chrisgixer

An oddity I am trying to understand. I have 18" 8j rims currently with 235 40 18 sports contact 3 Ao1 (Audi approved fitment) which tramline noticeably. But almost accpetable at the moment as they are fairly new. 245 40 18 sports contact 3 Mo (Mercedes approved fitment) No tramlining at all and I do mean NO tram lining on the same wheels, car and set up. This might seem odd, as the wider 245 tyre tram lines less. But the standard fitment is 235 on a 17" rim. same width as the tramlining sc3 ao1. So could it be that the narrower tyre means the sidewall angle is \__tread__/ shaped and the sidewall angle points away from the hub centre. Where as the wider 245 allows a more verticle side wall |__tread__| and the sidewall angle is more towards the hub centre by comparison. Although we are only talking 10mm extra width. ...? Or... Is there a construction difference within the ao1 tyre, that doesn't suit my omega? And the MO does? Mercedes suspension design I thought was similar to omega, in a McPherson strut design. And that tyre does seem to work well. Where as the Audi suspension design, as far as I'm aware, is more complex with multi links giving a double wishbone design, I believe? Firmer Audi suspension might allow a softer sidewall, making the ao1 less suitable for the omega. Both tyre sizes are approved in the tuv certificate supplied by irmscher for the omega, who are the German 18" wheel manufacturer. Any thoughts appreciated. Chris

I hate tram lining. I think Tony knows this, as a regular customer for set up with my omegas over the years. There's several "proverbs" on width and construction that are said to contribute to this hateful issue, but recently I have found a narrower and softer side wall tyre to tramline more than the wider firmer counterpart. I is confused. How can anyone tell if their new £520 worth of tyres will behave, and make my day knowing the next several thousand miles will be a delight? ...or reduce me to tears having spent a fortune and destroyed the handling of my car for the next year or so. HELP.... 245 40 18 sports contact 3 mo(Mercedes 93y) drives perfectly straight 234 40 18 sports contact 3 ao1(Audi, extra load) tram lines and pulls all over the place. (Both sizes are approved according to paperwork for factory fit sport wheels fitted. Although they quote a lower load rating of 91-93. Gm quote no lower than 94 in all sizes up to 17, 18 not listed.) Why do they behave so differently?

Agreed. I'm very please with the P7 I just got, though. Drove a few hundred miles on them now, and no problems, even in a hail shower on the motorway no problems at all. Easily as good in the wet as the Uniroyal RainExerts I also have on the car. Far quieter and better in the dry compared to the RE and the Bridgestones I just took off. It's an easy trap to fall into that one. I thought the Falkens where great when first fitted, but then the handling started to suffer, found the grip limit started to deminish, abs started kicking in, more wandering, then binned them early with little less than half the tread left. Not dissing the p7 in any way, I've no experience with that tyre, just that issues may well arise within the tyres life that shouldn't. Thanks for the recommendation though, although I won't fit them due to comments on omegaowners. Strange, they seem to work on Holdens ok going by the hsv forum. Monaro's and vxr8's etc.

Should add... I realise tyre choice is a very personal thing. Some may not want to get involved. Fair enough. Although I'm also open to theory's on construction and traits resulting from. Any comments welcome. Car is Vauxhall omega 3.2 with sports suspension 18x225x35 front 18x265x35 rear

Hi guys. I need a recommendation on my next tyres. My history is of Falken 451,452,912. Liked... Mid range price. Quiet. Comfy compliant ride. Disliked... Poor grip Hated... Appalling tram lining and straight line instability.(this is a fact on this car, concluded after extensive testing to prove) sports contact 3... Liked...excellent planted feel, very stable at high speed, very little tram lining. Grip and wear levels good. Disliked... Road noise, firm ride. Although not excessive. Hated... Price. Although I'd rather pay for these over Falken instability for instance. Dunlop sport max and TT Borrowed these to diagnose tram lining on the Falkens, which they instantly cured. Liked...very planted feel, stability, grip level. Disliked...bit noisy Hated...price, wear rate high which makes them doubly expensive. So, any advice on a tyre that gives all the good points but non of the bad? I am prepared to ignore price considerations if a suitable tyre can be found. To clarify, looking for... grip v wear ratio similar to sports contact 3 noise/ride ratio similar to Falken... Or at least quieter than sc3 Stability similar to Dunlop/sc3 Thanks for reading.

I am intrigued. 3.2 omega Elite owner btw, from omegaowners.com Falken tyres have been the Bain of my life. Absolutely appalling tram lining on the omega. Swap wheels with absolutely buggered Dunlop sport maxtt fitted. Tram lining disappeared. Re fit 912 shod wheels again, tram lining returned. I use sc3 as a preferred tyre. Pricey, but excellent grip in all but snow(where they are lethal) fantastic straight line stabillity(although any tyre has better stability to an omega than Falken) but a bit noisy and firm. I think what owners like about the Falken is the very comfy ride they give, and almost zero road noise. Exceptionally quiet tyre, comfy, but appalling stability. ...I guess these traights relate to sidewall stiffness....? I actually came on here today to start my own thread to ask advice on my next tyre choice. Which I will do. It's a long story but I currently have the 452 fitted, because they came on a used set of wheels I wanted to to test on the car for vibration and roundness before refurbing. Needless to say the car is now wobbling around all over the place with numerous corrections of the steering wheel to keep the car mid lane. This reminded me though of the qualitys I do like. Compliant ride and quiet. So question is, what tyre gives compliant ride, little road noise, good grip (no Falken fits that bill) with excellent straight line stability...? Or am I asking too much?

Ok Tony, I'll speak to her and get it booked in.

Hi James, and all. Just a mention re Falkens, I found these a transformation on my first of 3 omegas. The 451( the older model?) was an exceptionally quiet tyre with a very comfy ride compared to Pirelli p6000 they replaced. This I liked at the time, however I then spent my next two years of omega ownership trying to get the damn thing to track straight. Next set of tyres where 452 after learning about set up/wim bush issues on the car, camber settings etc etc. still wouldn't drive straight, tram lined quite badly. Sold that car for another omega. 3.2 elite this time. Fitted 912 as the wear on 452 was poor and they didn't grip well either and the tyres that came with this car where knackered. Same problem. learned about rear bush problems on omegas, some improvement, but the inherent instability remaind. Doing my nut by now, some kind members on omega owners forum lend me their wheels, both shod with worn out Dunlops, sp9000 and sport max. Totally transformed the car. It drove straight, felt planted and actually connected to the road even though the tread was barely legal. Some noise was a very small price to pay. We re fitted the Falkens to my car and the Dunlpop owners drove it. One pronounced them Dangerous, and he was right. On a bouncy b road the 912 had a self imposed speed limit of 40, any faster and It was impossible to keep the car out of the ditch or the opposing lane. Falkens binned with 50% tread remaing! Sports contact 3 fitted, tracks straight as a die, good grip level, acceptable wear rate. Tad noisy. I think perhaps Falkens are more suited to lighter, firmer sprung front wheel drive cars possibly...? My problem was accepting a tyre could handle so badly. "can't be the tyres, they're brand new...must be the car" WRONG!

Just picked one of these up for the Mrs. Very tidy, but every one I've seen seems to have varying degrees of inside edge wear on the fronts. Ours has reasonably new kumho ku31 with "ecsta" still visible on the centre tread, so fairly new, but looks like similar inside edge wear is starting already, even after set up at pro tyre .(sigh) Do factory settings work on these? Or do wim recommend other? Back feels a bit sloppy throwing into bends too. Bush issues?

Ok worth pursuing, I'm thinking a plan would be to fit rear "donut" chassis bushes on the rear subframe, and if the ride and vibes are ok i'll fit the fronts too. Just fitted new lemforder wishbones, which do not feel as stable as the bushes you mention pressing previously. Any thoughts on the ride though? How do they feel?

There may have been progress in fitting Polly, may, I have no experience of them yet, in as much that members on oof have reported fitting the front Polly bush without removing the wishbone from the car. Simply undo the bolt, cut the rubber bush out and hack saw through the metal bush casing leaving wishbone bush hole clear. Story goes that the Polly bush is fitted by hand from the side, as you would, and just do the bolt back up. Personaly I think it should be a press fit or it will rotate in the wishbone itbseems to me....? They only supply the forward horizontal bush, and on that subject, what's the purpose of that bush re geometry and your description above? It takes a hammering under hard braking as I'm sure I don't need to tell you, so better control would help keep the car straight in "emergency" situations

Hi all, bushes on the vauxhall omega seem to be a topic of constant aggro on this car and on omegaowners.com, namely the infamous wishbone bushes plus the rear donut bushes holding rear sub fame to chassis. Polly bushes are available for these, but wondered if you guys have any experience or opinions on them as a general replacement on any car? Story is they give better control and are bullet proof in comparison to stock items, fit and forget, which I like the sound of, but given the omega is quiet and comfy i am concerned they may be a little harsh and vibey.... Any relevant comments appreciated. Cheers Chris Ps, hope this is the right section, first post on here.