[via el diablo]

Anyone recommend a good tyre for 225/40 R18's?

After my rant about tyre ratings, people have recommended goodyears and pirelli.
Anyone running a lesser known brand that's performing well?

Budgets around £500

 

[Cuore_Sportivo_155]

Nokian Z-line gets favourable reviews on the dutch 156 forum. But they are running 215/45 R17....

conclusion was, comfortable, silent, but still stiff sidewalls

 

[Spyder]

I'm sticking with my P Zeros, fantastic grip wet or dry and I've just changed the fronts after they'd done 30,000 miles with a bit still left on them so not complaining. Although the left rear blew up on a long fast straight two weeks ago :lol:

 

[RomeoRaiderZ]

Having been delighted after changing to them from the OE Pirellis on both my previous and current 159s, when the Pirellis wore out on my SO's Giulietta they were similarly swapped for Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas. Quieter than the Pirellis, better wet grip, no tram-lining, much better in the snow (for a summer tyre) with no need for the Autosocks of previous winters, and a bit cheaper too.

We got them here : Vredestein Tyres UK | Low Prices, Get Them Fitted Locally and had them sent direct to our local tyre depot for a total cost of £430 including fitting and VAT.

 

[via el diablo]

I think the Ultrac Sessantas are real contenders

 

[KrisW]

Nokian Z-line gets favourable reviews on the dutch 156 forum

Didn't know Nokian even made summer tyres. They are considered one of the best for winter tyres, though.

 

[Cuore_Sportivo_155]

Sommerreifen-Test der Größe 225/40 R18: Von zehn Reifen macht einer schlapp - SPORT AUTO

if you can't work out what the scores mean, try google translate.

A-brands reign supreme it seems, and the Vredestain Ultrac (Vorti) isn't a particularly high scoring tyre.

These tyres are tested in the same size as you need, which is important as performance can vary alot depending on size.

The test car was a Mercedes A250 not too dissimilar to a Giulietta in size and shape, no idea what the suspension is like on these though

 

[TI-ger boz]

I'll go with Vredestein as well. I'm on the Ultrac Centos. I think the Goodyear Eagle F1 is a reasonable tyre as well. Anything is quieter than the Pirreli P-Zero. I had the P-Zero Nero on my 147. I swapped them with over 5mm left because I couldn't stand the noise, relative lack of grip compared with other tyres, tramlining and a generally hard ride. (Other than that they were sort of ok). I was amazed that while I was waiting for them to be changed (for Ultrac Centos) there was a bloke with a Saab swapping his P-Zeros with 6mm left for the same reasons.

 

[Roswell]

I've just changed from Falken FK452s to FK453s. They're my favourite 'all rounder'.

 

[via el diablo]

Sommerreifen-Test der Größe 225/40 R18: Von zehn Reifen macht einer schlapp - SPORT AUTO

if you can't work out what the scores mean, try google translate.

A-brands reign supreme it seems, and the Vredestain Ultrac (Vorti) isn't a particularly high scoring tyre.

These tyres are tested in the same size as you need, which is important as performance can vary alot depending on size.

The test car was a Mercedes A250 not too dissimilar to a Giulietta in size and shape, no idea what the suspension is like on these though

I understand the rating system, its just i never used to care about fuel effiecncy or tyre noise and now I'm obsessing about it! Lol

 

[KrisW]

Want something else to obsess about? Try this: what's on the label is exterior noise, from the tread/road contact. Interior noise, the vibrations passed through the sidewall into the car's suspension, is what you hear in the car. A "quiet" tyre can be a lot noisier to drive than an apparently louder one.

On the other hand, fuel consumption differences are tiny across the same tyre size: driving style and correct pressure is far more significant.

 

[cue2]

You can probably get a good price on pirellis after the Grandprix pr disaster !
I've got the 18" zero rossos and they are loud.

 

[Cuore_Sportivo_155]

My main focus as far as the EU-label goes is the wet-braking rating. Most if not all tyres perform adequately on dry tarmac, much fewer do so on wet...

 

[TrevB]

@via el diablo

Give the guys at Elite in Rainham (essex) a shout - they really know their stuff, and pricewise they're bloody good too. website - Elite Direct Ltd

And as you're in Essex, get your tracking checked at the same time - thanks to the potholes in this county, mine was WAY out. The guys at Elite sorted it in no time and now the car seems to handle so much better (maybe that's just psychological though)

Trev

 

[via el diablo]

Trev,

It's wierd you've said that cos guess where I'm sitting right now waiting for my new vderstien vortis!

 

[diarx]

Due to replace mine in the near future, was looking at importing some Michelin Pilot Super Sports from tirerack as they don't stock this particular spec/size in Australia, but I can imagine having a blowout it would be a pain waiting for a replacement so I've scrapped that idea.

I'm looking at the Michelin Pilot Sport 3s now, which sacrifice some dry for better all round/wet performance. Still apparently better dry performance than the standard fit Pirelli Rossos though.

 

[via el diablo]

Done about 100 miles on the ultrac vortis and am happy to report that they are 10 times better than the bridgestones! Quieter, more confident in the corners and no tram lining. Would highly reccomend them.

 

[AGT21]

Due to replace mine in the near future, was looking at importing some Michelin Pilot Super Sports from tirerack as they don't stock this particular spec/size in Australia, but I can imagine having a blowout it would be a pain waiting for a replacement so I've scrapped that idea.

I'm looking at the Michelin Pilot Sport 3s now, which sacrifice some dry for better all round/wet performance. Still apparently better dry performance than the standard fit Pirelli Rossos though.

I was also after the Michelin Pilot Super Sport. They do have our size in Aus (ozzy tyres had them on sale briefly) but it is a few months away before they have new stock. My second preference was the goodyear AS2 but they are hard to find in the correct load rating.
Ended up going with Continental SC5 for a good deal and so far I am very happy.

They are quieter then the pirellis and more comfortable. They have more traction on take off and climbing my very steep driveway and seem just as grippy if not more so in the wet and dry.

Time will tell how well they wear. They are an MO (mercedes spec) tyre as we share the same size wheel and load rating as an SLK I believe.

BTW Giuliettas's suffer much less from tram lining as all the other cars I have driven, even when quite worn (pirelli's). On this car they also wore out incredibly evenly across the tyre despite the amount of negative camber on the rear. I did rotate them fairly regularly though.

 

[Cuore_Sportivo_155]

the reason the G doesn't tramline much, is also why the steering has little feel. It's all down to the scrub radius I believe, which is why I'll try to mount some 12-15mm wheel spacers all round

 

[camelfarmer]

Got no issues with the continental sport contacts.