Cheap tyres VS premium brand tyres
Discussion
I once put a brand new set of the cheapest tyres I could find on the rear of an MX5 I had just bought as the rears were very badly cracked from age, so I could get it home where I had a set of wheels with proper tyres on.
Every junction became a scene from a 1980s car chase movie with ridiculous screeching sounds even on almost no throttle. God knows how little grip they must have had. It was funny at the time as it was so catastrophically bad but no way would I have kept those tyres on for daily use, my own safety is far more important than saving a few quid once every few years.
Every junction became a scene from a 1980s car chase movie with ridiculous screeching sounds even on almost no throttle. God knows how little grip they must have had. It was funny at the time as it was so catastrophically bad but no way would I have kept those tyres on for daily use, my own safety is far more important than saving a few quid once every few years.
xjay1337 said:
Should know better than to listen to Yipper.
If Nankang made a tyre that genuinely performed better than a Michelin do you not think people would buy them?
Nothing to do with vanity, everything to do with safety.
It was a general comment based on what he said. People laughing at you based on your tyre choice.If Nankang made a tyre that genuinely performed better than a Michelin do you not think people would buy them?
Nothing to do with vanity, everything to do with safety.
On what planet .
The fact is you could pick any one of the ‘premium’ brands and there is always a mid range even budget tyre somewhere that will at very least match them for the ratings they are judged on like wet weather grip, fuel efficiency and road noise. Pirelli’s are at the louder end of the spectrum with some being 74DB compared to Goodyear at around 69DB. Bridgestone are at the lower end rating for fuel efficiency normally around F rating. Goodyear have really soft sidewalls so can look almost flat yet these are classed as the premiums. There is not one tyre that you could class as the best ineveryrhing and it does come down to personal preference in a way that people will always stick with one brand and not budge. Barum tyres are made in same factory as continental and there are many more which just use old molds. Like said before yes premium brands do have more technology put into them and you could probably psychologically have more peace of mind but just a quick look at the none ‘premium’ tyres will show a lot of tyres that do compare and sometimes outperform. A set of Uniroyal RS3’s for £214 with a wet grip of A and Efficiency of C against a set of Michelin PS2 with wet grip B and efficiency F for £392 I know what would be the sane and sensible option!! Plus if people are saying they are sliding the back end out then they must be driving on a racetrack and not the road.
MrAverage said:
On a big, powerful-ish rear wheel drive I'd stick to premium or mid range at minimum.
I usually maintain that midrange offer 90%+ of the performance for less money which is fine for the majority.
I run cheap old cars so my tyre choice is usually towards the cheaper end of the spectrum, currently using some persa's? They are better than the nearly bald tyres that were on there but not by much, it's very happy to wheel spin and doesn't corner that great. My solution? Chuck them on the back and get some mid range on the front, that's fine on a fwd.
How do you work it out at 90% when some midrange have better rating then premium.....?I usually maintain that midrange offer 90%+ of the performance for less money which is fine for the majority.
I run cheap old cars so my tyre choice is usually towards the cheaper end of the spectrum, currently using some persa's? They are better than the nearly bald tyres that were on there but not by much, it's very happy to wheel spin and doesn't corner that great. My solution? Chuck them on the back and get some mid range on the front, that's fine on a fwd.
So in summary, in the wet, a Michelin will be out-performed by a Nexen, a Fulda, a Sava, a Falken, a Zeetex and a Roadstone.
And in the dry, a Michelin is out-performed by a Dayton, a Nankang.
And a Nankang is the BEST performing tyre in the dry, outperforming every single ‘premium’ brand.
Have I missed anything?.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Market-O...
And in the dry, a Michelin is out-performed by a Dayton, a Nankang.
And a Nankang is the BEST performing tyre in the dry, outperforming every single ‘premium’ brand.
Have I missed anything?.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Market-O...
Edited by 38911 on Tuesday 27th February 10:58
38911 said:
So in summary, in the wet, a Michelin will be out-performed by a Nexen, a Fulda, a Sava, a Falken, a Zeetex and a Roadstone.
And in the dry, a Michelin is out-performed by a Dayton, a Nankang.
And a Nankang is the BEST performing tyre in the dry, outperforming every single ‘premium’ brand.
Have I missed anything?.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Market-O...
I think, as has been mentioned numerous times on this thread, a premium brand isn't a guarantee of absolute performance. However, they are more likely to be a reliable performer. Most people won't dig into test data like this when making a judgement. You run the risk of the below quote from the article being true:And in the dry, a Michelin is out-performed by a Dayton, a Nankang.
And a Nankang is the BEST performing tyre in the dry, outperforming every single ‘premium’ brand.
Have I missed anything?.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Market-O...
"In fact, the best tyre in the dry, the Nankank XR611 beats the test winning Pirelli by nearly 2 meters in the dry, only to stop 26.6 meters after the Pirelli in the wet! Proof it's easy to make a tyre work in the dry, and must harder to make one work in the wet."
f
k stopping 26 meters later in the wet because I took a punt on an unknown tyre.Well, that's me convinced, anyone want to buy a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres? Only covered 500 miles, I fancy having faster wear, poorer grip, more noise and unpredictable handling from a no name tyre. £50 o.n.o. for the set
Wait a minute, no I don't because I'm not a complete moron.
2 things you never skimp on. Tyres for your car, and a decent mattress to sleep on.
To the OP, I hope you never end up behind me on the road and I have to do an emergency stop.
Wait a minute, no I don't because I'm not a complete moron.
2 things you never skimp on. Tyres for your car, and a decent mattress to sleep on.
To the OP, I hope you never end up behind me on the road and I have to do an emergency stop.
Edited by Silverbullet767 on Tuesday 27th February 12:52
I use midrange tyres, having raced on Toyo's, Falken's etc. I'm happy to use them or Yokohama, Kumho etc.
Don't see the point in binning tyres at 3mm as somebody mentioned, They don't reach their best in the dry (where most driving is done) until the minimum, if driving in heavy rain you drive to the conditions, simple. Something I've managed to do for 18 years and 328k in the same car without incident.
Don't see the point in binning tyres at 3mm as somebody mentioned, They don't reach their best in the dry (where most driving is done) until the minimum, if driving in heavy rain you drive to the conditions, simple. Something I've managed to do for 18 years and 328k in the same car without incident.
Nanook said:
I bought a new bike helmet.
It was cheaper than a proper ‘name-brand’ one, but it’s good enough for every day riding. Besides, it adds a bit of excitement into riding, gets the adrenalin going, like sliding the back end about in a car if you like.
It won’t actually work properly in an emergency, but hey, I saved a few quid, and it’s been fine so far, so I’m sure it’ll work out.
cheap helmets are crap and expensive ones will save your life hmmmIt was cheaper than a proper ‘name-brand’ one, but it’s good enough for every day riding. Besides, it adds a bit of excitement into riding, gets the adrenalin going, like sliding the back end about in a car if you like.
It won’t actually work properly in an emergency, but hey, I saved a few quid, and it’s been fine so far, so I’m sure it’ll work out.
https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/helmets/arashi-phantom/ 4 Star £69
https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/helmets/halfords-myx/ 4 Star £35
https://sharp.dft.gov.uk/helmets/schuberth-r1/ 2 star £320
38911 said:
So in summary, in the wet, a Michelin will be out-performed by a Nexen, a Fulda, a Sava, a Falken, a Zeetex and a Roadstone.
And in the dry, a Michelin is out-performed by a Dayton, a Nankang.
And a Nankang is the BEST performing tyre in the dry, outperforming every single ‘premium’ brand.
Have I missed anything?.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Market-O...
but the budget version of the premium tyresAnd in the dry, a Michelin is out-performed by a Dayton, a Nankang.
And a Nankang is the BEST performing tyre in the dry, outperforming every single ‘premium’ brand.
Have I missed anything?.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Market-O...
Edited by 38911 on Tuesday 27th February 10:58
it would be interesting to see it against a pilot 4S
Silverbullet767 said:
Well, that's me convinced, anyone want to buy a set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres? Only covered 500 miles, I fancy having faster wear, poorer grip, more noise and unpredictable handling from a no name tyre. £50 o.n.o. for the set
Wait a minute, no I don't because I'm not a complete moron.
2 things you never skimp on. Tyres for your car, and a decent matress to sleep on.
To the OP, I hope you never end up behind me on the road and I have to do an emergency stop.
The majority of people don't think good tyres matter until the day comes when they have to avoid something in a hurry. Wait a minute, no I don't because I'm not a complete moron.
2 things you never skimp on. Tyres for your car, and a decent matress to sleep on.
To the OP, I hope you never end up behind me on the road and I have to do an emergency stop.
Thankfully a good few people finance their cars, and they are usually fitted with good rubber.
38911 said:
Have I missed anything?.
Yes, quite a big thing, and one that really should be quite obvious.Do you change your tyres on every journey according to weather and road type, or do you use a single set that needs to work well when cornering or braking in the dry or the wet, and would prefer it to be quiet, long lasting and reliable? Making a tyre that does one single thing better than a premium tyre isn't difficult. Making a tyre perform well across a board range of conditions is much more difficult, which is why budget brands struggle to achieve this.
38911 said:
So in summary, in the wet, a Michelin will be out-performed by a Nexen, a Fulda, a Sava, a Falken, a Zeetex and a Roadstone.
And in the dry, a Michelin is out-performed by a Dayton, a Nankang.
And a Nankang is the BEST performing tyre in the dry, outperforming every single ‘premium’ brand.
Have I missed anything?.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Market-O...
You’re missing the fact that the Michelin in question is an Energy Saver Plus which only exists to save you 1p a mile in fuel. You’re then using that to diss all premium brands despite the fact that the first 5 places are all well known premium brands.And in the dry, a Michelin is out-performed by a Dayton, a Nankang.
And a Nankang is the BEST performing tyre in the dry, outperforming every single ‘premium’ brand.
Have I missed anything?.
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Market-O...
Edited by 38911 on Tuesday 27th February 10:58
The nankang you single out as winning dry braking by a tiny margin stops a whole 26M after the Pirelli in the wet, so feel free to wang a set of them on your daily driver if you think they’re so great.
My TT came with Firestones on the front and "Traingle" ditchfinders on the rear, the worst tyres I have ever encountered, truly terrifying on a wet bend, even in a 4wd car with ESP, I replaced them with Firestones to match the front, normally not a brand I would go for but they are fine and all match now.
Have had many ditchfinders int he past, usually when I buy a car.
Jinyu, full set on my 350Z when I got it, they were ok to be fair.
Doublestar, on a Galaxy, even the wife who isnt that bothered said they need to go, replaced with Dunlops and normality was resumed
Nankangs on a Golf gti, tried to swap ends joining the M56 at moderate speed, replaced and no further issues
Nankangs on the front of a Fiat Coupe, no traction, went to Continentals, like going to 4wd in comparison.
They are tyre shaped objects in a lot of cases, they do they job but the performance is so far removed it would be laughable if it wasnt so potentially serious.
Have had many ditchfinders int he past, usually when I buy a car.
Jinyu, full set on my 350Z when I got it, they were ok to be fair.
Doublestar, on a Galaxy, even the wife who isnt that bothered said they need to go, replaced with Dunlops and normality was resumed
Nankangs on a Golf gti, tried to swap ends joining the M56 at moderate speed, replaced and no further issues
Nankangs on the front of a Fiat Coupe, no traction, went to Continentals, like going to 4wd in comparison.
They are tyre shaped objects in a lot of cases, they do they job but the performance is so far removed it would be laughable if it wasnt so potentially serious.
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