new tyres and looking to dump the Continentals

[Gh3382]

I have read through the recent posts on tyres and potential for replacing my Continental contact 2 's .

At times they seem a bit noisy at recommended pressure on my Ml 350. I have read a few recommendations which people have made especially about being a bit quieter than Conti's.

I have 265x45x20 on and have about 3mm on them and the have lasted 20k mainly around town driving. Needless to say they are not cheap but I dont mind paying for a good tyre that is going to stop me when I need to stop .

I am thinking of Good Year Efficient grip 2 or the Good Year Assymmetric depending if my size available.

Recently I have read that quite a few people run higher than recommended tyre pressure whats you view on this as I always worked on reccomended pressure for wear, noise and safety.

Any help appreciated

Gh3382

 

[markjay]

You can typically run the tyres 3-4 psi higher than the upper figure within the recommended range without any issues.

The advantages are:

- Sportier ride and handling due to less-flexible sidewalls, especially when cornering

- Longer tyre life

- Reduced fuel consumption (though probably not by much)

- Reduced emissions (though, again, probably not by much)

The downside is that the ride will be harsher and less comfortable.

 

[davymead]

Personally I’d always run manufacturers recommended tyre pressures and appropriate sized Michelin tyres.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Recently I have read that quite a few people run higher than recommended tyre pressure whats you view on this as I always worked on reccomended pressure for wear, noise and safety.

Whilst there may be some benefits associated with running a slightly higher tyre pressure, there are also drawbacks.

As well as the potentially harder ride, it may also lead to premature replacement. Use the wear pattern on your old tyres as a guide.

Check the tread depth across the width of the tyre, at five equally spaced points across the “flat” section of tread.

If the tread depth is equal across the width of the tyre then your tyre pressure you use is probably close to the optimal.

If the tread depth is lower at the centre then the tyre pressure you’re using is already high and causing a higher rate of wear.

If the tread depth is lower towards the edge then the tyre pressure you’re already using is too low and causing a high rate of wear.

If the tread depth is lower on one edge or not similar to the tyre on the opposite side of the car, then then may be an alignment issue.

I would always start with the car manufacturer’s recommended pressures and adjust based upon wear pattern described above.

Caveat is that if you’re just bought a car then it’s difficult to know which tyre pressures have been used.

 

[W1ghty]

I always use 32-33 psi on both cars , always wear evenly and are comfortable .

 

[Deleted member 126251]

You can typically run the tyres 3-4 psi higher than the upper figure within the recommended range without any issues.

The advantages are:

- Sportier ride and handling due to less-flexible sidewalls, especially when cornering

- Longer tyre life

...............................

Manufacturers have already taken performance and comfort into consideration so why would they recommend a lower pressure that your recommendation?

Interested to know how you have arrived at your recommendations.

IMO the best pressure for tyre is the petrol flap guidance on COLD tyres as stipulated. Most people adjust their tyre pressures on hot tyres.

The question is what is COLD? For those that are anal enough, there is an app that adjusts for current temperatures and expected ambient temperatures to give the "correct pressure".

 

[markjay]

A recommendation is just that... the obvious difficulty is that if you deviate from the manufacturer's recommendations (be it re wheel size, ride height, dampers rate, etc etc), the onus is on you to ensure that the car remains safe and that you are aware of the implications of the modification that you are introducing.

In the case of tyres, this is what my Suzuki came with, for example:

Note the large gap between COMFORT (33/33) and ECO (41/38), in both cases it's for same unladen car.

Interestingly, ECO figures are not provided for a fully-laden car. I suspect that the ECO figure is there simply to allow the car to perform better in emissions and mpg type-approval testing (Suzuki's legal alternative to defeat device?), but that's a different story. You will probably get a very bouncy car if you drove it unladen with the tyre pressures set to 41/38.

BTW, TPMS systems are usually set to alert for over-inflation at 10psi over the higher figure in the recommended range.

 

[markjay]

Another interesting finding....


MB say that the recommended pressures for my car are 36/36 (unladen) and 38/44 (laden):

Michelin, however, have a different idea:

Therea nothing wrong in adhering to the manufacturer's recommended tyre pressure range, but at the same time it's not an exact science....

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Another interesting finding....


MB say that the recommended pressures for my car are 36/36 (unladen) and 38/44 (laden):




Michelin, however, have a different idea:

Interesting to note that MB say to increase the pressure by 4 psi when the tyres are warm - I've never noticed that before on any car.
Odd that the Michelin are that much lower - perhaps those tyres have stronger sidewalls or an error....(not unheard of)

 

[markjay]

Odd that the Michelin are that much lower - perhaps those tyres have stronger sidewalls or an error....(not unheard of)

The Michelin pressure figures appear to be generic for the car - they are the same for all 9 tyre models that the search found - including some winter tyres - so unlikely to be specific for their own tyres. There's just a lot of leeway when it comes to tyre pressure - the absolute minimum and maximum pressures, beyond which a tyre becomes unsafe or starts to wear unevenly, are both located on the scale at some distance from the car manufacture's recommended range (which is also why TPMS systems have this leeway). There's no doubt that the driving characteristics will change with the tyre pressure change, but this is something that is down to the individual owners to decide.

As for it being an error... I didn't bother to conduct an exhaustive search, but I am pretty certain that Continental, Dunlop, Bridgestone, Yokohama etc etc will each have a slightly different recommended range. Or, as the old saying goes: a man who has one watch always knows what the time is, but a man with two watches in never sure

 

[SUPERNOVA1a]

Had Conti's on when I bought the car and boy were they noisy, it was fight between the pleasure of hearing the exhaust note or the whine of the front tyres. Switched to Goodyear Asymmetric and silence is golden. Always stick to the pressure recommended by MB.

 

[ash1212002]

Michelin pilot sport 4S highly recommended by bmw owners on the forums, my sis in law replaced the run flats with them, has totally transformed the driving experience

She purchased 4 tyres from f1 autocentre and got £100 cash back plus £50 discount code on their website.

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , my car has Cont 5p OEM fitted as standard.Great tyre for road holding on my car but they are noisy but the road service has a considerable influence on sound levels generated.

Tyre wear is not good but what a tyre.

I just turn turn up the noise level on the H/K or open the sunroof.

 

[mioba]

I always go by what it says on the tin re the pressures.
As for tyres, I put the tyre size into the online sites and go with the quietest balancing fuel economy and rain effectivenes.
Cheap tyres are a no go.