Got the michelin pilot sports on this morning 225/45zr18 - $630 each. They leave the 245/40zr18 Goodyears for dead. My advice if you like to drive the car the way nature intended don't mess with the 245 wider tyre size. The steering is now razor sharp and the turn in is fantastic - big difference. Final judgement on these tyres versus the RE040s for grip/feel will need to wait for the Old Road on the weekend but I suspect they will be better and also last longer.

 

The upfront cost is a bit of an eye-widener but if they last longer things even out quite a bit.

I guess you also need to ask yourself - why spend $60K to buy something that handles as well as the 8 and then have it shod with compromise tyres to save a few hundred bucks??

I was always led to believe that one of the most critical things you can change on a car is the tyres so I'll be following updates from the 'testers' avidly and thanks again for sharing your experiences.

 

Not to get too sniffy about it, but the difference is $1200. I know that's what lawyers charge for going to the loo on the client's tab, but for some of us that's big money.

 

Low blow, labrat. Maybe if you threw a smilie in there, it would come across better.

 

I expect double the Ks out of the michelins so that's my justification for the cost ... I have been getting getting about 12-15K out of the the last 2 sets of RE 040s - and that's just cornering with no track days, burn outs or clutch drops.

 

there must be quite a bit of 'spirited' driving in amongst that, nevertheless. I thought 35K was a bit harsh for mine -- and that was with a track day :o

 

Thanks 'Mez.

I've got a thick skin but one of the reasons I was reluctant to divulge my profession in the first place is that you then get subjected to so many BORING snipes that are rarely original and often mean-spirited.

I can take it as well as I can dish it out but if you're gonna have a go - get inventive so at least I get a laugh out of it instead of a groan. :D

 

Wow, 12-15Ks sounds like very quick wear to me. Mine have 17K on them (incl 1 track day ) and still have heaps of wear left. Mind you, I don't do burnouts or clutch drops either.

Are the roads in your area that really rough bitumen you see sometimes?? I've often wondered if driving on that a lot increases tyre wear.

 

I ran my RE040's for 34000k,including 4 Wakefields and two Eastern Creeks,and they still had 4mm left.
Apart from a bit of noise,I think the RE040 is very underated.It will be interesting to see what some of the other brands do around Wakefield.

 

Sorry about that. I apologize. I'm perhaps overly sensitive in that area. It stems from an incident when I was a little kid back in the '50's. I was with my Dad, admiring a neighbour's new car. We didn't have a car. Not many people in our flats did. By way of conversation, my Dad asked "how many mpg's does it get". The neighbour sniffed "If you can afford the car, you don't worry about that". My Dad felt humiliated, especially in front of me.

To put the matter in perspective, when I told my kids I'd spent $325 each on tyres, they gasped at what they regarded as being very expensive indeed.

 

Yes I do punish the tyres and on some rough bitumen (old pacific highway and some other back roads) so that could explain the lower tyre life. Melted, partially ripping blocks off that sort of thing. Might be time to calm down a bit and save the tyres - the devil car makes me do it - I should not have bought a red one!

 

Hey labrat, no sweat. I guess yours was just the straw that broke the camel's back. It does get tiresome sometimes.

And I can relate, don't you worry about that. I came from a working class background with a father who worked 7 days a week to put food on the table for his wife and 4 kids. No GPS education for moi - I slugged it out in the local public schools like everybody else and then put myself through law school.

I can even relate to the humiliation you describe. I was a mad BMX rider as a kid. Rocked up at the local bike shop one day with some mates to drool over stuff our parents couldn't afford to buy us and saw a genuine PK Ripper out the front (then the Rolls Royce of BMX bikes). Couldn't help myself and loudly exclaimed "Look Nige, it's a PK Ripper!", whereupon the young owner and his mates spilled out of the shop. I can still hear their mocking echo of my words now and I'm blushing as I type this. :o :o :o

Now you might understand why the hackneyed jibes of assumed privilege don't sit well.

Ah, sorry about that. No harm no foul. Let's get back to the 8.

Agreed that $1,200 is nothing to sneeze at (even for rich lawyers! :D ) but the point I was making is that why spend $60K on the car if you're going to nobble one of it's major assets. I guess it's all a matter of where along the cost/performance spectrum you feel comfortable.

 

Well, having paid out for Range Rover tyres in the past, I was prepared to pay...but it seems to me that Pirelli/Michelin decided less is more, 'cos those 225/45's are more than whatever M+S I used to fit, for a vehicle with both heavier weight and (IIR) similar speed rating. Go figure!