More Tire Stuff

[meck@postoffice.ptd.net (Michael Eck)]

My tire experience:

On the GTI, the Yoko A008's were awesome, especially on dry.  I really
had a hard time breaking the car loose.  On the wet, they were
acceptable, but I wouldn't try anything tricky.  I bought this
205/50VR-15 set from the Tire Rack with a set of 15 x 7 BBS wheels.  It
was too bad I only got 8000 miles out of them.  I replaced them with
Michelin XGT's.  Nothing near the grip of the Yoko's, but I had a little
more confidence on the wet.  My wife's been driving the car since, so I
can't be too particular about the Michelin's.  They are pretty worn
after 15,000 miles and will need to replace them.  I've always been
satisfied with the ---OVERALL--- performance of Michelin tires.

BTW, the GTI came with Pirelli P6's.  I was glad to rid myself of them.
I got tired (sic) of bouncing down the road on cold mornings for the
first two or three miles while they were warming up and becoming
round again.

On the 5KCSTQ, I bought it at 127K with new set of Dunlop D60-A2's
(I think).  At the time, I was fighting a constant battle with front
brake problems and tire noise from the rear.  When the brake problems
were fixed, I put the best two Dunlops on the back and bought two
Michelin MXV4 Energy's for the front.  The only thing they bought
me was a more smooth steering feel.  The handling faltered, the wet
stayed the same, the snow traction improved, but the Dunlops
continued to give me grief in the rear.  They developed a noise
again.  After a squeek developed, I finally found out I needed a new
tie rod end in the rear and that probably caused the tire noise in
the first place.  Personally, I don't want anymore Dunlops, but they
may not be a bad tire after all.

At 165K, I put a set of Goodyear Eagle GT II's on.  Excellent dry,
wet, and snow traction but they ARE noisy.  Overall, though there
may be some handling compromises, I would be more happy with a new
set of the Michelin MXV4's.  You really can't have everything, can you?


Michael Eck
86 5KCSTQ
88 GTI 16V