Tyre Price Shock

[Springy]

Hi All,

I've gone from a Focus to an '07 D4D Avensis TR with 215-50-17 tyres and am surprised, to say the least, at the price of replacement. The Focus would cost me around £80 per tyre, an equivalent for the Avensis is about £160! The total price range I have been quoted is £60 for budget going up to £132 for Bridgestones and 163 for Michelin.

Has anyone got any recommendations for tyres, e.g. is it worth paying the extra £30 for Michelin over Bridgestones? Are there any cheaper tyres that can be recommended?

Thanks,

Neil.

[hertsnminds]

Maybe have look at things like the Auto Express tyre guide http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/tota...tyre_guide.html Something to make sure of is that all the tyre specs match when comparing prices. Sometimes you will find cheaper tyres of the same size but a different speed rating.

[Springy]

Thanks for the advice Ian, I'm looking at the site now. It seems Kumho is a decent mid-ranger at about £80 per tyre. I intend to steer clear of the £60 mid-rangers!

[cfc1]

You can change the size too, your avensis will run quite happily with 225/45x17.. these are a more popular tyre accross the board and because there is more demand the production costs are lower so are also cheaper to buy.

You don't even need to change all four tyres at once, it's quite legal to change the size in pairs.

[Beagh1958]

To Springy.

I'm afraid due to your tyre size (not the most common size) your going to be stung by many manufacturers. Had a look at the big brand names & those who supply this size in rim saver form all come in around the £130 + VAT mark. Your talking high end quality tyres at this size, never by cheap tyres. And what with manufacturers going for directional tyres aswell now as the norm, the rotation of tyres will come to an end.

Which magazine recently did a big tyre survey, may well be worth your while paying a few £ to print copy. Michelin & Pirelli came out on top in most sizes. Just ran through Pirelli Brochure which shows 3 tyres in total in your size, 2 in the PZero Nero/Asimmetrico Ultra high performance range & 1 in the P7 high performance range ie:215/50-17/91w. P7 being one of the best tyres ever.

Regards, Beagh.

[duncanda]

Hi Springy

Have you tried looking on www.mytyres.co.uk for prices? If you buy from mytyres via www.quidco.com you'll get 3% rebate.

[caveman_si]

Ive recently fitted a pair of BARUM BRAVURIS to the front of my t180 avensis. got them from here :

http://www.tyre-shopper.co.uk/ts/search/ty...ode=2155017BA2W

But they get fitted at national which is brill as its a cheaper then the same tyre from them. They seem as good as the eagle ncts that were previously fitted. They are a smidge noiser, but then ive been on some rubbish a/b roads recently, and they are smidge noiser in the torential rain. But im guessing that is because they are clearing alot more water then the very low tyres that were taken off it. The handleing is still the same.

As for rim protectors, in hindsight i probably should have forked out a bit more to get tyres with them as ive kerbed one wheel slightly which they would of prevented but thats just cos im being picky.

[Scoobs]

You can change the size too, your avensis will run quite happily with 225/45x17.

225's when the previous ones were 215's? That surprises me (though I'm not disputing what you say because I don't know too much about these things). Would it have any impact? I presume the ride might get a bit harsher with the 45 profile?

[9BarStrata]

You can change the size too, your avensis will run quite happily with 225/45x17.

225's when the previous ones were 215's? That surprises me (though I'm not disputing what you say because I don't know too much about these things). Would it have any impact? I presume the ride might get a bit harsher with the 45 profile?

I've heard from a tyre fitter that the 225's rub a bit as he tried fitting to his wife's avensis........any truth in this?

and also i 've just recently got 17" junos with 215/45 goodyear eagle f1's (gotta a good deal) a bit noiser but the car corners in the wet now.

So will a 225 tyre fit on a 7" wide wheel?

Sorry for hijackin the thread

[Twot]

You can change the size too, your avensis will run quite happily with 225/45x17.

225's when the previous ones were 215's? That surprises me (though I'm not disputing what you say because I don't know too much about these things). Would it have any impact? I presume the ride might get a bit harsher with the 45 profile?

I've heard from a tyre fitter that the 225's rub a bit as he tried fitting to his wife's avensis........any truth in this?

and also i 've just recently got 17" junos with 215/45 goodyear eagle f1's (gotta a good deal) a bit noiser but the car corners in the wet now.

So will a 225 tyre fit on a 7" wide wheel?

Sorry for hijackin the thread

Can also try blackcircles.com

TwoT

[carinfront]

Hi All,

I've gone from a Focus to an '07 D4D Avensis TR with 215-50-17 tyres and am surprised, to say the least, at the price of replacement. The Focus would cost me around £80 per tyre, an equivalent for the Avensis is about £160! The total price range I have been quoted is £60 for budget going up to £132 for Bridgestones and 163 for Michelin.

Has anyone got any recommendations for tyres, e.g. is it worth paying the extra £30 for Michelin over Bridgestones? Are there any cheaper tyres that can be recommended?

Thanks,

Neil.

Crikey, that's a fair leap in cost from my size. I'm paying £75 fitted for Continentals. Glad I dont have 17's now....

Can recommend www.mytyres.co.uk as have others. They are doing Falken in your size for £74. I always thought Falken were decent?!

[Heidfirst]

I've gone from a Focus to an '07 D4D Avensis TR with 215-50-17 tyres and am surprised, to say the least, at the price of replacement. The Focus would cost me around £80 per tyre, an equivalent for the Avensis is about £160!

it's the jump to 17".

Interestingly my 2.2 is running on 205/50 17" - is your D4D a 2.2 T-Spirit or a T180 (different alloy from mine)?

I'm about due to replace some tyres & I know that Kwik-fit are offering some Goodyear 205/50 17" for £98 if booked online.

[Springy]

Mine's a 2.2 D4DTR - I've been looking at the Kumhos at around £85 fitted, they seem to have reasonable reviews. They'll be good enough for me I think, not a lot of motorway driving and my boy racer days are long since gone!

[Heidfirst]

Mine's a 2.2 D4DTR

same as mine then unless we have different wheels (you don't have the 5-spoke alloy do you?).

Interesting that we have different tyre sizes if we have the same 8-spoke wheels ...

[cfc1]

You can change the size too, your avensis will run quite happily with 225/45x17.

225's when the previous ones were 215's? That surprises me (though I'm not disputing what you say because I don't know too much about these things). Would it have any impact? I presume the ride might get a bit harsher with the 45 profile?

It's to do with "aspect ratio", I'll explain..

The profile of the tyre.. in your case "50" means that the height of the sidewall is 50% of the width.. in your case 215mm, so when going to a wider tyre such as 225 you need to lower the aspect ration to keep as close as possible to the standard tyre height.. so 45%.

215/50x17

Rolling Radius - 323.4mm

Circumference - 2031.98mm

225/45x17

New Rolling Radius - 317.15mm (slightly lower)

New Circumference - 1992.71mm (slightly shorter)

Difference in circumference: -39.27 or -1.93%

When your speedo reads 70mph, you're actually travelling at 68.65mph

As for the rubbing issue, the 225/45x17 is not as tall as the 215/50x17, so the height of the tyre won't be a problem at all, if it was.. the 215 tyres would rub more.

The difference in width is 10mm.. thats 5mm on each side, if you feel around your current tyres (on full lock on the fronts) and have more than 5mm of clearence then they won't rub. I haven't had any complaints from costomers who have moved to the wider tyre, but I will also point out that I haven't had any personal experience of driving an Avensis with 225 tyres.

[Twot]

Mine's a 2.2 D4DTR

same as mine then unless we have different wheels (you don't have the 5-spoke alloy do you?).

Interesting that we have different tyre sizes if we have the same 8-spoke wheels ...

Mine is 215/50/17, with the 5 spoke rim. (unfortnately, need 4 new ones...)

Wouldn't changing to a wider tyre effect the fuel consumption? Are you aloud to change tyre size with the same rim?

Thanks

TwoT

[hertsnminds]

Some insurance companies can get a bit funny if you don't fit manufacturer spec tyres. It can be as simple as calling to tell them, but if you make a claim and have not let them know you could have an issue.

[sam1]

Hi All,

I've gone from a Focus to an '07 D4D Avensis TR with 215-50-17 tyres and am surprised, to say the least, at the price of replacement. The Focus would cost me around £80 per tyre, an equivalent for the Avensis is about £160! The total price range I have been quoted is £60 for budget going up to £132 for Bridgestones and 163 for Michelin.

Has anyone got any recommendations for tyres, e.g. is it worth paying the extra £30 for Michelin over Bridgestones? Are there any cheaper tyres that can be recommended?

Thanks,

Neil.

How about these:

1) Goodyear EfficientGrip Tyre Size 215/50V17 £97.30 each

2) Goodyear Eagle NCT5 Tyre Size 215/50W17 £108.50 each

Prices are if booked online at kwikfit (www.kwikfit.com).

[Springy]

2) Goodyear Eagle NCT5 Tyre Size 215/50W17 £108.50 each

Prices are if booked online at kwikfit (www.kwikfit.com).

I used the above tyres. It seems stupid that online I can get them for £108.5 but buying them there costs £155!!

[t-spiritpete]

Hi All,

I've gone from a Focus to an '07 D4D Avensis TR with 215-50-17 tyres and am surprised, to say the least, at the price of replacement. The Focus would cost me around £80 per tyre, an equivalent for the Avensis is about £160! The total price range I have been quoted is £60 for budget going up to £132 for Bridgestones and 163 for Michelin.

Has anyone got any recommendations for tyres, e.g. is it worth paying the extra £30 for Michelin over Bridgestones? Are there any cheaper tyres that can be recommended?

Thanks,

Neil.

Hi mate, a mate of mine has an Avensis D4D 180 as a taxi and is very impressed with Nexan N3000 215/50/17w (similar tread pattern to the Falkens) which replaced his Goodyear NCT's, they were £220.00 for 4 fitted and balanced. I have the Federal at £55.00 each on the front and the original Goodyear NCT's on the rear, the Federals are good but the tyre shop who sell both say the Nexan 3000 are better.

Regards Pete.

[Springy]

Hi All,

I've gone from a Focus to an '07 D4D Avensis TR with 215-50-17 tyres and am surprised, to say the least, at the price of replacement. The Focus would cost me around £80 per tyre, an equivalent for the Avensis is about £160! The total price range I have been quoted is £60 for budget going up to £132 for Bridgestones and 163 for Michelin.

Has anyone got any recommendations for tyres, e.g. is it worth paying the extra £30 for Michelin over Bridgestones? Are there any cheaper tyres that can be recommended?

Thanks,

Neil.

Hi mate, a mate of mine has an Avensis D4D 180 as a taxi and is very impressed with Nexan N3000 215/50/17w (similar tread pattern to the Falkens) which replaced his Goodyear NCT's, they were £220.00 for 4 fitted and balanced. I have the Falkens at £55.00 each on the front and the original Goodyear NCT's on the rear, the Falkens are good but the tyre shop who sell both say the Nexan 3000 are better.

Regards Pete.

Thanks Pete, I'll bear that in mind, especially as I have just had the two NCTs fitted for £240! I've made a note in my calendar of the mileage, it will be interesting to see how long these last!

Neil.

[Twot]

Hi All,

I've gone from a Focus to an '07 D4D Avensis TR with 215-50-17 tyres and am surprised, to say the least, at the price of replacement. The Focus would cost me around £80 per tyre, an equivalent for the Avensis is about £160! The total price range I have been quoted is £60 for budget going up to £132 for Bridgestones and 163 for Michelin.

Has anyone got any recommendations for tyres, e.g. is it worth paying the extra £30 for Michelin over Bridgestones? Are there any cheaper tyres that can be recommended?

Thanks,

Neil.

Hi mate, a mate of mine has an Avensis D4D 180 as a taxi and is very impressed with Nexan N3000 215/50/17w (similar tread pattern to the Falkens) which replaced his Goodyear NCT's, they were £220.00 for 4 fitted and balanced. I have the Falkens at £55.00 each on the front and the original Goodyear NCT's on the rear, the Falkens are good but the tyre shop who sell both say the Nexan 3000 are better.

Regards Pete.

Thanks Pete, I'll bear that in mind, especially as I have just had the two NCTs fitted for £240! I've made a note in my calendar of the mileage, it will be interesting to see how long these last!

Neil.

I had Goodyear NCT so far, the first front pair lasted 27000 miles (10000 not mine...) and now need to replace all four at nearly 60000 miles, not bad going I think. Not sure what to replace them with - if I will find NCTs in a reasonable price will go with them.

TwoT

[Scoobs]

NCT5's will cost you about £120 each. Dunlop SP3000's about £130, and Continentals about £150 at the moment. If I was changing all 4 tyres I'd probably bite the bullet and go for the Continentals. I personally wouldn't risk a budget tyre like the Nexen without seeing a review in something like Auto Express. It could be one of the many budget tyres that takes several meters longer to stop than premium brands. That I do not want, regardless of price.

[Twot]

NCT5's will cost you about £120 each. Dunlop SP3000's about £130, and Continentals about £150 at the moment. If I was changing all 4 tyres I'd probably bite the bullet and go for the Continentals. I personally wouldn't risk a budget tyre like the Nexen without seeing a review in something like Auto Express. It could be one of the many budget tyres that takes several meters longer to stop than premium brands. That I do not want, regardless of price.

Scoobs,

I think you are correct about the budget tyers. I have not read any proffesional opinion on them (or comparisson), so will probably avoid (though I looked for one). I think there is some Conspiracy , as I cannot find Eagle NCT with 'V' rating, all that available is 'W' rating which is about £20 more. when it comes to four of them, it is a lot of money!

I think I have enough thread to do it after new year, so will be able to look around more as I do not think it is a good time for that now.

Thanks

TwoT

[2912pwil]

When your speedo reads 70mph, you're actually travelling at 68.65mph

err... not quite.. the speedo will be inaccurate.., but yes the speedo will read even higher than before...

If you have a TNS300 satnav then see here...

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=90363

How to find out c/o that nice Mr Obama & his military satellites how fast you are actually going...

Cheers!

2912