So I did buy some LingLong Ditchfinders
Discussion
LingLongs/Goodrides are a false economy when compared with, say, Michelin Energys.
The Energys will:
-wear much slower, so need replacing later.
-have better rolling resistance, so consume less fuel.
-perform better when new.
-perform considerably better when they approach the wear indicators
-make the car easier to sell on.
There is of course a Third Way: premium part worns.
I bought 4x Goodyear Efficient Grip, 7mm all round, DOT 11-15, 205/55 R16 for my E90. Picked them up from the next village over.
The price? €80/£68, for all four. £17/tyre. Add on €60 for fitting, balancing and desposal of the old summer tyres. That'll do me.
The Energys will:
-wear much slower, so need replacing later.
-have better rolling resistance, so consume less fuel.
-perform better when new.
-perform considerably better when they approach the wear indicators
-make the car easier to sell on.
There is of course a Third Way: premium part worns.
I bought 4x Goodyear Efficient Grip, 7mm all round, DOT 11-15, 205/55 R16 for my E90. Picked them up from the next village over.
The price? €80/£68, for all four. £17/tyre. Add on €60 for fitting, balancing and desposal of the old summer tyres. That'll do me.
Edited by Barchettaman on Friday 10th March 10:09
xjay1337 said:
Not really.
You obviously like budgets, I hate them, the reasonable compromise on quality and grip vs price is a mid-range tyre.
I don't like or hate ANY tyres. I just think that stating "You MUST have X-Brand tyres" or "You must spend at least £X on tyres" to anybody at all is stupid. It’s as valid as saying “You MUST spend £500k on a house as that will give you the best compromise between space, comfort and affordability” And the somebody else says “what about Xmas when 73 close relatives come to visit?” And a third person says “I live in a 1 bedroom Council flat in Middlesbrough and I manage quite easily”.You obviously like budgets, I hate them, the reasonable compromise on quality and grip vs price is a mid-range tyre.
We all make different demands on out tyres. Some of us regularly get close to (or even exceed) the limits of our tyres. The majority of people don’t. That’s why the roads aren’t littered with accidents caused by budget tyres. FWIW my preferred tyre brand is Kumho. It has been for ages, even when they were supposedly “budget”, because they do what I need them to do. I also like Avon and Con-Tee-Nen-Taahl. I don’t like Pirelli as the ones I’ve tried have felt too hard.
Countdown said:
I don't like or hate ANY tyres. I just think that stating "You MUST have X-Brand tyres" or "You must spend at least £X on tyres" to anybody at all is stupid. It’s as valid as saying “You MUST spend £500k on a house as that will give you the best compromise between space, comfort and affordability” And the somebody else says “what about Xmas when 73 close relatives come to visit?” And a third person says “I live in a 1 bedroom Council flat in Middlesbrough and I manage quite easily”.
We all make different demands on out tyres. Some of us regularly get close to (or even exceed) the limits of our tyres. The majority of people don’t. That’s why the roads aren’t littered with accidents caused by budget tyres. FWIW my preferred tyre brand is Kumho. It has been for ages, even when they were supposedly “budget”, because they do what I need them to do. I also like Avon and Con-Tee-Nen-Taahl. I don’t like Pirelli as the ones I’ve tried have felt too hard.
I was giving an example as to the level of brand that the shed guy should go for. We all make different demands on out tyres. Some of us regularly get close to (or even exceed) the limits of our tyres. The majority of people don’t. That’s why the roads aren’t littered with accidents caused by budget tyres. FWIW my preferred tyre brand is Kumho. It has been for ages, even when they were supposedly “budget”, because they do what I need them to do. I also like Avon and Con-Tee-Nen-Taahl. I don’t like Pirelli as the ones I’ve tried have felt too hard.
And I'm not a tyre snob. I don't say you need to spend at least £X on tyres or that you need X brand.
It is just so that the better performing tyres are generally the more recognised brands and are generally more pricey....then you get accused of tyre snobbery?
I've had Falken 452's before and Kumhos and they were excellent in their application. My third favourite tyre is the Vredestein Ultrac Vorti, which is only behind my second favourite , the Michelin PS4, and my absolute favourite, the Dunlop Direzza 03g
But I had Triangle somethingorother (on a car when I bought it) and they were HONESTLY shocking. The level of grip they offered was next to 0 and I managed to wheelspin in 3rd gear in a Corsa 1.4 on a slightly damp road. When I replaced even with a midrange Falken 452, the difference was absolutely remarkable.
NO budget tyre (Nankang, Triangle, Linglong, etc) can perform event close to a more premium tyre in wet handling and wet braking. That is a FACT of which there are countless, COUNTLESS tests and measuring points and data.
The fact we spend half of the year being rained on, wet grip should be one of the most important factors on a daily driver.
The argument to say you drive to the conditions etc totally ignores the fact that something outside of their control may happen, kid running out, having to swerve, etc.
But whatever. All to save £100 every 18 months.
xjay1337 said:
I was giving an example as to the level of brand that the shed guy should go for.
And I'm not a tyre snob. I don't say you need to spend at least £X on tyres or that you need X brand.
It is just so that the better performing tyres are generally the more recognised brands and are generally more pricey....then you get accused of tyre snobbery?
I've had Falken 452's before and Kumhos and they were excellent in their application. My third favourite tyre is the Vredestein Ultrac Vorti, which is only behind my second favourite , the Michelin PS4, and my absolute favourite, the Dunlop Direzza 03g
But I had Triangle somethingorother (on a car when I bought it) and they were HONESTLY shocking. The level of grip they offered was next to 0 and I managed to wheelspin in 3rd gear in a Corsa 1.4 on a slightly damp road. When I replaced even with a midrange Falken 452, the difference was absolutely remarkable.
NO budget tyre (Nankang, Triangle, Linglong, etc) can perform event close to a more premium tyre in wet handling and wet braking. That is a FACT of which there are countless, COUNTLESS tests and measuring points and data.
The fact we spend half of the year being rained on, wet grip should be one of the most important factors on a daily driver.
The argument to say you drive to the conditions etc totally ignores the fact that something outside of their control may happen, kid running out, having to swerve, etc.
But whatever. All to save £100 every 18 months.
In all seriousness I would argue that Nankang and Nexen are solid mid-range tyres. I do not like the cheap tyres and I think you pay for the name with the premium tyres. My personal favourites are Uniroyal RS3's, Kumho's, Continental, Avon and Cooper. I feel that with all those you get outstanding performance (wet AND dry) for the price. And I'm not a tyre snob. I don't say you need to spend at least £X on tyres or that you need X brand.
It is just so that the better performing tyres are generally the more recognised brands and are generally more pricey....then you get accused of tyre snobbery?
I've had Falken 452's before and Kumhos and they were excellent in their application. My third favourite tyre is the Vredestein Ultrac Vorti, which is only behind my second favourite , the Michelin PS4, and my absolute favourite, the Dunlop Direzza 03g
But I had Triangle somethingorother (on a car when I bought it) and they were HONESTLY shocking. The level of grip they offered was next to 0 and I managed to wheelspin in 3rd gear in a Corsa 1.4 on a slightly damp road. When I replaced even with a midrange Falken 452, the difference was absolutely remarkable.
NO budget tyre (Nankang, Triangle, Linglong, etc) can perform event close to a more premium tyre in wet handling and wet braking. That is a FACT of which there are countless, COUNTLESS tests and measuring points and data.
The fact we spend half of the year being rained on, wet grip should be one of the most important factors on a daily driver.
The argument to say you drive to the conditions etc totally ignores the fact that something outside of their control may happen, kid running out, having to swerve, etc.
But whatever. All to save £100 every 18 months.
fivepointnine said:
In all seriousness I would argue that Nankang and Nexen are solid mid-range tyres. I do not like the cheap tyres and I think you pay for the name with the premium tyres. My personal favourites are Uniroyal RS3's, Kumho's, Continental, Avon and Cooper. I feel that with all those you get outstanding performance (wet AND dry) for the price.
In all seriousness, Shed Driver's question seemed to be very budget conscious. What he might find though, depending on the size of tyre he needs, is that to move from the very bottom of the market up to something like a Nankang or a Nexen might not actually cost very much more. (But would probably, as you suggest, perform significantly better than the cheapest of the cheap.)If it's a popular size, it might only cost £10 a corner more to get Conti or Michelin even, but then SD might not think that's worthwhile ...
xjay1337 said:
NO budget tyre (Nankang, Triangle, Linglong, etc) can perform event close to a more premium tyre in wet handling and wet braking. That is a FACT of which there are countless, COUNTLESS tests and measuring points and data.
When a brand has reached a point that it has passed the standards required to be deemed fit for OEM type approval and is just awaiting confirmation of a supply deal to become line fit (that brand being Linglong) then statements like the one above have to be reviewed.Before anyone mentions that the Linglong OEM arrangement only applies to a domestic market, that does not imply a higher or lower standard of testing - it is a commercial decision based on (ironically) brand acceptance.
Hankook and Kumho started their OEM status as domestic suppliers for Mercedes Benz and VW respectively and eventually transitioned to world-market suppliers with exactly the same products.
I'm not implying either that this vindicates all lesser-known brand tyres, but some people are going to have to change their perception of certain ones.
Edited by r11co on Friday 10th March 13:23
fivepointnine said:
In all seriousness I would argue that Nankang and Nexen are solid mid-range tyres. I do not like the cheap tyres and I think you pay for the name with the premium tyres. My personal favourites are Uniroyal RS3's, Kumho's, Continental, Avon and Cooper. I feel that with all those you get outstanding performance (wet AND dry) for the price.
Nankang NS2s are dreadful (in my opinion of course).Their wet grip is woeful.
I'm sure they are better than Triangles but not by much. To be a mid range is Uniroyal, Kumho etc.
7/8th: Nankang NS2
Positive: Low rolling resistance.
Negative: Dangerously long braking distance in the wet, wet understeer, reduced steering precision, loud and uncomfortable.
And some user reviews
Given 49% (breakdown) while driving a Ford Fiesta XR4 (ST) (205/40 R17) on a combination of roads for 66,000 average miles
I drive a fiesta st150. I am 42 so I don't drive as a boy racer. These tyres has no grip at all. Of course you will realised that when you really need grip.on dry it has low grip, but in wet conditions no grip at all......... Maybe it is a good product for a trailer or for suicide but don not bother with these cheap s
t. ( I bought the car with these 'tyres') I would not say 'nankang tyres', these are just spacers between wheels and the asphalt.Bought these the other day and I just wanna get them done with ASAP. Compared to my stock goodyears this is terrorising. I had to balance the tires once again within 300kms of first buying it. bumpy ride even now and due for another balancing. The only good thing that ever came out of a Chinese factory are those that carry an Apple logo. Signing out...before i shed tears
of their favorite tyres in specific orders, how many miles a year do they drive to have change them so often.EazyDuz said:
Those Black Circles budget tyres are also good performers. Check the reviews and see for yourself, plenty of happy people using them
You mean the ones that are such a lucky dip that they don't even tell you what brand you'll get, just the cheapest-possible-overstock-clearance...?EazyDuz said:
Those Black Circles budget tyres are also good performers. Check the reviews and see for yourself, plenty of happy people using them
Anecdotal and utterly subjective opinions provided by members of the public keen to justify their decision to buy cheap. If you think that's a good basis for a buying decision then I'd question your judgement TBH. TooMany2cvs said:
EazyDuz said:
Those Black Circles budget tyres are also good performers. Check the reviews and see for yourself, plenty of happy people using them
You mean the ones that are such a lucky dip that they don't even tell you what brand you'll get, just the cheapest-possible-overstock-clearance...?SWoll said:
Anecdotal and utterly subjective opinions provided by members of the public keen to justify their decision to buy cheap. If you think that's a good basis for a buying decision then I'd question your judgement TBH.
If I were to buy some and find out the car is sliding all over the place, you best believe i'd leave a one star review. Who in their right mind would leave a good review if the tyres were so bad they actually did find a ditch?EazyDuz said:
SWoll said:
Anecdotal and utterly subjective opinions provided by members of the public keen to justify their decision to buy cheap. If you think that's a good basis for a buying decision then I'd question your judgement TBH.
If I were to buy some and find out the car is sliding all over the place, you best believe i'd leave a one star review. Who in their right mind would leave a good review if the tyres were so bad they actually did find a ditch?The same can be said for expensive products as well as cheap. That's why I only pay attention to independent test results wherever possible.
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