Low Profile 17" Tyre Recommendation

Fiona

Fiona

Member
United-Kingdom
Afternoon All,

I've had a tyre issue, eventually got round to taking the wheel off and it's leaking around the rim. Then to add to the bad news turns out that I have x3 tyres, put politely, 'beyond economical repair'. Expensive week....

I've read lots of the threads about changing the wheels - I'm not interested in doing that at the moment - so what are the best 17" low profile tyres that you have had experience of that I should be looking to replace them with? I only do about 5k miles a year, mostly country roads. Lots of brands from Accelera from £65 to Michelin Pilot Sport £140, have any of you had experience with low profile budget and/or premium brands? Looking for something decent that wears well and won't kill me in the wet.

I have had a few sets of Hankook Ventus V12 Evos, but haven't been impressed with tyre wear, although performance is good. My car didn't get on well with Dunlop Sport - which from memory is what was fitted when I bought the car brand spanking new in 2002.

I have a 2002 Sport with 17" original wheels if it helps.

Ta very much.
 
The above tyres recommended by @Robin_Cox are excellent tyres but personally I would increase the sidewall size slightly for a little more give and comfort, with the added benefit that your speedometer will also read more accurately.

That size would be 205/45 17 and also be sure to keep the load rating as low as possible so go for something between 81 and 84 rather than 87 or 88 if possible which means the sidewalls will be slightly less stiff, again helping a tad with comfort and let's face it with 17's on an A2 every bit helps.

I use Camskill.co.uk for my tyres but obviously you would need to have them fitted somewhere you trust and factor in the cost of this on top.

Even if you don't buy from them though they are a good reference point for tyre comparison and price and also try to go for a tyre with an 'A' wet grip and as low a noise rating as possible too 👍
 
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I also use Camskill for most of my tyres.
My A2 with 17" TT Comps and Stance coilovers uses Landsail LS588 205.45.17 88W XL C, B rating.
22,000 on the rear and still v.good fronts went to 16,000
 

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x3awm said:
I also use Camskill for most of my tyres.
My A2 with 17" TT Comps and Stance coilovers uses Landsail LS588 205.45.17 88W XL C, B rating.
22,000 on the rear and still v.good fronts went to 16,000
Click to expand...
And looking good on them too.
 
Thanks all. Useful stuff there to digest.
Anyone used Tigar? Talking to one of the fitters at ATS - recommended Avon and Goodyear but also said that Tigar are a decent mid range option. £65 fitted.
 
A2Z said:
The above tyres recommended by @Robin_Cox are excellent tyres but personally I would increase the sidewall size slightly for a little more give and comfort, with the added benefit that your speedometer will also read more accurately.

That size would be 205/45 17 and also be sure to keep the load rating as low as possible so go for something between 81 and 84 rather than 87 or 88 if possible which means the sidewalls will be slightly less stiff, again helping a tad with comfort and let's face it with 17's on an A2 every bit helps.

I use Camskill.co.uk for my tyres but obviously you would need to have them fitted somewhere you trust and factor in the cost of this on top.

Even if you don't buy from them though they are a good reference point for tyre comparison and price and also try to go for a tyre with an 'A' wet grip and as low a noise rating as possible too 👍
Click to expand...
I will admit I was looking for 205/45s when the need for a set of 17s came about after an @A2Steve bargain wheelset I couldn't refuse. The 205/40s arose because of a one-time-only deal that seems almost too good to be true - a triple compound discount from an Ebay store for 4 tyres together / + Ebay 20% seasonal discount / + Completesavings sporadic 15% off Ebay (instead of 10%) all on the same day that once refunded the 'cashback' resulted in the 205/40s being around £30 a corner cheaper than normal (at the time their full price was around £79 each on that store) and anything else out there, so ~ the same price as one of the real budget brands within a few pennies of £49 per tyre - sub 200 for the set delivered. I couldn't get close to that on the Uniroyal 45 profiles anywhere, so I decided to chance it. Although they look low profile, I have been astonished at how forgiving they are even on our poor road surfaces - they are definitely not crashy (and the tyre pressure is normal). They do look a little vulnerable, perhaps exacerbated by being on 7.5J S3 rims (they're not illegal - and I don't like the chavvy stretch look - but 215s would probably give a slightly more rotund sidewall).
 
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Robin_Cox said:
I will admit I was looking for 205/45s when the need for a set of 17s came about after an @A2Steve bargain wheelset I couldn't refuse. The 205/40s arose because of a one-time-only deal that seems almost too good to be true - a triple compound discount from an Ebay store for 4 tyres together / + Ebay 20% seasonal discount / + Completesavings sporadic 15% off Ebay (instead of 10%) all on the same day that once refunded the 'cashback' resulted in the 205/40s being around £30 a corner cheaper than normal (at the time their full price was around £79 each on that store) and anything else out there, so ~ the same price as one of the real budget brands within a few pennies of £49 per tyre - sub 200 for the set delivered. I couldn't get close to that on the Uniroyal 45 profiles anywhere, so I decided to chance it. Although they look low profile, I have been astonished at how forgiving they are even on our poor road surfaces - they are definitely not crashy (and the tyre pressure is normal). They do look a little vulnerable, perhaps exacerbated by being on 7.5J S3 rims (they're not illegal - and I don't like the chavvy stretch look - but 215s would probably give a slightly more rotund sidewall).
Click to expand...
Yes 215/40 17 are a perfect size on the wider 7.5j rims and do give ever so slightly more sidewall depth and a slightly improved speedometer reading as well as the obvious extra width, although not quite as much as with the 205/45 size though.

Just to add for anyone contemplating increasing both the width and sidewall depth and buying 215/45 17 tyres, although your speedo would probably be very accurate there is also a very real chance of them rubbing so not recommended 👍
 
Fiona said:
Thanks all. Useful stuff there to digest.
Anyone used Tigar? Talking to one of the fitters at ATS - recommended Avon and Goodyear but also said that Tigar are a decent mid range option. £65 fitted.
Click to expand...
I've got to be honest I had never heard of them and instantly thought of Winnie the Pooh, so must be Micket Mouse 😂.

A quick look online reveals they are a Serbian company owned by Michelin since 2007. As to whether they are any good, you would have checked reviews but not something I would be using.

The Nexen mentioned above or Falken Ziex are pretty good too unless you want to spend big bucks on the Goodyear Eagles or Michelins which are top of the line but expensive 👍
 
I've been running Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetrics for the last few years. Older Gen 2 until 2021, now on Gen 6.

The 2s wore only about 2mm over ~25000+ miles though also rode like they were made of wood, even on lower pressures.

Gen 6 is all-around not much to complain about. They still ride somewhat harshly but at least provide about as much grip as you'll find anywhere, I think.
Bonus points: extremely thick sidewalls as to not curb the rims and fairly good fuel mileage (managed up to 75mpg hardcore-hypermiling in a TDI90).
Main downside for these is certainly the price. Not exactly a bargain at the best of times though if they let me do basically unlimited mileage at good grip for 5 years again, I'd be happy.

Generally when looking for replacements for the AS2s I was hoping to find something not for high loads as to be as soft a sidewall as available, but that appears not to be something that's being offered anywhere anymore. Out of 145 models I'm seeing for price comparison, there's 144 rated "84" and 1 rated "80" these days :/

I wonder if anyone has tried the Michelin Pilot Sport 5s?
 
These would be my choice for the 7Jx17 ET38 rims. Unlike summer tyres, these work well all year round. Summer tyres have much reduced grip in cold rain below about 7 degrees Centigrade, whereas good all-season tyres still work well when the temperature drops. The Vredestein Quatrac 5 are one of the highest mileage all-season tyres, perhaps around 40,000 miles tread life.

Many of the summer tyres will fail the MOT after about 5 years due to cracks and the big brands are not immune at all from cracking. As you are a low mileage motorist, this could mean changing the tyres early even though there's still plenty of tread remaining. I've had Vredestein Quatracs for over 10 years with no sign of cracking yet.

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