Dunlop, Pirelli or Michelin?

"Zathras" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 24 Dec 2005 15:52:10 +0000, Barry Bingham
> > wrote:
>
>>The Michelins have astounded me with their longevity: the front two have
>>gone from new to wear marks in 26,000 miles. Now I know that might be
>>because I drive like an old lady,
>
> An alternative interpretation might be that you are a driver of some
> quality who appreciates what tyres do on tarmac and that loosing grip,
> shredding or being very heavy on them is never a sign of a genuinely
> quick driver - just somebody that can press the brake and/or
> accelerator hard and who is unlikely to corner at the quickest
> possible speed.
>
> An old lady/gent would be through about 6 clutches at your
> mileage..have you? ;-)
>
> --
> Z
> Scotland
> Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
> 'Oil' be seeing you..
> (Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)

Belated Merry Christmas....
and to add my 2 penn'orth
34000 on the same set of Contis. So where do I come on the 'Old Lady'
scale.
Have you seen the comparison in AutoExpress?
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/website.../tyretest2005/
10MB pdf file. Worth a look.

Dave
147 and Minari.

Couldn't find the url earlier, but here it is: http://www.tyretest.com
Click on EN for the English site.

"Barry Bingham" > schreef in bericht
...
> Time for a new set of rubber on my 156 2.0L. All 4 tyres (205/60/R15 V)
> are hitting the wear marks. Up to now I've always used Michelin Pilot
> Primacy, these being the original equipment on my year 2000 car. But now I
> have the chance to try something else as the whole set need swapping.
>
> The Michelins have astounded me with their longevity: the front two have
> gone from new to wear marks in 26,000 miles. Now I know that might be
> because I drive like an old lady, but I wonder if it is also a Michelin
> characteristic to repay their price premium with a longer life?
>
> I've looked at previous posts on tyres and read with amazement that some
> have wiped a pair of fronts in as little as 6000 miles.
>
> However, the Dunlop SP300s undercut the Michelins by a considerable
> margin, and the Pirelli P7s are Italian. Two good reasons to give them a
> long hard look. Any experience/thoughts on these three (or others) for a
> non-sport pack early 2.0l 156? I value ride comfort as much as grip and
> low noise- not least because the suspension bushes need all the help they
> can get to survive for more than 20,000 miles!!!
>
> Barry

David A Smith wrote:
> "Zathras" > wrote in message

>>An alternative interpretation might be that you are a driver of some
>>quality who appreciates what tyres do on tarmac and that loosing grip,
>>shredding or being very heavy on them is never a sign of a genuinely
>>quick driver - just somebody that can press the brake and/or
>>accelerator hard and who is unlikely to corner at the quickest
>>possible speed.

Thank you for recognising this ;-)
>>
>>An old lady/gent would be through about 6 clutches at your
>>mileage..have you? ;-)

No. In fact I have never in my life had to have a clutch replaced. And
I'm an old geezer.... Always been mystfied by frequent clutch
replacements - all one needs to do is put your foot somewhere other than
on the clutch pedal when not actually using it and acquaint yourself
with the role of the handbrake at lights, junctions and in slow traffic:
i.e., its not just for parking. IME the clutch then lasts the life of
the car.... or at least it did when cars had shorter lives(100,000ish
and 8-10 years). Oh - and keep the racing starts to a minimum.

Of course my 156 is probably listening to this smug statement and will
punish me soon with my first ever failed clutch...

Barry

David A Smith wrote:

> Belated Merry Christmas....
> and to add my 2 penn'orth
> 34000 on the same set of Contis. So where do I come on the 'Old Lady'
> scale.
> Have you seen the comparison in AutoExpress?
> http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/website.../tyretest2005/
> 10MB pdf file. Worth a look.
>
> Dave
> 147 and Minari.
>
Thanks David. I now feel that my manhood is less threatened ;-)

On Mon, 26 Dec 2005 20:36:14 GMT, "David A Smith"
> wrote:

>Belated Merry Christmas....

Same to you!

>and to add my 2 penn'orth
>34000 on the same set of Contis. So where do I come on the 'Old Lady'
>scale.

I only managed 30,000 on the 'Old Lady' scale (Contis again). Some
here had some difficulty with the concept that this can be done while
also driving quickly and enjoying an Alfa 'properly'.

My only excuse for such a *poor* mileage was the Veloce suspension
'misalignment that nearly trashed my fronts within 12,000 miles but I
honestly doubt I would have got any better mileage anyway! I'm happy
enough with 30,000 miles out of a set to keep to Contis. I think
they're good enough in the wet (well tested in the West Of Scotland I
assure you!) and dry for my cars suspension.

--
Z
Scotland
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4JTD Veloce Leather
'Oil' be seeing you..
(Email without 'Alfa' in subject are auto-deleted..sorry!)

On Tue, 27 Dec 2005 07:31:16 +0000, Barry Bingham
> wrote:

>No. In fact I have never in my life had to have a clutch replaced. And
>I'm an old geezer.... Always been mystfied by frequent clutch
>replacements - all one needs to do is put your foot somewhere other than
>on the clutch pedal when not actually using it and acquaint yourself
>with the role of the handbrake at lights, junctions and in slow traffic:
>i.e., its not just for parking. IME the clutch then lasts the life of
>the car.... or at least it did when cars had shorter lives(100,000ish
>and 8-10 years). Oh - and keep the racing starts to a minimum.

The one time either of my Alfa's let me down badly was when a clutch
went after less than two years. Chose a good place to do it, as well, in
the middle of the Scottish mountains. But its replacement is still going
fine after 5+ years. And that's the only clutch I've had fail in 20+
years of car ownership. But then I'm not one for racing starts: I think
I'd describe my driving style as 'brisk' rather than 'sporty'. (And I
have a maximum no-claims discount - I don't know if that qualifies me
for the old-lady club around here ;-)

>Of course my 156 is probably listening to this smug statement and will
>punish me soon with my first ever failed clutch...

Of course ...

--
Stephen Poley

"alfistagj" > wrote in message
. ..
> Couldn't find the url earlier, but here it is: http://www.tyretest.com
> Click on EN for the English site.
>
Strange because I have just gone straight to it using the web site I
suggested as a link
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/website.../tyretest2005/

I shouldn't have posted here though, as I had just got on to the London
Orbital Car Park (The M 25) on 27th, with a full load of passangers when I
noticed that the car was pulling to the right, was more than usually tyre
noisy and I was being looked at by other motorists. Nice car??? No, flat
tyre. Oh bum!
Changed the tyre for the space saver and was relieved to be able continued
on my way without having been wiped out by others on the road, at a boring
50 mph (speed limit for the space saver).
I have a full set of tyres on order for today, Dunlop SP01 at £ 325 the set
fitted, balanced etc. Bum again!
I wanted to try the Vredesteins which came out top in the Auto Express Tyre
Test, but the size for my 147 isn't available at the UK distributers.
Another bum!
Life is such fun at times.

Happy and safe new year to all.
Dave
2l 147 soon to have nice new boots, & 1.7l Minari