Irrational tyre views?

My wife's car is probably worth about £250, we still spend £200 on all 4 (14 inch tyres).

Can't put a price on staying alive!
 
Be thankful you/she has the choice, I do about 40k a year in a company vehicle and when it comes to tyres I literally have to put on the cheapest I can get.

It really boils my pee, especially considering a half decent tyre can be had for not a fat lot more than some of these ditch finders. Other bloke I work with thinks it's great that he has done 42,000 on a his, when I drive his in the wet it's all over the bloody place, like driving on plastic tyres. Cretin.
 
for those folks who are not able to search on line for good tyre deals, they can find a much bigger differential between the cheapest and the better brands in the high street majors, and also end up paying more for the cheap than an on-line 'better'. (saw that when I last took up a price-match at Kwik fit)

..it's concerning too, if drivers are unable to sense the handling(safety) benefits of better brands,
however the handling differences between car brands are much larger than good vs cheaper tyres too
 
As has already been said, cheaper budget tyres are fine until they're not. My previous car came with 4 cheapo tyres on which all had 5-6mm of tread left and to be fair, it was ok and I kept them on there for a few months until a pair needed changing, at which point I changed all 4 and kept 2 for spares.

The question I ask myself is how many accidents could be avoided if more cars had decent tyres all round? Obviously we'll never be able to prove things either way, but every bit of extra stopping power helps.
 
Stick a nail in a couple of them when she isn't around.

Even my Mrs has no interest in cars whatsoever but is happy to not run on ditch finders.
 
You can bet most of the cars you see in ditches, wrapped around trees, or in the back of other cars after bad weather will have crap tyres and brakes fitted.

They need to re-look at the minimum legal standards tbh.
 
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Used to run Rainsport 3's on a previous MX5 and my now V70 estate.
The Rainsports are decent enough for anything I threw at them however looking at recent reviews I have switched to Falken Azenis FK510's on the V70.
Tbh I am mostly on the motorway now so heavy braking in a straightish line in the wet is my main concern and reviews suggest the Falkens are as good as the Rainsports but better in the dry if i remember correctly.
Also with the 23k odd I do a year and 18" wheels I need a reasonably priced tyre so don't go for the top performers I used to when i didn't do the millage.
 
BinnsY said:
At the point the car with 3mm of tread had stopped, the one with the legal 1.6mm was still doing 44MPH! This is even more stark when you realise the car with brand new tyres had come to a complete stop 100 feet before the point the last one was doing 44MPH.
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Nasher said:
They need to re-look at the minimum legal standards tbh.
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Would seem a relatively simple change to enforce 3mm as the legal limit (certainly easier than trying to enforce any other standards on tyre manufacturers)
 
Armageus said:
Would seem a relatively simple change to enforce 3mm as the legal limit (certainly easier than trying to enforce any other standards on tyre manufacturers)
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Indeed, unfortunately there would probably be uproar from people claiming "it's another tax on the motorist" as they have to change their tyres sooner. Even if we could get the legal limit raised to 2mm but some sort of legal wording on serivce / mot paperwork advising that your tyres are below 3mm and this may affect your ability to stop safely in certain conditions I imagine it would have an effect on people wanting to change their tyres sooner.
 
Armageus said:
Would seem a relatively simple change to enforce 3mm as the legal limit (certainly easier than trying to enforce any other standards on tyre manufacturers)
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I see so few police around these days and so many cars with little to no tread, I doubt it would be hugely helpful. Sure there is an MOT, but a year is a long time.

I agree though, I guess on most cars you wouldn't notice going from 3mm to 1.5mm unless in an emergency, but my goodness the power delivery difference between 3mm and 1.5mm is staggering.
 
Nasher said:
Under 3mm is ok on a good tyre. But not on a bad tyre.
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Eh? Nope - can't have double standards - under 3mm is still a reduction in performance even on a "good" tyre, due to less groove depth etc to clear standing water / prevent aquaplaning.
 
Nasher said:
Under 3mm is ok on a good tyre. But not on a bad tyre.
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Wrong, once my MPS4S tyres dropped under 3mm the performance drop off was unnerving.

The only exception would be race-oriented tyres where the performance can last until they are shot, but even then under 3mm they shouldnt be used on the road.
 
I think the point Nasher was making is that a decent tyre at 2mm will likely be better than a Wanli at 5mm which I might agree with tbh. Yeah neither is great granted. But I'd take the low premium any day.
 
Armageus said:
Eh? Nope - can't have double standards - under 3mm is still a reduction in performance even on a "good" tyre, due to less groove depth etc to clear standing water / prevent aquaplaning.
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This is such an arbitrary standard though.

What needs to happen is that tyres should be more heavily regulated to meet minimum standard - not just on the tread depth alone. Then when the tyres are tested, they should be quantified so that joe public can easily see the difference in the performance and what it would mean for them. The utter tat that you can buy these days and fit to your car is alarming, especially when the only rule is that the tyre must have a certain amount of tread depth. Tyre grip is so much more than what the tread depth is.
 
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