A star tyres , myth or fact

[asoni]

Actually another thing to add.

I did get a puncture in Spain, I was able to go to a normal garage who fixed it for £10 and it’s been fine ever since.

If I had run flats I don’t think they can be repaired and I’d have to faff around trying to get a new tyre in Spain at a cost of about £250, and would also mean the 1 new tyre has completely different tread levels to the other 3 tyres and will always be out of sync.

[asoni]

asoni how have you got on with your Michelin's over the last year?

I've been tormenting myself with this topic for a while now. Up until last week I had 275/40/20 Dunlop run flat and star marked on the front, and 315/35/20 Continental run flat and star marked on the rear. The Dunlop developed some strange marks in the tread, so coupled with the terrible tram lining my car suffered from, I decided to change them. I got a pair of Duellers which were also star marked and run flat from ebay with 7mm left. After fitting them the road noise was terrible, like a bearing sound really. I had them at 38psi so reduced to 32 yesterday and so far they seem to be a bit quieter (still louder than the Dunlop), but I think I've reassured myself that the noise was just the tyres.

However, the tram lining still remains and I have just had enough of it as it is really ruining the car for me. So, I'm going to replace the fronts again but ditch the run flat this time. Pirelli do a non run flat star rates tyre for circa £160 each, so I am pretty much set on this. I'm not 100% convinced on buying non star rated, so am happy to go with these. My question now is can you mix non run flat on the front and run flat on the rear? Both will be star rated. There is about 4mm left on the Continentals. The fact that I'm sticking with star rated, will the 4-5mm difference between front and back really matter? I'd rather not be forking out for a set of rear tyres at this stage too!!

Next question relates to winters. I currently have 255/50/19 Goodyear Ultragrip star rated square set up on my winter wheels. I read a post somewhere that the star rated issue doesn't apply to square setups. Does this definitely apply on the LCi too? If so, I'd be tempted to ditch these and replace with Vredestein as a couple of the edges are getting low on the Ultragrips.

Sorry didn’t see this but coincidentally have just updated my experience.

Also no tram lining at all.

Not sure if you bought the tyres yet but black circles had a deal the other day, which worked out £100 less for all 4 then what I paid 1.5 years ago! I was tempted but still have 5mm left on mine so should get another 6 months out of it easily.

[Waka]

Actually another thing to add.

I did get a puncture in Spain, I was able to go to a normal garage who fixed it for £10 and it’s been fine ever since.

If I had run flats I don’t think they can be repaired and I’d have to faff around trying to get a new tyre in Spain at a cost of about £250, and would also mean the 1 new tyre has completely different tread levels to the other 3 tyres and will always be out of sync.

I've had a run flat repaired in the UK, cost me £15.

I'm sure if the puncture was too close to the sidewall it couldn't be repaired (similar to normal tyres) but if you've seen how thick the sidewalls are on these things that's unlikely to happen!

[StuBeeDoo]

Some tyre manufacturers (can't remember which now, but the FAQs on all their websites can be checked) say their runflats must not be repaired.

There are tyre places in the UK who will refuse to repair punctured runflats, irrespective of which part of the tyre has been pierced or what the tyre manufacturer states.

[Lyons]

asoni how have you got on with your Michelin's over the last year?

I've been tormenting myself with this topic for a while now. Up until last week I had 275/40/20 Dunlop run flat and star marked on the front, and 315/35/20 Continental run flat and star marked on the rear. The Dunlop developed some strange marks in the tread, so coupled with the terrible tram lining my car suffered from, I decided to change them. I got a pair of Duellers which were also star marked and run flat from ebay with 7mm left. After fitting them the road noise was terrible, like a bearing sound really. I had them at 38psi so reduced to 32 yesterday and so far they seem to be a bit quieter (still louder than the Dunlop), but I think I've reassured myself that the noise was just the tyres.

However, the tram lining still remains and I have just had enough of it as it is really ruining the car for me. So, I'm going to replace the fronts again but ditch the run flat this time. Pirelli do a non run flat star rates tyre for circa £160 each, so I am pretty much set on this. I'm not 100% convinced on buying non star rated, so am happy to go with these. My question now is can you mix non run flat on the front and run flat on the rear? Both will be star rated. There is about 4mm left on the Continentals. The fact that I'm sticking with star rated, will the 4-5mm difference between front and back really matter? I'd rather not be forking out for a set of rear tyres at this stage too!!

Next question relates to winters. I currently have 255/50/19 Goodyear Ultragrip star rated square set up on my winter wheels. I read a post somewhere that the star rated issue doesn't apply to square setups. Does this definitely apply on the LCi too? If so, I'd be tempted to ditch these and replace with Vredestein as a couple of the edges are getting low on the Ultragrips.

Sorry didn’t see this but coincidentally have just updated my experience.

Also no tram lining at all.

Not sure if you bought the tyres yet but black circles had a deal the other day, which worked out £100 less for all 4 then what I paid 1.5 years ago! I was tempted but still have 5mm left on mine so should get another 6 months out of it easily.

Yup, bought them and it’s still tram lining. I’m going to try another place for alignment, then if that fails will
Probably abandon the 20’s and locate a part of standard 19’s and opt for dire looks but comfortable ride.