Hi,
I have a quandary and wonder what other people might do...
I have bought a 2001 Nissan Micra as a runaround for my Mrs as she will stop working soon to look after the kids (it replaces the 2009 Kia Ceed up for sale in the classifieds).
She will do perhaps 30-40 miles a week (hence selling a modern Diesel engined car).
While going over the car I have noticed the tyres are a bit variable. NSF is a brand new 165/60 R14 Hanook, OSF is a Toyo 165/65 R14, NSR is a 165/60 Firestone in poor condition and OSR is a unknown brand with a 1,000 miles wear left while the spare is a nearly new Michelin 165/60.
From what I understand two tyres of different profile on the same axle is an MOT fail? The guy who sold the car had a warning on the MOT the the tyre was borderline but passed "on the day" so he changed it and I can only assume the fitter looked at the back and chose the same size. Manual suggests 165/60 is the original supplied size
I now want to change the tyres but am not sure what to do, I consider my options are:-
1. Buy four new 165/65 tyres as there are more on the market and I see offers for £40 a tyre - although the quality is ?.
2. Buy three 165/60 Hanooks and leave the newly new 165/65 as a spare
3. Buy three 165/65 Michelins and leave the new 165/60 as a spare
4. Buy a new Hanook 165/60 to match and put it on the front axle, buy a new 165/65 Michelin and put it and the spare on the rear axle and use the best of the rest as a new spare. I wonder about the profile difference but assume that placing the "larger" on the rear will be fine with such a small profile difference.
5. Buy a new Hanook for the front and two new "decent but cheaper" for the back.
Considering it is a runaround I don't want to go mad, equally I don't want to put their safety at risk!
Any thoughts?
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>>equally I don't want to put their safety at risk!
www.euroncap.com/tests/nissan_micra_2000/68.aspx
Tyres are less relevant as they do nothing to mitigate some other pratt running into you.
Answering the OP - I'd get 3 Hankooks just to satisfy my urge to have the same rubber on each corner but it's going to the shops so pretty much any decent tyre would do.
Significant risk of being hooped by the Insurance company if there was a claim and non-standard tyre sizes are on show, so leaving them is not an option.
Last edited by: Lygonos on Fri 15 Feb 13 at 22:36
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What are the speed ratings - presumably you will wish to standardise on either an H or a T (T is the higher rating).
Blackcircles.com have the Kumho Solus KH17 165/60/R14 T for £49.78 fitted (with triple Tesco Clubcard points), or the Sava Intensa HP V1 165/60/R14 H for £47.92 (Sava are made in Slovenia and are part of the Goodyear Dunlop group - supposedly using Goodyear technology in their tyres).
Hankook Kinergy K425 tyres are £58.04 for a T, and £64.79 for an H.
So if the existing Hankook is a T rating, you could go for the Kumho's, if an H the Savas.
We had Kumho's fitted to our Mazda 2 and they were perfectly acceptable - noticeably quieter than the OE Pirelli P Zero Neros. We also have Kumho's on the Mazda's replacement - a new Hyundai i20 that we bought in April 2012 - again perfectly acceptable. VW are fitting Kumho's to some versions of the Polo.
Michelins are about £71.
The other alternative is to buy three new tyres and retain the NSF Hankook with the Michelin as the spare.
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>>you will wish to standardise on either an H or a T (T is the higher rating).
Other way around.
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Is the Michelin the original spare - if so its around 11-12 years old and may well be showing signs of ageing, and may need to be replaced as well.
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I've just stuck another pair of 165/70 R13 Michelins on my daughter's car. This keeps all four tyres as Michelins. Difference in price between the cheapest tyre (that you would ever consider fitting) and most expensive at this size of tyre was £10. £20 extra for something that could save your life seemed a small price to pay.
How to read the age of a tyre and the 6 year tyre age rule explained here: www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html
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Buy the best you can afford. Arguably the most safety critical items on a vehicle. I'd replace all four with proper branded European tyres.
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>>I don't want to put their safety at risk! Any thoughts?
Yep, keep the Kia. It's not quite 4 years old, seems in very good condition, would probably last your wife for years and it's paid for.
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I would go for the cheapest legal option on a car of this age and intended use. I assume your Mrs doesn't partake in traffic light grand prix? Or keep the Kia and avoid the depreciation that will occur when you sell it (I would have thought the Kia preferable to an old Micra any day ...)
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Presumably the anticipated low mileage (around 2000 a year) may cause issues for the diesel Kia (dpf, etc).
By the sounds of it the Micra has already been bought.
I'd have been inclined to look at part exchanging the Cee'd for something smaller from the Kia/Hyundai stable (eg a PIcanto or last generation Rio).
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>> Presumably the anticipated low mileage (around 2000 a year) may cause issues for the diesel
>> Kia (dpf, etc).
The UK spec Ceed did not get a DPF until the 2011 model.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sat 16 Feb 13 at 12:47
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Kia is bought and paid for and is DPF free, but a 2 litre 6 speed Diesel worth ~£7k is a lot for a shopping trolley. I have thought about the Kia Rio 1 air in 5 door on a £125 a month PCP. I guess the car mix is tricky - 57 plate Diesel RAV4 with 38k miles up and a pcp final payment of £5.5k in October and a current trade in of £8k (offered just before Christmas). The Micra is bought but I can sell it for what I paid for it with no problem.
The Micra "feels" right - we were going to go to one car and I would use the bike/bus once a week (adds 45 minutes each way to the commute). I am still not sure about keeping the RAV or jumping to an estate (Avensis or i40). I guess all options are on the table....
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If it was me I'd put the oddball Toyo as the spare, pair the new Hankook and the nearly new Michelin across the rear, then buy two new decent but reasonably priced tyres for the front.
That way you will end up with four good tyres around all four corners, you only have to buy two new tyres and with regard to the odd sized spare - most spare tyres never see the light of day. And if they do, they are often a temporary measure until you get the 'flat' one fixed.
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Seconded - that's exactly what I did when my runabout Panda needed new tyres. It got a pair of GT Radials (a reasonable quality Aussie-owned mid-range brand) from a trusted local fitter onto the front.
OTOH, if someone can confirm having 65s on one axle and 60s on the other is OK, I'd do that (as you already have one 65 profile), then standardise on the OEM profile next time you need to change a pair of tyres. In that case, I'd put the better of whichever tyres come off the car as the spare - after all, on a runabout, you'll only ever use it to get you a few miles home or to the tyre depot.
Spending big money on a cheapie runabout completely defeats the purpose of selling the Kia (or using it instead of the Subaru in my case!)
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Aren't GT Radials manufactured in China by the Chinese company Giti
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Tyre advice - Lygonos
