I you shop around, at local tyre fitters as well as on the internet, you will find that there are many places selling bargain tyres, but you must pay for delivery, and fitting, and balancing, Oh and the new valve, then there is the charge for disposing of your old tyres. I decided this saving just wasn't worth the hassle. I therefore went to my local tyre fitting centre.
My tyre expert is worth his weight in gold, and he runs his hand across the tread before doing anything else. He then knows if the steering geometry is wrong, in some cases it can save premature wear on your tyres, and can save the customer a fortune, never mind affecting safety.
If you want to visit the Pirelli website, take a look see here:- http://www.pirelli.co.uk/web/default.page
New tyres need to be run in, and then checked as often as you can, for both pressure, and wear. The modern way is not to rotate your tyres on to different axles, but although this does even out the wear, and make tyres last longer, the problem is that all of your tyres will wear out at the same time, and most people prefer to change two at a time.
As for grip, tPirellis do seem to grip better in the wet than most others, and in my opinion this is where you really need the grip.
I don't "do" designer tread, and I do believe a lot of tyres have tread designed more for looks rather than function. Some Pirellis may not have modern "cool" tread, but I do think they look good, not only when they are brand new, but after a lot of wear. My Pirellis are fitted to highly polished alloy wheels, and olok great.
Most tyres nowadays have a direction of rotation on them, signified by an arrow on the sidewall, some don't, however, but they may have "outside" marked in a prominent position, so make sure yours are fitted the right way round. Also, do you know what your pressures should be? What it says in the handbook may not always be correct. This is due to the fact that manufacturers have to state a pressure, suitable for the average driver with an average load. Yours may be much different, so it is best to have a decent tyre fitter's opinion after a while, you may well find yours are wearing in the middle for instance, indicating too much pressure, even though it is exactly what it says in the book.
This is just my opinion, these look good, they are affordable, they grip very well, and don't wear out too quickly. They offer everything a tyre should to me.
I will just mention that Pirelli is the same firm that does the famous calendars, I will not go on about these as they are not relevant in this review, however, if you wish to see the calendar website, view it here:- http://www.pirellical.com/thecal/home.html
I must also mention that tyres will look better for longer if you use tyre slick or similar, this gives your rubber a wet look, but also protects against extremes of weather.
OK, just for fun, there is a tyre site that allows you to look up any vehicle, just by typing in the registration,. It will give you the make, model, and colour, plus of course the recommended tyre size. Have a go with your own reg number:- http://www.tyre-shopper.co.uk/tyre-search.asp
I normally give the RRP in my reviews, but in this case, it obviously depends on the size, there are plenty of outlets, and websites, just be careful about delivery prices, and allow for fitting.
Thank you for reading, and remember to check your tyres for wear & pressure.
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Advantages: Better Looking than Golf and A3 equivalent, goes like stink, Comfortable to drive Disadvantages: Limited turning circle making tight corners and parking a bit difficult.
lcharm 03.06.2006 ·
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