Hi Folks - Long Time No See For those who don't know Elaine's car: 2002 Mk4 25J (Anniversary) - SACHS RACE ENGINEERING COIL OVERS 225/40 R18 I always fitted Dunlop MAXX RT AO, but recently switched to Pirelli P Zero SC AO XL. Running the Dunlops at the recommended 2.0 bar resulted in fairly even wear across the front tread. With the Pirelli tyres at 2 bar both front tyres are each showing massive wear on both shoulders. Of course this is an indication of 'Under Inflation'. I spotted it too late to experiment with higher pressures. Front wheel alignment is perfect. It has just passed the NCT so there is no wear in the front suspension. So. Has anyone else seen this phenomenon with other tyres? Is 2.0 bar front too low for the 25J? (My son's Mk5 ED30, with the same size tyres runs, 2.6 bar at the front but it is a chubby 78+ kg heavier then the 25J) The 25J is not supported very well with data. For example: The standard car is lower than any other Mk4 but neither the VW dealer nor I can find a figure for the correct ride height! Perhaps the tyres pressure for R18 wheels should be higher and, as with ride height, VW could not be arsed to do the job properly!? Any comments please. Regards, Dave. Interestingly. Mk5s run different pressures for identical cars with different size wheels.
Hello sDad. I've a few car enthusiast friends working in the NCT, and they would tell you themselves, a pass doesn't mean suspension isn't worn, more that it's worn equally both sides.... They're more concerned about imbalance. However, I think it's a tire difference thing. Your new Pirellis just want more pressure than the Dunlops.
Thanks my loverly sSon. You are obviously very correct! I have researched tyres pressures for Mk5 and Mk6 cars. I checked the weights and tyre sizes and have come to the following conclusion: The tyre pressure on the filler cap is wrong for the 25J! For the car weight and tyre size the pressure should be 2.6 bar! I believe that the wear was less obvious on the Dunlops because the construction of the sidewall and tread plies are stiffer than the Pirelli tyres. So. When new Pirellis are fitted to Elaine's 25J we will use 2.6 bar. I shall report on the results. Dave
I have a 2008 Octavia vrs estate 2.0 tdi as the everyday car with standard alloys on 225/40r18 92Y XL and have used michelin sport 3 and sport 4, uniroyal rainsport and Goodyear Eagle f1 all using the factory tyre pressures of 2.1 bar front and 2.2 bar rear with no abnormal tyre wear. I know it's not a golf but is a golf mk5 platform and dare I say it heavier than your mk4 being diesel and an estate as well.
Yes Dave also stated he had been looking at mk5 tyre pressures as well and an octavia shares the same PQ35 platform is common to both as well as the mk6 golf, hence my reply.
Well. I got around to changing the front tyres yesterday. I would have changed them before but EireTyres (Delticom) took 2 months to supply the tyres! In fact, I had to raise a dispute in PayPal, before they got their finger out! It would appear that 2.6 bar works!? The centre of the tread was worn to the limit whilst the shoulders were pretty much the same as in December. So. I shall run 2.6 bar on the front but I'll keep a watch to check that the centre is not wearing more than the shoulders due to 'over-inflation'. The rears, running at 2.0 bar, are hardly worn but they do show a little more wear on the shoulders than the centre so I shall run them at 2.2 bar and see what happens. With this combination the car seems to change direction more sharply and more precisely! The fronts have lasted almost exactly 10,000 miles. The rears will probably cover 40,000 miles. I am not sure that they are exactly identical tyres? The EAN Number has changed. The fuel consumption has gone down from 'E' to 'C' so they won't be as 'grippy'! The sound level has gone up from 68 dB to 70 dB which you would expect from a 'grippier' compound? Perhaps AUDI have reduced the A0 standard closer to that of A01!? I wish I could find a copy of the A0 and A01 standards to compare them.
Hi valvemiester. (wish I knew your given name) I have only just seen you post and what you say is interesting. But. It is a fact that the tyre wear with the Pirelli P Zeros looks like under inflation! 2.6 Bar seems to have cured the problem. Perhaps, at your next tyre change, you would be kind enough to try the Pirelli P Zero? If you do, make sure that they are the A0 type as Pirelli make different tyres which are all called P Zero!? Regards, Dave
Hi Dave I have already got my next pair of tyres waiting to go on (michelin sport 5) so won't be able to try the pirelli p zero I'm afraid. Regards Ian
HI Ian. That's a shame. I don't use Michelin since I had a massive crash, in 1969, due to lies about the XAS tyre's performance in the wet. In 1968 the new BMW 2002 was fitted with XAS as standard. All of the road tests, Motor, Autocrat, etc., raved about the tyres. Some 25 years later the Motor tester admitted that all 10 cars had, at some point, left the road in the wet! Shame that I did not read this Alfa road test. Dave.
Fair enough Tristan. But I am not going to give my hard earned pension to a company who lie. That accident cost me a tuned one year old Escort, followed by massive insurance charges for many years afterwards. They even took my motorcycle insurance away. I had to sell my beautiful Greeves Enduro bike to keep solvent. I have found out why the new P ZEROs have a different EAN! They are not the same tyre. The ones I bought in 2020 were Super Corsa and these are just basic P ZERO and not even Corsa. That also explains why they were so much cheaper. Not convinced that they should be A0 rated though. Probably closer to A01 spec. We shall see in 10,000 miles is they are less worn than the SCs! It turns out that Pirelli have dropped 18" from their Corsa range and 19" is now the smallest. Looks like I shall have to fit bigger wheels for high performance A0 tyres.
I found this tyre test from EVO magazine. The Sport Pilot 4 won the test overall, but, as you all know, what matters to me is wet grip where the P Zero was the 'star'! https://www.evo.co.uk/tyre-reviews/204161/michelin-pilot-sport-4-review
