tyre opinions please

[the shreksta]

hey folks

i would like to put a full set of rubber on my 2004 3.0d x5, looking on the asda tyre website they have some good deals on nankang tyres and bridgestone d-sport tyres

my car has 19" wheels

255/50/19 for fronts

285/45/19 for rears

any suggestions please or opinions on the 2 brands ive listed

[storminmike]

Not use them

I run hankook ventus rh06 all round (different sizes obviously). The last quite a long time unlike the General Grabbers which were a tad nicer but not nearly the same mileage. It came with Yokohamas' which stuck like dried Weetabix but the tread disappeared like a school kid going mad with an eraser, I swear the dust behind was the tyre loosing millimeters per mile

[X5Sport]

With these cars do not go too far into the budget world.  These cars weigh 2-tonnes and you have to absolutely trust that patch of rubber at each corner not to put you into the first ditch!

Standard fit tyres were Michelin Diamaris, and I have used Bridgestone too with no grip/life issues.  Continental are OK, but expensive.  Dunlop are noisy and too short lived.

The E53 can be sensitive to tyres.....see the debate about only using '*' marked tyres as these are 100% compatible with the car.  The problem is the transmission system as either wide difference in tread depth, or the more 'off-road' type tread patterns can cause the system to wind up.  This leads to diff or transfer box failure.  It doesn't happen to everyone, nor with all non '*' tyres, but it has started to appear regularly on the forum.

[the shreksta]

Thanks for advice. So what are the correct tyres I should be using?

[fenj66]

My front 255 50 19 diamaris lasted over 40k miles. Were great on snow and ice. They DID aquaplane on heavy standing water. But excellent value for money IMHO.

[the shreksta]

[quote="fenj66"]
My front 255 50 19 diamaris lasted over 40k miles. Were great on snow and ice. They DID aquaplane on heavy standing water. But excellent value for money IMHO.
[/quote]

Can you still get them?

[X5Sport]

Michelin Latitude Diamaris is the 'official' name it seems, and yes you can still get them. 

I think each set on mine lasted about 30k, and would have been better apart from having to drive round all the blasted roundabouts in MK - not good for tyre life!

[Riggie]

Camskill Tyres had them in 20" last time I looked so may have 19s.

[Insight G40]

[quote="X5Sport"]
Michelin Latitude Diamaris is the 'official' name it seems, and yes you can still get them. 

I think each set on mine lasted about 30k, and would have been better apart from having to drive round all the blasted roundabouts in MK - not good for tyre life!
[/quote]

I've got them on my X5, came with a pretty much new set, and I've been very happy with them. So much so that I'll not be looking any further when the time comes to replace them.

Last time I looked about £150 a corner delivered from mytyres, obviously you'd have fitting on top of that unless you have a friendly tyre fitter.

[Chris.od]

When I looked a few weeks ago Asda tyres came up cheapest for Diamaris for my 20's at about £197 each for rears and £190 for fronts which seems pretty good to me, I'd expect your 19's to be less that that. That includes fitting at a local tyre shop of your choice from their list...
Chris

[AW8]

I have run 19"  Diamaris on mine for nearly 10 years. They last & hold together quite well albeit tyre performance has arguably moved on since these first appeared.

I have been happy enough with these all year round other than in significant snow & ice......in those conditions I understandably found them useless on any sort of gradient, ( I accept my snow & ice review differs from that shared by fenj66)....I have dedicated winter tyres on 17's just in case of having to drive in significant snow & ice.

If buying one sole set of new tyres I would seriously consider Hankook Ventus.

[max]

[quote="AW8"]
I have run 19"  Diamaris on mine for nearly 10 years. They last & hold together quite well albeit tyre performance has arguably moved on since these first appeared.

I have been happy enough with these all year round other than in significant snow & ice......in those conditions I understandably found them useless on any sort of gradient, ( I accept my snow & ice review differs from that shared by fenj66)....I have dedicated winter tyres on 17's just in case of having to drive in significant snow & ice.
[/quote]

I have found the Michelin Diamaris to be excellent all year round, they cost a few more £££s than the other but well worth it in my opinion. So much so my spare set of BMW winters are still as new and have not been used  O:-)

[Raj]

I'm running Toyo on mine all round. They are very good for the money and work well in most conditions.

[kennyfin73]

Diamaris the only choice mate.Got near 50k on mine, worth paying that bit extra and personally they look the better tyre on the X5.

[X5-D-Sport]

For my 3 penneth worth...
I fitted a matching set of REAR wheels all round... with 295 tyres... on standard 19" rims.

the road manners improved instantly & the front tyre outer edge scrub virtually ceased.

additiinally, I also fitted 35mm rear spacers & 15mm front spacers.
This brought the wheel track to identical measurements front & rear...

My X5 now drives like its on rails wet or dry, the cornering & straight line drive is now excellent... and feels VERY stable.
She has done over 155k miles & 25k with the spacers & mods... and the tyres are still 5mm tread after 25,000 miles on all 4 corners.

The tyres I have are Middle of the Range ROADSTONE's..... and drive beautifully & have great water dispersal too.