V50 Wheels/Tyres : Ultimate Tyre Guide....

[Higgy50]

Hello All,

As some of you will be aware I have been nearing a tyre change for some time now and have been torn as to which brand to go for. My current Pirelli P Zero Rosso have been fantastic but seem to have required changing very quickly, they are also very expensive......so do you go with what you know or jump to something else and save some of your hard earned cash??? This appears to be a question asked a lot on here without a conclusive answer!

My beloved wife kindly answered my question by getting screws in her fronts and driving home several miles on flats!......My very hard earned tyre budget now needed to be stretched quite a lot further (bless her!!)

Down at my local tyre centre after picking themselves up of the floor from laughing (this is the second time I have been embarrassed by the shredded tyres from my wife's efforts to set her wheels on fire!!!) They gave pity on me and offered me a deal on a couple of Kumho tyres as my piggy bank was now virtually empty and buying Pirellis was a distant memory! I agreed to take the Kumhos (as if I had a choice) and test them.....

On the journey home I thought about all those lovely expensive tyres that I was once able to afford and that I should share my tyre experiences with you all.....

Below are the tyres which I have had on my two V50s and how I rate them....maybe you might like to do the same so that we can come up with the ULTIMATE V50/S40 TYRE!?

205x55Rx16 Pirelli P7s on V50 1.8SE Petrol
Looks = 7/10
Performance = 8/10
Road noise = 7/10 Found to be Quiet when new but noisy when part worn
Price = 6/10 A premium tyre but expensive
Wear = 7/10 a soft tyre with average wear for tyre type
Total score = 35/50

205x55Rx16 Uniroyal Rainsport on V50 1.8SE Petrol
Looks = 7/10
Performance = 7/10
Road Noise = 6/10 Found this tyre quite noisy as it is fairly hard tyre
Price = 8/10 A well priced mid range tyre
Wear = 8/10 I have found that they wear well and are good for 18-20000mls
Total Score = 36/50

215x45Rx18 Pirelli P Zero Rosso on V50 2.0d SE Sport
Looks = 7/10
Performance = 9/10 Never felt in doubt and proved good in last years snow!
Road Noise = 9/10 Very little noise even when worn
Price = 6/10 In the £180 each, or £700 region for 4.....Ouch!!!
Wear = 6/10 Not too impressed I got approx 12,000mls from mine!
Total Score = 37/50

215x45Rx18 Kumho Sport on V50 2.0d SE Sport
Looks = 8/10
Performance = 8/10 New to me so difficult to gauge but so far very impressed
Road Noise = 9/10 No motorway yet but easily matches P Zero elsewhere
Price = 10/10 £73 each with above results so far......!
Wear = 5/10 don't know yet so marked as 5/10 and will update when I know!
Total score so far = 31/50

I am no tyre expert and these figures are based purely on my experience alone so why not post your tyre scores and see what we come up with?.....Maybe we will answer the question we have all been asking!?.....

I think that when you rate your tyres you may well surprise yourself also!

Cheers

[jasonb]

Higgy, you're right. Many a debate on tyres!
I'll add some comments soon with regards to my 18".
My 18" wheels take 225's as the wheels are after-market Lenso's and I really didn't want to do a Volvo software update for a different rolling circumference.

I think tyre choice has become all a bit too personal!
I'm going to watch this thread with interest!

[SiRS2000]

215x45Rx18 Pirelli P Zero Rosso on V50 2.0d SE Sport
Looks = 7/10
Performance = 9/10 Never felt in doubt and proved good in last years snow!
Road Noise = 9/10 Very little noise even when worn
Price = 6/10 In the £180 each, or £700 region for 4.....Ouch!!!
Wear = 6/10 Not too impressed I got approx 12,000mls from mine!
Total Score = 37/50

215x45Rx18 Kumho Sport on V50 2.0d SE Sport
Looks = 8/10
Performance = 8/10 New to me so difficult to gauge but so far very impressed
Road Noise = 9/10 No motorway yet but easily matches P Zero elsewhere
Price = 10/10 £73 each with above results so far......!
Wear = 5/10 don't know yet so marked as 5/10 and will update when I know!
Total score so far = 31/50

I too will be watching this with interest as I will soon face the 215x45x18 dilemma come next spring, I will be OK over winter as I am going to be overseas for 4 months come late November.

Just the price difference alone makes this a tempting option, surely the Kumho cannot be that bad & surely the Pirelli really does not warrant a £180.

[SiRS2000]

One thing I forgot to mention is my last car had 215x45x17 Continental Contisport Contact 3 tyres fitted with a very large rim protection lip, something the P zero Rosso does not have, something I will be looking for on my next tyres as I have already had to get a wheel refurb due to a parking incident with a Kerb, something that would have been avoided with the Continetal's.

The Continentals wore well as well 15 to 20K and I drove that car harder than the Volvo.

[Higgy50]

Cool....watch this space......

The Kumhos got a bit more of a test today as I did a few more miles including some good solid continuous motorway work. I have to say that they seem pretty good for noise on the motorway and certainly no worse than the pirellis. For the record I am basing road noise as I would normally drive with radio on etc which is a fair test for how they behave day too day.

After the motorway I gave them a bit of stick on a b road driving them through corners etc and stick they did even when I pushed it a bit harder on a greasy road following a light shower, in fact they actually seemed to perform better on a slightly wet road!.....

Wear is the only factor I can't report on yet.....

More tyre reports would be good?????

[rasputin]

Currently run a V50 D5, I do mainly motorway driving and the car is rarely loaded up.

Changed the fronts at 20.5k miles, put Pirelli's back on. Fitted price from Kwik Fit was a few pennies short of £150 each. Used Kwik Fit's online ordering which saved quite a few pounds - order and pay online, select the location, date and time you want them fitting, worked well with no hic ups (just to confirm - I don't work for KF!)

Rears are still good with 3+mm of tread left, car now at 23k miles, should get 30K + plus from them.

Had a V70 D5 prior to the V50 - on the V70 the fronts lasted between 18 - 20k miles (did 50k miles whilst I had the car) Original Pirelli's lasted 21K miles, replaced with Dunlops which lasted about 18K miles and had Michelin's on when it went (was a lease car so I had no say in tyre choice). Original Pirelli's on the back lasted 40k miles.

[jasonb]

Hi rasputin, can you include the tyre size and tyre name (not just the manufacturer), just helps to build up a clearer picture.
Thanks for the info all the same :-)

[rasputin]

Jason,
being a bit of a muppet I forgot that bit of detail - standard V50 D5 tyre size - 215 45W 18, can't recall the V70 size but the car was a bog standard V70 D5 185 SE Lux.

Cheers

[Gel]

Interesting re the on line £.

I was waiting in a branch recently and this female came in with prices printed off their on line site; they said they could get near, but not match.
That was even after a call to an Area Manager; I was at Chesterfield branch.

Best to use their On line service in full then, and presumably has the option, to use Kwik Fit mobile where they come to you.

I've used this service in past & service has been first rate; don't know cost as all goes to company, but selection of mags in Kwik Fit waiting rooms is another reason to desert them!

[Marmoset]

Only ever put Pirelli P7's on mine. I like their predictability in the wet and wet braking is pretty impressive as well. They do get noisy when half worn IME. I usually get 20k mile so out of the fronts and have to replace the rears at about 45k due to drumming rather than wear.