As per the title really. I have always bought budget tyres on previous cars, but they were sheds. 🙂 Ended up having new ones every year. Will there be extra longevity for the extra cash if I get some decent tyres?

Cheers,

How many miles a year do you do? What kind of roads (speeds)? FWLIW, I’d always say yes, but figure there’s room for debate.

Not IME, I used to buy decent tyres around £180-200ish each, rears lasted 8-10k. Switched to Nexxen’s (N1000 I think…) a couple of years ago (about £100 each) and seem to have a similar wear rate and can’t say I notice a change in grip (wet or dry) or noise.

Those four small contact patches are all that’s keeping you on the road – buy the best you can afford!

I generally wouldn’t go any lower spec than Falken/Kumho/Toyo – definitely never LingLong, Sunny, Triangle, or any of the other ditchfinder brands.

Only exception of the premium brands is Pirelli P6000s, widely regarded as being utter rubbish despite being oem on a lot of cars.

Those four small contact patches are all that’s keeping you on the road – buy the best you can afford!

hear that a lot, bu never with much detail to back it up…

aside from emergency braking, why would say 5% more grip be that vital in a car used for just bumbling around?

Cool, cheers all. The car came with Michelin Primacy HP’s on. Currently doing more miles than id like, probably 14k a year 60% motorway.

I’d say yes. Better tyres will give better fuel economy (as long as they are designed this way in mind, obviously more expensive off road tyres won’t!) and generally have more traction and grip. I’m not worried about max cornering speeds, but like my car to stick to the road when I need to swerve around a child /other car

I used to buy Michelin, Continental etc. Fuel ‘quality’, tyre pressure, the engine and how it is driven seems to make more difference to the fuel economy.

I generally wouldn’t go any lower spec than Falken/Kumho/Toyo

I agree. I’ve used Kumho Ecsta for the past few years and found them to be quite good for performance in the wet and dry on my enthusiastically-driven estate cars. I’ll either stick with them or possibly try out some Uniroyal Rainsport next time.

I used Toyo Proxes on a previous (higher performance) car. They performed quite well, although the side walls were relatively soft and easily damaged from driving on stony tracks (the car wasn’t suited to them either though).

Yes, but with many things there is a diminishing return on the amount you spend. I think its worth getting a premium brand tyre (Michelin/Goodyear/continental) but once you start moving up the ranges within the premium brands you get little improvements for lots extra wonga.

Those four small contact patches are all that’s keeping you on the road – buy the best you can afford!

hear that a lot, but never with much detail to back it up…

It’s guaranteed someone will come out with that almost exact phrase on any car tyre thread online.

And also the term “ditch finders”

People seem to think that higher price guarantees better quality with car tyres, and are happy just to accept it as true.

For what it’s worth, for the last 15 years I’ve averaged about 45,000 miles a year (all over Europe and UK in all weathers) . Pretty much all on “ditch finders”

And I’ve yet to find a single ditch.

Watch out for compound. Some premium/sports tyres = softer compound = more grip = quicker wear rate.

I’d say yes. Better tyres will give better fuel economy

Those four small contact patches are all that’s keeping you on the road

can’t have both surely. either improved grip OR improved fuel economy…

can’t really have dual compound on a car tyre… or am i missing something obvious?

For what it’s worth, for the last 15 years I’ve averaged about 45,000 miles a year (all over Europe and UK in all weathers) . Pretty much all on “ditch finders”

And I’ve yet to find a single ditch.
In my more exuberant youth I did have a leaving-the-wet-road-into-a-crash-barrier-incident that I attributed to the (Dark Horse/Road Horse?) ditch-finders fitted to my car by a previous owner. They were very a shiny, hard compound, but I now realise that the driver may also have been partially to blame…

I did replace them all with Michelin, which were noticeably better, although the lessons learned probably had more of an effect 😉

Buy the best that you can afford and that has the best reviews. If you can only afford one set get a really rated set of alrounders.

I don’t think you can go far wrong with alpins considering our inclemental weather.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/total_tyre_guide/259456/michelin_alpin_a4.html

Tyres aren’t a false economy. They literally could be the difference between hitting that kerb or not. They pay for themselves IMO.

why though? as said, when most people hit a ditch they tend to have the good grace to say it was their own fault rather than the tyres just lobbed them off the road…

Drive plastic tyres swiftly on greasy or damp roads and you’d feel the squirm though.

when most people hit a ditch they tend to have the good grace to say it was their own fault rather than the tyres just lobbed them off the road…

True, its not the tyre, its crap drivers driving beyond the limits of that particular tyre.

I’ve used Kumho Ecsta for the past few years and found them to be quite good for performance in the wet and dry on my enthusiastically-driven estate cars. I used Toyo Proxes on a previous (higher performance) car. They performed quite well, although the side walls were relatively soft and easily damaged from driving on stony tracks (the car wasn’t suited to them either though).

Exactly this^^

have also used various ‘ditchfinders’ on the back of mrs rocket’s Fiesta ST and they’ve been fine. There’s a marginal difference when provoked into a drift on greasy roundabouts etc but it’s not like they let go dramatically

Drive plastic tyres swiftly on greasy or damp roads and you’d feel the squirm though.

indeed. but a slightly perceptible bit of squirm doesn’t equal the difference between flying off the road in a ball of flames or not…

i don’t mean to take short cuts on safety issues, but the standard arguments for expensive tyres just sound like hype to me.

now if i was on a superbike… things would be different. but a family car?

The car came with Michelin Primacy HP’s on

That’s what’s on my Legacy. Circa 35k per set given the last set and the way this set is wearing. 205/55 r16 not that expensive really for the life you get – £95 quid a corner fitted IIRC.

It’s not as simple as pay more = better all round. Any tyre is a compromise between wear rate and grip. (simplification but basically true). A lot of tyres have a ‘tread wear rating’ on them, the higher the number, the longer they last, but proportionally tend to be less grippy. It’s horses for courses, are you going to drive track days or motorways?

Nick – the difference in grip (mainly in the wet) between Hawleys cheapo brand on Jo’s Micra and the Uniroyal Rain Experts on the front of it now is amazing! Relatively little wheel spin now when setting off 🙂

are you really that bad a driver that you cant drive to conditions is what you need to ask your self.

how ever I do think spending a bit on quality winter tires is worth it if you have a spare set of rims – but then I live in the country in NE Scotland not the Surrey Antarctic

Autoexpress do an annual tyre test with premium and budget tyres and some of the differences between them are massive.
A good tyre is one that has a long life, wet and dry grip, shorter braking distances, little rolling resistance and road noise. Compromises have to be made or more expensive materials and construction techniques used to achieve these goals.
My car came with Nexen N6000 budget tyres fitted. Pulling out at roundabouts from a standstill was a pain as the tyres would spin with little throttle, in the wet a complete nightmare. They would understeer in bends so the traction control was constantly coming on and cutting power.
I changed these tyres soon after buying and replaced with Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta a mid budget tyre. The cars handling was transformed with excellent grip wet or dry, no accidental wheelspin or understeer, quieter and improved MPG.
These were replaced when worn with Michelin PS3, a premium tyre. They provide slightly better life, economy, grip and noise but less roll into corners. At nearly £50 a corner more than the Vredestein they aren’t a massive improvement for the price but the grip has remained constant throughout the tyre wear. The Vredestein grip was reduced in the last 30%/4000 miles of tyre wear.

How much are you saving over the course of say 2-3yrs?

£200? If its a car predominantly used for town/centre driving on say a 14″ rimmed Panda yes.

If you commute all year round say 15k on motorways etc wouldn’t you rather have something better?

I imagine the Yanli tyre buyers all ride with Deore rear mech’s and Tora forks 😉

thing is chris i bet you mainly notice it driving/wheelspinning UP walkley bank.

had damn near dead tyres on the van for a few weeks, and for general driving it was fine, but loose as hell going up the steeps in the damp…

Energy savers are worth it. They cost a bit more but last twice as long. About 50k miles for me. Or rather, they should – only done 25k so far and they are 50% worn.

can’t have both surely. either improved grip OR improved fuel economy…

Yeah you can. That’s what scilica does to the tyres, see energy saving tyres above.

Energy savers tend (or should be) skinner in profile and differing grip profile for rolling resistance etc etc.

You could alter or ruin any saving by not having the exact PSI for your changing passenger payload and/or not checking your pressures every week and using a correctly calibrated pump.

They don’t behave predictably either.

My V6 4motion Golf came with some cheapo tyres on it, but after they wore out I changed to Michelin Pilot Sport (not at all cheap) and the difference in grip was huge. The Pilot Sports seem to last pretty well too, get 20k out of them.

Yeah you can. That’s what scilica does to the tyres, see energy saving tyres above.

In true STW fashion, evidence please! It sounds suspiciously like the emperors new cloths to me… (although in decidedly unSTWlike fashion I’m prepared to be convinced…)

EVO magazine did a tyre test going back around a year.
the worst performing tyre in the wet braking from 50mph test was also the cheapest, and the car was still going at 17mph at the point the best performing had stopped.
In general terms premium tyres perform better, may not last the longest but tyres are there for grip not just longevity

Silica in tyres

Arrowspeed from Kwikfit are ditchfinders .I hadsome last winter and they had really poor grip even on damp roads .I never felt confident in the way the car handled with them on .I changed to kuhmo (sp)and it was better

on my octavia tdi i could spin the wheels with michelin primary hps in THIRD gear on a damp road. Replaced with Uniroyal rainexpert and now i can barely spin the wheels in first in similar conditions.

My advice is get some rain tyres or 4 seasons tyres of reasonable quality. Mine were about £67 a corner fully fitted at my workplace from event tyres.

Get some reviews of tyres for YOUR car from other owners and go with whatever fits your budget after shopping around.

have also used various ‘ditchfinders’ on the back of mrs rocket’s Fiesta ST and they’ve been fine. There’s a marginal difference when provoked into a drift on greasy roundabouts etc but it’s not like they let go dramatically

I disagree

I had a Saab 9000 which had some Federal tyres fitted at the rear when I bought it. At modest (20mph) speeds, you could get full opposite lock on a damp roundabout. For sheer comedy value it was worth keeping them for a few weeks, but they weren’t just extra slippy, they seemed to be hugely unpredictable into the bargain.A dab of oppo is a laugh, a full spin is less fun.

A swap to some boring Dunlops – maybe £100 each – and suddenly the Swedish express was back to it’s normal boring self.

Buying the most expensive tyres you can is mostly pointless unless you’re a trackday god, but decent branded tyres are definitely worth it.

It depends…

I put Michelins on my wife’s car; they last upwards of 50k and are very dependable.

My car though eats tyres (RWD and 250bhp), so it has Avons. Cheaper but still grippy and work well down to the ‘wire’ 😉

Many years ago I put no-name tyres on a 309GTI, it turned one of the best handling hot-hatches into something akin to a Ford Anglia on cross-plys…, never again.

I’ve had various Brands (Goodyear,Michelin, Pirelli etc) over the years and to be honest on they are pretty much the same on a bog standard road car.

If you want to get a good performing tyre, change them before they get to the legal limit, that will have more of an effect on saftey!

Any recommendations for a good, safe in the wet, not too pricey tyre for a family 7 seater driven carefully? Not interested in yeehaa-ing round roundabouts that seems to be the thing for most of the tyre reviews that I google.

Cheers

As above really, went for cheapies on the front two on the transit, absolutely lethal in the wet, could even spin them in the dry, after 300 miles I phoned the garage and they swapped them for free!!! Always put decent tyres on the sub, last set were vred ultrac ssesantas, absolutely phenomenal tyre!! They’ve all gone now and I’ve also gone onto Avon zv5 all round. Not really pushed them hard yet but seem more than capable in the wet an dry!

I reckon it’s all a balance of risk. On my commuting fiesta I use budget tyres and I drive almost entirely motorway miles and within speed limits and car limits and not yet had a snag. So I’m happy to take the potentially reduced performance offered by cheaper tyres given how I use them.

On my performance car I use medium compound Race-like tyres. Not great in the wet (but then I don’t use it in the rain) but incredible in the dry and allow me to drive harder and nearer to the limits of the car (I’m no driving god). On this car I’m happy to pay more for better performance because of the way I use the car and how the tyres support this.

When I bought the car it had budget mud and snow tyres fitted (it’s a Westfield so doesn’t go near mud or snow) and since changing to Toyo R888s that are now fitted the difference is remarkable.