Another?Maybe! Posted June 17, 2006 Report Posted June 17, 2006 As I'm about ready to put new replacement front tyres on my Gal & the spare is unused I had it off today to check details as I knew that, for some reason, it doesn't match the other four, they are Michelins, spare is a Dunlop. (car was a Ford Direct at 7,000 miles so I assume all the wheels/tyres are the originals) My intention is to buy a similar Dunlop for the front + have the spare taken off its steel wheel (!), and transferred to the other front alloy.Anyway, on closer inspection the existing 4 tyres are Michelin Pilot HX 215/55 ZR16 97W MXM extra load (guess this means reinforced) and the unused Dunlop spare is a Sport 2020E 215/55 R16 95H Reinforced which I am going to match to get 2 new ones on the front. But...what's bothering me is the 97W on the Michelins & the 95H on the Dunlop as I think this refers to the speed rating? Can anyone confirm this & say what each means...and, if this is the case, will it matter that I will have tyres on the front with different ratings from those at the rear? PeteR Quote
NikpV Posted June 17, 2006 Report Posted June 17, 2006 while I can't help with the explanation I will say we have a mixture of the 2 front/back on ours, atm the dunlops are considerably cheaper than the pilots although last time I bought they were similar price so we had pilots, when we bought our galaxy in 2002 it was difficult to find this size of tyre reinforced in any other make I think they were factory fitted with the pilot though. Quote
Guest BagPuss Posted June 17, 2006 Report Posted June 17, 2006 Take a looky at this, all the info appears to be here. Tyre Tech's Should be able to check your load index and rating. Quote
Another?Maybe! Posted June 17, 2006 Author Report Posted June 17, 2006 Hi Bagpus..just checked your Tyretec site, thanks... the Michelin W rated tyre is good for 168mph but the Dunlop H rated is only 'good' for 130mph, speeds I will never reach so I reckon another Dunlop will be ok. Thanks for your info, just got to seek out the best deal now. Last time I replaced tyres Kwikfit did a (well-hidden) price match so just need to find lowest quoted price locally and then probably visit them as they are just down the road. PeteR Quote
buford_t_justice Posted June 17, 2006 Report Posted June 17, 2006 Think carefully before switching to Dunlop on the front. My came from Ford Direct with 5 Dunlop 2020E tyres. The back ones are still on having covered 45000miles now but the front ones lasted 19,000miles and struggled for grip most of the time. I then switched to Continentals and the difference was like night and day. They gripped all the time and lasted 25,000miles. They would have gone on to 30,000 if the tracking hadn't been out and worn them unevenly. I'm now on Michelin Pilot Primacy and so far so good. How many miles has your Galaxy covered? My intention is to buy a similar Dunlop for the front + have the spare taken off its steel wheel (!), and transferred to the other front alloy. Anyway, on closer inspection the existing 4 tyres are Michelin Pilot HX 215/55 ZR16 97W MXM extra load (guess this means reinforced) and the unused Dunlop spare is a Sport 2020E 215/55 R16 95H Reinforced which I am going to match to get 2 new ones on the front. PeteR Quote
Another?Maybe! Posted June 17, 2006 Author Report Posted June 17, 2006 Gal has done 16,000 miles & fronts have just over 1.6mm on them, ie. still just legal. Don't know how some of you get the mileage you do from the fronts. My previous gal had 2020s & did about 14,000 on the front. As I'm unlikely to do another 15,000 b4 the car goes I am looking for a 'cheap'/grippy compromise. Continentals look a good buy for mileage but how widely available are they...and how do they compare on price for the mileage? Quote
sparky Paul Posted June 17, 2006 Report Posted June 17, 2006 What a great Galaxy site! Loads of knowledge and great info! :D I have 215/55x16 Dunlop 2020Es on mine too, I suspect that 95H is the minimum rating for this size on the Galaxy. Anything better that 95 load index and H speed rating should be OK, though I would imagine mixing tyre types/brands on the same axle wouldn't be advisable... I've always had Dunlops fitted, and I'm now ready for a new pair on the front - they have lasted well over 20,000 miles though. The Dunlops are Quote
Another?Maybe! Posted June 17, 2006 Author Report Posted June 17, 2006 Guess I will have to stick with a Dunlop to match the new spare otherwise it will cost me another c Quote
sepulchrave Posted June 17, 2006 Report Posted June 17, 2006 No experience with those brands but I bought four Nankang EX-601's from mytyres for Quote
sparky Paul Posted June 17, 2006 Report Posted June 17, 2006 But why pay twice as much unless you get more than twice the mileage? My thoughts exactly, I know the Dunlops wear OK for me, but they are virtually twice the price of the cheapo Fortunas - and they compare favourably to the Dunlops in the reviews. I've seen the Nankangs too and have heard folk recommend them before. You do find that many of these budget tyres have 'familiar' tread patterns and are owned by one of the big manufacturers. According to mytyres, Fortuna are something to do with Goodyear, but I suspect they may be made in eastern europe or the far east. I reckon at around Quote
NikpV Posted June 17, 2006 Report Posted June 17, 2006 always been wary about trying some of these brands since they are the only thing that keep you going in the right direction but more and more peeps are trying them so might give a pair a go next time Quote
Guest BagPuss Posted June 18, 2006 Report Posted June 18, 2006 I forgot to mention, I went for good ole FireStone's on mine. Had to buy 2 new ones when we first bought the Galaxy, i find they're a good wearing tyre as well.People often mention 'Road noise' but I have these on the Scirocco as well, never really noticed to be honest. Galaxy for 2 new FireStones Quote
sparky Paul Posted June 18, 2006 Report Posted June 18, 2006 always been wary about trying some of these brands since they are the only thing that keep you going in the right direction but more and more peeps are trying them so might give a pair a go next time A few years ago, a tyre supplier I used to use regularly stocked 'Courier', they were apparantly manufactured by Pirelli to last years tread pattern - I always found them to be excellent, pretty good wearing and very grippy. I had them on a few cars for quite a number of years so I'm not afraid of trying cheaper brands, especially if others report success with them. It's just that with the Galaxy being a big lump, and cheaper tyres not being so widely available previously, I've always stuck to the tried and tested Dunlops. There's a good selection of reinforced tyres available in Galaxy sizes now though... :( Quote
raymac Posted June 18, 2006 Report Posted June 18, 2006 Here you go people have a look at these links i posted a few weeks a go and the black circle .com one will give 5% discount when you mention this site, have a look at the falken brand used these on my passat and they are highly rated on the tyre review thingy majig thing :( :( ;) http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.php?showtopic=8374 Quote
sparky Paul Posted June 18, 2006 Report Posted June 18, 2006 The Falkens are supposed to be a good tyre too - another Dunlop brand if I remember - and a couple of quid cheaper at mytyres. :( Quote
Ogben Schmutzel Posted June 18, 2006 Report Posted June 18, 2006 Definitely remember reading in a thread on this forum something about there being an insurance requirement that the tyres are reinforced. There was some debate about whether it was fact or supposition! Unresolved I think! Regards.Oggy. Quote
NikpV Posted June 18, 2006 Report Posted June 18, 2006 certainly mk2 galaxy 16" 215/55 needs re-inforced tyres Quote
sparky Paul Posted June 18, 2006 Report Posted June 18, 2006 It's down to the load index - the one size which was specified which was not reinforced has a sufficiently high LI on the standard tyre to cope with the weight, due to the tyre profile. As far as I know, the 215/55x16 have always had to be 'reinforced' or 'extra load' to cope with the load as you correctly say, due to the standard LI being 93 on tyres of this size - which is insufficient. Quote
Guest Cepheus Posted June 18, 2006 Report Posted June 18, 2006 Anything fitted to your vehicle that isn't "as standard fit" will give the insurance companies an argument for not paying out if not declared. This goes for non standard wheels and tyres. My Mrs used to work for an insurance claims dept and this was the main reason for not paying out that she found (non standard parts in general, not just tyres) For the sake of possibly loosing a few grand in insurance payout and the safety of everyone in your car, I'd stick with reinforced. We can also get 3% discount from mytyres.co.uk which on the whole are cheaper than black circle are anyway from what I saw when looking for my last replacement. 3% Discount mytyres.co.uk thread I went for the "Cheapo Special" which turned out to be a directional tyre with the same tread pattern as a Continental the tyre fitters had in. Cost me under Quote
sparky Paul Posted June 18, 2006 Report Posted June 18, 2006 I've looked at many of the online tyre sellers, mytyres is consistantly the cheapest. :( ...and you're right, it would be sheer folly to fit non-reinforced tyres where reinforced is specified. The handbook is very clear - there is only one tyre size which does not need to be a special RF or XL type as the load rating is 95 on the standard tyre. Reinforced tyres used to be much dearer as you could only find top branded tyres. Now there is very little in it - the 97W rated reinforced Fortunas I was looking at are also available in non-reinforced 93V rated for Quote
carterc_ae Posted June 19, 2006 Report Posted June 19, 2006 I'm seriously considering a pair of Kumho Ecsta's shortly. At Quote
sparky Paul Posted June 19, 2006 Report Posted June 19, 2006 Well, I've plumped for two of the Fortuna F2000 XL tyres. If anyone is interested, I'll report back and let you know what they're like when they arrive - but obviously the proof of the pudding will be in the driving... It's more of an experiment than anything, but I reckon they have got to be worth a crack at just under Quote
sparky Paul Posted June 22, 2006 Report Posted June 22, 2006 Well, the cheap tyres were delivered today, 3 days from ordering, and sent from Germany! Can't fault the service by mytres, online tracking number was provided so I could tell they were out for delivery today - highly recommended all round. Total cost with forum discount - Quote
raymac Posted June 22, 2006 Report Posted June 22, 2006 Well, the cheap tyres were delivered today, 3 days from ordering, and sent from Germany! Can't fault the service by mytres, online tracking number was provided so I could tell they were out for delivery today - highly recommended all round. Total cost with forum discount - Quote
sparky Paul Posted June 22, 2006 Report Posted June 22, 2006 Are these reinforced? that is a very good price :angry: Yes, reinforced - well, they're actually marked 'Extra Load' same as the Michelins. Not sure if you've read earlier posts, but it's a bit of an experiment to try out the cheap tyres. So far, can't see any problems... They're 97 LI rated, which is 730Kg per tyre, higher than the 95 rated (690Kg) Dunlop reinforced I have on. By the way PRC is China, not Taiwan, I was having a bit of a brainstorm... :ph34r: Quote
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