Accelera tyres - worth avoiding??
Discussion
Had a set of Accelera Alpha phi on my e39 (fitted by previous owner). Scary things. Would break traction with no warning whatsoever on roundabouts and the traction control light would be flashing constantly at the merest hint of dampness. Had a couple of sideways moments at very low speeds. Basically had to drive with a very light right foot unless the roads were bone dry and it was warm day. Took ages to wear out due to the hardness of the rubber compound.
Was so pleased to finally get them off the car. Replaced with Falken Azenis 510's, still not exactly breaking the bank at £225 fitted for a pair of rears in 265/35/18. The difference is night and day, the car is so much more sure footed and haven't seen the traction control light flashing at all!
Was so pleased to finally get them off the car. Replaced with Falken Azenis 510's, still not exactly breaking the bank at £225 fitted for a pair of rears in 265/35/18. The difference is night and day, the car is so much more sure footed and haven't seen the traction control light flashing at all!
Countdown said:
As I think you suggest, your calculations assume that all other things are the same when, in reality, they never are. My elderly mum never drives on the motorway and probably does less than 1000 miles a year. She never breaks the speed limit. The chances of her being caught in the circumstances you describe are nil. The tyres on her car are Kumho. Looking at your table they’re not as good as the best. Should she swap them out “just in case”?
Ultimately it all boils down to an individual's assessment of risk, the likelihood of something happening and how much you want to pay to mitigate against that. I suggested Uniroyal RainExperts for my elderly mother's car - she doesn't cover enough miles to warrant the longevity of Michelin tyres but I wanted something decidedly better than average in the wet. Like the Uniroyals, Kumho are a decent enough tyre that the likelihood of the tyre making all the difference between a near miss and a nasty accident really quite remote.
Reaction time and pedal pressure is likely going to be a greater issue for mum than the difference between Uniroyal RainExpert and Michelin PS4 tyres, but if the car ahead of her is on Fortuna budget tyres, then the Uniroyals might gain her a half second of extra thinking time.
Whilst you're happy with Kumho, I'm sure you'd feel distinctly uneasy if your mum's car was fitted with the cheapest budget tyres with results like those above and so you did chose Kumho over the cheaper Fortuna "just in case".
Zoon said:
Squishey said:
It's the same reasoning as all watches are the same - they all tell the time,
Which they do, probably the worst example you could have picked.A £6 Casio will keep far better time than a £7k Rolex.
In terms of simple performance, there is nothing to be gained by spending more than £10 on a wristwatch. The value of a £10,000 watch is in the way that owning and wearing it makes you feel, not in terms of what it does. It's a purely emotional thing. The Casio will be more accurate, will remain so over its life with zero servicing, and will be more resistant to a drop or a knock.
Compare this to tyres, where as a general rule, more expensive tyres tend to be measurably better than cheaper ones in terms of grip levels, stopping distances, resistance to aquaplaning, and all the other repeatable tests that the industry carries out.
Don't get me wrong, I like and appreciate a nice watch, but they are a very different thing to tyres.
HustleRussell said:
EazyDuz said:
Rubber is rubber, you pay for the brand name most of the time. Most budget tyres are made in the same factory as Pirelli, Mitchelin etc. I sincerely hope no one thought that 'Admiral' or other budget brands have their own dedicated factory and raw materials!
Same guy:EazyDuz said:
The Insignia is very well designed, looks like s top end Merc or BMW and from what I've seen performs like one too.
Great drivers cars
Great drivers cars
Limpet said:
Zoon said:
Squishey said:
It's the same reasoning as all watches are the same - they all tell the time,
Which they do, probably the worst example you could have picked.A £6 Casio will keep far better time than a £7k Rolex.
In terms of simple performance, there is nothing to be gained by spending more than £10 on a wristwatch. The value of a £10,000 watch is in the way that owning and wearing it makes you feel, not in terms of what it does. It's a purely emotional thing. The Casio will be more accurate, will remain so over its life with zero servicing, and will be more resistant to a drop or a knock.
Compare this to tyres, where as a general rule, more expensive tyres tend to be measurably better than cheaper ones in terms of grip levels, stopping distances, resistance to aquaplaning, and all the other repeatable tests that the industry carries out.
Don't get me wrong, I like and appreciate a nice watch, but they are a very different thing to tyres.
Your absolutely right !!
Never ceases to amaze me that there are so many people who say budget everything is just as good as premium.
It’s a fair point to argue the “extra cost” is not worth the “extra benefit” but they are not the same item in most cases.
We all know The business proposition of “added value” is they add X and can sell it for XX or even XXX. Some people think the extra is worth it and some don’t. You need to pay a lot more for each improvement step. Diminishing marginal returns.
My opinion on this is somewhat middle of the road.
When I bought my E46 330i (so not the fastest, and not the slowest car on the road) the dealer kindly swapped the part worn Goodyears for brand new Acceleras in the week between me looking at the car and it being delivered.
I drove the car for about a year with those tyres, finding it hard to justify swapping them when they were brand new. Through winter, summer, rain and snow they were generally OK. They didn't have as much damp road grip as the PS4s I eventually replaced them; but neither would I class them as dangerous. I had one slightly lairy moment just before I swapped them, pushing fairly hard on a wet roundabout in second gear, but I can't really blame the tyres for that.
I wouldn't buy them out of choice; but neither did I experience the extremely poor performance reported by others on this thread.
When I bought my E46 330i (so not the fastest, and not the slowest car on the road) the dealer kindly swapped the part worn Goodyears for brand new Acceleras in the week between me looking at the car and it being delivered.
I drove the car for about a year with those tyres, finding it hard to justify swapping them when they were brand new. Through winter, summer, rain and snow they were generally OK. They didn't have as much damp road grip as the PS4s I eventually replaced them; but neither would I class them as dangerous. I had one slightly lairy moment just before I swapped them, pushing fairly hard on a wet roundabout in second gear, but I can't really blame the tyres for that.
I wouldn't buy them out of choice; but neither did I experience the extremely poor performance reported by others on this thread.
i can forgive budget tyres on a budget car, as fair enough maybe they cannot afford any better.
but what is shocking is the number of budget tyres on relatively expensive cars. if you can afford the car ffs put some decent rubber on them.
budget tyres wont necessarily leave you in a ditch, but why compromise on one of the most important features of the car if you can actually get something that performs better in potential life and death situations.
but what is shocking is the number of budget tyres on relatively expensive cars. if you can afford the car ffs put some decent rubber on them.
budget tyres wont necessarily leave you in a ditch, but why compromise on one of the most important features of the car if you can actually get something that performs better in potential life and death situations.
theplayingmantis said:
i can forgive budget tyres on a budget car, as fair enough maybe they cannot afford any better.
but what is shocking is the number of budget tyres on relatively expensive cars. if you can afford the car ffs put some decent rubber on them.
budget tyres wont necessarily leave you in a ditch, but why compromise on one of the most important features of the car if you can actually get something that performs better in potential life and death situations.
What gets me about tyre threads is that everybody bangs on and on about ditches, grip and stopping distances. but what is shocking is the number of budget tyres on relatively expensive cars. if you can afford the car ffs put some decent rubber on them.
budget tyres wont necessarily leave you in a ditch, but why compromise on one of the most important features of the car if you can actually get something that performs better in potential life and death situations.
Everyone neglects the fact that cheap crap tyres also negatively impact cabin noise, ride quality and fuel economy. People are spending money on the latest luxury car with a myopic fascination with MPG and then ignorantly hobbling them in all kinds of ways.
The other premium tyre benefit which often gets mentioned is durability.
Everyone neglects the fact that cheap crap tyres often form cracks and / or bulges or exhibit unusual wear patterns long before they actually wear out.
I’m not talking about mid-range tyres here but bottom rung ‘budgets’.
jagnet said:
there's a massive difference between the cheapest budget tyres and the premium brands, especially in the wet:http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2018-AutoBild...
Wet braking from 100kph:
34.3 metres - Bridgestone Turanza T005
51.9 metres - Fortuna G745
If you compare the 10th best with the 40th best (out of 50), the extra grip buys you an extra 4mph for the same braking distance. The difference between the brands in the top 10 (Vredestein, Goodyear) and the Middle of the road brands (kumho, toyo) is about the same as the difference between the middle of the road and the tyres in 40th place- worth about 0.2 seconds of reaction time. It's not like the premium and mid range tyres are similar and then the budget tyres are a quantum leap behind.
It's also noticeable that there are lots of less known brands (sava, dedica, barum, giti) that outperform the middle of the road Kumho and Toyo tyres.
Edited by Mave on Wednesday 13th February 18:42
Have them on the A6, they perform very well for us. Works well with the Quattro system. Personally think they are a bargain, good performance for a fraction of the cost. Nice change from the £280 per tyre the X5 demands!
Edit: they are Accelera Phi-R, 255/35 R19 Y
Edit: they are Accelera Phi-R, 255/35 R19 Y
Edited by rayyan171 on Wednesday 13th February 23:16
Mave said:
It's not like the premium and mid range tyres are similar and then the budget tyres are a quantum leap behind.
They're certainly improving, perhaps in response to the EU label requirements? I'd be interested in the difference between premium/midrange/budget once they start to wear a bit, which I think is an area where a lot of effort has been spent recently.Also, I've just noticed that those wet braking results are from 80kph and not 100kph as I stated earlier.
Countdown said:
boabymeister said:
fitted Accelera IOTA ST-68 255/50R20 109 V XL to the wife's Range Rover, no problems at all good drive and performance.
The wife's uncle was a test driver for Jag, his advice is and was to drive within your ability, that way you can't blame your tires etc for ending up in a ditch. Sort of poor workman blames his tools syndrome.
It’s a bit like the “You MUST have winter tyres otherwise you’ll explode in a ball of fiery flame” proponents.The wife's uncle was a test driver for Jag, his advice is and was to drive within your ability, that way you can't blame your tires etc for ending up in a ditch. Sort of poor workman blames his tools syndrome.
All tyres have a performance limit. For some tyres the limit is lower than others. If you’re not the kind of driver who drives “at the limit” you can be perfectly safe on cheaper, less capable tyres.
boabymeister said:
You have summed it up succinctly, never saw the attraction of driving on the limit, racing drivers get paid millions for it, must be a reason.
Trouble is, you don't -always- get to pick when you are driving on the limit...There's a reason why the brake test on your driving test was called an emergency stop.
That's when you need all the performance you can get from your tyres!
I had a full set of Acceleras on my E46 330CI a few years ago. I was a bit pushed for cash at the time and actually chose to have them fitted. (Awaits incoming abuse!).
Honesty, if one is not planning on ‘cornering on the door handles', they will do just fine. Only issue I ever had was a small wiggle on a damp road when I was in third gear, which the TC sorted out.
Of course in an ideal world I would have bought Pilot Sports, but I couldn’t afford them at that time and I think the most sensible way to drive is according to the prevailing conditions with the machinery you are in control of, factoring in the tyres. I never felt even remotely unsafe with that car on those tyres. Perhaps some of the people who scare themselves might want to consider just slowing down a bit?
Honesty, if one is not planning on ‘cornering on the door handles', they will do just fine. Only issue I ever had was a small wiggle on a damp road when I was in third gear, which the TC sorted out.
Of course in an ideal world I would have bought Pilot Sports, but I couldn’t afford them at that time and I think the most sensible way to drive is according to the prevailing conditions with the machinery you are in control of, factoring in the tyres. I never felt even remotely unsafe with that car on those tyres. Perhaps some of the people who scare themselves might want to consider just slowing down a bit?
Exige77 said:
Limpet said:
Zoon said:
Squishey said:
It's the same reasoning as all watches are the same - they all tell the time,
Which they do, probably the worst example you could have picked.A £6 Casio will keep far better time than a £7k Rolex.
In terms of simple performance, there is nothing to be gained by spending more than £10 on a wristwatch. The value of a £10,000 watch is in the way that owning and wearing it makes you feel, not in terms of what it does. It's a purely emotional thing. The Casio will be more accurate, will remain so over its life with zero servicing, and will be more resistant to a drop or a knock.
Compare this to tyres, where as a general rule, more expensive tyres tend to be measurably better than cheaper ones in terms of grip levels, stopping distances, resistance to aquaplaning, and all the other repeatable tests that the industry carries out.
Don't get me wrong, I like and appreciate a nice watch, but they are a very different thing to tyres.
Your absolutely right !!
Never ceases to amaze me that there are so many people who say budget everything is just as good as premium.
It’s a fair point to argue the “extra cost” is not worth the “extra benefit” but they are not the same item in most cases.
We all know The business proposition of “added value” is they add X and can sell it for XX or even XXX. Some people think the extra is worth it and some don’t. You need to pay a lot more for each improvement step. Diminishing marginal returns.
According to ASDA Tyres:
Accelera tyres are produced by PT. Elangperdana Tyre Industry in Indonesia. Established in 1996 Accelera tyres are manufactured in a well-planned factory located three kilometres north of the Sentul International Circuit.
The factory contains all the latest technology and machinery and the majority of their tyres are produced for the European market. They aim to produce safe, innovative and customer focused tyres.
Accelera manufacture low cost tyres which perform best in dry conditions.
I am not sure how they are related to Contenental?
Accelera tyres are produced by PT. Elangperdana Tyre Industry in Indonesia. Established in 1996 Accelera tyres are manufactured in a well-planned factory located three kilometres north of the Sentul International Circuit.
The factory contains all the latest technology and machinery and the majority of their tyres are produced for the European market. They aim to produce safe, innovative and customer focused tyres.
Accelera manufacture low cost tyres which perform best in dry conditions.
I am not sure how they are related to Contenental?
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