Tyre snobbery. It can't only be me.

[DanielJames]

It can't only be me that looks at a nice car, thinks yes that's nice, but looks to the tyres to double check.

If I see any stty budget tyres the car is dead to me.

Also if I'm behind cars that are half decent (for example today was a Focus ST) I can't help but check if the tread patterns on the rear tyres match. If they don't, I hold judgement that the driver is a fkwit.

This all came to me as I was walking through a supermarket car park with my mate the other day, I found myself checking out car tyres on my way past, just seeing what people had :| (to my mates amusement)

I know it's not just me PH, agree with me we all do it yes?

[Caulkhead]

Sadly, I do agree with you.

[aka_kerrly]

Nope it's not just you.

I had a strange conversation with a chap the other day who was complaining that he thought the brakes on his Golf GTI were rubbish as he could lock the front wheels/ provoke the ABS into action far too easily.

First thing I asked was what tyres do you have, his response was I don't know they were the cheapest ones followed by what difference will that make its the brakes that are rubbish.

[jagnet]

Yes, sadly I'm much the same. The OH gets most put out when I pay more attention to tyres on parked cars than I do to her when out walking, that and the shame of other people seeing me do it. Apparently "if we were driving in preference to this walking malarkey it wouldn't be an issue" is not the preferred answer.

Mismatched tyres and budgets on anything, but especially capable cars wind me up far more than they should. I've yet to see worn out budgets, but I put that down to them being made of alien technology more wear resistant than granite.

[Torquey]

I'm actually looking to buy a new (second hand) car and it will have 4 matching tyres from a reputable manufacturer!

[HellDiver]

When buying used cars, looking at the tyres on the car usually tell you how it's been looked after. Mine had 4 tyres the same (Vredestein Hi-Trac) - I chose it over the slightly higher miler, but cosmetically better similar car that was on a LingLong, 2 knackered Sunny and a Kingpin remould.

[T16OLE]

Torquey said:

I'm actually looking to buy a new (second hand) car and it will have 4 matching tyres from a reputable manufacturer!

I think 4 matching or at least matching axles are a tell tail sign a car has been looked after

Also, when I bought my E46 330, the tyres are 225 40 18 & 255 35 18`s on the rear.

The car I bought had, 4 6mm+ bridgestone tyres on it, which are getting on for £1000 to replace the four.

Rubber is getting very expensive on large wheels these days and shouldn't be forgotten when purchasing, as spending a few extra £`s with one with decent tyres will save you a large chunk in the long term

Edited by T16OLE on Monday 31st October 15:02

[RVVUNM]

I'm the same. I have recently bought a Honda Civic Type R (EP3) and changed the new budget rear tyres to match the nearly new front Toyo Proxi T1R's. Looks mighty fine now and the tyre man probably sold on the old tyres.

[SWoll]

T16OLE said:

I think 4 matching or at least matching axles are a tell tail sign a car has been looked after

Definately agree. when I bought the E60 for the wife there were 2 to choose from, both done arounf 40K, very similar spec, same colour etc.

I bought the one with the 4 brand new top end Goodyear Runflats, rather than the one with 2 x Kumho's and 2 x Avons...

[Marf]

DanielJames said:

It can't only be me that looks at a nice car, thinks yes that's nice, but looks to the tyres to double check.

If I see any stty budget tyres the car is dead to me.

Also if I'm behind cars that are half decent (for example today was a Focus ST) I can't help but check if the tread patterns on the rear tyres match. If they don't, I hold judgement that the driver is a fkwit.

I concur 100%

People who have decent cars with mismatched, budget or just generally st tyres should be strung up.

[marcosgt]

Unless you're buying a really cheap car, the relative cost of a new set of decent tyres is a small percentage of a car purchase.

I might decide to swap the tyres or beat the price down on account of cheap tyres but it would seem counter-productive to walk away from a good car if the tyres are cheapos...

M.

[MattOz]

When looking for an M3 recently, I was amazed at the number of cars that had 3 different makes of budget tyre (Wanli, Linglong etc) on them and people thought it was "OK". 4 of the same make and type for me on my cars. Even running different tyres front and rear, but on the same axle, annoys me.

[300bhp/ton]

DanielJames said:

It can't only be me that looks at a nice car, thinks yes that's nice, but looks to the tyres to double check.

If I see any stty budget tyres the car is dead to me.

Also if I'm behind cars that are half decent (for example today was a Focus ST) I can't help but check if the tread patterns on the rear tyres match. If they don't, I hold judgement that the driver is a fkwit.

This all came to me as I was walking through a supermarket car park with my mate the other day, I found myself checking out car tyres on my way past, just seeing what people had :| (to my mates amusement)

I know it's not just me PH, agree with me we all do it yes?

Depends, budget doesn't always mean rubbish, and equally expensive doesn't always mean good.

And while I prefer matching tyres front and rear, I can why it isn't always the case, e.g. bought 4 new tyres for my Camaro, wore rears out, fronts where fine. Tyre was however no longer available, so being an odd size had little left but to opt for something else.

I could have replaced all 4 I agree, but seems pretty pointless when the fronts didn't need replacing, not even close. I might as well have set fire to few £50 notes for all the good it would have done.

[TinyCappo]

Absolutely not just you.

The amount of people who appear on the RX8 forums loving the power that makes their cars really tail happy, only to be asked "what tyres do you have on the rear?"

to which the reply is "AUTOGRIPS"

the difference of spending an extra £50-60 a tyre can make an awesome handling car a bag of nails.

[skoff]

I do agree that decent rubber is important, and says a lot about a car owner...

However, I am not practising exactly what I preach with my latest car. I am ashamed to admit it, but my Monaro has 4 ditch-finders on it at present that came on the car (but they do match, and have the correct load rating - Monaros need a strong side wall). But the truth is they are definitely 'budget'.

The thing is they are pretty much brand new, and I plan to use them to get the 'light up the rear wheels' fun and frolics out of my system, before I put some more serious (and expensive) boots on the thing. They are sacrificial rubber.

[Andrew_M]

I agree - though it's killing me not 'do up' my snotter at the minute!

[r1ch]

Sadly with all the financial doom and gloom, people try and save money. I think people less enthusiastic about motoring won't care what tyre(s) they have on their car as long as they have tread and are cheap.

Personally having a nice set of tyres is one of the most important things to me. Makes a world of difference. I tried the money saving thing on tyres before and ended up facing the wrong way on a roundabout. Never again!

[Twincam16]

I know what you mean - it's the skimping on servicing that winds me up the most though.

Has anyone else noticed that the people most likely to skimp on servicing are the most clueless when it comes to cars, who will complain about being 'ripped off' when they go to get something repaired (inevitably because they didn't service it properly), and seem to have absolutely no problem getting embroiled in an overpriced finance deal for a new car they can't quite afford every two years, but see spending money on so much as a new wiper blade as 'a rip-off'.

[Classic Grad 98]

I've just ordered a pair of 'Matador' tyres for mine. They look great and have good reviews, but it's a bit of a rubbish brand name.
I paid £250 for a pair of Continentals last winter, one of which was destroyed by a pothole. I'm now reluctant to spend proper money on tyres for a £2k car, and instead I'm going to try and stick to respectable budgets.

[rllmuk]

I do that too. I do the following thing too, thought it was just me. Always amazes me on certain car forums where people will spend hundreds on the best remaps, brake pads, ARBs, springs etc etc. only to moan how expensive tyres are.

I currently do have different front to back though, does that make me a philistine? Have Eagle F1 Assym first gen on the front and Eagle F1 Assym 2 on the rear. Just waiting for the fronts to be worn out enough to replace. You couldn't get the original Assym when I needed two...

Did make me laugh the other day when my Dad looked at my tyres and said, completely seriously, 'what sort of make is Eagle?'