Cheap tyres VS premium brand tyres

Cheap tyres VS premium brand tyres

Author
Discussion

Muddle238

3,871 posts

112 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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I just put four brand new Goodyear Efficient Grips on my shed Rover, I bought it with almost-new Landsail tyres and the wet handling was terrible, you could feel it at the edge of grip in wet corners at not even particularly exciting speeds. I have no idea where Landsail tyres sit in the scale of rubber premium-ness but they were shockers. So far very happy with the Goodyears.

The other car had Pirelli P-Zero Nero on all four corners, they've been great for the last few years. I'd have them again but I may try Michelin next time round.

I always think it's worth fitting decent tyres, you won't regret it that one night when you're coming home in a thunderstorm and the wipers are struggling to shift the rain from the windscreen. I'd scare myself stless doing that on budget tyres, even at ridiculously slow speeds.

pmfinch

1,714 posts

77 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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The lowest I would go is premium budget - Kumho and the like. I once had a proper cheap budget tyre fitted on the rear of my Peugeot 206 after a puncture. Expensive and painful mistake.

Soon after on a wet road that I had driven on countless times I turned into a sweeping bend at normal speed to find the tail quickly step out. The car span through 180 degrees and ended up in a tree. Write off.

The replacement, a Colt diesel, turned out to have the same brand tyres fitted to the front. In the wet it was a struggle to set off without spinning the wheels and it could spin it's wheels in fourth gear. Not fun. They were swapped out quickly. No more wheelspin.

Since then I have been a bit more choosy when it comes to tyres...

anxious_ant

2,626 posts

78 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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Muddle238 said:
I always think it's worth fitting decent tyres, you won't regret it that one night when you're coming home in a thunderstorm and the wipers are struggling to shift the rain from the windscreen. I'd scare myself stless doing that on budget tyres, even at ridiculously slow speeds.
Exactly this. I've only ever tried cheap tyres once and never again. Some may feel OK when new and weather is sunny but it's unreliable otherwise. I prefer not to gamble when it comes to safety.

I've just put on 2 new Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance tyres today to replace Hankook Ventus thats on 2mm-ish. Ratings are slightly better so looking forward to the experience.




Edited by anxious_ant on Sunday 25th February 18:12

Wildcat45

8,056 posts

188 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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If these horror stories are true, and I have no reason to disbelieve them, then why are dangerous tyres allowed to be sold innthe UK?

Were not allowed to buy dangerous electrical goods. People need to be registered to install boilers etc etc.

So why are cheap and dangerous tyres regarded as OK by lawmakers?

dommyem

Original Poster:

7 posts

96 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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I think from what I'm reading here is that cheap can mean; dangerous, ok, and good. If I deemed my tyres dangerous I would get rid of them, I do like my car not being on its roof. ;-)

bitchstewie

50,782 posts

209 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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dommyem said:
I think from what I'm reading here is that cheap can mean; dangerous, ok, and good. If I deemed my tyres dangerous I would get rid of them, I do like my car not being on its roof. ;-)
The difficulty is that doesn't really reconcile with "I actually love my slightly less grippy tyres".

They aren't only "slightly less grippy" when you choose for them to be.

Edited by bhstewie on Sunday 25th February 18:26

Yipper

5,964 posts

89 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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The biggest problem with cheap tyres is, your mates will see the cr*p brand on the tyrewall and point and laugh at you. It's like wearing a jumper from Tescos and stuff like that.

Debaser

5,665 posts

260 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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Wildcat45 said:
If these horror stories are true, and I have no reason to disbelieve them, then why are dangerous tyres allowed to be sold innthe UK?

Were not allowed to buy dangerous electrical goods. People need to be registered to install boilers etc etc.

So why are cheap and dangerous tyres regarded as OK by lawmakers?
Imagine the uproar if the law stated you were only allowed to fit OE spec tyres to your old car.

Debaser

5,665 posts

260 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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Yipper said:
The biggest problem with cheap tyres is, your mates will see the cr*p brand on the tyrewall and point and laugh at you. It's like wearing a jumper from Tescos and stuff like that.
What kind of person would point and laugh at a tyre brand (or a jumper)?

Sheepshanks

32,531 posts

118 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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Debaser said:
Imagine the uproar if the law stated you were only allowed to fit OE spec tyres to your old car.
I got our "fleet manager" (MD's PA) to mandate that on our company cars after the lease company started fitting Firestone's, which were just horrendous in the wet. The clincher was someone from Peugeot UK saying that if the car was involved in an accident they would point out the tyres were not on their approved list.

jon-

16,497 posts

215 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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Debaser said:
What kind of person would point and laugh at a tyre brand?
byebye

lbc

3,212 posts

216 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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dommyem said:
So really I am very pleased with my decision and it's an added bonus that I've saved some money. So the next time you need tyres, just ask yourself if it's going to be worth it because theres pros and cons to each decision.
I don't know anyone that would be pleased with tyres that don't grip.
It sounds like you are trolling.

I just hope I am not anywhere near you when your rear end loses grip.

buggalugs

9,243 posts

236 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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So OP argues they’re better by ignoring wet grip then saying they prefer less dry grip anyway. Right. Thanks for this insight.

Danxr46

142 posts

79 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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I’ve used Michelin PS2 & 3 and also Goodyear Assy 2 and efficient grips. They all good tyres with the Goodyear being quieter and softer sidewalks but the Michelin’s good all round. Tyre quality doesn’t really point to price alone which people seem to be doing as for example I had Uniroyal RS3’s (midrange) at £105 ish each for 255/35/18 and there rating was B fuel eff & C wet grip with 72DB noise. That is good by current standards as when comparing there were some Michelin PS4’s for £200 EACH and the rating was the same except for maybe 1DB. Also Pirelli’s seem to be the worse for road noise ratings and Bridgestone for fuel efficiency of ratings F which to me nor a individual with common sense is not worth the £80-£95 price tag per tyre more!! If you also research into tyre sub brands there is a lot of cheaper makes which tyres come out of the same factory as say Bridgestone but use a previous mould or casting so can sell cheaper so effectively they are just an older Bridgestone. Look at the ratings and also reviews and base off that, not just narrow minded and think there is only a couple of options which would be the most expensive.

caelite

4,273 posts

111 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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Xtriple129 said:
My car had Nokian (or Nexan maybe)
Had to have a wee giggle at this to be honest.
Nokian, a Finnish tyre maker, make competent all season and possibly the best winter tyres on the market.
Nexen, a Korean tyre maker. Possibly the worst quality non-Chinese tyres about.

Wildcat45 said:
If these horror stories are true, and I have no reason to disbelieve them, then why are dangerous tyres allowed to be sold innthe UK?

Were not allowed to buy dangerous electrical goods. People need to be registered to install boilers etc etc.

So why are cheap and dangerous tyres regarded as OK by lawmakers?
Because the means of testing on tyres is minimal. For one thing, to meet the minimum EC requirement and also to show its EU 'rating' label relies on self certified information. This is why you see many Duro and the likes achieving B level 'wet ratings', the information required for this rating is often of dubious quality. Another point being that life cycle testing is non-existent, many manufacturers put a lot of effort into making sure that there tyres provide consistent grip down to 1.6/3mm, do you expect that many of these budget companies with older style tread patterns and lower quality compounds put any money into this R&D? A Duro that might be capable of such grip well new may not have been tested in any condition of wear.

Now, I have no non-empirical evidence that implies that the Chinese companies don't meet the same standards that the European and Japanese companies do, however you do need to look at them and think. If Chinese cars have such a woeful record of trying to pass western safety standards, if these standards where in place for tyres, would their tyres have the same kind of luck?

Evanivitch

19,804 posts

121 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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dommyem said:
So really I am very pleased with my decision and it's an added bonus that I've saved some money. So the next time you need tyres, just ask yourself if it's going to be worth it because theres pros and cons to each decision.

Drive safe
Will you be pleased when an emergency stop takes several meters further?

Some of the better tyres (generally well known, quality brands) stopped in wet around 47m in the wet. The lower scores, mainly for less well known brands, were around 70m in the wet. That's huge variation.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2015-Market-O...

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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The problem really can be summed up by the way the question was asked "cheap" is not the opposite of "premium brand" and neither price nor brand tells you specifically how good the tyres actually are. There is obvioulsy some correlation between price and quality but it's far from direct - some budget tyres are truly woeful but some of the Chinese brands are producing tyres which are really quite decent these days. Similarly, whilst most of the "premium branded" tyres are pretty good, there's been some examples of truly woeful rubber with premium names on it.

Add to that the fact that tyres lose grip as they age and as they wear - I'd generally take new budgets from the better end of the spectrum over half-worn premiums... is it better to buy premiums and replace them at 2mm and/or ten years old, or budgets twice as often for half the price and replace tham at 5mm/five years? I'd argue probably the latter.

I tend to try to read objective tests and pick on the basis of the results and generally so far that's lead me to buy premium brands, but companies like Nankang are improving their products at a hell of a rate. I wouldn't be surprised if next time I need tyres, they have a Chinese name on the sidewall.

Edited by kambites on Sunday 25th February 19:46

snake_oil

2,039 posts

74 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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caelite said:
Nexen, a Korean tyre maker. Possibly the worst quality non-Chinese tyres about.
May I ask which Nexen's you've run and could you share how they performed for you?

I switched from the OEM Conti SC5 to Nexen N8000 at around half the price (after reading an ADAC review of the latter) and having pushed and leaned on them I can't detect any deterioration in performance.

The jury is still out on wear as I've only had them on for 8k or so but they still look like they have plenty of tread.

I used to be a bit of a tire snob but I'm converted.

Mikebentley

6,037 posts

139 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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Just fitted 4 new 205/60 R16 96V XL wait for it .....Mohawks to my 2015 Transit Connect Limited. I have used Continental since new but now done 34k and this is the 4th set for the front. It’s the first time I’ve needed rears so they’ve been brilliant being dragged behind. Cost £240 fitted and Contis were anything between £420 and £500 before fitting. I am fed up of my vans tyres lasting 11.5k miles on average. I drive steady and don’t carry anything in van so just trying to economise. I suppose the problem is that for looks the manufacturer fits big shiny alloys and really stupid tyre size for a van which the PAS just scrub away.
I am doing this as an experiment basically to see what they are like and will hold my hands up if they are a false economy.
I will though drive with extra caution.

TheGuru

744 posts

100 months

Sunday 25th February 2018
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I really don’t understand the mindset of the OP, why buy a semi-decent car in the first place and put crappy tires it. If you want to save money you’d be better off driving a Toyota Camry

What grinds my gears even more is seeing 1-2 year old family SUV’s that are worth £60k new with cheap Chinese types on. You wonder what goes on in these peoples heads.