Cheap Tyres v. Expensive Tyres

[Deadhead]

I'm coming up to 50k miles in the S211. The original rears were changed at 31k and the fronts at 48k with a couple of mm still left.

They were Michelins, which is what I replaced them with. Yes, they probably were twice the price of cheapies. But if they last much more than twice as long it doesn't seem too difficult a decision.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I can buy tyres for my W211 Sport, which has 18" wheels, for £60 .

I've always used 'premium' tyres when replacing, they may cost a third more but they last twice as long so it shouldn't take a mathematician to see it actually works out cheaper in the long run.

 

[moonloops]

When I bought by current Audi (S3 Quattro) it was fitted with fairly new budget tyres made by triangle on the front. In the wet it was dangerous to drive it.

It was raining when I picked it up and I literally drove it off the dealer forecourt, went round one roundabout and drove straight to a tyre fitting place on the realisation they were shockingly bad..

 

[Igurisu]

So why the cheap tyres are made in the first place?
For peolpe who cannot afford to run their cars??

There is always a demand for low end products in any market, where there is a demand then there is profit to be made. As we can see in this thread, some people are happy to run lower grade tyres, its a personal choice.

I'm not saying they are wrong, its just not something I would do.

 

[jaymanek]

I can buy tyres for my W211 Sport, which has 18" wheels, for £60 .

I've always used 'premium' tyres when replacing, they may cost a third more but they last twice as long so it shouldn't take a mathematician to see it actually works out cheaper in the long run.

but you never keep a car long enough!

Can we settle this by saying Mid Range are the best all round

Avon ZZ3 all the way.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

but you never keep a car long enough!

Haha, you've got a point there.

What I should have said was "on the off-chance that I keep a car longer than 6 month, I replace with the more 'premium' tyres"

 

[grober]

Sometimes less is more. There has been a tendency over recent years to "over tyre " cars. The increasing move towards ultra low profile very wide tyres purely for styling reasons is a case in point. Sure they look good but the trade off is a diminution in ride quality, increased side wall and wheel damage and decreased performance in wet and slippery road conditions. Staggered rear wheel set ups are probably unnecessary except on a circuit. Its also questionable whether fitting tyres with ultra high speed ratings is strictly necessary in a country with restrictive speed limits and high traffic density. A V high load rating will take the car up to 150 mph and I would maintain there are very few people in the country capable of routinely driving safely at speeds above this. I witnessed in a period of rapid tyre development the tyre ratings of the W124 migrate from an H rating to a W rating over the car's production lifetime- does this mean the car suddenly "required" this extra tyre performance ? Remember these changes in tyre rating and size come from manufacturers who are so concerned with your safety they have replaced a conventional sized spare wheel /tyre combo with a device made from baked bean cans and a few rubber bands !! There is good sense to be excercised when specifying a tyre make /rating but there's also advertising hype and profit margins!

 

[millo777]

My experience is that front wheel drive cars are more susceptible to losing grip with budget tyres. On rear wheel drive cars I've never noticed the difference.

Having said that I normally drive like a pensioner and that is hardly conducive to tyre testing.

On the w124 I have the budget tyres that were on it when I bought it (Mohawks I think) and have had no problems at all. The ASR light has only come on once, driving over a cattle grid, and the car has never felt dangerous. Same on the W140 which has brand new Michelins all round.

I do sometimes think the big brands (via their extremely dubiously sonspored consumer tests in motoring magazines) over play the safety aspect of premium vs budget tyres to the point where it becomes virtually emotional balckmail. "If you love your children you'll spend more on tyres", it's on the same level as telling a girl "If you loved me you'd swallow it".

 

[Borys]

When I bought by current Audi (S3 Quattro) it was fitted with fairly new budget tyres made by triangle on the front. In the wet it was dangerous to drive it.

It was raining when I picked it up and I literally drove it off the dealer forecourt, went round one roundabout and drove straight to a tyre fitting place on the realisation they were shockingly bad..

Strange.My brother in law runs 4 triangle's tyres on his quattro and it grip perfect.We even took it hard around a roundabout - no issues wet or dry or frosty

 

[FamilyPack]

Always a bit of a 'marmite' topic of discussion.

Tyres are the only contact that your vehicle has with the road. If people pay a lot of money for high performance engines and handling, it always seems odd that they want to save a few quid on the tyres which actually connect them to the road.

When I rode bikes, I would pay around £200-£240 for a set of tyres fitted. The rears lasted about 3k miles and fronts about double that.

In comparison, even 'expensive' car tyres are a bargain.

 

[SilverSaloon]

i prefer to use premium tyres, but to be honest when i've had cheap ones fitted i've not noticed any difference.

but, lets just say, i'm not a spirited driver really!!!

 

[jaymanek]

Tyres are the only contact that your vehicle has with the road.

Arrgghhh I hate that line... whichever tyre company came up with that deserves an award.

 

[wemorgan]

I'm still not sure that this thread isn't just not trolling, but so many others have bitten, so I will too now.

Mostly we're talking about risk here I believe. So accepting all the discussed tyres are legal everything else is about the risk you perceive.

So there can be no right or wrong answer, just whatever makes you feel comfortable in life.

For the record, I mostly buy Hankook, Falken, Avon for my commuter car and where beneficial I buy more premium tyres if I have a sportier car.

 

[renault12ts]

Good answer Will...if cheap tyres were dangerous, they'd be outlawed.

 

[BillyW124]

Drove down the M40 60 miles this morning in the 124 with Falken 912's in the p£$sing wet.

Very pleased.

is it me or when is raining hard and the tarmac is very wet cars feels a little heavier to push?

 

[scillyisles]

Arrgghhh I hate that line... whichever tyre company came up with that deserves an award.

You might hate the line but it is correct.

From my personal experience, there is quite a difference in tyres and undoubtedly some tyres perform much better than others. It is not always the case that an expensive tyre will outperform a cheap tyre.

 

[wemorgan]

Arrgghhh I hate that line... whichever tyre company came up with that deserves an award.

You might hate the line but it is correct.

Is it though? Driving, is a human using a mechanical system. A holistic approach is need. {sorry, another hateable phrase there}

Tyres are the only contact that your vehicle has with the road.

This almost implies you can put on your premium tyre and ignore the many other mechanical parts of your car that make it safe.

If brake fluid lasted weeks and not years we’d all be debating the merits or otherwise of dot 4, 5, 5.1 etc.
It’s only because tyres last a modest time and any owner can easily ask a garage to change them that the subjects becomes one for debate…..rather like which oil is ‘best’

 

[renault12ts]

Mobil 1...every time...fact.

 

[christopherwk]

Had Wanli tyres on the rear, lasted almost 38,000 miles. Replaced with Jinyu Yugi's, which lasted 26,000 miles. £50 each. No problems at all.


Now recently replaced with Autogrips at £60 each from Wheels In Motion. Can't imagine a company like that (recommended on here) selling dangerous tyres. Also had front camber bolts fitted, and tracking done at £186.


Tyre pressures always checked weekly. Excellent so far, no problems whatsoever.


I did have a set of Pirelli's which lasted 10k on the rear and 15k on the front, so am a little put off buying expensive tyres.

 

[lordlee]

Its the braking distances with cheap tyres that worries the hell out of me and prevents me from buying them. This makes for some sobering reading Wet weather braking tests show budget tires don’t pay