Tyre ratings - BS?

Tom_ed1987 · 6 Jul 2013 at 15:50

Are the listed noise/economy/wet grip ratings all tyres have now a fair & independent way to compare between different tyres?
I ask as if you order by score on mytyres, there are a couple of brands appearing near the top of the list I have never heard of, for half the price of the usual premium brands.

E.g: 'LEAH NOVA-FORCE'

As an aside can anyone reccomend anything decent in 215/55/16? My car came with Nexen something-or-other and despite being nearly new the drone they make at high speed is driving me nuts.

All my previous cars had oddball-sized tyres so never had so much choice before

Dunlop sport Maxx RT look pretty good, £108 each on Mytyres.

[TW]Fox · 6 Jul 2013 at 15:53

The manufacturers self-award the results. It is a largely useless system that IMHO does more harm than good.

Use independant tyre tests instead.

Firestar_3x · 6 Jul 2013 at 15:57

As above, had an argument with the big manufactures in the industry, the results are audited every now and again but that's it.

So in summary, it's all a bit pointless.

Kenai · 6 Jul 2013 at 16:02

You can see it's clearly a waste of time by how much the ratings can vary on the same tyre depending on if it has a manufacturer approval or not.

Dr Who · 6 Jul 2013 at 16:04

Tom_ed1987 said:
Dunlop sport Maxx RT look pretty good, £108 each on Mytyres.

Done 7k so far on these in my Merc CLK, really impressed with them

rodenal · 6 Jul 2013 at 17:55

I'm the opposite - they were on the wheels I got for the e46 and I don't rate them at all given the price bracket . Noisy and lacking grip in the wet compared to contis or asy 2's.

[TW]Fox · 6 Jul 2013 at 19:06

IMHO on these cars I really can't see the point in bothering with anything but CSC5 or Assymetric 2? Both tyres are reasonably long lasting for the performance they offer, quiet, offer excellent grip wet and dry and trade first place between each other in pretty much every tyre test. If that wasn't enough they are not even that expensive.

Why bother with anything else on an E46 Sport or similar car?

Dr Who · 6 Jul 2013 at 19:27

[TW]Fox;24571395 said:
IMHO on these cars I really can't see the point in bothering with anything but CSC5 or Assymetric 2? Both tyres are reasonably long lasting for the performance they offer, quiet, offer excellent grip wet and dry and trade first place between each other in pretty much every tyre test. If that wasn't enough they are not even that expensive.

Why bother with anything else on an E46 Sport or similar car?

That assumes a driving style which isn't always the case. Many drivers would prefer economy or greater longevity than those 2 offer. (eco contact or premium contact)

Additionally, some cars may not be as well suited to those tyres as tyre tests have proven in the past.

Dr Who · 6 Jul 2013 at 19:34

rodenal said:
I'm the opposite - they were on the wheels I got for the e46 and I don't rate them at all given the price bracket . Noisy and lacking grip in the wet compared to contis or asy 2's.

Fair enough, in independent reviews they have scored as highly as each one of those in noise/wet grip (not both).

The mere fact that different reviews place the different tyres in different places goes to show how various cars and test factors can skew results.

Theophany · 6 Jul 2013 at 19:50

What the hell are Leah Nova Force? Sounds like an express ticket into a ditch.

Gribs · 6 Jul 2013 at 19:58

Dr Who said:
That assumes a driving style which isn't always the case. Many drivers would prefer economy or greater longevity than those 2 offer. (eco contact or premium contact)

If you'd prefer economy or longevity why would you buy a "sporty" car?

Dr Who · 6 Jul 2013 at 20:02

Gribs said:
If you'd prefer economy or longevity why would you buy a "sporty" car?

Why would you buy a sporty car to drive in a 30 limit most of the time?

People buy them for all sorts of reasons not related to how they drive them.

[TW]Fox · 6 Jul 2013 at 20:15

Dr Who said:
That assumes a driving style which isn't always the case. Many drivers would prefer economy or greater longevity than those 2 offer. (eco contact or premium contact)

Neither of those two tyres are available in 255/35/18. It is almost exclusively performance orientated tyres. If your preferences are for eco or touring tyres then its the wrong trim level to purchase.

Additionally, some cars may not be as well suited to those tyres

I'm sure there are many cars 'not as well suited' to a Continental tyre as they are to a Falken tyre

Dr Who · 6 Jul 2013 at 20:35

[TW]Fox;24571700 said:
Neither of those two tyres are available in 255/35/18. It is almost exclusively performance orientated tyres. If your preferences are for eco or touring tyres then its the wrong trim level to purchase.

I'm sure there are many cars 'not as well suited' to a Continental tyre as they are to a Falken tyre

I believe the size in question was 215/55 R16 dunno where you got that random size or was it linked to the random BMW sport (or similar) that was mentioned as well

Hey I said Dunlop not Falken, but your point is taken

Gribs · 6 Jul 2013 at 20:46

Dr Who said:
Why would you buy a sporty car to drive in a 30 limit most of the time?

People buy them for all sorts of reasons not related to how they drive them.

I've no idea why anyone would buy a sporty car who spends the majority of their time in towns. My "sporty" car is very good at overtaking on A roads, comfortable and quiet. But if I lived in a city and drove there I'd probably drive something else.

monkeys · 6 Jul 2013 at 20:55

It is always about branded vs cheap 'non' branded.

Then there are budget, branded ones fill the medium and premium end.

Medium is what most go for, performance with price concious..a lot in market.
Premium for less budget concious but want performance, like Pirelli P zero, Michelin super sports etc.. both grippy and quiet but lower wearing and decent wet perfrofmance.

eg, Semperit tyres are not bad considering the low price at all, reasonable all rounder but not rubbish at all, enough said.

Take one that fits your budget I guess.

I have tried quite a few, some rated performance ones are a touch disappointing, Goodyear Assym is one. No better than top end falkens (which is good compromise with those on a budget imo)....GY lacking feel and grip (it is good enough tyre but not what they claim to be) but good in the wet.
Some semi slicks from Yokohama (top of range) were noisy, hard but so grippy, wears q fast, fantastic grip (I can tell after a few miles, and so communicative) ...loved them.

Now on Pirelli Pzero System with both assym and directional which is grippy and communicative and q good in the wet, good all rounder. ..but not great at wear.

Sooner or later a competitor will come along and copy/improve if they dont'

Manufacturer recs?Unless a v specialst car with a special tyre specially designed tyre and even them hmm sometimes good sometimes not at all.

Running an Jaguar V8 on recommended Pirelli P6000 which they arrive with....comfortable all rounder, ok reasonably good grip, good wear, good in the wet but noiiiisy on a luxury car?..their rec premium PZero would be much better. It is as if they have a agreement with Pirelli, pick top for recomended upgrade premium and the next one down for your luxury range as standard.

Would love to go Michelin Pilot Super Sports but no size for my car as well as a touch costly.

Take one that fits your budget and type of car and driving style, I guess.

Dr Who · 6 Jul 2013 at 20:58

I owned a Golf GTI Mk5 DSG which was brilliant around town in Bristol (auto) for my daily commute, however, I stuck with sporty tyres and it spent a fair amount of time on the motorway (cruise) and A roads. I drove it because it was the only version that came with the kit I wanted at a reasonable price at the time. It was a nicer place to be than a 1.6L. I kept the 17 inch rims maybe they would have been better suited to PC5's over SC5's for the driving I did?

There now you have an idea why so consider yourself educated

I am also sure many people buy a sporty model and spend much of their time driving around town with occasional excursions on A-Roads, probably a lot of them fit rubbish budget tyres as well

[TW]Fox · 6 Jul 2013 at 21:01

Dr Who said:
I believe the size in question was 215/55 R16 dunno where you got that random size or was it linked to the random BMW sport (or similar) that was mentioned as well

I was replying to the guy with the E46 Sport. No idea what the car in the OP is.

Dr Who · 6 Jul 2013 at 21:19

Fair enough, at least my Merc has a similar size to the OP then so my experience may be more relevant

In fact it is much more relevant as SC5's and ASY2's don't appear to be available in 215/55 R16 lmao

rodenal · 6 Jul 2013 at 21:20

[TW]Fox;24571924 said:
I was replying to the guy with the E46 Sport. No idea what the car in the OP is.

What I really don't understand about it is its not as if they're any cheaper than (IMO) the best available