Best 4x4 tyre replacement
Our Freelander tyres are all down to 3mm at 5 years so for safety's sake it's time for change. Michelin's Cross climate appear to be the very best option but come in at a hefty best price £530 for 4 tyres.
Alternatively the Avon ZX7 seems an excellent tyre and outperforms the Michelin scoring an A for wet road grip/braking compared against a B for the Michelin. And for a much more affordable £365 the set.
We're towing a 1450Kg caravan.
Any informed comments welcome. And would members choose a 104 0r 108 load rating for their tyres for their towcars?
Steve
Comments
-
Have you looked at Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Weather , My 2013 FL2 HSE SD4 has them. Factory fit I believe. (18" Wheels)
0 -
Yes we have looked at the Pirellis and they do seem good. However I've read reports of them not achieving good mileage for a Premium tyre. This has reinforced my own opinion of Pirellis as I've previously been disappointed on that score with their Cinturatos on a BMW.
0 -
It’s what you’re expecting from them too. I run on Town & Country-General Grabber AT2’s. They were £560 supplied/fitted/ balanced. I can’t fault them for either on or off road, not over noisy at speed either👍🏻
0 -
I decided to try a budget tyre with the criteria that they must be made in Europe after past experience on a second car (now gone) After a bit of research found a brand called Tigar SUV from Serbia, Michelin own the brand and have invested over $200M in the factory in 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCemXgw10Aghttps
/www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCemXgw10AgI could not find any real reviews of the tyre but decided to risk it and try a set at £77 each from ATS (again Michelin owned) They are not all season but are M&S rated in old school terms which is unusual for this size.
So far so good at 5000 miles in, very quiet and grippy in the wet. Not sure how they will wear but will keep an eye on it. I mostly visit CLs so soft ground performance is needed so far visits from Feb through to now have proved mud traction is ok to good, on the road they are quieter than original fit Bridgestones.
0 -
Hi,
Just replaced all four tyres on my 2013 Freelander with Goodyear Wranglers from Blackcircle at a cost of £430. Same tyres as those fitted from new with a mileage of 45000, 35000 of which would be towing. Very pleased with new tyres as they are quieter than old ones which obviously were worn although ATS did say that they were still legal and would have done another 2 to 4 thousand miles but changed as coming away on a five week touring holiday with caravan.
Did consider the Avon’s but tyre fitter at ATS said that Goodyear’s were the better buy even when he knew he was not supplying but would be fitting.
very pleased with Blackcircle.
Dave
0 -
Thanks for all the replies so far. Food for thought. The existing tyres are Goodyear Wranglers which have been on since new and covered 34k (mostly with the car's first owner). They are quite noisy on the road so hence my thoughts about changing manufacturer. But it is a minefield so will give it a while before I make a final decision.
Steve
0 -
At a quick glance, all the tyres mentioned I would class as "road" tyres. Fine if that's all one does, but wet grass (with a slope) is the most tricky of all surfaces and something more agressive would be needed to take advantage of having a 4x4 vehicle.
0 -
Yes we thought of this also. A nice chunky tread would be great if you were stuck on a farmer's field type CL on a slope in the rain. Also great in snow. But the chunky tread tyres are not ideal for the road, mainly due to noise and wear. So bearing in mind that we spend 99.95% of our time either on the road either solo or towing, we thought we should stick with 'road' tyres. And we just can't afford the luxury of storing a spare set of wheels with winter tyres fitted as they do in more colder climes.
0 -
Have decided to replace the normal tyres on my Merc 220D with Michelin CrossClimate+. at the moment just the rear have been fitted, front in a few months time and definitely before late autumn. My reasoning was with a rear wheel based auto with a reasonable amount of power I felt the need to have more grippy tyres in winter and of course this year the bad weather went on for ever! Also I do tow the caravan in Novemeber and February. I was thinking of having winter tyres but decided to go for 4 season instead, seems a more practical and realistic tactic for the UK. Figure it may help with towing across short stretches of soggy grass on sites too.
Thus far, and with them only fitted to the rear, I like them very much, tho admittedly we have not experienced any winter conditions yet. But I am happily looking forward to fitting them to the front in time for late autumn.
0 -
We made our final decision on the tyres, going for the dearer Michelin Cross climates. They are rated 'All Season' whereas the cheaper Avons are only rated as summer tyres so we decided not to risk it.
We managed to get a further discount so it cushioned the blow. The new tyres are much smoother and quieter, but then I guess they're more pliable when they're new. Just hope they last a long time now.
Thanks for everyone who commented.
0 -
A bit late now but I have just put 2 Landsail tyre on my grand Cherokee. £110 fitted for 20" rims
Landsail only entered the UK market 4 years ago but has been setting new benchmarks for quality and value by combining state of the art engineering with over 80 years experience in tyre manufacturing and pioneering technology.
Landsail is already well established in over 100 countries and is one of the and fastest growing tyre brands in the UK with 1.5 million tyres sold every year. Not only do Landsail tyres offer fantastic all-round performance, but they also have one of the most comprehensive pattern and sizes ranges which means that they offer a fitment for almost every type of car, SUV, and commercial van on the road.
0 -
I've just fitted a set of BF Goodrich AT's on my Touareg which I know will get me out of almost any situation. Not the cheapest, or the quietest, but given their reputation for long lasting, are not as expensive in the long term as they first appear. Just bear in mind, though, that the more aggressive the tread pattern, the higher the rolling resistance and therefore mpg will suffer slightly.
0 -
I agree with the benefits of all-weather/all-season tyres irrespective of 2/4 driven wheels, having had them now on 3 cars. (Kleber Quadraxer on Audi A2 and passat Alltrack, Apollo 4G on Audi A6) These days I am also not phased by the fitment of budget/mid-range price tyres - the performance of budget tyres has significantly closed the gap with premium brands in recent years. Many premium brands own or are owned by brands perceived as budget (Apollo own vredestein, Continental own Barum etc). Michelin CrossClimates are no doubt very good although my local tyreman says he gets varied feedback from customers, seems to be car sensitive and he is not convinced they are worth the money, albeit 'Honest John' raves about them. The quadraxer 2 comes out very well in independant tests giving best cost/benefit ratio (mileage covered/£spent) albeit not quite upto the top brands regarding on the limit performance characteristics.
0
