So I did buy some LingLong Ditchfinders
Discussion
I know, shoot me now!
Background: 3 years ago I bought a 3 year old ex-Motability car with just 4,000 miles on the clock.
And we do a relatively low annual mileage (due to having other vehicles) so this car has only recently topped 20,000 miles.
And the original Michelins, although nowhere near worn, were starting to go off with two of them needing regular pumping up. So I'd already decided to replace the whole lot, just before the next MOT, in about 1,000 miles time.
And then last week, I found a screw through the sidewall on one of them. So I drove to the nearest tyre place for a new set of tyres.
Unfortunately, they only had 4 of the very cheapest in stock. But being a forced purchaser I thought “Sod it” (and I figured that if they were that bad then I could at least get them changed at my leisure).
Well, I'm still waiting to find out what the catch is.
I've pushed the car hard into empty roundabouts and the tyres only start to squeal when I'm cornering far harder than I normally would. On wet, just above freezing roads, they haul the car up very satisfactorily and they're quiet on the motorway.
They do seem to be made of very soft rubber, so I suspect that they will wear out quite quickly but that's fine by me: I'd rather they wore out than died of old age like the last set.
So cheap tyres – not always a disaster.
Background: 3 years ago I bought a 3 year old ex-Motability car with just 4,000 miles on the clock.
And we do a relatively low annual mileage (due to having other vehicles) so this car has only recently topped 20,000 miles.
And the original Michelins, although nowhere near worn, were starting to go off with two of them needing regular pumping up. So I'd already decided to replace the whole lot, just before the next MOT, in about 1,000 miles time.
And then last week, I found a screw through the sidewall on one of them. So I drove to the nearest tyre place for a new set of tyres.
Unfortunately, they only had 4 of the very cheapest in stock. But being a forced purchaser I thought “Sod it” (and I figured that if they were that bad then I could at least get them changed at my leisure).
Well, I'm still waiting to find out what the catch is.
I've pushed the car hard into empty roundabouts and the tyres only start to squeal when I'm cornering far harder than I normally would. On wet, just above freezing roads, they haul the car up very satisfactorily and they're quiet on the motorway.
They do seem to be made of very soft rubber, so I suspect that they will wear out quite quickly but that's fine by me: I'd rather they wore out than died of old age like the last set.
So cheap tyres – not always a disaster.
wormus said:
What are they? I've used Primewells and Nexens for example and they proved perfectly adequate even though they were cheap. They aren't all terrible.
They're "Presa" brand (nope, never heard of them either!). 215 55 16.£200 fitted and got me out of a hole.
I thought that was OK (not that I had much choice under the circumstances).
They'll do for the Mundano shopping trolley!
I know that this is PistonHeads but even so I think that we need to keep a sense of proportion and consider the use to which the vehicle is actually put.
This is our Mundano shopping trolley. I don't track it, I don't stuff into bends on it's earhole and I seldom exceed the speed limit in it.
Within those parameters (and even exceeding them considerably) I've yet to notice an issue and I did 500 miles on these tyres last weekend.
And no, I wouldn't fit them to a 500 bhp car.
Now, my other vehicles are motorcycles and I always fit the “Best” tyres to them. Or rather tyres at the upper end of the price range.
Because if you ask a dozen motorcyclists what the best tyres are, you'll get a dozen different answers. (Personally, I go for Michelins because they feel good to me, wet or dry, and I feel confident pushing them right to the edge of the tyre).
So I wonder if all of these people who claim to always fit “The best” tyres actually know what that means and whether it actually makes any difference at all to their use of the vehicle.
Anyway, tomorrow I shall drive past a bus queue of primary school children - just to see how many survive.
Place your bets!
This is our Mundano shopping trolley. I don't track it, I don't stuff into bends on it's earhole and I seldom exceed the speed limit in it.
Within those parameters (and even exceeding them considerably) I've yet to notice an issue and I did 500 miles on these tyres last weekend.
And no, I wouldn't fit them to a 500 bhp car.
Now, my other vehicles are motorcycles and I always fit the “Best” tyres to them. Or rather tyres at the upper end of the price range.
Because if you ask a dozen motorcyclists what the best tyres are, you'll get a dozen different answers. (Personally, I go for Michelins because they feel good to me, wet or dry, and I feel confident pushing them right to the edge of the tyre).
So I wonder if all of these people who claim to always fit “The best” tyres actually know what that means and whether it actually makes any difference at all to their use of the vehicle.
Anyway, tomorrow I shall drive past a bus queue of primary school children - just to see how many survive.
Place your bets!
I never expected this thread to run to 14 pages (I might start one on engine oil or supermarket fuel next... )
Suffice to say that we haven't died in a ball of flame and our budget tyres perform better, wet or dry, than the shagged out Michelin's that they replaced.
(And also, come to mention it, better than the brand new Pirellis that I fitted to my last car).
I'll call that a win.
)Suffice to say that we haven't died in a ball of flame and our budget tyres perform better, wet or dry, than the shagged out Michelin's that they replaced.
(And also, come to mention it, better than the brand new Pirellis that I fitted to my last car).
I'll call that a win.
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