[Surferdude]

Finally I got tyred ( ) of waiting for my Hankooks to wear out the last millimetre of tread and replaced them.
New tyres are 195/65R15 Goodyear Duraplus.
They are asymmetric and one of my reasons for choosing these was because of the positive experience I had with a hire car in the UK last year on a similar treaded Continental.
Over the last few months I've had the opportunity to fit a number of these to i30s and other makes/models.
So today at 28,815 klms I fitted the four new tyres.
I've travelled 85 klms on them so far (trip home from work).
My initial impressions are as follows.

Very smooth to drive on.

Surprisingly quiet. I expected this but not to the level of difference I've got. They do not react as badly on some of the more coarse surfaces. They are pretty quiet across the board. The BIG thing is, I was halfway home and noticed that I could hear the radio more clearly. I checked the setting which I normally run at about 11 - 12 in the 110 kph zone. The radio was on 7 and I only put it up to 8 to hear the news more clearly. TBH that's an amazing difference.

Steering is positive and easy to maintain on the highway. - a feature of tyres with a solid centre rib which these don't technically have but the second rib in from the outside shoulder is solid and seems to give the same benefit.

Mostly traffic or highway driving so the handling has yet to be tested however, there are 10 roundabouts from Caloundra Road to my street - about 3-4 klms and I DO like to play.  The trip home provided me with (amazingly) a clear run. ie NO slowpokes dawdling through the roundabouts. And I was quite happy with the way the new tyres performed.

One of the big plusses of the Hankooks was how well they maintained grip even with only 3 mm of tread left (you'll notice from the pics how evenly they've worn, even if they only lasted <30K. So to find my lines through the roundabouts were unchanged and just as predictable was a bonus.

Here are pics of the old tyres and the new (with raindrops all over the tread  )

[Dazzler]

Thanks for the report Trev  (I like the look of your new treads .. wonder how they would go on the Hybrid when the Dunlop E300 are worn out?

[2i30s]

have you checked your wheel alignment in the time you've owned your car Trev?  my hatch was out by a mile when i fitted my mags and tyres at only 100kms old.    and then went on to get 30,000kms out of them. 

[Surferdude]

I should mention, there's some claims from overseas of 100,000 klm tread life. The assumption is the rubber is very hard. It's not. I make no claims about tread life but will be surprised if I don't exceed 50,000 klms. Also, as the tyre is so quiet, I also doubt we have the same tyre as the overseas (Asian) version, even though they are made over there.
They are also designed with a wider footprint than you would expect on a 195 casing so, I also think they'll be less susceptible to sholder wear from roundabouts.

Time will tell.

Besides, I get them at dealer cost. 

[Surferdude]

have you checked your wheel alignment in the time you've owned your car Trev?  my hatch was out by a mile when i fitted my mags and tyres at only 100kms old.    and then went on to get 30,000kms out of them. 

Yeah. Checked it a couple of times. Haven't needed to adjust it although one rear wheel is marginally out of specs. And can't be adjusted. (well, maybe with a portapower  )
So, we both got about 30,000 klms, but I didn't need to alter w/a. 

That reminds me of something else. Because (I thought) of that rear wheel setting the steering wheel has always been about a half spline tooth off centre. Not enough to worry about it and actually goes the other way if you cross over to the other side road camber. Even rotating the tyres did not alter it one iota.

However with the new tyres everything is perfectly centred.,

[beerman]

Nice,

There are new tyres on my horizon, though I will be getting every single K out of mine, (33,500k and counting).

[tla]

Thanks for the review!  Duraplus will be on my to-buy list when my current Hankooks wear out.

[Surferdude]

Thanks for the review!  Duraplus will be on my to-buy list when my current Hankooks wear out.

tla, just be careful. Some of the reviews from Asia aren't as complimetary as I have been. I do know tyres made for Australian market are made to our specifications, given the high mileage we can do, the temperature extremes and the road conditions.

I'll keep posting on here with feedback from my car and other customers so check back from time to time.

[beerman]

I'll need something that can do the highway....Choosing tyres sucks, for every good review, there is someone who is unhappy.....

With your knowledge and experience this has to be a seriously considered tyre. Quiet, long-lived and steers straight... sounds perfect.

Street price? This must be the catch. :-\

I do wonder though about how much you "play" if the originals only lasted 30,000Kms. I estimate my Khumo 16s are no more than half done @ 40,000Kms.

[beerman]

I belive I have read reports that the 16 do better than the 15s

[2i30s]

have you checked your wheel alignment in the time you've owned your car Trev?  my hatch was out by a mile when i fitted my mags and tyres at only 100kms old.    and then went on to get 30,000kms out of them. 

Yeah. Checked it a couple of times. Haven't needed to adjust it although one rear wheel is marginally out of specs. And can't be adjusted. (well, maybe with a portapower  )
So, we both got about 30,000 klms, but I didn't need to alter w/a. 

That reminds me of something else. Because (I thought) of that rear wheel setting the steering wheel has always been about a half spline tooth off centre. Not enough to worry about it and actually goes the other way if you cross over to the other side road camber. Even rotating the tyres did not alter it one iota.

However with the new tyres everything is perfectly centred.,

i assure you the rear toe is adjustable Trev.suss it out mate. i can show you before and after alignment figures if you want. during my very first alignment i told the guy doing it how i wanted it to be set. he said the rear wasn't adjustable and i said to give it a go and humor me. i watched him back off the nut and then the bolt once turned gave +and_ toe. well me dead was his responce,i didn't know you could do that. 

[beerman]

How are the new tyres going?

Can you take the tyres out to 205's? Would that have an effect on the tyre range and prices?

Also is there much on offer in the 16's if I was to get a set of mags?

[Surferdude]

have you checked your wheel alignment in the time you've owned your car Trev?  my hatch was out by a mile when i fitted my mags and tyres at only 100kms old.    and then went on to get 30,000kms out of them. 

Yeah. Checked it a couple of times. Haven't needed to adjust it although one rear wheel is marginally out of specs. And can't be adjusted. (well, maybe with a portapower  )
So, we both got about 30,000 klms, but I didn't need to alter w/a. 

That reminds me of something else. Because (I thought) of that rear wheel setting the steering wheel has always been about a half spline tooth off centre. Not enough to worry about it and actually goes the other way if you cross over to the other side road camber. Even rotating the tyres did not alter it one iota.

However with the new tyres everything is perfectly centred.,

i assure you the rear toe is adjustable Trev.suss it out mate. i can show you before and after alignment figures if you want. during my very first alignment i told the guy doing it how i wanted it to be set. he said the rear wasn't adjustable and i said to give it a go and humor me. i watched him back off the nut and then the bolt once turned gave +and_ toe. well me dead was his responce,i didn't know you could do that. 

Steve, as I said in my reply to your pm, it's the camber which is a problem. I'm fully aware the toe is adjustable. Camber is on some cars but not on the i30.

[Surferdude]

With your knowledge and experience this has to be a seriously considered tyre. Quiet, long-lived and steers straight... sounds perfect.

Street price? This must be the catch. :-\

I do wonder though about how much you "play" if the originals only lasted 30,000Kms. I estimate my Khumo 16s are no more than half done @ 40,000Kms.

I'll come back in a week or so with some prices and a range of sizes. They aren't expensive compared to other "name" brands including other Goodyear options but certainly dearer than Kumho, Hankook, Nankang et al.

Re "playing", I play in this car no more than in any other before it and the Impreza gave me 65,000 klms from one set of Eagle LS2000 then had almost 10,000 klms on the second set when I traded it in and one guy asked my why I fitted new tyres if I was selling the car.
The Liberty was on 215/45R17 OE and gave me about 40,000 + something.
I may have said elsewhere (or not ) the Hankooks have worn quite evenly, no shoulder wear and do obvious scrubbing across the tread. Just simply a softish tread rubber I guess.

[Surferdude]

How are the new tyres going?

Can you take the tyres out to 205's? Would that have an effect on the tyre range and prices?

Also is there much on offer in the 16's if I was to get a set of mags?

I'm working at another company this week so I'll have to check the week after next on size range and prices.
Do you mean 205/65R15 ? If so they're a common size but the OD would be too high.
Some brands have a 205/60R15 which might do the job. It would certainly fit the standard width rims.

[beerman]

Mine have about 35k on them, I rotated the tyres and the new front ones seem to have a fair bit of meat on them.

Perhaps the original rear tyres had some time to 'harden up' without the stress of front tyre duties? But I do recall the original front tyres looking good as gold before they suddenly looked like they were wearing. Don't ask me how that works......It just did.

[druggist]

Just swapped some Bridgestone Turanza tyres on my old Corolla. 95000km out of them!
Local tyre place suggested Bridgestone Potenza RE001 which seem great so far.
They don't seem to have 195/65R15 in that pattern for my i30 CW. They suggested a slightly wider low profile, or a set of 16" alloys.
Anyone have experience of a wider tyre on the 15" steel wheel?

[Surferdude]

Hi druggist. Sorry for the tardy reply.
You should be able to fit 205/60R15 onto the standard rim. The slightly lower profile will keep you close to the same OD and ive you a fraction more tread on the road but you might get a little centre rib wear if you do a lot of highway running.
I considered a 16" wheel option but am happy I stayed with the 15 and the tyres I selected.

[Surferdude]

Quick update.
I've been selling tyres this week and am finding it remarkably easy to sell this Duraplus tyre.
I've had two people now in the last two days who have brought in their second car and asked for the Duraplus to be fitted as  they've had them on the first car for some months and are happy with them.
It's nice to get feed back like this occasionally.

[Dazzler]

You can't get a much better recommendation than that...

[beerman]

yep, 42,500 and getting close....I would say that if I get to 50k I would be doing well......

[beerman]

Is $111 a good price for these?

http://www.ozzytyres.com.au/store/goodyear-195-65r15-duraplus.html

That's tyre only. Don't know how you would go rocking up to your local tyre store going fit these please dude, mind  you Bob Jane quote 18.5 per wheel,  they might for the fit/balance and wheel alignment fee, which could be where their profit is anyway....

[Doggie 1]

I might have to look at these for my next set.
I got 68,000 kms out of my first set of Kumhos.
I'm now up to 103,000 kms (so 35,000 kms) on my second set of Kumhos.
However, I would like to properly sort out the inner wear issue of the new front tyres on my diesel, which hasn't been properly addressed really.
Is it bad alignment (never had problems at this tyre place before) or is it sagging front springs due to the weight of the diesel engine. They've now been rotated to the back.
I would really like to get a quality (quiet) tyre next time which won't be too far away (time-wise) but don't want to waste my money putting them on if they are going to chop out the insides as quickly as these ones did.

[Dazzler]

That seems a very good price for such a quality tyre (especially a delivered price) but wouldn't really like to rock up to a tyre place with BYO tyres...

[beerman]

That's my only concern....

Though, if they can't sell them for that price or have to sell at a loss to get the business they might consider themselves better off with the fit/alignment.

Those of you in Sydney, WA or Tassie might do well

[Dazzler]

Those of you in Sydney, WA or Tassie might do well

I have a m8 who works at a Goodyear place . he would disown me if I went elsewhere for my tyres..

[Surferdude]

Is $111 a good price for these?

http://www.ozzytyres.com.au/store/goodyear-195-65r15-duraplus.html

That's tyre only. Don't know how you would go rocking up to your local tyre store going fit these please dude, mind  you Bob Jane quote 18.5 per wheel,  they might for the fit/balance and wheel alignment fee, which could be where their profit is anyway....

Yes it's a good price, but I think you've answered the rest of the question yourself.
If you are seriously considering them from there send me  a pm and i'll reply, but I'm only on line in the evening for the next few days.

[beerman]

Thanks brother,

I saw the price and thought it was good, and to those in areas where they have shops it may well be. But I don't have the time to waste to ring a thousand tyre shops with 'I got an excellent on line deal on these tyres, can you fit them?' To have some grunt and hang up, some quote stupidly high prices etc.

Getting new tyres is a package deal, rubber, disposal, fitting and an alignment. It may well change in the future (there are a few on line places putting out some cheap stuff, that will obviously require fitting, and someone who will open a shed and dispose/fit/balance/align for a set fee may do well (and will get a truckload of free advertising from these online places in return).

But if I decide that these are the tyres are for me then this price will certainly be in the back of my mind.

[Surferdude]

So, we were a bit quiet for a while today and I decided I must be close to being due for a rotation.
In fact, the odometer was reading 38,800, so almost spot on 10,000 klms.
Rotated, balanced, checked pressures and tread depthed the tyres.
Result is that the two which have been on the front had worn just 1mm of tread off. The rears, now on the front had worn only 0.5mm off.
I have to admit to being amazed. The wear rate is fantastic.
What a difference over the Hankooks.