V70 Wheels/Tyres: Infinity Tyres?

[boggymarsh]

I know that tyres are a regular subject on here but I have just had the tracking done on my V70 and really ought to start thinking about having some new boots fitted. The bloke at the garage said I ought to look at Infinity Tyres as a good budget tyre that he said he had been supplying for the last 4 years with no recollection of complaint from those he has supplied them to. It is not a company I had heard of before and just thought I'd ask you fine folk if you had had any personal experience of using them or heard anything about them. At £40 a corner they are far from being the most expensive and I know that in most cases you get what you pay for but the Volvo is no racing car and is generally only used by me and the wife on local runs and occassionally up to the motorway to the lakes. A search on the net gives some fairly unfavourable reviews about poor handling in the wet but there again the Goodyear NCT5s (195/165/15) I have on at the moment don't always instill great confidence in the wet either.

Your replies are gratefully received chaps and chapesses! :-)

[Jim314]

The Infinity Tyres website I found does not give much information on the nature of the company, where their tyres are manufactured, etc. I wonder if they just contract the manufacture of their tyres at the lowest cost sources in Asia or Africa where environmental and workplace safety regulations might not be respected. See this.

From the infinity website the max infl pressure of the INF-040 tyre in 195/65-15 is 250 kpa or 36 psi. Better quality tyres usually have a max infl pressure of 300 kpa (44 psi) or 350 kpa (51 psi).

If you want a relatively cheap tyre which still has a recognized reputation for quality, check out the various Kumho offerings in 195/65-15, e.g., Kumho Ecsta ASX.

If you are willing to dig deep in your pockets and want the absolute best extra-urban mpg, check out the Michelin Energy Saver. These were OE on my 2004 base model V70 2.4L 170bhp 5-spd auto, and I got as high as 40 mpgUK (7.0 L/100km) at 70-80 mph on long road trips.

Alternatively there is the Michelin Primacy. I have found the Primacy MXV4 (US spec load rating 91H) currently on my V70 give the same urban mpg as the Energy Saver, but significantly worse extra-urban fuel efficiency. I keep my tyres at 38 psi (260 kpa), the Volvo recommendation for fuel efficiency, higher load, higher speed.

[Jim314]

What is the model year and trim level of this V70? It seems that V70s with OE 195/65-15tyres are uncommon--more have 205/55-16, and others 205/50-17 or 225/45-17. All of these wheel/tyre combinations have the same nominal diameter at the tread: 25.0", within 0.1".

There is not a lot of interest among tyre enthusiasts in determining what are the best tyres for a V70 with 15" wheels. There are scores of different makes and models of tyres in 195/65-15. My comments on Infinity are of course only uninformed speculation on my part.

I don't know the road conditions where you drive. Maybe you and your family are such restrained and competent drivers that you could drive 1000 person-years on the world's cheapest tyres and never have an incident. On the other hand, superior tyres might make the difference in enabling a successful life-saving emergency manoever on some slick, narrow road enroute to the lakes.

If you are interested in the Kumhos go here http://www.kumhotyre.co.uk/selector.php?tyre_id=14.

It looks like your choice would be limited to the Solus KH17 or the Ecsta HM KH31. The lower Solus doesn't have a 91 load factor in 195/65-15. The higher Ecsta don't come in 195/65-15. I think you want a load factor of 91 and a speed rating dependent on how you drive. I never go over 80 mph so an 'H' rating is fine for me.

[swedishandgerman]

Hi all,

I swear by Good Year tyres and I've just bought a set of 195/65 15's for my V70. I'm very surprised by your comments on handling in the wet of the NCT5's which I find massively better than the mix-match of 2 Pirelli's on the front and 2 different types of cheapies on the back. I got mine from Protyre at £55 each which I found very reasonable.

I always use Good-Year as I find they last a lot longer than others.

Interestingly, Autocar did a comparison of Continental Tyres compared to a number of cheap alternatives. Admittedly, the Continental tyres were more expensive than the other brands, but the results were very eye opening. Tests were carried out of lap-times (wet and dry), braking distances (wet and dry) and an explanantion of what is involved to legally sell a tyre in this country. The latter is that it must not break up at the maximum speed and load rating; this I find very concerning. I can't find a link to this report, but it was in October 2007 and I kept the report as the results were so surprising

[billynomates]

Originally Posted by swedishandgerman

Hi all,
I always use Good-Year as I find they last a lot longer than others.

Unless its a Goodyear F1 which lasted as little as 6k miles on my old 850 T5 !!!!

Im currently using the Kumho KU31's and find them as good as the Pirelli's they replaced

[John_C]

Don't skimp on tyres. Unless you have an impartial review of a budget tyre singing it's praises (and I don't mean some website where a couple of members of the public think it's good having driven 1000 miles on it compared to the cheap ditchfinders they had on the car previously ) stick to a good solid brand.

Tyres are so cheap in that size is it really worth risking a significant increase in emergency braking distance to save £20 a corner?

Just my 0.02p

You might also be interested in these discussions:
http://www.autocar.co.uk/forums/p/4686/30532.aspx
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article...erformance.htm

Cheers,
John

[acshortt5]

Back to the OP's question:

I have used infinity tyres in the past. They were fine, not brilliant just ok. I got about 10k miles out of them on my T5 with mostly motorway miles. They grip perfectly well in the dry and ok in the wet. The ones I had did have a decent clearing tread pattern.

They were an average tyre, you get what you pay for. If all you do is potter round town and the occasional motorway run then they will be fine.

However if you drive a lot on motorways or fast in general for whatever reason - paramedic etc then you should really get some better quality tyres.

[VolvoX]

This is a useful infinity tyres guide I found online. This might give you some good info.

[RM955I]

I can recommend Barum Bravuris. Used them on a 270bhp SAAB 95 Aero and they gave decent grip and mileage.

I was happy with Barum as they're owned by Continental and are now classed as 'mid range' : I'm not sure about budget tyres though - still something I am a little uncomfortable with.

[Aveton Gifford]

I hate budget tyres, one of my previous cars came to me fitted with Wanli's on the front and Linglongs on the back, I swear it was like driving around on 4 greased pigs, never again!

Just my opinion of course!!