2007 VW Golf 2.0 GT Sport TDI (140Bhp) - Extra Load / Reinforced Tyres - Budget / Premium ?

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 19:20
2007 VW Golf 2.0 GT Sport TDI (140Bhp) - Extra Load / Reinforced Tyres - Budget / Premium ? - Tony1DB

Hello all and I hope you can help me!

I am looking at getting 4 new tyres for my car (2007/57 VW Golf 2.0 GT Sport TDI (140Bhp)). Currently have Bridgestone RE050 on the rear and Barum Bravuris 2 on the front - all on the car when I bought it. All are: 225x45x17 - 91W.

The Barums have performed well for my style of driving - usually easy going around town with occasional 'spirited' moments on twisty A roads (A134 Essex/Suffolk).

I fancy a change from what I've got and I am torn between:

Budget tyres (GT Radial Champiro HPX @ £60 + fitting and seem to get some favourable reviews and seem to have a good history behind the Company).

Mid-range (something like the Uniroyal Rainsport 2 @ £85-£95 + fitting, because they are good in the wet).

Premium like Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 (£97 + fitting, because they are on the local Constabulary's high performance Volvo estates so, good enough for advanced Police drivers, good enough for me!).

My priority is good grip and stopping.

My question is that all the above tyres come with a choice of standard or Extra Load / XL / Reinforced - bar the HPX's, which only come as XL.

I have heard that the Golf is a heavy car, especially in diesel guise, so I should fit XL tyres, but the Golf never came with these as standard so are they really needed?

Also, I've heard that XL tyres improve handling (but make the ride harsher?) and are safer IF you have a blow-out as the reinforced sidewalls give better support until you can come to a standstill.

Please could you spare me a moment to tell me what you think about the above selection of tyres and whether I should go for the XL version or not?

Many thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing from you all,

Tony - PS: LOVE this site!

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 19:32
2007 VW Golf 2.0 GT Sport TDI (140Bhp) - Extra Load / Reinforced Tyres - Budget / Premium ? - Pat L

Hi Tony

I've got Pirelli P7 all round on my Passat (extra load, can't rembermber size), really pleased with them. Good grip, not too noisy, wear well.

Pat

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 21:10
2007 VW Golf 2.0 GT Sport TDI (140Bhp) - Extra Load / Reinforced Tyres - Budget / Premium ? - oldtoffee

Your owner manual will tell you what specification tyres you should use on the car. If you change from this, let your insurance company know. XL rated tyres are designed for significantly heavier loads so they will be firmer and bounce in and out of potholes a bit better than normal rated tyres but you'll pay a penalty with the extra stiffness in terms of harsher ride and potentially more road noise. You won't get better handling from them over normal rated tyres in fact potentially more skittish and less controllable on the limit. I doubt they'll be recommended for your Golf which although saddled with a tubby diesel over the front wheels won't need that type of tyre.

If you check out mytyres dot co dot uk for your tyre size and click on the test reports avaiable for most of them you'll see how differently they perform in dry, wet, snow, braking, internal and external noise and this might inform your choice.

Having driven 500 miles today in rubbish weather and considering the UK climate in general I think I'd look for a tyre competent to good in the dry, good to very good in the wet, decent wear characteristics and not too noisy.

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Wed 25 Jan 2012 09:21
2007 VW Golf 2.0 GT Sport TDI (140Bhp) - Extra Load / Reinforced Tyres - Budget / Premium ? - daveyjp

After reading recommendations from the Jag forum I went for some Goodyear F1 in the same size as you need. I decided they must be made of licorice because after 8000 miles they were ready for replacement - the original Pirellis had done 18,000 and my driving hadn't changed.

No probs for the Police drivers, they don't pay for replacements!

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Wed 25 Jan 2012 11:28
2007 VW Golf 2.0 GT Sport TDI (140Bhp) - Extra Load / Reinforced Tyres - Budget / Premium ? - ChannelZ

I had the same size tyres on both my Astra and Vectra. The Astra was a 150hp diesel remapped to 200hp, VXR brakes, all the mods. I burned through a good few tyres on that car, and the best of the lot were the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A.

The Goodyear Eagle F1-A was similar in grip and performance, but wore a bit quicker than the RE050A. The F1-A wasn't as precise as the RE050A, though I did have the XL F1-A on my Vectra and they were an improvement over the non-XL ones.

I've had Goodyear tyres on a few cars on and off, and aways find the XL versions to be better. Even on the work fleet Mondeos, they run Goodyear Excellence in XL and they feel pretty good as well.

The F1-A2 is supposed to be an excellent tyre, I see they're fitted to the fleet Superbs, but not driven one yet to give any feedback.

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Wed 25 Jan 2012 23:41
2007 VW Golf 2.0 GT Sport TDI (140Bhp) - Extra Load / Reinforced Tyres - Budget / Premium ? - GeoffC

In your case I would go for something like the Bridgstones or the Continentals both stick like glue and stop well. If VW don' fit the car with reinforced tyres I would avoid them as it may spoil the handling. The only thing with both Bridgstone and Contis is they are comparitivly quick to wear out. The Pirrelli P6 lasts a little longer -but not sure if it comes in your size or not. But my experience of the P6 was the steering felt wrong - maybe the P7 with the asymetric version of the tread is more stable.

Edited by GeoffC on 25/01/2012 at 23:42

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Fri 3 Feb 2012 01:46
2007 VW Golf 2.0 GT Sport TDI (140Bhp) - Extra Load / Reinforced Tyres - Budget / Premium ? - Tony1DB

Hi Pat, Old Toffee, Daveyjp, ChannelZ and GeoffC!

Thank you for replying...

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I have now purchased 4 x Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 (91Y) for just under £385.00 delivered from Camskill. I have a mate who will fit them for £20.00 and another friend who will do the 4 wheel laser check (Hunter ???) for £25.00.

It is difficult to know what to do for the best - everyone has their own opinions on tyres but everyone has different requirements, drive differently, in different cars, different areas etc etc etc!

I decided on these after considering the likes of Kumho, Hankooks, Uniroyals etc etc., but these F1's were only about £50.00 to £100.00 more (depending on what I was comparing them with) and they get consistently rave reviews and they are a reasonably new tyre (so new technology - I hope!).

Daveyjp - Not sure what car you drive, your driving style, whether you had the Asymmetric 1's or 2's, but I had heard the 1's did wear out quickly but that GY had addressed this issue with the 2's... only time will tell! ...and you're right, the Police do not pay for tyres on their 'company cars'!

Pat/ChannelZ - I've heard mixed things about XL tyres. I decided on standard tyres because that is what my car came with, they're what VW said should go on, they were nearly £5 each cheaper than the XL version plus I was driving myself CRAZY with reading all the reviews and wondering what to do. However, if these ones turn out to be rubbish, I may well try an XL tyre next time.

This is my first time of buying a set of brand new, premium tyres and although I cannot really afford the extra price - this month of all months (nor do I drive my car like I stole it to test the capabilities of these tyres) - I figured I'd cut back on a couple of small things (unnecessary takeaways/DVD rentals etc) for a bit and get some top quality tyres on. I know there are people out there who say that paying extra for premium tyres is a waste of money and, to an extent, I agree, but now I'm a Daddy to a GORGEOUS, BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL, PERFECT little girl, my outlook on things has certainly changed!

Tyres not fitted yet due to work commitments, but cannot wait to get them on and see what they are like. I just hope they do not disappoint or attract any nails too soon!

Thanks again to you all for taking the time to reply and all the best,

Tony.

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