Any comments on the life of the front tyres on a 1.25 Ford Fiesta ? The first set (from new) have lasted about 14k miles. I know a lot depends on driving style and correct pressures but just wondered if 14k is a reasonable average ?
Mike.
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i think thats very fair on a fiesta mk4/5?
not the best set up in the world is it, baggy rubber bushes attached to a pretty crude subframe with antiroll bars from a zepellin
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I got over 22k on front tyres on a 1.6 Fiesta.
And the Mark 4/5 Fiesta's handling would let it outcorner most cars in its class with ease..And the antiroll bars are slim....
>Bellboy: have you ever driven a Mark5 Fiesta with the suspension in good condition?
madf
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>Bellboy: have you ever driven a Mark5 Fiesta with the suspension in good condition?
madf
wifes mk 5 now has 27,000 miles on
does that count?
its a mk4 with a titilation madf i see them underneath more than on top thank you
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The last set on my 1.4 were wrecked by the lower arm bushes going baggy and throwing the tracking out. They went West very quickly. I noticed the inner edges were looking a little scrubbed but nothing too bad. Had the tracking checked and proclaimed OK (it was, at rest) A month later the tyres were a write off.
The current set (after this fault was fixed) have done 10k and still have about 8mm of tread left on them. They're Firestone TZ200's - a little noisy, but fantastic tyres. Now watching these bushes like a hawk. Already have light surface cracks after only a year, but no play yet!
I agree with madf by the way. This is one of the best handling cars sensible money can buy. Loads of grip, you can play with the balance on the throttle, and the steering is just about perfect. We had a Zetec-S version a few years ago which could out-corner virtually anything (they put the Puma settings on this one). But even the boggo 1.25/1.4 is a laff.
Cheers
DP
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Fiesta outcorner anything in its class?
Not driven many other cars I have to assume.
Not the best suspension set up in the world, but cheap, relaible and easy to fix (cant argue against ford for that bit)
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Fiesta outcorner anything in its class? Not driven many other cars I have to assume.
Errm, yes actually:
1998 Polo (owned) - vague and stodgy in comparison
1997 Corsa (belonged to sister in law) - as Polo but twice as bad and appalling understeer
1999 Peugeot 206 - Good chassis spoiled by overassisted steering and ridiculously overservoedbrakes.
1997 Clio - Soft, comfy, roly poly.
I think that's most of the class covered.
Ford also carried the same suspension layout virtually unchanged (spring and damper rates apart) across to the Puma which most experts agree is one of the finest handling front drivers ever made.
This suspension set up has durability issues relating mostly to lower arm inner bush and anti roll bar bush wear, but it makes a good drivers car.
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You are entitled to your opinion as I am mine.
A good indication of a good handling car imo is the type of car used for lower level people (budget i mean) for rallying.
Not many Fords about in any class if you observe though! Plenty of Vw, citroens, peugeots etc etc.
Im not slagging ford off, they make good reliable cars, but I don't put them high up on the list of handling etc .
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Im not slagging ford off they make good reliable cars but I don't put them high up on the list of handling etc .
Since the original Mondeo in 1993 they've made cars that the press have consistently reported to be among the best handling in their class, and accurately so in my experience. The Mondeo's handling was fine tuned by Jackie Stewart, and Richard Parry Jones who signed off the Focus, Ka, Fiesta, Puma and later Mondeos is a keen amateur rally driver and a total petrolhead - unusual for a senior executive.
I have nothing against the cars you mention - two of my favourite drivers cars are the Peugeot 306 and mk2 VW Golf. Sadly the later cars from both marques fall well short of these standards. VW are showing encouraging signs again recently, but Peugeot are stuck in the doldrums and Citroen have gone back to their old selling points of quirkiness and original design.
A good indication of a good handling car imo is one that feels good on the road. I stand by my view that a Fiesta is a far more rewarding drivers car than anything the competition were knocking out at the time, with the possible exception of the 106/Saxo.
I think we'll agree to disagree :-)
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Hi
I had a Mk4 1.25 Si for 10.5 years, finally selling it last September. The first set of tyres were changed at approx. 37 k (Michelin MXT). Over the rest of the life of the car I rotated the tyres around and purchased a further 6 tyres if I remember correctly (Michelin XT1/EB3's). I managed to get about 49K off most of them . The odd one had to be replaced when the suspension went out of true true to wishbone failure and the tracking being slightly out. The front tyres would have required replacement very shortly after I sold the car, but the rears still had about 5mm on. Michelin were certainly hardwearing, but maybe not the best for handling purposes. The Mk4 certainly encourages you to use the throttle to control the car and explore the handling on twisty roads. Unfortunately the car ate wishbones and bushes. Still we can't have it all ways!
fiestasi
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On my last car, a 1999 1.25l Fiesta Zetec (a cracking little car to drive) I got 30,000 miles out of the originally fitted front tyres which were Pirelli p700-z in 185/55 r14 size. The rears were still going strong at 55,000 miles just before I changed to my current Focus.
14,000 miles seems somewhat poor for a relatively small and not particularly powerful car but there are obviously many factors to consider such as driving style, pressures, nature of journeys etc. What size and make of tyres were they?
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This thread was a lot more interesting than I'd first thought it would be!
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