So final update. I took a wheel down to ATS who were going to supply and fit the tyres Via Blackcircle, to check they could balance the wheel. As warned by others, even with the right cones the machines kept throwing different readings each time the wheel was fitted. I therefore cancelled my fitting there.
Instead I had tyres delivered to a friends garage who had an older balancing machine. Here with the cones fitted it worked a treat. To avoid having the weight fitted on the outside rim I had stick on flat black weights fitted to centre of rim, behind the spokes.
So balancing sorted. But not the end of the story.
I had been experiencing quite violent shaking of the steering wheel at all speeds, so balancing was needed. However on checking the tyres at front, although they looked near new, the sidewall had an indentation, almost like a line. I had assumed it had been caused by pothole or similar. Anyway swapped rear wheels with fronts, and quick drive showed improvement albeit not perfect. When checking the rears I found they were near wear bar but also manufacture date showed 2010 so definitely needed replacing,
Only when I got tyres replaced did I find the tyres that looked relatively new, with plenty of tread were also in fact manufactured in 2010. When I showed the sidewall defects I was told it was not pothole damage, so god knows how it got there.
Anyway the final result was an incredible transformation of the ride of the car with new tyres. It is so much smoother and compliant a ride. I had misinterpreted the harsh ride before to be all the fault of the suspension setup, where in fact although suspension needed tweaking the tyres had a large part to play.
So £215 well spent on 4 new Avon ZV7’s (plus fitting). Result
