Out with the old and in with the new - Vreds

[ciaka]

I have been reading a lot about which tires to put on next.

With the existing ones wearing out, I found myself being more 'trigger happy' on the gas pedal through turns, etc.

This, in my mind, was getting me closer to a new set of tires.

Through research and views of those who have had them before, I decided on the Vredestein Sessanta tires. Stock size 275/45/19.

Thought about going one size up in width (285) but in the end decided against. Would be good either way.

The stock size looks a little bit fatter than the old tires I had on there (michelin Latitude sports).

Have only got a few miles with these, but I can really tell less tire noise while driving (even when old ones were great condition).

Have not been testing grip yet, but I am sure it will come down to that soon (lol) - with the F1 coming to Austin in a few weeks, I am sure we will have tons of people day dreaming on highways here).

Here are some pics...

[ciaka]

...so far so good...great traction in the dry. Awesome actually. no rain yet. Looks great, is quiet and translates power into acceleration with great grip well.

Edited October 27, 2012 by ciaka

[ciaka]

It has been several hundred miles and I can report that I am very happy with the purchase. Grip is unbelievable on this tire, in dry and in wet. Quiet ride. WOW. Very happy, indeed.

I will try to track how many miles I get out of these. I have seen many diverging stories on this. I consider myself a 'in the middle' type of driver (sometimes like to take turns fast, sometimes on the mellow side). If you are looking for replacement, my recommendation is to look at these.

Total price for all 4 (275/45 19) was:

Tires: $1028 (shipping was free, no tax)

Install/balance: $160

TOT: $1188

This included lifetime balance and rotation, as well as flat fix.

These tires have a clearly marked side to be installed on the inside. The label is 'inside'. No way to miss it. The side groove around the circumference of tire goes closest to inside of car on each wheel.

Edited November 12, 2012 by ciaka

[clarksongli]

Very nice....i had been looking at Vred's for a long time, but went with a Kuhmo instead based on the fact i am off road quite a bit and a bigger block tread is nice to have.....downfall is the noise, but i'm ok with it.

1000 bucks is a TON! Just some research i did was if you're able to find the 20" option, tires become SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper....i believe we share the 20" size with some other domestic vehicles.....the 19" seems to be somewhat specific for only a few makes/models.

i paid 110 bucks a tire for mine....mounting/balancing was another 100

[ciaka]

i looked at same tires in 20" size too (was investigating changing rims to other sizes). For 20", the tire is still more expensive. About 25-30 bucks per tire.

Looked at other tire vendors too and they all seemed to be more expensive the larger tire you get....mind you, these are Y rated tires for comparison to others.

My biggest question will be answered as I go, with how much mileage i get out of them. Hope it is not something silly like 10Kmi.

[clarksongli]

oh i guess i should have also mentioned.....i went to 275/45/20s.....not 275/40/20s......

[955 Permagrin]

I was happy to find this Vredestein Sessanta thread, thanks for starting it.

I have researched summer set-ups for awhile and concluded the 20" Vreds would probably be my best option for performance/price ratio. However, as there is no tread wear information that I have seen on their site, I would be very interested to know how they are holding up (which of course depends on driving style.)

I am aggressive in corners, sometimes slight power-sliding, especially coming off the Autobahn, and almost daily hitting speeds between 180 to 250 km/hr, traffic permitting. I use gearing and engine to brake, unless coming to a full stop, so virtually no wear due to brake lock-ups. At current milage clocked since mid-July, I'll put about 7000 hard miles on them per season.

I have read claims of 28-32K miles on a set, but that was on an Infinity G35, not the nearly 3 ton beasts we drive. I would be "over the moon" if I could get three seasons (21,000 miles) on a set based on my driving style. Two seasons (14,000 miles) and I wouldn't complain.

Please keep us updated on the tire's performance.

Thanks again

[clarksongli]

i'd be interested, but i'm pretty sure Vred's are fairly soft. Unfortunately tire wear is not easily comparable between companies as it isn't based on standardized testing, but based on track experience, we see these fall in the softer street tire range.....maybe in the 250ish range.

Based on similar tires and the weight of the cayenne, i'd imagine you won't see anything close to 3 seasons (especially considering your driving style). I'd guess maybe 10-15k.

Another thing to mention (i personally have never run a set myself) a lot of people start notice severe reduced wet traction as the tire wears. This is partially why i have never run them myself (cheaper and comparable tires now especially with 20" tires becoming more of a norm for OEM sized tires).

[ciaka]

Well, time has come for me to depart from Vredestein Sessanta tires.

WHAT AWESOME TIRES THEY ARE - WOW!!!!!

I will post up my summary for historical purposes, including new tread mileage, and replace time mileage, along with my reviews/opinions, what I liked, what I did not, etc.

The only reason I changed is because I just wanted to try something different, but if not improved, will be coming back to these for sure.

Hope to update today with my info.

[ciaka]

As promised, here is my final review of these tires, after replacement due to wear:

Make: Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta Giugiaro - XL (SUV)

Size: 275/45 19

Load Index: 108 (XL - 2205 Lbs or 1000 kg)

Speed Indx: Y (186 mph or 300km/h)

UTQG: 280

Traction: AA

Temp: A

Date installed: Oct 25, 2012

Date removed: Nov 13, 2013

Time used: 2 days shy of 2 years and 2 weeks of use

Mileage installed: 67862 mi

Mileage removed: 84919 mi

Mileage used: 17057 mi or 27291 km

Cost (Total - tires + install+balance+lifetime re-balance/rotations+road Hazard warranty): $1020 tires + $160 all other stuff = $1180 final price

Note: No tax - purchased online

REVIEW:

My suspension settings were probably 80% at low and sport, and 20% low, between normal and comfort (to give you idea of mapping used on car).

About less than 3% of the time of use would be in PSM OFF mode (majority when wanting to accel onto highway, or sometimes taking a nice turn, demolishing the occasional turd trying to show off, etc (early on times).

Tires were on the car 100% of the time (no winter/other tires). Rotated front-to-back every 4-5K miles and rebalanced each tire until replacement.

Initial impressions:

- very quiet ride

- great handling (stiff sidewalls - although when new and tread was at its tallest, very slight squiggle could be perceived - from flex of tread - at higher speeds)

- Looks are awesome (cant remember how many compliments I got)

- great rim protection lip on tire (extends past rim lip to protect against curbs, etc)

Impressions after use:

- This fricking tire sticks to road like nothing I have used before on the street.

Comparing to Michelin Latitude Sport (tires taken off for these), hard time even comparing - taking turns at about 85 with old tires, could be taken with new tires at about 118-125 ( :eek: )

- Tire super quiet when driving (fast or slow). Towards the end of life, noise level increased (not dramatically but noticeably).

- Sticky level was superior until tire was near worn down to flat. That is when in turns under power, tire would start breaking traction. Very evident when starting from stop and making turns under throttle, so be careful in those times.

- OMG - this tire seemed to perform just as good in rain as in dry weather!!! CAN THAT BE POSSIBLE?! Seriously, with pretty hard rain, I was very cautious at first , but eventually got more and more confidence, ultimately deciding not to push my luck, but was astonished with the grip I had - like it did not rain at all!!!

In my state had to wait for rain quite long time to perform these tests.. lol.

- Looks awesome throughout life of tire (again, cant remember how many people came over to ask what these are, and admiring looks.

- I was a little disappointed from distance of use - just over 17k mi or 27k km, was kind of hoping for 20-25k mi, but understand reasons for this, so no biggie here.

DRIVING BEHAVIOR WITH TIRES ON:

Well, the reason I got about 17k mi on these was due to following:

- initial period (about 3 months or so), I was very aggressive on tire (loving every tight turn), accelerating when wanting to feel it, generally driving to enjoy the traction (WOW - let me say it again). So for this period, my driving would be considered hard on tires. Of course, was relatively new to car, so this played a factor in the driving habit as well.

Would say about 40% normal driving and 60% handling/accel oriented (getting to know that car...lol).

- period after 3 months to about 6 months, driving pattern stabilized and was more of typical driving with occasional bursts of enjoyment/speed/power. Some turns on way from work taken hard to put a smile on a face - before having to go home ( :D ).

Majority of driving though was normal or elevated normal, if you will.

Would say 60% normal, and 40% elevated normal.

- Period after 6 months to replace, I would consider driving habits as very typical of urban driving. Still liked that one turn on way from work, otherwise, pretty typical of any average driver though. Would say 80% normal, 20% still enjoyment of speed/power/handling.

OVERALL:

- I am so glad to have experienced this tire

- only reason I switched to something else was to try it to compare to this tire

- if not satisfied enough, I will be back to these on my next set for sure

- tire installed after these: Nitto NT420s 275/45 19 (XL).

- My recommendation would be: Get these suckers for sure

- if living in cold regions (where it snows), be careful, as they will not handle well in the ice/snow (from reviews, not first hand experience though)

If you are considering this tire for your C/CS/CTT, my opinion will be:

- the C will get more mileage (due to power)

- the CS will get less mileage

- the CTT/CTTs will get even less mileage

- if your driving habits seem harder than what attempts above to describe, this will likely lower tire expectancy as well

- mods, other performance done to your car will affect mileage too

Including pics of what the tread looked like at replace time (compare with pics from first post - new).

Thanks for reading. Now, maybe those who are looking for tires will have a decent info to try to compare to.

I will post my reviews on the next tire as well, to add to the pool of info for Cayenne users (maybe other SUVs too).