. Apart that is for the absolute tripe being stated about nitrogen. Isn't it time this particular myth was finally laid to rest ?

Below are the so called 'Pros for the use of nitrogen' from the article quoted earlier in the thread - along with some truth.

Nitrogen reduces the running temperature of the tyre. The moisture content of nitrogen leads to a cooler running tyre, which is advantageous when the car is operating at its maximum load and speed capacity.
Not so - when nitrogen is used in racing or aero duties, it is dry nitrogen - and even if it wasn't as long as there is no liquid water present, the water vapour behaves like a gas anyway. The heat is generated by the rubber flexing and has little to do with the gas fill.


Nitrogen in tyres improves the ride quality. That gas is very slightly lighter than air and thus, benefits the tires in terms of un-sprung weight.
Nitrogen is 3% lighter than air. An average 16 inch diameter 7 inch wide tyre at about 30 psi contains about 60 grams of air. 3% of which is about the same as removing the valve cap !

It is assumed that Nitrogen increases tyre life. It reduces the operating temperature during times of load and speed and thus, enhances the life of a tyre.
How ? As stated above, the heat is generated by the rubber flexing and has little to do with the gas fill.

It is believed that nitrogen keeps tyre pressures more constant. The gas is assumed to provide more stable pressure range in connection to the tyre temperature. However, again, the factor is applicable in times of heavy load/high-speed conditions.
Impossible - whatever gas is used to fill the tyre - even water, as long as it is gas with no liquid water present - behaves according to the gas laws (Boyle and Charles laws). These make no allowance for the gas involved and simply relate volume, pressure and temperature. Also, any water vapour (or steam !) present cannot cause 'huge' pressure changes as stated in an earlier thread.

Tyres are susceptible to loss of pressure as a result of being porous in nature. Due to its chemical structure, Nitrogen leak out slowly as compared to compressed air. Therefore, it slows the rate of pressure loss.
Rubbish - air is 80% nitrogen, and the rest is oxygen plus a tiny amount of five or six other gases. Oxygen and nitrogen molecules are more or less the same size and shape, so cannot react differently to pores in the rubber, even if there were any.

Oxygen reacts with the tyre and rim materials causing oxidation or the rust formation in the metal parts. Nitrogen, being an inert gas, does not react with the tyre and rim materials.
To form rust, water has to be present, and once it has done so, it can't form any more rust, so again as long as no liquid water, no problem. And the same is probably true for alloy rims too. And as for the oxygen, the outside of the tyre is in contact with an inexhausible supply of the stuff - it's called the atmosphere - from which you can't protect burning magnesium aero wheels either !

Rant over.

So having sorted out the physics, what tyres should I buy ?

Geoff

Michelin are about the best!

Can't fault the physics, except to say that when we fill our tyres with humid air it can contain very small water droplets which are not gas at normal temperature. As the tyres are worked hard and the temperature rises it is this liquid which vapourise expanding up to 1,600 times thier original volume and causing a greater pressure rise than any 'dry' gas.
As I said previously there is next to no difference between the use of dry air and dry nitrogen.
It is just that in Britain dry air is a bit rare. And compressor water traps are not all they are cracked up to be! My long experience with many types of racing tyres convinces me that this is the case
When some kind soul has washed the wheel or the inside(!) of a race tyre prior to mounting I have seen some ridiculous pressure rises
When race drivers can notice a 1 psi tyre pressure inbalance, I have worked long and hard to eliminate such things.

 

[geoffd]

nitrogen

For racing, I have no problem using nitrogen. A cylinder of dry gas be it nitrogen or air is probably more convenient than a compressor anyway.

Where I do have a problem is with the pseudo scientific babble being passed off as proven fact or tyre suppliers pretending they are offering a better product by filling with nitrogen. Wasn't there once something called the Trades Descriptions Act which outlawed misleading advertising ?

Geoff

 

[jeremytaylor]

As per my C124 refurbishment thread, I'm replacing four tyres with Michelin Energy Saver 205/60 R15v.

This is the state of one of the rears - Michelin Primacy Sport - after five and a half years and 24k miles:

The front ones have much more tread but the o/s one has a cut on the sidewall. The n/s is being used to replace the spare (unused original 13 years old) which is a 195/65.

Got a deal via the bodyshop and Kwik-Fit - fitted and balanced, £320 all in.

Plenty of life left in them!

 

[bennesspipers]

After i mentioned the tyre dealers on e-bay, nobody seems to have mentioned the Avons for sale on there, iv always thought they were the best of tyres, or dont you like em on mercs ?

 

[Andy Stanton]

Geoffd

Thanks for the rant re Nitrogen. You could say it's a load of hot air but I suspect it'll just raise more arguments!!!

Regarding which tyre to buy, based on my experience to date, I'd agree with Mactech and rate the Michelins. Especially if you can get them from Costo. They're expensive but hopefully worth it long term.

As a second best, the Conti Premium Contacts are also good and OEM for the W211 E220.

Depends how much you want to pay and which end of the market you're looking at though.