Is there so such thing as a good 'budget' tyre?

[Roman Moroni]

This topic has probably been discussed previously but I couldn't find it!

I'm looking to replace all 4 tyres on our 2011 Polo after the rears got an advisory during it's MOT.

Prices range from £50 - £130 per corner ( https://www.blackcircles.com/tyres/175-70-14 )

I'm certain we all know the more expensive makes; but how do you go about assessing the cheaper end? Or is it a case of going for the middle ground?

For clarification; I'm currently looking at the £70 - £80 range

[Super Sonic]

In typical ph 'not answering the question asked' style I'm going to say; how much tread is left on your front tyres? If you only replace the rears you will be able to get better ones and then save up for when the fronts need replacing, bearing in mind fronts wear faster on a fwd car.

[trickywoo]

Uniroyal rainsport 5 are usually the cheapest tyre worth having.

[ninepoint2]

Camskill will be cheaper if you have someone locally to fit, none of those you linked to are A rated for wet grip.

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m4b0s387p0/Car_Tyres_-_...

Uniroyal or Falken A rated from that link above will be fine on a VW Polo

[Roman Moroni]

Super Sonic said:

In typical ph 'not answering the question asked' style I'm going to say; how much tread is left on your front tyres? If you only replace the rears you will be able to get better ones and then save up for when the fronts need replacing, bearing in mind fronts wear faster on a fwd car.

Not an issue

To be honest it's my Daughters' first car. As such I'd like it to have a fresh set of boots all round even if the current fronts have got life left in them

[Roman Moroni]

trickywoo said:

Uniroyal rainsport 5 are usually the cheapest tyre worth having.

Thanks; I'll take a look.

ninepoint2 said:

Camskill will be cheaper if you have someone locally to fit, none of those you linked to are A rated for wet grip.

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m4b0s387p0/Car_Tyres_-_...

Uniroyal or Falken A rated from that link above will be fine on a VW Polo

Cheers

Seems like a second vote for Uniroyals. I'll have a look at the Falkens as well

[kambites]

I think the really cheap tyres are still mostly pretty poor, but some of the tyres in the sort of "lower mid-range" to "upper budget" range are perfectly decent. There's loads of objective tyre tests out there; if you're not going to buy from a known brand, you need to do your research to make sure you don't end up with something terrible.

Uniroyal and Falcon are not budget brands, they're generally well-regarded mid-range ones. See also Hankook, Kumho, etc.

[LightweightLouisDanvers]

I would tend to go for mid range tyres on a car like your Polo, doesn't need the latest Michelin PS4 or whatever they are called.
Kumho / Hankook are both well known decent quality tyres.

[Olivergt]

I've used Hankook before and they have been fine. Wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

I generally tend to go midrange for the normal runabout car.

We are quite rural with light traffic and ste roads. So always driving well within the limits of any old tyre.

[bigdom]

Have a look here. You can shortlist and compare to ensure you spend your money wisely.

https://www.tyrereviews.com/

[Athlon]

Google Sumitomo, Mahoosive Japanese company and the tyres supplied to the UK are (I believe) their premium range.

Are they the greatest? No, I have PS5's on my car but needed tyres for my Caddy so I got these thrown on as a get my by until I could swap them out for better later, that will not be happening. Slightly noisy on bad motorway tarmac, excellent grip so far, I have pushed them a bit and where the van broke traction previously these are doing really well.

Worth a look, decent price, decent grip, would suit the performance of your car perfectly well.

[BricktopST205]

One thing I will say is that black circles have turned into over price for the vast majority of tyres. They have become greedy from their own success.

Find the tyres you want then go asking about and looking through different websites. ATS, F1 Autocentres etc. You will be pleasantly surprised.

[Pica-Pica]

Toyo Proxes Comfort. We had Continentals on our Fabia (similar car to your Polo). Then we had Vredestein Quatrac 5 all-seasons, they cracked all round near the rim. I read TyreReviews, and settled on four new Toyo Proxes Comfort. Pleased with them, so updated the old spare with a new Toyo. We are pleased with them.

[Maxym]

Hankook supplied as OEM on my 2021 Mini Cooper.

[SuperPav]

I've recently been incredibly surprised by how good the Landsail LS588 (the model matters!) tyre is. Astonished in fact. They came (nearly new, all 4) on a car I bought last year.

I've got plenty of experience of tyres from the unknown brands through to premium ones and everything in between. I was expecting the Landsails to be very much in the former camp with plans to replace them, but they really have been bloody brilliant in dry and wet conditions.

So I can personally recommend them as an alternative to the premium offerings...

...there's a but.

I then looked at how much they cost, and they're really not bargain basement!! Cheaper than hankooks but not by much, and certainly nowhere near the price of Autogreen/Matador/Triangle/Rotalla crap.

Depending on yuor tyre size and how much the different brands cost in it, I'd be looking at a set of Landsail LS588, some Nexens or Hankooks.


Despite the above posts, I never really got on with Uniroyals (they weren't 5's but a very similar design when I had them, would've been about 10 years ago) - tried them on a couple of cars.

Your results may vary!

[Roman Moroni]

LightweightLouisDanvers said:

I would tend to go for mid range tyres on a car like your Polo, doesn't need the latest Michelin PS4 or whatever they are called.
Kumho / Hankook are both well known decent quality tyres.

They're the ones I'm being drawn towards at the moment but I'm open to suggestions.

[Roman Moroni]

Athlon said:

Google Sumitomo, Mahoosive Japanese company and the tyres supplied to the UK are (I believe) their premium range.

Are they the greatest? No, I have PS5's on my car but needed tyres for my Caddy so I got these thrown on as a get my by until I could swap them out for better later, that will not be happening. Slightly noisy on bad motorway tarmac, excellent grip so far, I have pushed them a bit and where the van broke traction previously these are doing really well.

Worth a look, decent price, decent grip, would suit the performance of your car perfectly well.

Thanks for the suggestion

BricktopST205 said:

One thing I will say is that black circles have turned into over price for the vast majority of tyres. They have become greedy from their own success.

Find the tyres you want then go asking about and looking through different websites. ATS, F1 Autocentres etc. You will be pleasantly surprised.

The one thing I like about Blackcircles is that you get an all in one price, unlike Camskill. I'm in quite a rural area but BC use a garage which is less then 2 miles away to fit tyres.

Pica-Pica said:

Toyo Proxes Comfort. We had Continentals on our Fabia (similar car to your Polo). Then we had Vredestein Quatrac 5 all-seasons, they cracked all round near the rim. I read TyreReviews, and settled on four new Toyo Proxes Comfort. Pleased with them, so updated the old spare with a new Toyo. We are pleased with them.

Interesting; I've always liked Toyos so they're one I'll take a closer look at.

[vaud]

LightweightLouisDanvers said:

I would tend to go for mid range tyres on a car like your Polo, doesn't need the latest Michelin PS4 or whatever they are called.
Kumho / Hankook are both well known decent quality tyres.

Hankook are good enough for OEM VW. They are fine on my Tiguan. I was slightly surprised that they were the recommended tyre but they seem to be very good over the last 3000 miles in dry/wet/cold conditions.

[Roman Moroni]

SuperPav said:

I've recently been incredibly surprised by how good the Landsail LS588 (the model matters!) tyre is. Astonished in fact. They came (nearly new, all 4) on a car I bought last year.

I've got plenty of experience of tyres from the unknown brands through to premium ones and everything in between. I was expecting the Landsails to be very much in the former camp with plans to replace them, but they really have been bloody brilliant in dry and wet conditions.

So I can personally recommend them as an alternative to the premium offerings...

...there's a but.

I then looked at how much they cost, and they're really not bargain basement!! Cheaper than hankooks but not by much, and certainly nowhere near the price of Autogreen/Matador/Triangle/Rotalla crap.

Depending on yuor tyre size and how much the different brands cost in it, I'd be looking at a set of Landsail LS588, some Nexens or Hankooks.


Despite the above posts, I never really got on with Uniroyals (they weren't 5's but a very similar design when I had them, would've been about 10 years ago) - tried them on a couple of cars.

Your results may vary!

Thanks for the suggestions. Landsails are one of the few companies that I've heard of at the cheaper end of the market.

[Haltamer]

I've always found that in smaller tyre sizes, the All Season offerings tend to be better than the Summer tyres.

Seems most of the Michelin / Goodyear / Conti 'flagship' summer tyres don't now stretch to the smaller sizes, so you're left with older patterns.

But, They do offer lots of up to date All Seasons!

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m137b0s7976p0/All_Seaso...

Of note in that selection Is the Vredestein Quatrac 5 - Very cheap, and a reasonable middle range offering.

And you get the rest of the All Season benefits for cold temperatures and snow - A good choice for year round safety.