Economy tyres

[Arthritic Toe]

You've got half a ton of metal, that you're throwing around at speed, which has contact with the road in just four places.

No way mate. They are the only thing between you, a ton of metal and engine, and the road.
Don't buy cheap or if you do, do some research first.

My cars getting heavier by the minute. What sort of air should I put in them? Is Tesco ok - or should I stick with a known brand like Esso or BP?

 

[beorhthelm]

There are all sorts of components in a car that are just as safety-critical as tyres, but no one gives a rats arse who manufactures the transistors in their anti-lock braking system, for example.

you can be sure the designers at the car manufacturers do. i can see what you are saying but price does make a difference to the quality. Goodyear make very find tyres for example make premium tyres. are they worth as much more is the question? i use Toyo Proxies which are half the price of Goodyear Eagle F1, but probably near equal. but to half the price again and i would be buying shit that would probably aquaplane in drizzle, have no stopping grip and slide and squeel on roundabouts. some of those fancy tyres do stop better in the wet, or shorter, or last longer. but you dont need to buy the top premium brands to getvery good tyres, just avoid the budget end.

 

[kevinsmith]

Hankook are good. Used by many of us cabbies

 

[ArcticBlue]

Falkens are great economy tyres. Good balance between price and performance.

Agreed. I replaced the high priced Michelin's on my golf GTi with Falken 912's and have no complaints at all.

 

[Eggmundo]

There are all sorts of components in a car that are just as safety-critical as tyres, but no one gives a rats arse who manufactures the transistors in their anti-lock braking system, for example.

We don't think of that because the Car Manufacturer has that one sussed. If he didn't care we wouldn't be buying his cars.

 

[BensGrandad]

I must admit I have never really considered this I just pull into the tyre place and say I need a new tyre and they put one on they do ask cheap or not and I usually say mid range. What I do know is they persuaded me to have my tyres blown up with nitrogen gas rather than the standard air and it only cost £1 per wheel and you don't need to check tyre pressures for 6 months as it is guaranteed to stay the same provided you do not have a leak and increases the fuel efficiency. Well worth £8 per year.

 

[Grendel]

There are all sorts of components in a car that are just as safety-critical as tyres, but no one gives a rats arse who manufactures the transistors in their anti-lock braking system, for example.

ABS isn't safety critical, it's a driving aid. You won't lose the ability to use your brakes if your ABS fails, but you'll be in a spot of bother if one of your tyres blows out when you're doing 80mph on the motorway.

 

[gazingdown]

BensGrandad - I have 78% nitrogen in my tyres Tyres can lose pressure even without "leaks" so how do you top up? Anyway, I doubt it's really "guaranteed" (try going back every week when it loses pressure and ask for more free nitrogen every time ), besides there's little real benefit outside the racetrack (where consistent pressures are important) as long as you check the pressures every now and again.

Look, you pays your money and take your choice. Of course there are better tyres than others out there. Typically, the cheap ones will be poorer than the expensive ones.

People who say the expensive ones are only expensive due to "marketing/branding" simply do not know what they are talking about. For sure, *some* of the extra cost goes into marketing but it's a tiny amount of the extra cost of the tyre.

You can't do anything about he ABS unit in your car but you CAN do something about the tyres.

Everyone has to draw a line somewhere as to how much to spend. On my S2000 for example, it gets nothing other than the proper Bridgestones. Other than one or two other tyres, the general consensus is that cheaper tyres dramatically affect the cars handling/grip/braking/etc. to the point where it can make the car dangerous. It's a sports car so owners wish to drive it as such. Now my wife's Focus isn't a sports car and would be dangerous to drive it as such, we use mid range (Kumho) on that as it provides sufficient grip/braking/cornering abilities for the relatively sedate driving that the car gets. There is little, if any, difference to the Continentals that were on it previously.

Note that the S2000 is far safer than the Focus as it can corner, stop, go much better. That doesn't make the Focus unsafe but it does has to be driven accordingly.

Now, onto which tyres should you buy or not. The key thing is to drive the car to its abilities, that includes what tyres are on it. Drive a cheap/crap car with cheap/crap tyres and you simply drive more slowly and make allowances for longer stopping distances and slower cornering speeds etc. The problem arises when people buy cheap tyres yet still drive the car as if it had good tyres on it. That's when accidents happen. If you only drive at slow speeds in town etc. budgets may suffice, however if you're out on the A/B roads, countryside, motorways etc. then budgets is a stupid decision. You're sitting on the motorway at 70mph (in the wet say) surrounded by cars that probably have better braking/handling abilities and something happens and you can guess the rest, they all brake in time but you can't.

That's often the crux of it, look at the tyre tests and it's the far longer braking distances that cheap tyres give that's the real eye opener. Many people think tyres is just about cornering ability, noise and wear. Arguably, braking distances is the most important aspect of a tyre, so with that in mind, go and make your choice.

 

[grubbyhands]

Michelin will give you the best mileage every time, but a waste of money if tracking is out, or if your suspension is excessively worn or damaged. Also correct tyre pressures have a massive effect on tyre wear.

All of the above, Michelin easily the best for longevity mainly, I think, cos the rubber is quite hard. This can tend to create a bit more road noise. Please don't scrimp on crappy remoulds or poor quality "budget" tyres ( little better than remoulds) as you need to hope that your tyres are the only part of your car that ever touches the road.