Alternative tyre size 195 vs 205

[Catman]

Avon ZV7 are good, and less than £50 a corner, plus they're made in the UK

Originally Posted by Mr bountyfull

Good call had these on the CDTi and could not fault them.

I have 195/65/15 ZV7's on my R600, excellent, and wear very well for Avons.

[gadget1960]

If you're looking to save a little money but not skimp on quality you could do worse than get a set of NOVA 195/65/15 tyres, a good friend of mines son works at a tyres fitters in Canterbury and he told me that AVON sells the rights to produce 2-3 year old designs to a European company and re-label them as NOVA (Avon backwards).
As they are made under license, everything has to be spot on production/quality wise, he told me he had them on his car 185/60/14 and so far he's done 8,000 'teenager miles' which equates to about 20,000 normal adult miles! lol, with no issues at all, good wet performance, not too noisy, still got plenty of tread left, been selling them for a couple of years with no complaints as yet.
So basically you're getting a 2-3 year old design from AVON/NOVA at a fraction of the cost of a current AVON tyre.
Might be worth a shout?

[Ross R75]

Thanks for all the input folks. Decision made and I'm having 4x Bridgestone Turanza T005s in 205/65/R15V fitted on Wednesday. I plan on keeping the car and didn't want to risk being less happy with the ride quality on tyres with a shorter sidewall. The Michelin Energy Savers did very well at 10 years old with 30k miles on them and the rears are only about half worn, but the sidewall cracks and cracks along the side of the tread strips mean they're up for retirement.

I gave her a good clean and a coat of acrylic sealant yesterday and she rewarded me by picking up a screw straight through the middle of the driver's side front tyre, so definitely time to put new boots on.

[gadget1960]

Very nice looking 75, love the colour too.
Btw ... you wouldn't have a shorter sidewall, you would have a 10mm narrower tyre width.

[GordyB]

Originally Posted by gadget1960

Very nice looking 75, love the colour too.
Btw ... you wouldn't have a shorter sidewall, you would have a 10mm narrower tyre width.

You would have a 6.5mm shorter sidewall (65% or 10mm width difference)

Unlikely to notice it but if you are happy with the 205 width why change for the sake of a couple of quid.

[Ross R75]

Originally Posted by gadget1960

Very nice looking 75, love the colour too.
Btw ... you wouldn't have a shorter sidewall, you would have a 10mm narrower tyre width.

The profile is a percentage of the width, 65% in this case, so the sidewall is shorter on the 195 tyre. Not a huge amount but definitely enough to make a difference to the ride quality.

Thanks, Copperleaf and Atlantic Blue are my 2 favourite colours on the 75. This one has been pampered from new, so she still looks almost like she did from the factory.

[gadget1960]

Originally Posted by GordyB

You would have a 6.5mm shorter sidewall (65% or 10mm width difference)

Unlikely to notice it but if you are happy with the 205 width why change for the sake of a couple of quid.

Oops, my mistake, I stand corrected and quite rightly so, I had obviously read the tyre calculator wrongly. Doh!

[bl52krz]

Originally Posted by marinabrian

I fitted 195 65 15 Dunlop Fast Response, as a direct replacement for the tourer when I bought it, replacing some cack I'd never heard of before...........Horace tyres anyone?? and found them to be excellent.

I used to buy Michelin when Costco sold them exclusively, however the Michelin Energy always cracked on the sidewalls before the tread was anywhere near worn out.


Avon ZV7 are good, and less than £50 a corner, plus they're made in the UK

I have got Avon ZV5 on a set of forked spokes, and although they perform very well on cornering, they are very noisy when compared to Goodyear Efficent Grip. They Avon seem to wear quite well also. Preferred the Goodyear for long journeys for the comfort and quiet ride, plus more mpg...... a difference of around 3/4 mpg.

[Mr bountyfull]

Originally Posted by bl52krz

I have got Avon ZV5 on a set of forked spokes, and although they perform very well on cornering, they are very noisy when compared to Goodyear Efficent Grip. They Avon seem to wear quite well also. Preferred the Goodyear for long journeys for the comfort and quiet ride, plus more mpg...... a difference of around 3/4 mpg.

I have had both and never noticed that much difference. The 75 is now on Michelin Primacy 4 and again not much to talk about regarding noise and economy.

Having said that my preferred brand has been and remains Goodyear.


Regards