Hire companies using ditchfinders.........

[Kiltox]

Hired a van from one of the big rental companies today - it has ditchfinders on the front and they're not even the same non-brand on each side

Not what I'd expect, but then maybe someone needed new Pirellis for their own van?

[ensignia]

These so called ditchfinders people are always deriding, has it been proven that they are vastly inferior to well known brands or is it all just conjecture?

Genuine question, as I've never had anything other than OEM tyres on my car so I've not been able to compare.

[Kiltox]

ensignia said:

These so called ditchfinders people are always deriding, has it been proven that they are vastly inferior to well known brands or is it all just conjecture?

Genuine question, as I've never had anything other than OEM tyres on my car so I've not been able to compare.

I'm sure there have been tests which showed wet braking performance and other such metrics are greatly decreased vs better tyres. No source though I'm afraid.

(and the van I was driving today seemed to have no issue in wet weather at a number of typical-rental leptons )

[davepoth]

Kiltox said:

I'm sure there have been tests which showed wet braking performance and other such metrics are greatly decreased vs better tyres. No source though I'm afraid.

(and the van I was driving today seemed to have no issue in wet weather at a number of typical-rental leptons )

They aren't called "Ditchfinders" for nothing. They are usually bearable in cheap tyre sizes, but when you get down to sportier low profile jobbies they are really quite scary.

[deveng]

When running a tyre shop a hire car company insisted I fit a budget tyre to a 59 plate car when it was a matter of weeks old, had been curbed and had a bulge.

I explained that the size was bespoke to the car(fairly low profile on a 20" wheel) and the model was almost brand new, they were having none of it and basically said I wasn't allowed to let the customer leave until I'd fitted a budget tyre. I fairly rudely then told them what part of my anatomy they could kiss as I didn't have time to source a tyre that probably didn't exist yet (why would a budget tyre company make 20" tyres for a brand new car?)

[Steve in Stoke]

Tyres are one of the biggest expenditures in any rental company - or at least those that own their fleet rather than buy--backs. The company that I worked for had over 20,000 vehicles, and spent around £3m a year on tyres, so do not expect premium brands.

We had a Kleber only policy on replacements, which were black, round, the right size and met all necessary safety requirements. Pretty and performance enhanced they were not, but they ticked all the right boxes.

It's probably a given for all companies, but tyre condition and tread depth were checked before and after rental period - and I did have a couple of cases were customers had to wait whilst a tyre was replaced. Corporate Manslaughter charges arising from defective equipment is not something you take a lightly as a fleet manager!

[Kiltox]

Damn, didn't know this was the norm

Only other experience I've had of hire cars is self-insured hire via work where tyres are replaced with original spec - at work's expense of course

(like I said though, the front tyres on this van took 200 miles of probably not legal speed on wet roads today without any noticeable performance issues but then it is a Vauxhall Combo and not a M3 )

[Steve in Stoke]

Going back to your original post though, it was not unusual to get factory fresh rental van back after it's first day on hire, only to find it had lost 6mm of tread overnight. And even changed brands...

Which is another reason why tyres are checked before and after every hire!

(Hell - I even have even seen a Transit come back with a swapped engine after a weekend rental to a gentleman with a quaint Irish accent!)