Cheap Tyres v. Expensive Tyres

[renault12ts]

Generally, going for the tyres specified on the wheel size specified on the highest performance variant is close to as good as you'll get for all round performance.

renault12ts - What is the tyre width and aspect ratio in scenarios 1, 2 and 3?

215/55 16 for standard. (A and B).
235/40 18 for the wides. (C).

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

And the other tyre in scenario C - you mention staggered?

 

[renault12ts]

And the other tyre in scenario C - you mention staggered?

Oops...265/35 18.

 

[Dryce]

Complex, innitt...!!

And perhaps highly subjective and pointless.

We could have a tyre discussion thread on the merits of Contis and Michelins and you can get diametrically opposed opinions on the merits of one or other in specific conditions.

Eg. I had Contis and miss them and thought they were good in snow. Sombody will post they've switched to Michelins and find them much better and the Contis were particularly crap in snow.

Our cars also change as they age. My recollections of Contis are from when it was newer. So is my preference based on the fact that the suspension was just a bit tighter and springs a bit fresher? Quite possibly.

When I had a bike I used to go through tyres frequently enough to experiment and compare.

With a car unless you are doing much higher than average mileages or eating up tyres then it's very difficult to do any kind of decent product comparison.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Typical premium 235 front tyres MAY offer marginally better braking performance than...
...typical premium 215 front tyres, but perhaps only measurable when heat builds up (wider tyre will aid hear dissipation), and then it really will be a very slight difference and perhaps not every time.

Typical premium 215 front tyres WILL offer noticeably better braking performance than...
...typical budget 235 front tyres, with a measurable and repeatable benefit, and probably in all conditions, as it's the compound and baked-in technology which will make a bigger difference than width.

Typical budget 235 front tyres MAY offer marginally better braking performance than...
...typical budget 215 front tyres, but perhaps only measurable when heat builds up (wider tyre will aid hear dissipation), and then it really will be a very slight difference and perhaps not every time.

So performance could be summarised as:
premium 235 > premium 215 >>>> budget 235 > budget 215

 

[BTB 500]

With a car unless you are doing much higher than average mileages or eating up tyres then it's very difficult to do any kind of decent product comparison.

Absolutely. Hence the value of objective (i.e. measured) tests, where different tyres of the same size are tested on the same car and same surface, back to back.

 

[Dieselman]

...typical premium 215 front tyres, but perhaps only measurable when heat builds up (wider tyre will aid hear dissipation),

Anyone care to guess what wider tyres suffer less from heat build up?

 

[nick mercedes]

I buy cheap.

Groceries from Lidl, tyres from Runway, brakes from Eicher, what could possibly go wrong?...

 

[renault12ts]

Groceries from Lidl, tyres from Runway, brakes from Eicher, what could possibly go wrong?...

...parts from Euromerc?

 

[trapperjohn]

...parts from Euromerc?

Now that, made me laugh.

 

[st4]

Now that, made me laugh.

Me too, epic epic post.

Ciaran.

We've been round in circles about tyres. Next time fit premium ones and then after them, see if you would go back to budgets.

I had budgets and upgraded and never looked back. Literally.

 

[m2287]

I Have had pretty much all of the premium ones at some point.. Just fitted a set of nankangs and to be honest I really can't tell the difference :s?! I was expecting to find something but I just can't fault them, and they were less than half the price!!!

 

[Benzster]

Cheap tyres have less grip and are noisy. When it comes to making an emergency stop i would prefer to use the best tyres for the job.

I drive quite a few cars over a month. Some are fitted with cheap tyres some premium. There is a difference.

My feelings precisely.

 

[D-18]

...and never looked back. Literally

I was like that after I discovered the rear-view mirror.

I'll get my coat...

 

[alexis.jones]

I have the Standard Contis on my C320 cdi and honestly think they are terrible. The back end never stops stepping out and the traction light is always bloody on lol

 

[danclyon]

I can't comment on MB's on cheap tyres since I'm relatively new to MB ownership.

However, about 5 years ago I bought a used BMW 540 fitted with Falkens with about 5/6mm of tread all round. The car has 18 inch Alpina wheels, 235/40/18 on the front, 265/35/18 on the back.

After driving for a while I realised that it felt fine in the dry and terrible in the wet. So much so that on a motorway trip in the pouring rain I actually pulled off, turned round and headed home, it scared me so much. I took the car to a local BM specialist to find out what was wrong with it. He gave it a good check over, told me everything was fine and advised fitting some better tyres.

So, I had Bridgestones fitted all round and could not believe the difference. The car now felt totally planted in the wet.

Frankly you couldn't pay me to fit cheap tyres to any of my cars!

What Falkens were they. They make some really good tyres FK452/ZE912 and some right shockers by all accounts. I've had both of these on my A4 and personally prefer the 912 - which we put on the wifes W245 as it was getting through Conti's at a rate of 15k miles a set. She's already done 8k on the Falkens, now is happy in the wet, doing round corners and darting about (as much as you can in a diesel) and there's no sign of the wear indicators really having moved at all.....

D.

 

[Peter T]

What Falkens were they. They make some really good tyres FK452/ZE912 and some right shockers by all accounts. I've had both of these on my A4 and personally prefer the 912 - which we put on the wifes W245 as it was getting through Conti's at a rate of 15k miles a set. She's already done 8k on the Falkens, now is happy in the wet, doing round corners and darting about (as much as you can in a diesel) and there's no sign of the wear indicators really having moved at all.....

D.

Sorry, I'm afraid I have no idea. At the time I was much more interested in getting rid of them.

I think the guy I bought car from had fallen on hard times, divorce maybe, and had bought the cheapest tyres he could find, I was going to say, 4 or 5 years ago, but I've just looked at the registration document and found that I bought the car in 2004! Tempus fugit!

 

[danclyon]

Sorry, I'm afraid I have no idea. At the time I was much more interested in getting rid of them.

I think the guy I bought car from had fallen on hard times, divorce maybe, and had bought the cheapest tyres he could find, I was going to say, 4 or 5 years ago, but I've just looked at the registration document and found that I bought the car in 2004! Tempus fugit!

Ahh 4/5 years ago - yes - shocking ones were the norm then

 

[AlanD]

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

No .. they don't outlaw 1.6mm tread depth and yet we all know that it's dangerous (he says, excusing the fact that mine are just about that at the back right now all of a sudden!).

Cheap tyres, just like lack of water clearing below 3mm, are tolerated to allow the market some element of risk/choice. "Good" budget tyres and above however are unlikely to be dangerous within their operating parameters.

 

[AlanD]

Just one final point from an engineering point of view - go pick up a cheap tyre and then pickup an expensive one. Most likely you will find it's significantly lighter. Examine it closely. Most likely you will find the manufacturing tolerances much more exacting .. much you won't see (how even the carcass is, how perfectly distributed the weight is across the tyre, how "true" the tyre is generally, round, etc.).

What difference does this make? Well, on a decent car, a lot in feel. A fair bit in responsiveness, some more in economy. Braking differences have been demonstrated scientifically - high tech rubber for the conditions it was designed for is better, period. We can't all afford the best, which is why the best is not standard.

That said, there are completely ****e cheap, medium *and* expensive tyres! Don't buy a turkey ;o) There are also cheap tyres that punch well above their weight. This is true in many walks of life.