**Unofficial Tyre Thread**

[Akagi]

When I see something that's not Good Year, Michelin or Continental on a performance car it immediately sets off alarm bells. What else have they skimped on if they can't afford good tyres?

There is also Yokohama, Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli (though I don't rate them), but personally I'm happy enough with mid range brands. Some of which offer competitive performance oriented tyres at the top of their range too. Hankook for example. Nankang, Toyo, Federal, Gitti, etc, if we're talking semi-slick.

And I'm usually forced to go with some mid-range brand when I get tyres for the BMW because of the old tyre size. Usually it has to be Federal, Kumho, or Nexen. Or if I fit the 14" it has to be Barum or Firestone when I last checked!

But anything typically found in the "discount" brands section of a tyre website is a big no-no...

When it's from a dealer, that annoys me most of all. I get that anything spent is lost profit, but any real potential buyer will either want them changed before buying or will insist on a discount to give them money to change them almost immediately.

Agree 1000% with this. I've also had sellers argue with me when I say it needs a set of tyres because "they are brand new, I just fitted them!" because to them, a tyre is a tyre... But if I'm buying something 2WD with 300HP, why the absolute **** would I want to drive around with Dragon Man PlusPops. I'd rather you left on the Avons with 3mm of tread left because at least I know they'll get me home!

 

[MissChief]

There is also Yokohama, Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli (though I don't rate them), but personally I'm happy enough with mid range brands.

I agree with this. My BMW came with Pirelli's and i was happy enough with them and kept them for 18 months until they needed replaced. But when I don't even recognise the brand at all it puts me off.

 

[Rroff]

LOLs there is a dealer near me known for slapping like Greatwalls on £40+K cars :s sadly I bought a vehicle from them a few years back, wouldn't touch them with a bargepole again.

Thing is most people don't care.

 

[nlel1975]

Never go to a tyre fitter without specifying which brand of tyre you want, otherwise they'll just stick on whatever is cheapest and in stock and which makes them the most profit.

I did this once trusting them to sell me some good tyres and they ended up fitting Chinese tat and in the wrong size on the front.

 

[Greebo]

There might be an element of that in some cases, but a lot of people just suck at budgeting and managing money, or don't understand the benefits of a better tyre, and think a tyre is just a tyre.

Some people will put ditchfinders on anything. I've lost track of how many times I've seen Linglongs or some other tat on a Porsche or an M3 etc.

Granted if you have an M3 or a Porsche and you are putting on no brand £50 tyres then you are an idiot but I was more referring to normal family cars/small hatchbacks etc. It really does become just a budget issue and that is all they can afford. £400+ for a set of Michelins? Nope. But £120 for a set of ditchfinders? Well that makes the car legal again and gets them to work.

 

[Rroff]

Granted if you have an M3 or a Porsche and you are putting on no brand £50 tyres then you are an idiot but I was more referring to normal family cars/small hatchbacks etc. It really does become just a budget issue and that is all they can afford. £400+ for a set of Michelins? Nope. But £120 for a set of ditchfinders? Well that makes the car legal again and gets them to work.

There is a happy medium Avons, etc. have good enough performance for day to day road driving and used to be reasonably priced though I notice a lot of the very average at best tyres like that are now pushing up close to the premium brand pricing - which are much better tyres... hopefully that doesn't result in the higher tier tyres going up loads.

 

[nlel1975]

I got some decent quotes for a set of Michelin Primacy 4 in front 165/65R15 and rear 185/60R15 sizes. They were £387 to £397 for all four fitted and this was from local tyre fitters who don’t sell online. That’s comparable to Asda tyres or Blackcircles.

Only thing is I don‘t need them at the moment, my factory fitted Dunlop Sport BluResponse still have 6.5mm tread left. They are still a decent tyre better than any Chinese tat if not quite as good as Michelin Primacy 4.

I am definitely not cheap ing out on tyres next time I need some, don’t want to end up with Chinese tat again. My car is still worth about £10,000 it’s not some £1000 old banger.

 

[nlel1975]

When you are skint, you are skint. Some cars come in with almost bald tyres before the get swapped. Its the Sam Vimes "Boots" theory of socioeconomic unfairness which is an economic theory that people in poverty have to buy cheap and subpar products that need to be replaced repeatedly, proving more expensive in the long run than more expensive items.

I'm a firm believer that most people can afford decent tyres but they choose not to. There are some genuine cases who cannot afford £400 for a set of Michelins but most can, but choose cheaper tyres on the basis of why pay more?

In their opinion the cheaper tyres are just as good as the more expensive ones so why pay more? They just want to keep more money in their bank account which they'll probably die with and not spend.

 

[Akagi]

I'm a firm believer that most people can afford decent tyres but they choose not to. There are some genuine cases who cannot afford £400 for a set of Michelins but most can, but choose cheaper tyres on the basis of why pay more?

In their opinion the cheaper tyres are just as good as the more expensive ones so why pay more? They just want to keep more money in their bank account which they'll probably die with and not spend.

It's exactly that.

My Grandad has loads of money, and used to work in the Police and saw loads of gruesome road traffic accidents in his time...

Bafflingly, he still fits part worn ditchfinders on his cars. Not even new ones. Part worn from the local industrial estate.

"I'm not a racing driver" he says.

 

[MissChief]

It's exactly that.

My Grandad has loads of money, and used to work in the Police and saw loads of gruesome road traffic accidents in his time...

Bafflingly, he still fits part worn ditchfinders on his cars. Not even new ones. Part worn from the local industrial estate.

"I'm not a racing driver" he says.

I firmly believe that I’d have had a massive accident if I didn’t have good quality Continental Premium contact tyres on my previous Ford Focus. Coming round a wide curve on the Edinburgh bypass I was doing 70 round the long curve a couple of miles before the downhill section towards the M8 junction if anyone knows the road. Come round the curve and see stationary traffic, brake lights blazing. Hammered the brakes, ABS pumping and the car is as good as on its nose. I stopped about a foot from the stationary car in front of me. I have no doubts that if I’d had anything else non premium I’d have been into the back of that car doing 20-30mph and had a massive frontal crash. You don’t need to be a racing driver if someone pulls out in front of you without looking or a kid runs out between two parked cars in front of you. The limiting factor of your brakes is the grip of the tyres on the road.

 

[MrRockliffe]

Must say I’m really in 2 minds about the PS5.


They really have made the steering feel very numb, but the grip is sensational from them.



Don’t think I would go for them again if alternatives were available.

 

[MrRockliffe]

I firmly believe that I’d have had a massive accident if I didn’t have good quality Continental Premium contact tyres on my previous Ford Focus. Coming round a wide curve on the Edinburgh bypass I was doing 70 round the long curve a couple of miles before the downhill section towards the M8 junction if anyone knows the road. Come round the curve and see stationary traffic, brake lights blazing. Hammered the brakes, ABS pumping and the car is as good as on its nose. I stopped about a foot from the stationary car in front of me. I have no doubts that if I’d had anything else non premium I’d have been into the back of that car doing 20-30mph and had a massive frontal crash. You don’t need to be a racing driver if someone pulls out in front of you without looking or a kid runs out between two parked cars in front of you. The limiting factor of your brakes is the grip of the tyres on the road.

I agree wholeheartedly with your statement.

The tyres are the ONLY thing keeping your car in contact with the road.


The “I’m not a racing driver” argument is very naive and narrow minded IMO.

 

[tamzzy]

@MissChief i've had a similar experience but quite a few years ago when i had goodyear eagle F1s on mine
70mph coming onto a roundabout but sun was low towards me...i expected queueing traffic coming up so started to slow but next thing i knew saw a stopping/stopped car
stopped literally inches away lol

 

[nlel1975]

I had the main dealer inspect my car about a year ago and they found the front tyres were at 7.0mm and the rears were at 6.5mm. I thought the fronts were supposed to wear faster than the rears but the Smart is a rear engined, rear wheel drive vehicle.

Rear wheel drive cars wear the rear tyres faster than the fronts, this explains why my rears had slightly less tread depth than the fronts. You learn something everyday!

Also the maximum speed limit here is 40mph, I’m never going to be braking harshly from 70mph to a complete stop, so I guess that’s easier on the tyres. Still going to put Michelins on when mine need replacing though, which won’t be for quite awhile it seems.

 

[Mr Footlong]

I saw mention of Linglongs above. Back in the day when I was going through a tight money phase , I had to buy a set of LingLong L688 tyres for my heavily modified Impreza STI5. My god, these were without a shadow of a doubt the most terrifying (and hilarious at times) tyres I have ever had in my life.

Over the last decade or so, my goto tyres have been -

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 (great all-round)
Michelin Pilot Super Sport (amazing in the summer, a bit scary at times in the cold and wet when pressing on)
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (really good all round)
Continental Wintercontact TS 860S (I LOVE these in the colder months, but with our winters being fairly mild currently, they wear quickly. Currently on my car and used on my previous cars, fantastic in the cold and wet)

 

[bigmike20vt]

I'm a firm believer that most people can afford decent tyres but they choose not to. There are some genuine cases who cannot afford £400 for a set of Michelins but most can, but choose cheaper tyres on the basis of why pay more?

I *wish* I could get a set of Michelin's for my car for £400....... but am sure triangle Pace or Guangdong will be just as good right?
(I wouldn't mind Pace just because they match the car name)

(not serious!)

more seriously I am considering a set of 4

Nankang Rollnex Cross Sport SP-9. they are coming in at around £185 a corner fitted. (I will need 4 in the next couple of months)

I am not a tyre expert but am under the impression they are a decent mid range tyre on a par with the likes of kumho and much closer to the high end tyres than the low end junk.

but I would love to hear from people who actually know a bit about tyres before I buy anything I may regret.

thanks.

 

[Akagi]

Nankang are one manufacturer I'm still a bit on the fence about. I can't quite decide if they are decent, or ditchfinders. They used to be the latter, but these days I think their offerings are better than they once were.

I'd probably avoid unless you can find a proper review of them. I'd much rather fit a quality mid-range tyre like a Kumho, Nexen, Falken, Uniroyal, Federal, Vredestein, Hankook, Cooper, Toyo, Yokohama, Nokian, etc...

Not every tyre from a "ditchfinder" brand is created equal, some are surprisingly decent, others are downright dangerous, but that bracket of tyre isn't usually the subject of professional tests, and the general public can't be trusted, so it's probably best not to chance it...

 

[ChrisD.]

I *wish* I could get a set of Michelin's for my car for £400....... but am sure triangle Pace or Guangdong will be just as good right?
(I wouldn't mind Pace just because they match the car name)

(not serious!)

more seriously I am considering a set of 4

Nankang Rollnex Cross Sport SP-9. they are coming in at around £185 a corner fitted. (I will need 4 in the next couple of months)

I am not a tyre expert but am under the impression they are a decent mid range tyre on a par with the likes of kumho and much closer to the high end tyres than the low end junk.

but I would love to hear from people who actually know a bit about tyres before I buy anything I may regret.

thanks.

Depends if you value the difference from hitting someone or something when doing an emergency stop or actually stopping. No idea about those SP-9 but it’s often the difference between a decent tyre and one that isn’t.

Look up aquaplaning resistance, also dry and wet braking in any group tests the tyres have been involved in.

 

[Rroff]

Nankang are one manufacturer I'm still a bit on the fence about. I can't quite decide if they are decent, or ditchfinders. They used to be the latter, but these days I think their offerings are better than they once were.

I'd probably avoid unless you can find a proper review of them. I'd much rather fit a quality mid-range tyre like a Kumho, Nexen, Falken, Uniroyal, Federal, Vredestein, Hankook, Cooper, Toyo, Yokohama, Nokian, etc...

Not every tyre from a "ditchfinder" brand is created equal, some are surprisingly decent, others are downright dangerous, but that bracket of tyre isn't usually the subject of professional tests, and the general public can't be trusted, so it's probably best not to chance it...

Wouldn't personally rate Nankang, they get fitted to the work vans a lot and feel vague at best and struggle in the wet or cold, though I've no experience of driving on them in a regular car.

The Qashqai came with a set of Nexen N Fera RU1, though grippy there is no sophistication to it, do brake well but again lack sophistication but will bring you to a very quick stop, good ride comfort if a bit soft and low noise but in the wet lack for any kind of sophistication and performance noticeably degrades as soon as the temperatures drop to anywhere close to 7C or below.

A similar story with a lot of those on the lower end of mid-range - a lot of them are reasonable enough in mild temperatures but performance drops off quicker than a bit better tyres in the cold or wet. Falken I've found hit and miss - some models are excellent, others have at least one area which lets them down.

 

[bigmike20vt]

To be honest I will probably just replace like for like with the ones which came factory fitted on the car (which isnt the same as the tyres which come on them new these days).

but it looks like the Dunlops on them will manage 50k miles or damn close to it and so i guess i can pony up £50 extra a corner for that kind of longevity, and i know they perform well (at least in the wet and dry - i have not hit ice or snow in them to find out)