Sunday 23 August 2015

Golf gti edition 30 mpg update 29.7mpg 370 miles

Shell v power nitro.  Commuting to Manchester City center again

Monday 10 August 2015

Continental Sport Contact 5 225/40/18 92Y XL review

[historical data from August 2013]

Well here we are again. 
This time around its the Sport Contact 5's that are being reviewed.

fitted at 59220 miles on Feb 2012






















when replaced at 70595 miles on 06/08/2013 at 3mm remaining
























so thats 18 months and 11375 miles.

Replaced because a trackday had caused damage on the inner edges.
No doubt with no damage they could have lasted a lot longer and worn down to 1.8mm (legal limit)
I believe this damage is caused by slightly misaligned suspension, too high tyre pressure on the day and poor suspension (that needs replacing). In no way do i believe its a problem with the tyre itself.


Sourcing

I have chosen to use a mobile fitting service called Event Tyres again
For the 4th time they have continued to surprise me with top notch service.
Really it couldnt be any easier
£124 per tyre, so £248 all (this includes fitting)

Fitting

Fitted today outside my office.
alloys confirmed prior to work so no disputes after . No marks made at all.
Weights on inside
Absolutely faultless.
10/10

Other options to consider

Continental Sport Contact 5 (my previous tyres)
Pirelli PZero
Yokohama parada 2
Michelin PS2 / PS3  
PSS due to be available at end of September 2013


Plus Points
hot weather : 
cold weather : 

100% tread  : no bedding in period, worked straight from day one.
50% tread : 
10% tread (legal limit) : 

limited road noise : 
on the track         : 
up the drag strip : no idea I never ran them up the strip

low wear rate : 
11,375 miles on a revo stg1 gti is pretty impressive, and almost as much as the PS3
They wore evenly across the entire tread depth  :happy2: at 36psi
wet weather : 

Minus Points

alloy wheel lip protection is very limited , tyre has a very 'flat' profile , doesnt bulge, so provides little or no protection


Summary

now replaced by Goodyear F1  Assymetric 2 

VW Golf GTI Edition 30 : new rear tyres : PS3 last 41k miles, Michelin Pilot Super Sport 225/40R18 92 Y XL replacements


after having the rear tyres off to paint the backplates/calipers and discs, I noticed that the rear tyres (Michelin Pilot Sport 3 PS3) were more than a little worn!

bald on the inside edge, with a slightly weird profile.

This is almost certainly down to the cars suspension (lowered Bilstein B12) and settings, which mean it runs quite a lot of negative camber





heres my previous review of the PS3 when I had all 4 fitted.
http://johnoldfield.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/michelin-pilot-sport-ps3-2254018-92y-xl.html

The fronts lasted "from full tread depth to 2mm in 14,556 miles (Oct 2010 to Feb 2012)"
The rears lasted from 44664 miles to now (85600)! which is 41000 miles (Oct 2010 to Aug 2015)
This gives an indication of the difference in wear rate and load between Front and Rear

Although still legal, I felt the overal tyre tread depth (at 2mm), risk of canvas breakthrough and the time theyd been on the car was enough to warrant a change.
Besides with the PSS now widely available (and already proving awesome on the front tyres) I couldnt wait to change them.

Sadly the company I always get to supply and fit tyres (Event Tyres) did not have PSS in stock, they could get them but not at competitive rates, I was gutted (although I suspect the PSS being a Michelin tyre means theres some market forces at work with blackcircles etc)

No worries, a quick web search meant I found them @ Oponeo delivered to my door.
Michelin Pilot Super Sport 225/40R18 92 Y XL, ZR Quantity: 2 x 101 = £202
(Albeit they took a week to arrive!)
Luckliy Event Tyres have only just introduced 'fitting only' so I once again entrusted them to fit the PSS
Fitting by Event Tyres =  2 x 20 = £40

So total fitment price was 202 + 40 = £242 


Booked in via the website, was faultless as ever with great comms and an even better work ethic.
Event tyres were as awesome as usual. If you are in the North West of the UK, try them out for your next set of tyres.

Here are the tyres before fitment, I made them around 8-8.5 at full tread

The stats are

F : Fuel economy poor (do I care?)
A : Wet Weather grip outstanding
71db noise

NOTE :  that there are 2 types of PSS available in this size (225/40/18), the one you need for the GTI is the XL 92Y version. 

I was surprised to note the other version is noted as having worse wet weather performance!

see http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/michelin-pilot-super-sport


225 40 R 18 88 Y         * E B 71dB

225 40 R 18 92 ZR(Y) XL F A 71dB







In terms of a continued review of the PS3 , nothing has changed, Id say they are a good tyre that fulfils all briefs but is not outstanding in any respect (well, maybe a very slow wear rate)

With the advent of the PSS , the game changed again, making these very average.


As of Aug 2015, My ranking from the tyres Ive tried on the GTI (all in 225/40/18) would be

  1. Michelin Pilot Super Sport : an easy all weather choice. sublime BUY THEM NOW
  2. Continental Sport Contact 5 : really liked these, and have just won the EVO tyre review 2015
  3. Michelin PS2 : great dry weather grip, but compromised elsewhere and poor wear rate
  4. Goodyear​​ Eagle F1 Assym 2​
  5. Michelin PS3 : good all rounder but doesnt excel in any area.
  6. Michelin Pilot Exalto : these were fitted from new and woeful, do not buy!


So now I have all round PSS and already love it, yet to try them in anger though.

At the current PSS prices, why would anyone fit anything else????????


for information

Front PSS are currently worn down (after 5600 miles) to

6mm outer
5mm middle
5mm inner

from approx 8 to 8.5mm new tread


Sunday 2 August 2015

Ford kuga mpg update

Some previous fill ups I forgot to post. Note the lower mpg as the wheel bearing was still noisy when these were taken