Which? test of 225/45R17 tyres

[humsk]

Folks,

This may be of interest …. as part of the latest Consumer’s Association Which? report on tyres, they tested four 225/45 R17 tyres. General comments were that there was little difference in dry or wet grip, but the Contis were slightly noisier. Similarly, comfort, rolling resistance and wear were all much the same.

Overall scores were :
Conti Sport Contact 2 .............70 (out of 100)
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D...........70
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2............65
Pirelli Zero Rosso.....................66

They also discussed filling tyres with nitrogen, giving the “real” benefits, not some hyped up advertising bull. Using nitrogen gets rid of the oxygen, moisture and other contaminants, giving more consistent performance and fuel economy. Removing the oxygen (normal air is 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen) reduces the oxidation of the rubber which can lead to blow-outs. The reason why tyres gradually loose pressure is again due to the oxygen – it permeates through the pores in the rubber due to the shape of the molecules. Nitrogen is less prone to this so the tyres maintain pressure for longer.