Cheap tyres that won't kill me for a 2002 325i Sport Saloon

[mr tommo]

but if it makes you feel better about budget rubber then I guess

Not particularly. I just want adequate tyres that won't put me in the closest ditch for the type of driving I do. If I smash my car up during wet weather, the last thing I'll be blaming is the fact that my tyres took an extra 2ft to stop me than a set of Eagle F1's. More likely the fact I wasn't driving according to the conditions of the road.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I think its pretty clear the FK452's are not Ditchfinders

hardly the ditchfinding super spectacular they are getting painted as.

k thx.

 

[mjt]

How about basing your opinions on tyres from ACTUAL USE, rather than believing what one magazine and 100 miles of non-daily use shows?

my sportcontact 3s are amazing. the 4wd probably does a lot, but the grip levels in both wet and dry are fantastic.
haven't used F1s so cannot compare, but the 3s are pretty damn good

and this was backed up by that german tyre test

 

[Gaijin]

Not particularly. I just want adequate tyres that won't put me in the closest ditch for the type of driving I do. If I smash my car up during wet weather, the last thing I'll be blaming is the fact that my tyres took an extra 2ft to stop me than a set of Eagle F1's. More likely the fact I wasn't driving according to the conditions of the road.

Moreso, the point that even the prestigious, almighty Eagle F1's couldn't keep Fox out of a bush

 

[JRS]

They are fine. Not as good as F1's but hardly the ditchfinding super spectacular they are getting painted as.

Who's painting them as ditchfinders?

***edit***

Moreso, the point that even the prestigious, almighty Eagle F1's couldn't keep Fox out of a bush

The laws of physics always rear their heads in the end, no matter what boots your car is wearing.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Moreso, the point that even the prestigious, almighty Eagle F1's couldn't keep Fox out of a bush

Yea they suck a bit on grass

 

[Dup]

They're (FK452s) supposed to be a more hard wearing tyre than the more expensive options, hence why they are percieved to be of lesser performance as softer tyres generally move water out the tread faster and grip in the dry better. I nreal world terms you may not notice but if you throw science at it then they may look poorer. It's your gamble at the end of the day.

We put 4 on the 9-5 as we're scrubbers and a lot of people were reporting good things. They feel better than the Sport Contacts that it had on before hand, but they were pretty worn when we got the car.

 

[mrk]

Elitedirect, bought my Vred sessanta tyres from there, nicely done, nicely priced

Phone them, speak to Jonathan, he's your man!

 

[peterattheboro]

Have I dredged up a classic argument?

Money is my main concern as long as I am not actively putting myself at risk, I rarely need to drive and do little mileage. My wife gave birth 10 days ago so money is extremely tight, but I have been putting off getting new tyres for too long.

Thanks for your help so far everyone

Don't worry. It happens in every tyre thread pal

 

[Matt82]

So we have to fall back on the best idea in a bad situation. Accurate tyre reviews are far from flawless but they do COMPARE tyres in controlled and unbiased (Yes, unbiased, they are held at the Contidrome yet Conti's usually come last) situation which allows you to look at raw FACT relating to tyre performance.

and even then, one tyre will vary from one type/brand of car to another.

i dont have much faith in magazine reviews myself, but there are knowledgable types that i will take advice from and choose things from there.

 

[Dogbreath]

Excellent, can you point me to a reputable, unbiased and accurate test demonstrating this?

Yes, I tried a variety of different tyres on my MR2 Turbo, a car noted for it's less than pleasant road manners in the wet, and I car I drive quite hard when conditions permitted.

The FK452's were the best "budget performance" tyres I tried out of the Khumo Ecsta's that were fitted, Falken ZE502's (avoid at all costs, utterly crap tyres) when I got it and Toyo T1R's. I also had a pair of P Zero Assymetricos and the older non-assymetric F1's (on rear only, can't remeber which version they were) that were possibly a little better for grip in both dry and wet, though the difference was small and since I didn't test them back to back is hard to be sure of. None of them lasted more than 10k miles on the rear, worst for wear were probably the Toyos, best were the Pirellis.

That said I would hope the Goodyears are better than the Falkens, you are paying a massive premium for them so they darn well should be. My point was that the Falkens offer very reasonable performance for the money, they certainly can't be classed as ditch finders and are perfectly adequate for a medium performance saloon such as the 325.

I know I'm not going to convince you since you clearly aren't willing to actually try anything other than Goodyear F1's, and seem to prefer to rely on tyre tests that may or may not reflect the performance on your car and with you driving. Tyre reviews may be useful to get an idea of the really crap stuff, but they can't possibly ever replace actually testing them for yourself.

 

[Matt82]

were they kumho ecsta ku31s on the mr2 turbo?

 

[Dogbreath]

I honestly can't remember, but I think I still have one in the basement since I managed to get a large nail through one and replaced both with the Pirellis since the tyre place gave me a good deal on them. I can remember thinking they were "ok", but not outstanding.

People who cheap out and buy a set of Falkens are going to heap praise on them - they wish to justify their decision to themselves.

I can say the exact same thing about people who always buy the same brand of expensive tyres and who justify the expenditure it by convincing themselves they must be the best, even though they have never tried any different tyres on their car...

 

[[TW]Fox]

I know I'm not going to convince you since you clearly aren't willing to actually try anything other than Goodyear F1's,

Most people are not in the position of being able to try tyres. A set of tyres costs me about £550-£600, not a small sum of money, and lasts me more than 2 years. I simply cannot afford to 'try' another tyre and find its a bit crap, because I'm then stuck with it for quite some time. I imagine most people are in the same situation. You get few chances to try tyres so when you buy tyres I think its good to make sure they are the best you can get first time.

So I let somebody else try tyres - under controlled unbiased conditions with lots of nice figures for me to look at. It's true that tyres differ per car but in Autocars test, for example, they used a 230bhp Mercedes C280 to test for RWD cars. Thats a pretty good match for the properties of my car.

I can say the exact same thing about people who always buy the same brand of expensive tyres and who justify the expenditure it by convincing themselves they must be the best, even though they have never tried any different tyres on their car...

They are not expensive tyres at all, its just the Falkens are suspiciously cheap. The F1's are considerably cheaper than Michelin Pilot Sport's, cheaper the Contisports, about the same as Potenza RE050A's and only slightly more than Vredsteins. They are a great value tyre which has been skewed by the arrival of the ridiculously cheap Falkens.

But then my personal recommendation of the F1's is worthless, as worthless as other random peoples personal recommendations of the FK452's. Therefore my recommendation is that you look at a reputable comparison and make your own choice based on your priorities.

 

[Dogbreath]

Most people are not in the position of being able to try tyres. A set of tyres costs me about £550-£600, not a small sum of money, and lasts me more than 2 years. I simply cannot afford to 'try' another tyre and find its a bit crap, because I'm then stuck with it for quite some time. I imagine most people are in the same situation.

Which is where tyre reviews are actually useful, they let you remove the really crap tyres from the decision process. e.g. look at reviews for the ZE512 (Ze502 replacement and equally crap), and compare to the FK452. Sure it doesn't mean they are as good or better than your favourite Goodyears (and again, why would they be for 60% of the cost), but you can be reasonably confident that they are decently performing tyres.

I'm the last person to advocate cheap and nasty tyres, but at the same time I know there are alternatives to premium brands that offer most of the performance for a fraction of the price because I have tried them. Your point about cost is not really valid either, a set of tyres costs you £600 because you insist on sticking with a premium brand.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

Bleh bleh bleh.

They are fine. Not as good as F1's but hardly the ditchfinding super spectacular they are getting painted as..

No size fits all anyway, take F1's on a track and they turn into cheese.

 

[Janesy B]

It depends if the 'risk' pays off. If you get on with the cheaper tyres then you've saved yourself hundreds of pounds, if you don't get on with them and find them to be useless then you've wasted a few hundred.

 

[[TW]Fox]

I'm the last person to advocate cheap and nasty tyres, but at the same time I know there are alternatives to premium brands that offer most of the performance for a fraction of the price because I have tried them. Your point about cost is not really valid either, a set of tyres costs you £600 because you insist on sticking with a premium brand.

Of course its valid, few people are rich enough to go around randomly trying tyres until they find one they like unless they do such huge mileage they buy new tyres every other month!

My tyres are expensive becuase... tyres are expensive. Have just double checked the pricing on Camskill and a full set of:

Eagle F1 £540
Pilot Sport 2 (Why does ANYONE buy these? Seriously, wtf?) £760
FK452 £400

So as you can see a set of Falkens is still neigh on 400 quid! Lot of money riding on the right choice..

 

[[TW]Fox]

No size fits all anyway, take F1's on a track and they turn into cheese.

Of course they do, because the very thing that makes them pretty exceptional in the wet makes them completely crap on a dry race track.

 

[Jonnycoupe]

They are not expensive tyres at all, its just the Falkens are suspiciously cheap. The F1's are considerably cheaper than Michelin Pilot Sport's, cheaper the Contisports, about the same as Potenza RE050A's and only slightly more than Vredsteins. They are a great value tyre which has been skewed by the arrival of the ridiculously cheap Falkens.

How much longer do Pilot sports last compared to F1's?

Which tyre actually has the real value is a harder thing to judge than purchase price.