[Nem]

I had mitchellin PS2's fitted all round, these were all worn and needed replacing. Three weeks back I had these replaced with a set of Goodyear F1 GSD3's which I'd had on the car a year or two before and was impressed with.

The week before the tryes were replaced I'd had the Defcons fitted at APS so it would need a full 4wd alignment. But they said to have the new tyres fitted first and go back for the alignment afterwards.

On driving away from the tyre fitters I noticed the car was pulling / drifting to the left quite a lot and that the steering seemed to want to go where it wanted more than staying true. I put this down to needing an alignment and carried on my way.

Since then the car has been back to APS and aligned so it's 100% spot on in that respect as far as I know, but again on driving home from the garage I was feeling the same issue with the steering.

I have now checked and double check the pressures, and also swaped the wheels front to rear and the issue is still the same.

The last thing I have done is to try my old wheels on the front end which still have mitchellin PS2's on them, even though they only have 1-2mm tread on them, and the car seemed much better agian.

So, it's looking like there is an issue with the new tyres, but having swapped front to rear and found no difference would mean at least 2 of them have a problem, which I find hard to believe. Could it just be the difference in tread pattern from a radial banding to a 'v' shape making this much difference? All seems odd as i've had the F1's fitted before the PS2's and never noticed any difference in the handling of the car in this way.

Any thoughts at all?

Nick

 

[Chip_iTT]

are these directional tyres and are they fitted on the right way round? i know its unlikely but its been done before...

 

[Nem]

are these directional tyres and are they fitted on the right way round? i know its unlikely but its been done before...

The F1's are, and I'm 99% sure they are all correct. But I'll check tomorrow.

Nick

 

[gt russell]

are these directional tyres and are they fitted on the right way round? i know its unlikely but its been done before...

Yuo beet me to it Chip

 

[gt russell]

Try swaping from side to side :?

 

[Nem]

Try swaping from side to side :?

Can't do that, the F1's are a 'V' grove tread pattern, so would be facing backwards if I changed sides I think.

Nick

 

[gt russell]

I would check carefully that they are fited the right way around

 

[Nem]

Just nipped out with a torch in the rain.

They are all ok, with the rotation markers pointing the right way.

Nick

 

[NaughTTy]

Nick, I have exactly the same problem with my new F1s put on last week by the Tyre Warehouse near APS. I'm going to give Ed a call today to see if they can check the alignment but it was only done 3 or 4 months ago so there shouldn't be a problem :?

 

[Nem]

When they did my alignment last week Ed said they only actually made a very minor adjustment to it as it was already near perfect.

Interesting to hear of someone with the same issue in the same timeframe.

One interesting thing I was told when the tyres were fitted was that they were made in China now, I think they were made in germany before. Can you see if yours say made in china on them also?

Not sure what difference it makes tho, but...

I'm going back to the tyre fitters today to see what they say. But I'm fearing they will be of no help, and I'm going to end up having to spend out on another set of 4 tyres of a different brand. :S

Nick

 

[Naresh]

Hi Nem, the one tyre I had replaced recently was one made in China whereas all the remaining ones are made in Germnay.

If you have access to another TT or VAG car with the same stud pattern why not swap them round and see if they behave the same? I know its alot of hassle but its definately cheaper than forking out for a new set of tyres. Worth a try at least. :?

 

[Phil_LG]

I'm going back to the tyre fitters today to see what they say. But I'm fearing they will be of no help, and I'm going to end up having to spend out on another set of 4 tyres of a different brand. :S

No way should you have to buy a second new set of tyres. I'd be getting the tyre dealer and wheel alignment shop to talk to each other. If the alignment is spot on and your car isn't driving straight the tyres are clearly defective and you should get your money back or have them replaced at YOUR choice.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Nem]

Right, well a little googling later it looks like these F1's are a sodding minefield of problems.

Initially "Made in China" ones are "not suitable for uk roads", going to "avoid made in china ones like the plauge" to "chinese ones are ok as long as they have a special number / mark on them".

So I now need to go and look at my tyres again for this 'E' marking to see if mine are legal or dodgy imports.

Piston heads (with reply from goodyear on pg2): http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topi ... 386634&i=0

Seat Cupra Net (with avoid like the plauge comments): http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=123575

Scoobynet (E marking info): http://bbs.scoobynet.com/scoobynet-gene ... users.html

Volvo forum (more info): http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?t=19551

Mini forum (more info): http://www.mini2.com/forum/wheels-tyres ... 3s-uk.html

Only thing I can see tho is that these threads are nearly a year old, so you would have thought that this supply issue was now resolved. But I know my tyres were ordered in from a warehouse down south and took a few days to arrive. So maybe mine have been sat there 12 months? Or maybe there is a new supply issue again?

Nick

 

[rustyintegrale]

Hi Nick,

I know Goodyears are very popular on here but in my one and only experience with them I found them to drive pretty much as you describe.

These were on a hire car and I hated them, they felt skittish and downright dangerous in the wet - so much so that I exchanged the hire car and vowed never to touch Goodyears with a bargepole!

Hope you get it sorted mate but in case you haven't seen it, can I point you to a post from jbell about some very well-priced Falkens? I hope he's right because I just ordered four!

http://www.********.co.uk/ttforumbbs/vi ... p?t=111957

Cheers

rich

 

[BAMTT]

I had a few issue's with some GSD3's when i had my TT a couple of them went 50p shaped, the kids use those as a tree swing now :lol:

As an overwiew i've had about 3 sets (2TT, 1Scoob) thought they were great in the wet but were not as consistent as the PS2's i've had before

I currently have the GY F1 Asym's on the Scoob better tyre in the dry IMO

 

[Nem]

Well I've had 2 sets of the PS2's and even tho these F1's are not handling right, they are grippier than the PS2's already. So I won't be going back to them.

Problem is what do I change to IF these F1's on my car are replaced?

Nick

 

[rustyintegrale]

Well I've had 2 sets of the PS2's and even tho these F1's are not handling right, they are grippier than the PS2's already. So I won't be going back to them.

Problem is what do I change to IF these F1's on my car are replaced?

Nick

Toyo T1Rs :wink:

 

[BAMTT]

Well I've had 2 sets of the PS2's and even tho these F1's are not handling right, they are grippier than the PS2's already. So I won't be going back to them.

Problem is what do I change to IF these F1's on my car are replaced?

Nick

Asym's they replaced the GSD3's

 

[Nem]

Asym's they replaced the GSD3's

Was looking at these, but this with Goodyear is slightly putting me off them.

Toyo T1Rs :wink:

I had the Toyo's on my car originally, they were really good, but only got 10k out of them. With the original set of F1's I had I got 16k, and then I've had about 10k out of each of the sets of PS2's.

The local tyre fitters I use are toyo dealers, so may even have in the right size, as they have to order in anything else you want.

Nick

 

[rustyintegrale]

Asym's they replaced the GSD3's

Was looking at these, but this with Goodyear is slightly putting me off them.

Toyo T1Rs :wink:

I had the Toyo's on my car originally, they were really good, but only got 10k out of them. With the original set of F1's I had I got 16k, and then I've had about 10k out of each of the sets of PS2's.

The local tyre fitters I use are toyo dealers, so may even have in the right size, as they have to order in anything else you want.

Nick

Well the 'Rs' are relatively new and a big improvement on the 'S'. I think you'll find the wear rate has improved. I've had mine on for well over 10k and still have lots of tread left...

Or you could try those Falkens Jon has posted about. For £88 each they've gotta be worth considering and he reckons they're good. [smiley=sunny.gif]