Vredestein Ultrac

[Paul Grainger]

I have been quoted £95.40 (delivered, ie not fitted) for Vredestein Ultrac 225 x 45 x 17 tyres.

Does anyone know where I can get a better price than this?

Does anyone have experience of these tyres? I am sick of fitting Contisports that only last 15k miles of steady driving.

Paul G

 

[MainMan]

I bought my Ultracs from Northway Tyres, who seem to be the only major dealer who carry Vredesteins. I got 2 245/40 17 and 2 225/45 17s plus fitting and balancing for £360, but I think they may have now gone up. I've only done a couple of thousand so far so I can't comment on wear but I'm happy with them so far. They seem to grip well in wet and dry and don't seem to have any negative characteristics. Haven't tried them in snow yet.

 

[jimmy]

On Friday I had a set of Ultrac's fitted, 225/45 17 and 245/40 17's, cant repeat the price I paid but what you have been quoted sounds good.

The first thing I noticed is how much quieter and smoother they are than the Goodyear F1's, tried them out the best I could last night on dry roads and they are certainly as good as the F1's on the dry. I have heard they are much better than F1's in the wet and cold, we shall see.

 

[230K]

Jimmy

Great choice i don't think you will be disapointed in the wet.

230K

 

[Guy]

I have been quoted £95.40 (delivered, ie not fitted) for Vredestein Ultrac 225 x 45 x 17 tyres.

Does anyone know where I can get a better price than this?

Does anyone have experience of these tyres? I am sick of fitting Contisports that only last 15k miles of steady driving.

Paul G

I'm about to get the same tyres, having had Vredestein Sportrac as the last set.

I use Selecta tyres in Macclesfield. As I recall I was quoted a bit more than you but they have a price promise...

 

[jimmy]

Guy, I know some of the lads from Selecta, great company and good blokes, seem to know what they are doing. Our local branch manager is planning on moving back up to Macc, reckons it is too rough down here and we all drink shandy??

 

[Guy]

The guys there are good - the manager in Macc was a fellow called Nick who must have been promoted or moved away (to Northants perhaps?)

Always helpful and no attempt to bulls*** the customers - and very keen on price too, they supply the Macc MB dealer whose tyre prices are very keen!

Shandy?

 

[lil.smartie]

Have you tried Mytyres.co.uk, they seem pretty good and can arrange delivery and fitting locally.
Kate

 

[glojo]

I'm about to get the same tyres, having had Vredestein Sportrac as the last set.

I use Selecta tyres in Macclesfield. As I recall I was quoted a bit more than you but they have a price promise...

Hi Guy,
I would appreciate any advice\observations you might have on your choice of tyres for the S211, either via this thread or pm.

Regards,
John

 

[Brian WH]

The guys there are good - the manager in Macc was a fellow called Nick who must have been promoted or moved away (to Northants perhaps?)

Always helpful and no attempt to bulls*** the customers - and very keen on price too, they supply the Macc MB dealer whose tyre prices are very keen!

Shandy?

I also use Nick at Selecta Tyres. I go to the Ripley garage for fitting, once we have agreed a price. Excellent customer relations and good prices too. Didn't know he was moving on though.

 

[peterchurch]

Have you tried Mytyres.co.uk, they seem pretty good and can arrange delivery and fitting locally.
Kate

Mytyres refused to fit H rated tyres on my MR2 because the rears were V a rating of the same tyre (This is utter Rubbish according to my local tyre shop who were happy to fit me some H rated tyres)... The **** on the phone tried to scare me into fitting a complete set of bridgestones instead (£500) otherwise I might invalidate my insurance

 

[adam1]

If the OEM rating on your vehicle is V then fitting a lower rating tyre would not be a good idea. Tyres of a higher speed rating are made of different materials and may have diff performances in wet, dry, snow etc.

Insurance companies will try every rule in the book to get out of paying a claim...and using a diff rated tyre..ie lower rated may be an excuse they may use...

My car takes H rated(195/55 tyres but i have fitted V which are adequate and exceed the std spec.

 

[peterchurch]

Given that an H rated tyre is upto 130MPH and a V is only 149 MPH it is of little value on a UK road where the speed limit is 70 Given that the two rears where of the same type and the two fronts were also matched there is nothing an insurance firm could argue

 

[jimmy]

The tyre rating is not just about the top speed, its also about the forces and handling characteristics for that tyre and car type. A tyre rated at 149mph is more capable of handling the cornering forces and acceleration it is subjected to than a tyre rated at 130mph.

 

[MainMan]

Given that an H rated tyre is upto 130MPH and a V is only 149 MPH it is of little value on a UK road where the speed limit is 70

I agree entirely. I had exactly the same problem when I tried to get H rated all season tyres for my SLK320. Tyre dealers said they would be the first thing the insurance company would notice and they would deny any claim. They may well be right. The H rated all season tyres would actually be much safer than the W rated summer tyres I had to get, but try telling an insurance company that. Try telling them that 1" bigger wheels don't make your car 30% more likely to crash - waste of breath. I actually think the tyres we're forced to fit to our cars are the reason that traffic grinds to a halt in the snow every year. It's not all the council's fault for not gritting. I don't recall everyone getting stuck when we had 5.20X12 cross ply tyres.

 

[Paul Grainger]

I couldn't get a better price for the tyres - the original quoted price was from MyTyres. After a disastrous epic at a local tyre centre (damaged rim) I am very wary and now prefer to use a local guy who I trust not to damage my recently painted AMG wheels.
The deal with MyTyres was done on line. It seemed very painless (apart from paying) - they asked for car details but did not comment on suitability. I hope these tyres are as good as reports suggest - if they are then I will purchase two more for the front axle (the Contis on the front still have 6mm of tread left)

Paul G

 

[LazyBob]

Given that an H rated tyre is upto 130MPH and a V is only 149 MPH it is of little value on a UK road where the speed limit is 70 Given that the two rears where of the same type and the two fronts were also matched there is nothing an insurance firm could argue

I understood that the speed rating of the tyre contributed to the 'type' requirements of a vehicle.

There is also the load index, which is generally lower for lower speed rated tyres but must be high enough to take the load of the car, fully laden to it's maximum design capacity.

I also thought that it was a legal requirement to have a tyre capable of sustaining the top speed of the car (or it's limited speed if fitted as standard).

If any of these things are true, and you don't adhere to them, it's not hard to see why an insurance company would not pay out.

 

[MainMan]

I understood that the speed rating of the tyre contributed to the 'type' requirements of a vehicle.

Possibly but I doubt if it's very scientific. For example the SLK230 has V rated tyres stipulated in the manual, but the SLK320 has W. Maybe it's just a coincidence that the 320's top speed is just over 150 and the 230 is just under, but I doubt it. Certainly the "type" requirements of both cars are, I would have thought, just about identical.

 

[glojo]

I understood that the speed rating of the tyre contributed to the 'type' requirements of a vehicle.

Morning Bob,
I must apologise for my giggling, but I just noticed your username.

I just glimpsed at it and the first time I misread it??? I thought, "He can't say that!" and fortunately it was my eyes that were playing tricks....

Regards
John

 

[peterchurch]

I understood that the speed rating of the tyre contributed to the 'type' requirements of a vehicle.

There is also the load index, which is generally lower for lower speed rated tyres but must be high enough to take the load of the car, fully laden to it's maximum design capacity.

I also thought that it was a legal requirement to have a tyre capable of sustaining the top speed of the car (or it's limited speed if fitted as standard).

If any of these things are true, and you don't adhere to them, it's not hard to see why an insurance company would not pay out.

H would suffice for a mk3 roadster however Vs are supplied for a "more spirited drive" and I had the choice of toyo proxies, F1s,Bridgestones for sports tyres. The biggest problem though is tread paterns. You can buy V rated P6000s but I would not use them on a go cart The V rated set on my Volvo T5 allmost killed me on several occasions, Due to, no grip in the wet (this is not that cool when you live in a ultra wet part of the world), they also had a tendancy to try and leave the planet without any fade to warn you that you just booked a flight on the space shuttle...
But my insurance company would pay out because of a rating on a tyre that was unsuited to my driving style or weather conditions