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Are you fit for the road?


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42 minutes ago, doc.fixit said:

 I've only been driving for 60 years and involved with the motor trade and HGVs for at least 40.

You must be tired - take a break.  DVT must be a risk if you have been driving that long.  I can only manage about 4 hours before I need to have a stretch. 

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1 hour ago, Max Power said:

I remember driving a customer's car down Summerhill one day, at the bend opposite the Glen entrance, it just understeered and slid towards the wall. I didn't hit anything, but one look at the Kwang Tung budget tyres he'd had fitted answered the question he'd raised about poor handling. 

Ah yes, the tyres. That must have been it.

 

1 hour ago, Max Power said:

A quick switch from Goodyear Tyres to Bridgestone and the problem was solved! 

Goodyear tyres aren't budget. 

 

 

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But the wrong type of Goodyear tyre to fitted to a car can be worse than a budget brand.

Each type made by a specific manufacturer will have different compounds to make them hard or soft, tread cuts for wet or dry, snow or mud etc.  All season to winter or summer tyres.  EOM fit is down to cost v handling v performance.  Simple tyre swaps can increase range, grip, reduce noise, lifetime and much more - simple tyre swaps for the same brand but cheaper price can lead to more noise, poorer handling, and poor mpg.

.

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3 hours ago, La Colombe said:

Ah yes, the tyres. That must have been it.

 

Goodyear tyres aren't budget. 

 

 

It was, unless you know better?

I didn't say that Goodyear tyres were budget, they just didn't behave like Bridgestones on the bumpy road. 

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5 hours ago, CrazyDave said:

This is a good point.

Crap Tyres are an often overlooked safety issue.  I am astounded that some of the stuff you can buy is even legal to sell.  The difference between decent tyres and some of the cheap ones is huge, especially in the wet.

And yet wouldn't be picked up by an MOT.

A good, well educated driver would be perfectly capable of driving to the conditions whatever tyres were fitted.

It makes far more sense to have an annual test for drivers not for vehicles.

 

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7 hours ago, Max Power said:

I remember driving a customer's car down Summerhill one day, at the bend opposite the Glen entrance, it just understeered and slid towards the wall. I didn't hit anything, but one look at the Kwang Tung budget tyres he'd had fitted answered the question he'd raised about poor handling. Another was complaining that his new car was unmanageable along the Groudle Road. We checked geometry and all was secure, and he was right. A quick switch from Goodyear Tyres to Bridgestone and the problem was solved! 

I might have been right behind you - I remember a car, little thing it was, just go sideways and then correct itself - in exactly same place.... - perhaps a notorious place to lose control? Let's get in Nanny Squad to put some type of restriction there....

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1 hour ago, A fool and his money..... said:

And yet wouldn't be picked up by an MOT.

A good, well educated driver would be perfectly capable of driving to the conditions whatever tyres were fitted.

That's very true, you drive to the restrictions which arise, But if you get caught out and something happens where you need to stop quickly or take avoiding action, good tyres may just prevent something happening which bad tyres wouldn't.

14 minutes ago, HelmutX said:

I might have been right behind you - I remember a car, little thing it was, just go sideways and then correct itself - in exactly same place.... - perhaps a notorious place to lose control? Let's get in Nanny Squad to put some type of restriction there....

It was many moons ago and it was a VW Polo. That's exactly what happened too!

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19 hours ago, x-in-man said:

But the wrong type of Goodyear tyre to fitted to a car can be worse than a budget brand.

Each type made by a specific manufacturer will have different compounds to make them hard or soft, tread cuts for wet or dry, snow or mud etc.  All season to winter or summer tyres.  EOM fit is down to cost v handling v performance.  Simple tyre swaps can increase range, grip, reduce noise, lifetime and much more - simple tyre swaps for the same brand but cheaper price can lead to more noise, poorer handling, and poor mpg.

.

No matter what your car or what you do to it (increasing power, changing suspension etc) there is only one part of it that actually touches the road.  If you've got a great handling car with shit tyres, it's going to handle like a space hopper. 

I got a car 3 years ago that came with winter tyres (it was from Scotland).  I've never bothered having specific winter tyres before, but the difference was noticeable when the weather is really grim.  Although during the summer they are really loud and I swear I could hear them scrubbing they are so grippy.  I'm now a convert and swap over summer and winter tyres.  Reminds me I should probably get on to that shortly. 

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12 hours ago, La Colombe said:

Legal Goodyear tyres wouldn't fail an MOT. 

The tread might be good, but cracks in the wall and uneven tyre walls will.  As would incorrect load and speed ratings.  I once had an friendly advisory chat in the MoT station with tyres that were fully legal in tread and walls, but the date stamp put them at 15 years old.  The car was kept in the garage and did about 2.5K miles a year.  It ain't just about the brand name and tread depth.  Over here some tyres are worn out due to sun and wall damage long before the tread markers start to show.  

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39 minutes ago, x-in-man said:

The tread might be good, but cracks in the wall and uneven tyre walls will.  As would incorrect load and speed ratings.  I once had an friendly advisory chat in the MoT station with tyres that were fully legal in tread and walls, but the date stamp put them at 15 years old.  The car was kept in the garage and did about 2.5K miles a year.  It ain't just about the brand name and tread depth.  Over here some tyres are worn out due to sun and wall damage long before the tread markers start to show.  

Yes you are right

My father in law had a 2005 car that had not moved for 5 years only to get service and MOT at dealer. The tyres were original and it was last year so they were 18 years old. It passed the MOT every year. I got in and drove it and before I had done a mile the sidewall on one of them popped open. Big long split. If I had been doing 80 I could have been a gonner.

When I took it into the tyre place they said the age of the tyre is not a Mot able item. I dont know if its true or not. But it should be

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