All season tyres

[Bobbybus]

Has anybody got experience of the Goodyear vector 4 seasons?

 

[Velma's Dad]

In my view it's actually pretty pointless asking fellow van owners "what do you think of tyre A/B/whatever?". Practically none of us have the opportunity to try different brands of the same size/profile/rating tyres on the same van in exactly the same conditions on a road, let alone on a timed/measured track. I defy anyone to say conclusively whether Goodyear or Michelin all-seasons are "better" under particular conditions on the road.

Tyre reviews, run by Autobild etc, do however do such tests and you can easily find how different brands within a category performed "blind" (ha ha) under strictly controlled test conditions.

But even then, there's never going to be a perfect all-round tyre, it depends on the road conditions you're trying to cater for and whether you're most looking for traction, handling or braking performance.

People may report differences in road noise, but why you'd try to compare the sound made by the worn Brand As you've just take off, against the squeaky-new Brand Bs you've put on, beats me. But again, the tyre review sites do proper comparative tests and that's probably worth looking at.

 

[apreading]

In my view it's actually pretty pointless asking fellow van owners "what do you think of tyre A/B/whatever?". Practically none of us have the opportunity to try different brands of the same size/profile/rating tyres on the same van in exactly the same conditions on a road, let alone on a timed/measured track. I defy anyone to say conclusively whether Goodyear or Michelin all-seasons are "better" under particular conditions on the road.

Tyre reviews, run by Autobild etc, do however do such tests and you can easily find how different brands within a category performed "blind" (ha ha) under strictly controlled test conditions.

But even then, there's never going to be a perfect all-round tyre, it depends on the road conditions you're trying to cater for and whether you're most looking for traction, handling or braking performance.

People may report differences in road noise, but why you'd try to compare the sound made by the worn Brand As you've just take off, against the squeaky-new Brand Bs you've put on, beats me. But again, the tyre review sites do proper comparative tests and that's probably worth looking at.

I do agree in principle with much of what you say but its not true to say that other owners experiences count for nothing, especially if they drive lots of miles and get through tires regularly.

As an example, the original Continental tires I had on my Audi A4 many years ago were really noisy on the motorway all through their lifetime, when I changed I got Goodyear Eagle F1s because they were best in the wet and the noise rating was one of the lowest. They were like a dream compared to the Contis that I took off - sooo much quieter on the motorway, the difference was stark. And they were obviously more grippy in the dry, didnt tramline the way the Contis did and were much better in the wet. So I couldnt have told you which tires were best on the market but I could tell you that the Goodyears were way better in every way than the Contis. This is just one of many experiences I have had with tires over the years. Doing many miles in a car and trying a number of tires over its life I could compare quite well the different tires that I did try.

Now with Calis, its quite likely most of us do a relatively low mileage each year, so dont get through many tires, so we wont have as much experience. Buts its quite possible that a few owners have tried 2 different types or maybe even 3 different types. So while they cant tell you what is best, they may well be able to tell you what was bad or good about the tires they have tried.

 

[Norfolk Jim]

Has anybody got experience of the Goodyear vector 4 seasons?

Only on a VW Golf which has Cross CLimates on back - they've performed really well in bad weather (Rain and mud but no snow yet).

 

[B J G]

Many years ago when I had Company cars and tyre replacement had no financial cost to me meaning I could experiment on Brands. Did approx 44,000 miles per year and cars replaced every 2 years.
What I found was that tyre Brands that were excellent on one make and model weren't on another.
Pirelli and Goodyear were best. Dunlop had poor wear and Michelin were a hard tyre with poor wet grip. That was in the past pre speed camera days.

On the Cali I had Nokian Weatherproof tyres followed by Michelin CrossClimate SUV.

Nokians were much quieter than the Michelins but had soft walls that gave poor steering response and if a bit low on pressure gave a wallowing ride, not good on back roads. Excellent wear. SUV version may be better with its stiffer sidewalls.

In the wet, snow and boggy fields no obvious difference between Nokian & Michelin

I'd reckon there is little to choose between the All Season tyres that have a 'V' tread design, which seems to be common across the top Brands.

 

[Velma's Dad]

I'd reckon there is little to choose between the All Season tyres that have a 'V' tread design, which seems to be common across the top Brands.

I suspect you're right.

A disadvantage of the V-tread tyres is you can in theory only use your spare on one side of the vehicle. Having said that, I'm reliably informed (by some very good rally drivers) that it doesn't actually make a whole heap of difference in the real world which way round you put them on.

 

[B J G]

I suspect you're right.

A disadvantage of the V-tread tyres is you can in theory only use your spare on one side of the vehicle. Having said that, I'm reliably informed (by some very good rally drivers) that it doesn't actually make a whole heap of difference in the real world which way round you put them on.

Mud would be the main problem area but the odds of spare being on in mud are low.
I've fitted a non directional as a spare All Season.

 

[Cali Phillip]

Has anybody got experience of the Goodyear vector 4 seasons?

Got a set laster last year, 10k on them now.
Never had any issues on mud or grass.
Impressed with the snow performance vs our old caddy with goodyear full winter ultragrip 9’s, almost no difference.
Good on the road and still 4mm on front after 10k.

 

[Niborn]

We have had a similar discussion going whilst I and another Cali T6 also have been travelling through the Arctic in North Norway and North Finland.
The conditions already the worst driving conditions I could of imagined have amazingly got even worse, temperatures have been at low as - 17, freezing winds too. We travelled on both ploughed and unploughed roads, day and night.
You may find this post interesting.. I'll be adding some more photos of the conditions and other comments about our experience of using the Cali in this weather too. Here is the thread title

ROAD TRIP TO ARCTIC CIRCLE - WHICH TYRES​

 

[soulstyledevon]

We have had a similar discussion going whilst I and another Cali T6 also have been travelling through the Arctic in North Norway and North Finland.
The conditions already the worst driving conditions I could of imagined have amazingly got even worse, temperatures have been at low as - 17, freezing winds too. We travelled on both ploughed and unploughed roads, day and night.
You may find this post interesting.. I'll be adding some more photos of the conditions and other comments about our experience of using the Cali in this weather too. Here is the thread title

ROAD TRIP TO ARCTIC CIRCLE - WHICH TYRES​

Niborn.
Do you have an Instagram blog of your trip…?

 

[Niborn]

Niborn.
Do you have an Instagram blog of your trip…?

Not yet, the trip is keeping us pretty occupied as I'm not a great social. Media person... plus the Northern Lights when they are around... Ill try and do something with everything, lots of pictures and descriptions of the trip included

 

[Niborn]

I've thousands of pictures and video to sort

 

[Little owl1963]

Do they still make mitchelin Cross Climate 44mpg tyres, or have Aglilis Replaced them ?? Or Agile ??
Do these cross climate tyres really make a difference if stuck in campsite soft grass / mud ??
Against standard tyres ??, or do you still end up stuck ??

 

[Wildcamper]

I changed from normal summer tyres to Agilis Cross Climate. No more slipping on campsite wet grass. I like the ride and they are wearing very well.

 

[Little owl1963]

I changed from normal summer tyres to Agilis Cross Climate. No more slipping on campsite wet grass. I like the ride and they are wearing very well.

Thanks

 

[Velma's Dad]

Do they still make mitchelin Cross Climate 44mpg tyres, or have Aglilis Replaced them ?? Or Agile ??
Do these cross climate tyres really make a difference if stuck in campsite soft grass / mud ??
Against standard tyres ??, or do you still end up stuck ??

The compound (ie all-season vs summer) will make little difference, it's all about the tread pattern. You need to go to an AT-type tyre if getting stuck is your concern. However note that a lot of those are "mud and snow" rated but may not have the "three peaks+snowflake" (3PMSF) to meet the legal requirements for a winter tyre in some continental countries.

Van-type tyres like Agilis generally offer better durability - especially the sidewalls - than car-type tyres. Similarly, some 4x4-type tyres can be extra tough, eg the Michelin Latitude Cross, which as well as being pretty indestructible also has a 'hybrid' tread pattern so offers reasonable off-road capability also.

For my personal needs an all-seasons road tyre is a decent option for general Cali-ing, although I've after recently getting a deformed tread (on a Goodyear Vector4Seasons) I gather that all-season tyres in general are particularly prone to that. Although I don't think it can be highly prevalent so on balance I still think they're a good option.

 

[Nick from Bath]

We’ve just done 1700 miles across Europe and back on a set of new Michelin CrossClimate 2. Excellent ride and handling on some very wet autoroutes and no issues with wet grass and a bit of mud on various sites. Couldn’t imagine going back to the original Bridgestones.

 

[acer]

Thanks for posting that. It would be useful if you could come back to this thread after a winter to provide a further update of performance relative to the Bridgestones.

 

[Flower Power]

my solution.... General Grabber AT3 235/55/17

 

[secret lemonade drinker]

my solution.... General Grabber AT3 235/55/17
View attachment 129154

You need to use tippex to fill in the letters, I did that on my jeep 30 years ago, had white steel wheels

 

[wildslammer22]

We have fitted Michelins Agile CrossClimate (215/65/16/R17/T109) this year.

Very pleased with them, no extra noice on the highway, good performance on dirt roads and steep gravel paths, no aquaplaning on wet streets.

But: this week on a Greek Peloponnese camping, after days off pouring rain, this was our situation:
View attachment 85871

As you can see, the tyre profile of the Michelin Agile CrossClimate (which is deep), is completely filled with clay... It happened within seconds. No grip at all, no way of wiggling out our T5.1 front wheel drive.

Only the tractor of the camping boss was able to pull us out of the mud. Plus three men pushing the van, and me inside giving a minimal bit of gas.

Regards from Amsterdam,

Marc.

Even AT's will struggle in mud, a set of traction boards which can double up as levelers if you have space might have saved the day without getting the farmer involved. Heading to the Peloponnese next year, can’t wait.