Hi all, Having had the GTi for almost 8 months the time has now come to get some new tyres as the ones which came with the car are getting close to the legal limit. I currently have Conti Sport Contact 3's on the front and Kumho Ecsta on the rear. The Continental's I'm not too confident in. They seem to spin up easily in the wet when pulling away. I wondered if any of you fellow golf-er's could shed some advice on what you have found works well on the GTi. I have previously had Toyo Proxes, Goodyear Eagle F1's and Falken FK452s. My favourites have been the Goodyear's, but they were the ones with the "V" shaped tread (think they were GSD's maybe??) which I don't think they make any more. I have found some good deals on Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta's which I have read some good reviews on and also Avon ZZ3's, Pirelli P Zero Nero's, Bridgestone Potenza's and Yokohama Parada Spec 2's. Any help would be really appreciated as this is something I think is really important to get right! Thanks, Steve
with mk 5/6 I like conti sports contact2 for the soft feel, potenza's also being a OEM tyre does feel great just a bit more harder. Avons seem to wear down too quick (inner edges) with the mk5 GTI having more agressive camber around town I was gound to try the Parada on the mk5 but for some reason went for the conti I have driven a mk5 GTI with budget tyres on and OMG way that nasty!!
I'll be getting another set of vredestein's you mentioned. Cracking tyre for less than premium price. They are right down to the bumps and only now show lack of grip in the wet. Always recommend them.
Hi, My GTI came with Contis and the fronts lasted 22K. They were replaced with Kumo 31's. The Kumos do not feel quite as good as the Contis but at about half the price what do you expect. They have lasted 20K so far and have about 3.5mm of tread left. In all this "wonderful summer" they have never felt less than good - I am impressed. The rear Contis have been aweful in that the trumming noise has driven me mad. The tyre dealer showed me the fault and it was hard to actually see it - no more Contis for me thank you! The inside edge on both tyres was uneven. They have just been replaced with Hankook V12 EVOs. It is too early to give an opinion on them except to say the peace and quiet is wonderful. I chose them because a review on http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/ said that they had softer sidewalls and that for me meant a potentially less harsh ride. Yes I know its a GTI and it is the sporting version but a recent touring holiday in Cornwall on their poor quality back roads convinced me of the need for a little more compliance!! If they live up to expectations then they will also go on the front in due course. I have had Goodyear F1 Eagles on my Alfa 156 Veloce and they were wonderful in the warm and on smooth roads. Boy oh boy did that Alfa stick to road like s**t to blanket. I'm really an Alfa man but the damn thing blew up at two years old and getting sense out of Alfa GB was another story. As Clarkson says every petrolhead has to have an Alfa but don't recommend them to your friends. ( Had five from new!!) My wife's hot rod Corsa had Falkens and that was fun. All in all I believe that a well chosen "middle of the road" tyre offers good value for money allied to good performance. Nick
A good review of something I'm seriously considering is always nice to see! What sort of mileage have you seen out of them so far? Thanks, Steve
Thanks Crispy, Are the Conti's the recommeended tyre from VW then? My missus's mk5 TDi has the Bridgestone's on and it feels a lot more assured than the Conti's on the GTi although I'm not sure of that is to do with the fact it is a heavier car and doesn't get pushed as hard. I'm a bit reluctant to go with the Conti's again as they have been spinning up so much recently in the wet! Steve
Thanks Nick, The Falkens I had on my old Golf were great in the dry but as soon as there was a splash of water the thing used to go straight when I wanted it to turn! They also stepped really badly on the inner edge of both rear wheels towards the end of their life. All in all, they are about 20 a wheel cheaper than most of the others I am looking at, but I am reluctant to try to save too much money on the tyres by compromising in quality! The GTi is my pride and joy and I want to try to keep it for as long as possible!
I had Pirelli P Zero Nero's on my Leon Cupra R - thought they were awful, really not very grippy, and wore out uber quick. Most cars I've had have worn Falken 452s - I rate them in terms of price v performance...
B stones, or Conti on a GTI unless it's a pirelli edtion! ti's all down to feel & prefernece at the end of the day That uneven wear on the inner edges of the rears happen to various types of tyres, mainly caused by the bounce on the tyre main issue seems to be too low tyre pressures - it's called Saw Toothing
Just looked through my receipts and I went 18 months between buying 2 then a full set of 4... This doesn't help though as I can't remember if the two were front or back (though I guess front) or how many miles I did. I think 12k a year, so 18k would be a very dodgy guess. Best to get a proper opinion on that! They replaced a shockingly bad set of Kumho that would spin up in the rain, and with Vredestein on the front, the back end would slip out. I drive spirited, but not stupid, they were the worst tyres I ever had (not sure of which kumho they were). Had the car (mk4) 6 or more years so been through a number of tyres, all Vredestein since.
Ah! Crispy Thank you for that. Run at the recommended pressures but I feel a small increase comming on. As an aside :- It's nice to see the Mk5 part of this forum getting some use. Those Mk 2 boys (my son included) get too much of the action! Nick
I hope I can get 20k out of a set on my MK6 GTI! 20k will take me 6 years at the current rate but I can't see them lasting the year out at the momentlol Edit to say it came with pirelli p-zero fitted new.
