Cheap tyres VS premium brand tyres
Discussion
A little over a year ago I was left with the decision of; should I get good premium brand tyres which offer better braking, handling, noise, economy, etc... at twice the price of the cheap nasty ones. OR should I get the cheapest brand I can find - which are supposedly inferior in most ways?
I drive a 2011 C350 (Petrol) Auto - completely standard and around 300bhp.
For years I had always purchased premium brands and never had issue (aside from them being expensive), so I made the decision a little over a year ago to try the cheapest tyres Black Circles had to offer. I think my rears were about £60 a corner, and fronts were just under that price - so I changed the full set. My other option - the premium tyres, were about £120 a corner, so double the cost.
Like most people; I drive to and from work at all times of the year come rain or shine. I occasionally need to put my foot down to get out onto a busy roundabout, or to pass on a motorway. I also like the occasional squirt on a quite open road when it's safe to do so. My days of driving a car to my skill limits are long gone.
Now, my verdict:
Wear - The cheaper tyres seem to wear around 25% faster which I can live with since they're half the cost.
In the wet - I don't hammer my cars so no issue there.
Cornering - I actually love my slightly less grippy tyres, it's made the rear of the car so much more fun! and the best part is that I am not constantly thinking about the cost of my tyres. The fronts seem the same as premium brand tyres, the rears are where the differences lie. The back end is definitely looser under full power so you don't have to go super fast to enjoy yourself - MX5 / GT86 ethos.
I don't notice any extra road noise.
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
I drive a 2011 C350 (Petrol) Auto - completely standard and around 300bhp.
For years I had always purchased premium brands and never had issue (aside from them being expensive), so I made the decision a little over a year ago to try the cheapest tyres Black Circles had to offer. I think my rears were about £60 a corner, and fronts were just under that price - so I changed the full set. My other option - the premium tyres, were about £120 a corner, so double the cost.
Like most people; I drive to and from work at all times of the year come rain or shine. I occasionally need to put my foot down to get out onto a busy roundabout, or to pass on a motorway. I also like the occasional squirt on a quite open road when it's safe to do so. My days of driving a car to my skill limits are long gone.
Now, my verdict:
Wear - The cheaper tyres seem to wear around 25% faster which I can live with since they're half the cost.
In the wet - I don't hammer my cars so no issue there.
Cornering - I actually love my slightly less grippy tyres, it's made the rear of the car so much more fun! and the best part is that I am not constantly thinking about the cost of my tyres. The fronts seem the same as premium brand tyres, the rears are where the differences lie. The back end is definitely looser under full power so you don't have to go super fast to enjoy yourself - MX5 / GT86 ethos.
I don't notice any extra road noise.
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
Hey thanks for all of the reply’s, I feel like this hasn’t gone down too well in this community and I’d like to explain my thoughts a little further.
Ok so I, like most of you, would have replied in a similar way to a post like this had I had bad experiences with cheap tyres. Thing is, that from my recent experience I honestly have to say that I don’t think it was a bad decision.
The differences are very slight, the cost savings aren’t - therefore worthwhile (in my opinion).
Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it. I’m not a racing driver and don’t plan on doing any track days, I’m just trying to save a few fellow petrol heads a couple of quid based on my recent experience of pretty average driving (with a few foot to the floor moments).
One user mentioned having better tyres and just adding tyre pressure to my rears: surely this would Just waste expensive tyres??
Regarding aqua planning: water displacement is always the number 1, so bear in mind tread depth is the most important feature there.
I’d also like to add that maybe I was lucky with my most recent set, and that had black circles chosen a lesser quality tyre, this post may have been swayed in the opposite direction. We will never know.
All being said I know you’re all only trying to watch out for each other and offer sound advice so thanks for the responses.
Ok so I, like most of you, would have replied in a similar way to a post like this had I had bad experiences with cheap tyres. Thing is, that from my recent experience I honestly have to say that I don’t think it was a bad decision.
The differences are very slight, the cost savings aren’t - therefore worthwhile (in my opinion).
Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it. I’m not a racing driver and don’t plan on doing any track days, I’m just trying to save a few fellow petrol heads a couple of quid based on my recent experience of pretty average driving (with a few foot to the floor moments).
One user mentioned having better tyres and just adding tyre pressure to my rears: surely this would Just waste expensive tyres??
Regarding aqua planning: water displacement is always the number 1, so bear in mind tread depth is the most important feature there.
I’d also like to add that maybe I was lucky with my most recent set, and that had black circles chosen a lesser quality tyre, this post may have been swayed in the opposite direction. We will never know.
All being said I know you’re all only trying to watch out for each other and offer sound advice so thanks for the responses.
https://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rtest.pl?rt_rubr...
Nearly every comment on "Would you purchase these again?" is Definitely.
Nearly every comment on "Would you purchase these again?" is Definitely.
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