My New Tyres (965)

[Alec Dawe]

Well, have just bitten the bullet and bought 4 new Vredestein tyres for my 960 estate..... £278 for the four, fitted and balanced etc etc. which I did not think was too bad.

The car has been transformed......... No more tramlining, nicer ride all round, less tyre noise, much more positive. This is going to seem to be a silly thing to say, but the steering seems to be more sensitive to input from the steering wheel, more positive in that way, but much less sensitive to road surface, different surfaces on each side, holes ruts and bumps etc>

Also, previously, at certain speeds round roundabouts, especially if going a 'long way' round, say to third or fourth exit, the steering developed a peculiar 'squirming' sensation, much more pronounced if being idle and steering with one hand. I was dreading a power steering fault, but with the new Vredestiens, this has totally disappeared. I can only put it down to a possible fault in the sidewall of the old N/S front tyre, making the tyre wriggle on the rim??? Very happy now its gone.

Only have to see what they are like in the wet now, but they have to be an improvement on what I had before!!

[4 forty]

these where voted top tyre of the year by auto express,write up was impressive for wet handling.
paul

[cumbrianmale]

Were they P6000's Alec?

I put new tyres the day before the BKV, like you said totally transformed the car. I had the tracking done twice, but it spot on straight now before the wheel pulled to the left following the camber.

And I know that steering shimmy very well.

[Alec Dawe]

Originally Posted by cumbrianmale

Were they P6000's Alec?

I put new tyres the day before the BKV, like you said totally transformed the car. I had the tracking done twice, but it spot on straight now before the wheel pulled to the left following the camber.

And I know that steering shimmy very well.

Not P6000's. They were... wait for it..Linglong L688! Made by the Ling-Long Lubber Clompany of Shanghai!! The tyre fitter who was doing the work said that they were not the first set of these tyres they had taken off! One set was off a taxi; the tyre place had ordered them specially for the taxi firm to try, taxi driver bought the car back within an hour, saying, basically,get these things off before they kill me! Apparently he had gone about 2 miles down the road (raining) tried to stop at a set of lights, and done one and a half full turns in the middle of the road. He wasn't impressed!
As for me, it was like driving on tip toes all the time. I had left them because I thought it might just be me not used to the car's characteristics, but I had to get rid, I had no confidence in their grip (wot grip) in wet conditions at all.

It boils down to is my life, and my families, worth £270?

4 forty, I'd read the Auto Express tests for a few years, and Vredesteind always seemed to be in the top two, especially for wet grip, braking and handling, hence the decision.