Deflating tyres

Hello,
I have a 850 estate on which the front tyres keep going down on average 10 to 15 psi each week, is this normal or are the nankang tyres the previous owner put on to blame? I also intend to change these tyres before winter, I know this is a common question but what tyres would you recomend for £100 to £120 a corner. The other thing which happened today was the horn sounded of its own accord while driving along, any ideas?
Thanks in advance

Andrew

[markas]

Hi Andrew,

I would get those tryes looked at now. It initially sounds like the walls have gone on them or possibly the values. See you have a slow leak, not a good thing bombing it down the M1. I have suffer this on one of two tyres over time.

The original tyre for the 850 was the good old Goodyear NCT2 very grippy but due to the compound being very sticky is was bad on fuel eco. IMHO they put on the rubbishy P6000 on them as the new standard. I have used Michellin,Perelli and Goodyear myself. If you go to a Goodyear tyre chain get yourself the 'F1' a number of Police forces use these, and myself these days. I can get mine for about 80 quid a shout and get good mileage and mpg as well. Michellins will give you greater lifetime and mileage but i haven't been impressed with the grip.

Just a smal note i used to live in germany where they throw the tyres away at 3mm, which is a practice i do. I am not made of money but when you are doing in excess of 120mph on the autobahn you need some tread to stoppp don't you ?

You payes your money....

hope this helps.

mark.

[sheerwater]

There are few bad tyres these days. You pay for what you get of course.
I had Pirelli Pilots which were good but pricy. Now I have Semperits which were around £200 total the set for 195/65/15s. All tyres have a mileage wear indicating value on the side as well as the rest of the info. They also have a maximum pressure value on the side. Fairly important on an estate fully loaded but how many people add the extra psi RECOMMENDED for high speed driving. The Pilots went up to 55 psi max. Semperits say 44 psi. Everything else on the tyre wall markings was identical. Quite important as my car says 44psi fully loaded plus an extra 4 psi for speed driving.
As for your deflation get them fixed NOW. You have been driving deflated and this weakens side walls leading to heat build up and blow outs. Great fun!!!!! When they change the tyres ask them to check the inner rims. Corrosion often leads to a poor seal here. You havent got any little boys with matchsticks in your area have you? Cost us 2 new tyres one sunday due to a blow out. PS when buying check out the deal first. Usually they start with good quality, then try you with a cheepie and then something mid range. Ask for any special deal and they usually come up with a good tyre at a great price. Beware. local kid went for new tyres after seeing 2 for one offer. After they fitted them they said that his particular tyre wasnt in the deal. Screwed the poor kid who is still at college working part time. Cheers Nigel

[Peter Milnes]

Tyre fitters should clean the inside of the rims when fitting tyres. This is because the bits of tyre stick to the rim and if not cleaned off they make a very poor seal indeed. I have one on my right front which needs topping up every week. Needless to say it was fitted by Kwik-Fit, who also wriggle out of their contractual obligations better than a belly dancer shedding her tights.

All the best, Peter.

[sheerwater]

Kwik fit? Great story here. Took my wifes car into Kwik fit for 4 tyres. Sorry only had three but they would have one in from another branch in 30 minutes. I went for an hours walk. Came back but still no tyre so I went for another hous walk. Came back, no tyre. Went for another hours walk, tyre in sir yours is next. Went for another hours walk and came back to find my car in exactly the same place but those on the ramps had been changed. While nobody was looking I leaned over and took my keys which were left openly on the desk and drove the car elsewhere. NOBODY CHALLENGED ME, NOBODY TELEPHONED TO ASK IF I HAD TAKEN THE CAR,NOBODY TELEPHONED TO ASK IF I STILL WANTED THE TYRE. In other works nobody Bl*******dy well cared. Mind you arent they part of the Ford cradle to grave idea. Cheers Nigel

[cootuk]

We went to KwikFit for four new Conti EcoContacts which they had to order. Small van duly pulls up and lobs out four tyres.
As they're sat there, my Mrs wanders over and notices the tread on one is different to the rest....so we pull it out and sure enough it's a different type.
'Doesn't matter, it really is the same' says the fitter...then followed by a few minutes with the manager trying to explain that one tyre has a different tread pattern.
Eventually got all four right, but only went there because they do 3 months interest free credit.

If we hadn't been there then they would have fitted an odd tyre.