Cheap v expensive tyres

[neil-1323bolts]

So been chatting on vw/Audi forum about tyres for Q7 , I recommended michelin latitude sport 3 as I use them on my cayenne been excellent , but it seems some people will go for the cheapest tyres they can get hold of and actually say they perform well and last well , so this got me thinking maybe I've been getting it wrong all these years going for the expensive top branded tyres , I've tried cheaper tyres before years ago and they were rubbish . I personally could not put cheap tyres on my car, so are you a cheap tyre lover ?, or favour the much more expensive branded tyres ?

[jagnet]

neil-1323bolts said:

I've tried cheaper tyres before years ago and they were rubbish

They still are. That said, budget tyres on a Jaguar XFR in the damp is entertaining if nothing else - best described as "twitchy".

[thelawnet1]

neil-1323bolts said:

So been chatting on vw/Audi forum about tyres for Q7 , I recommended michelin latitude sport 3 as I use them on my cayenne been excellent , but it seems some people will go for the cheapest tyres they can get hold of and actually say they perform well and last well , so this got me thinking maybe I've been getting it wrong all these years going for the expensive top branded tyres , I've tried cheaper tyres before years ago and they were rubbish . I personally could not put cheap tyres on my car, so are you a cheap tyre lover ?, or favour the much more expensive branded tyres ?

this thread is repeated repeatedly.

i read some reviews on Which, some of the midrange (Nexen, Firestone, etc.) are better than premium ones.

But cheap is going to just be cheap.

[akirk]

oft-said, but why would you skimp on such a critical component - the only connection to the road... I wouldn't buy at a level above the rest of the components in the car, so no point in very expensive tyres on a very basic car, but other than caveat I would always buy the best for car...

[Ron99]

The previous owner of one of our cars put Nexens on shortly before they sold it (instead of Bridgestone/Continental).
The Nexens wore down alarmingly fast and weren't confidence-inspiring when grip was required.

[fastbikes76]

I bought a Cayenne Turbo which came with Nexan 8000’s all round. Decent rubber was on my to do list but they were so good I stuck with them and actually replaced them with the same again. Handled perfectly fine in winter and rain , more so than my (enthusiastic) driving style could ask for , and at £90 a pop for 20” it was a match made in heaven haha

[amgmcqueen]

Cheap tyres usually wear extremely quickly and are dreadful in the wet.

[MorganP104]

A lot of it is down to the sort of car you drive.

For example, my wife's 2001 Beetle needed some new boots recently, so I got the local tyre place to throw on a pair of budgets (front), and shift the "best of the rest" to the rear axle.

As my missus drives like she's got Miss Daisy in the back, it's my job to give the car an Italian tune-up every now and again. On the new tyres, I drove the car like I stole it, and it handled just fine. I've since driven it in the wet, and the grip was all good.

On the flip side of that coin, I've owned various large/heavy/high performance cars that have come to me wearing budget tyres. Most have been bad, bordering on dangerous. As soon as "proper" tyres are put on, the cars invariably behave themselves again.





TL;DR - budget tyres seem fine for small, low powered, runarounds. Not so much for more powerful/performance oriented vehicles.

[Davey S2]

I’d never scrimp on tyres but as stated above some mid range types are just as good as premium tyres.

I’ve had Hankooks on my last BMW after getting sick and tired of the run flats. I’ve also just put them on my Merc Estate in place of the Contisports it came on and they are every bit as good.

I rate them highly and will get them again.

Audi are using them on the new RS4 which is telling.

[anonymous-user]

amgmcqueen said:

Cheap tyres usually wear extremely quickly and are dreadful in the wet.

Wet weather grip is usually where cheap/budget tyres fall down.

They can be pretty good in the dry but as soon as it becomes damp or greasy they can be like teflon.

You can get lucky though. I recently put some Nankang 'Winter Activa' tyres on my Nemo for work duties and they are really very grippy in the cold, wet and damp. I am exceptionally pleased for £54 per tyre.

[M4cruiser]

There's a whole load more between "Cheap" and "Expensive". My list is here, I've posted it once before and I know some PHers will have a different view, but it's a good start:-

Premium

Bridgestone
Continental
Dunlop
Goodyear
Michelin
Pirelli


Mid Range

Avon
Barum
BFGoodrich
Cooper
Falken
Firestone
Fulda
General
Hankook
Kumho
Marangoni
Metzeler
Nexen
Nokian
Toyo
Uniroyal
Vredestein
Yokohama


Economy

Achilles
Apollo
Atlas
Ceat
Cordiant
Dayton
Debica
Dmack
ESA Tecar
Federal
Formula
GT Radial
Hercules
High Performer
Infinity
Interstate
Kenda
Kleber
Kormoran
Marshal
Matador
Maxtrek
Maxxis
Meteor
Millennium
Nankang
Neuton
Nitto
Point S
Prestivo
Radar
Riken
Sava
Semperit
Silverstone
Sumitomo
Sunny
Tigar
Viatti
Viking
Zeetex
Zeta


Budget

Accelera
Admiral
Altenzo
Austone
Autogrip
BCT
Capitol
Dextero
Durun
Event
Evergreen
Forceum
Fortuna
Fullrun
Fullway
Gislaved
Goodride
Haida
Hero
Herse
Hifly
Imperial
Jinyu
Kinforest
Lansail
Lassa
Linglong
Maloya
Mastercraft
Mastersteel
Mayrun
Minerva
Mohawk
Ovation
Pace
Petlas
Platin
Premiorri
Primewell
Roadstone
Rockstone
Rotalla
Runway
Sailun
Sonar
Sportiva
Star Performer
Starfire
Starmaxx
Sunew
Sunitrac
Syron
Tracmax
Triangle
Tyfoon
Unigrip
Wanli
Westlake
Winda

[Prinny]

Good list...^^ Wouldn’t disagree with much of it.

What about (the fabled) Davanti tyres though?

For me personally, those four bits of rubber are the only thing touching the road. I drive abroad a lot, and am not shy of using the left-most lane of the Autobahn. If that means paying a premium, I’m happy to do so. Michelin seem to last longer than the others under similar load, so that’s my preference.

[neil-1323bolts]

That's some list , I bought a BMW 335 some years ago it had fullrun tyres fitted , these were by far the worst tyres I have ever used , just a touch of the throttle span up the rears even in the dry , don't even know how they were legal

[thelawnet1]

Semperit are midrange. Owned by Continental, HQ in Austria.

In no way comparable to Sunny etc.

[Limpet]

Davey S2 said:

I’d never scrimp on tyres but as stated above some mid range types are just as good as premium tyres.

I’ve had Hankooks on my last BMW after getting sick and tired of the run flats. I’ve also just put them on my Merc Estate in place of the Contisports it came on and they are every bit as good.

I rate them highly and will get them again.

Audi are using them on the new RS4 which is telling.

Our 2015 Mini Cooper S convertible came from the factory with Hankook Ventus V12 Evo 2 tyres. They were pretty good in all weathers although the fronts weren't far off the wear markers when the car went back at 12k. It was driven fairly enthusiastically but not THAT hard. Tyre performance was great though.

[Limpet]

Lassa are made in Europe by Bridgestone, and share compounds and tread patterns. They are a cut above the Triangles and Wanlis of this world.

[underwhelmist]

I only just found out that LingLong is a real brand, I had always assumed it was a generic joke name for crap tyres having only seen the name on this site.

I thought I had premium tyres on my old Accord, because they were Pirelli. They were P6000s though, which I understand aren't well regarded. The Bridgstones I replaced them with were way better.

[Cupramax]

What are you basing that list on? Bearing in mind Audi are now fitting Hankook Ventus as OEM tyres on things like the new S5, I'm sure they'd be impressed you rate them as mid range.

[briang9]

Cupramax said:

What are you basing that list on? Bearing in mind Audi are now fitting Hankook Ventus as OEM tyres on things like the new S5, I'm sure they'd be impressed you rate them as mid range.

Indeed... that list appears to be random made up nonsense

[KungFuPanda]

Just bought a Cayenne that needs a couple of new tyres on the front. Size required is 275/40/20 so maybe similar to yours OP.

I’ve opted for Uniroyal Rainsport 3 at £115 delivered from Camskill. Top of the tree are Michelin Latitude which are around £190. Nexen Roadian can be had for around £85 and cheapest of the cheap budgets are HiFly at £57. Prices don’t include fitting but I have a tame mechanic who will fit for free.

The Nexens seem to have reasonable favourable reviews from the Range Rover Sport forums and are an option at some Land Rover dealers too. The only reason I didn’t opt for them was that some said the sidewalls were a bit thin.