$35,000 replacement tires for a VW (well almost)

[intakexhaust]

Is it me or am I still in the ether and my eyes are crossed? I just read that the replacement tires for the Bugatti Veyron are over $35,000! No wonder this guy is always fat and happy.

[masraum]

What's the factoid that they gave us when James May drove the car to 253? I think this was it.

At 253mph, the tires will only run for 15 minutes before they disintegrate. But that's OK! Because at 253mph, you've only got enough gas to drive for 12 minutes.

[strupgolf]

$35,000 is the cost of tires for the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport. The super rare one. Only 46 made. The other Veyrons run a little cheaper tire set up. Still, I would'nt want to pay for the base model tires.

[legion]

IIRC, the "regular" Veryron's tires cost around $20,000.

[dentist90]

Well, they can be had for as low as $19,930 if you know how to shop!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

If you can afford a $1.6M car...

Think of it this way - we think nothing of paying $1k (give or take) for a set of good tires on a $50k car. That's 2% of the price. $35k is 2.19% of $1.6M so it's almost spot-on proportional.

[EarlyPorsche]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

If you can afford a $1.6M car...

Think of it this way - we think nothing of paying $1k (give or take) for a set of good tires on a $50k car. That's 2% of the price. $35k is 2.19% of $1.6M so it's almost spot-on proportional.

So its pretty much cheaper in relation. We should all HOPE to have it as easy as the average Bugatti Veyron owner.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by legion

IIRC, the "regular" Veryron's tires cost around $20,000.

Whew. That's a relief.

[rick-l]

The wheels have limited life also.

[Gogar]

Remember, the car has a limited life as well.

[KNS]

Will Coker be making these tires in 30 years..? How much will those be?

[David]

I'm still bummed because I found out one of the car magazines tested a Veyron at the air base a couple miles from house a few months ago

[Racerbvd]

Just make sure it doesn't pull to much to the right...

[Tervuren]

There are very good reasons the Mclaren F1 held its speed record so long, tires that hold up to that kind of speeds, were not that easy to make, and had to sacrifice other qualities to get there. You'll get around a track better in a 190MPH car than a 250MPH car. The tires on the Veyron have a lot better grip than what you could get for the Mecca F1 back in the day.

[Doug E]

"At 253mph, the tires will only run for 15 minutes before they disintegrate. But that's OK! Because at 253mph, you've only got enough gas to drive for 12 minutes."

That has to be one of the best all time quotes !

[rick-l]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Remember, the car has a limited life as well.

OK the Bentley dealer here had one a couple years ago and he started it up and played with the spoilers and suspension for our benefit.

I'm pretty sure he said it used something like onstar to say it needed new tires and the wheels were only good for something ridiculous like 20,000 miles.

This is all I could find in google

The main reason for the great expense, Autocar explains, is the fact that they have to be capable of 253 mph: “over 100 mph faster than Concorde’s landing speed.” However, according to the report, what’s worse is that every fourth tire change (assuming you can afford to run the car that long) the Veyron’s wheels have to be stress tested for cracks. The replacement cost for these 20-inch forged wheels is said to be another $11,544 each.

According to Autocar, a standard service for the Bugatti Veyron costs $21,069. So when you factor in a set of four new tires and one replacement wheel, a complete service could realistically cost a whopping $71,092.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Still analogous to one of us paying $2k for recommended service on a $50k car. Lots of people do that - I haven't heard anything yet that's horribly disproportional to the price of the car.

I wouldn't like owning a Veyron since I loathe paying other people and much prefer to do my own maintenance & repairs. Stuff like that (eddy current testing on wheels, etc) is beyond what I'd want to get into however.

Then again, if one can afford a $1.6M car, maybe a few tens of thousands in equipment and training to do such things isn't much different than us going out and dropping one or two grand on "special tools" for our P-cars...

I don't think it'd be my cup of tea in any case - cool as it is. I certainly wouldn't turn down the chance to ride in (or drive!) one however...

[rick-l]

Better life than these

How long do the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport’s tires last for? Prepare to be shocked! « Brake Banzeen!

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport is no joke of a machine. It tops out at 415 km/h which is the new world record for a production car. With the capability of reaching that kind of velocity, the tires must be able to take one hell of a load. According to Bugatti engineers, running at top speed, the tires have a life span of approximately 37 miles only. Insanity!

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by rick-l

I'm pretty sure he said it used something like onstar to say it needed new tires and the wheels were only good for something ridiculous like 20,000 miles.

Testing the wheels like this is what we do with airplane wheels every day.

Course the main gear tires on the jet are good only to 182 knots, just shy of 200 mph. They aint very good at cornering either...