The 18" wheels now with tyres !!

[macabethiel]

18 inch Monoblocks by Ted Bagshaw, on Flickr


Have been driving the Merc on the 17" wheels (Rim is 8.5J) fitted with 245/45 W x 17 Uniroyal Rainsport 3 tyres really pleased with them in terms of ride & steering feel. They are in my opinion better than the Pirelli Zero Rosos that they replaced at a similar price of £408 a set.

After a lot of umming & arring finally decided to fit some budget tyres on the 18" rims as they will essentially be used for standing over winter when vehicle is rarely used. So bought a set of four 235/40 W x 18 Evergreen Super Sport Chasers XL load rated (Rim is 8J)with change out of £200 for the lot fitted & balanced (cost £192).

The first obvious difference is that the ride is quite a bit harsher - no surprise there but in the dry the steering feel is pretty good. I did quite a bit of research on the Evergreen Brand before I went for them. Chatting to the Manager at National Tyres he reckoned that once the brand was established the price would gradually push up to become closer to other second line brands.

I like my choice of Gold Powder Coating - the original silver inserts are out of place.