Tyre choice!!

[dannysands]

The factory fit Bridgestones are renowned for not being great; noise, harsh ride and poor grip all being cited as issues. What do you think?
Xperience Lux also comes with 19" alloy wheels.

Can you please give me your honest opinions, because I'm hearing so many negative comments about how firm the drive can be with 19".

I hear if they're factory built the tyres can be over inflated and it's best to make sure they're on the correct pressure of 36 all round. Otherwise this can be a factor of a firm ride.

Any other suggestions in advance because by all other accounts it seems a fantastic SUV to drive.

[vectra]

Hi,
I have the FR with 19's on it.
Can't say the drive is too firm.
Firm, yes. But nothing worse than my last car ( Mondeo st line X with 19's)
That in turn was equally as comfortable as the Passat B8 I had priot to that running on 18's.

[File28]

definitely over inflated mine was at 45 psi also find the bridgestones not a very hard wearing tyre tbh
running 19's not much road noise after correcting the tyre pressures

[Nick_Grey_FR]

Don't find the ride too hard on mine to be honest, FR with 19" Bridgestones, similar ride to the 2 Leon FR's I ran previously and my wife's Audi TT,
may fit Avon 235 40 19 on mine as are good value when my front ones are worn out as have had these on previous Leons, but currently still have some life in the Bridgestones and have down just over 30,000 miles now!

[Tec]

My 2020 Xcellence 1.5 came new from the dealer with 31psi and it was a noticable improvement when they had the correct 36 psi. They are the Bridgestone turanza and are 215/50/18. The ride is firm but not super firm. It did remind me of yester years when I thought the 185/60/14's were as cool as on my old xr2.
On a heavier car with 18's running a 50 profile, there is a reason why lower profile tyres absorb less of the road noise, lumps and bumps.

What has been noticable is just down the road from me they have put in a brand new pedestrian crossing and they did it properly for a change. The crossing and a 100 feet on either side of the crossing has been all new tarmaced to provide a smooth and level new surface. The difference in driving down a 40 year poorly repaired road then going onto new tarmac is night and day. The tyres on new tarmac on a smooth road gave almost no road noise at all but once you drive off it, the shoddy roads are reflected in the noise and bumps.

For me it isn't always the tyres, although they do seem to benefit from the correct pressure, but more the condition of our roads that effects the car more than they tyres.

I suspect that unless you are picking the FR or Cupra where you would expect low profile sport tyres, then the other models would benefit ride wise, by having a 60 profile tyre instead