Why buy budget???

[merc85]

I had Nankang Ns2's on couple of my tyres, One was a Volvo t5 running 270hp the other was my e55 which was running well over 500hp, Agreed they were not as grippy in the wet

They definitely had a very progressive feel and you knew exactly how far you could push the car before things started to slide but they Never just let go.

They certainly just as good as the Perrili P zero's i have on the back of my 55 estate at the minute, Also the Ns2's took so much abuse and lasted very very well.

Dry grip was equally as good as the Goodyears i had but i would note the tyre noise was higher. For the money i find they blooming good.

Agreed there are some terrible tyres out there "westlake" for one, But i'd certainly rate Nankang tyres for Value for money when alround grip and longevity is concerned

Que the back lash lol

 

[Headhurts]

I personally would not use cheap tyres but I can afford to buy premium brands.

If I was in the situation where my finances were challenging then I would thoroughly research any lower priced tyres before committing a purchase.

Having said that I have Pirelli P-Zero Nero tyres on my car which some hate and rate badly in wet conditions.

If I was buying now then RS3 would be top of my list.

Robin

 

[Tiim533]

Buy cheap buy twice. I’m over that when it comes to car parts but still make the same mistake over and over again with other things

 

[mercmancdi]

Ok , have to say budget tyres on
Cars might not be the best idea , but there’s plenty of good tyres
mid range suitable for most cars
without breaking the bank ,
Anyhow it doesn’t matter if you have 40 bhp or 400 bhp in the uk
the rules are the same as far as speeding etc concerned ,
driving like an idiot in a fast car to me is more dangerous and has cost more lives than budget tyres.
To say if you can’t afford £200 a corner tyres you should not have a car , I say the header that’s always pushing on the outside lane at traffic lights and boot to the board
overtaking just because they have a big bhp , they should not have a car. I m o.
Rant over.

 

[zipdip]

Well with regard brakes,the difference between a top discs and cheaper maybe less well made ones is very small and the same goes from brake pads, and so buying cheap is just not wise,of course we have the blood and snot guys who only use competition brakes be they red/blue or green,but they are in the minority on this forum,they also want tyres tested to 200mph in the wet and giving grip only seen on a F1 car so their 400 plus bhp is used to it's fullest extent ,most of us settle for a lot less and drive well within the capabilities of our cars ,if you look at some of the £130 tyres for sale now they were cheap tyres years ago,but by going the competition route they have built their brand and increased their price ,the tyres are still the same,for any of the Mercedes 4x4's the S and E class Nexen tyres cheap now will do a great job,they too are going the competition route come back in 10 years and they will be the must have expensive tyre,for me with the S they were a hard wearing tyre that did the job well.

 

[Salal]

I’ve always found cheap and used tyres to be false economy. Yes they are much cheaper but in most cases they do wear out much quicker and lack the performance/safety as well.

I’ve always been a big fan of Continetals and Michelin tyres or other decent brands especially if it’s a car I will be keeping for a while and they do make a huge difference compared to chinese ones in regards to handling, comfort and noise.

You mostly notice the very poor handling of cheap tyres in the wet. The only time I’d buy a cheaper tyre would be if I knew I would be selling the car in the near future which would be reasonable for obvious reasons.

 

[Gazwould]

There should be laws on the age of tyres , so many used for sale sets of alloys have 5 year + old tyres .

Even when not perished they harden up and don't provide the grip they once had .

Iirc there was a death related tyre blow out on a bus and the tyre was about 14 years old .


Keep the rubber fresh .

 

[Salal]

There should be laws on the age of tyres , so many used for sale sets of alloys have 5 year + old tyres .

Even when not perished they harden up and don't provide the grip they once had .

Iirc there was a death related tyre blow out on a bus and the tyre was about 14 years old .


Keep the rubber fresh .

Yeah that’s a good point, but you’d be surprised a lot of people don’t actually know or are unaware of how to check the date of manufacture on a tyre even how simple it is.

Most reputable tyre manufacturers and including Continental recommend a max service life of 10 years before changing regardless of condition. I remember MB recommending 6-7 years.

And yeah I wouldn’t mind driving on a quality old tyre but would have second thoughts on a much cheaper quality one as I’m sure it would loose its properties much quicker over time.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

I had Nankang Ns2's on couple of my tyres, One was a Volvo t5 running 270hp the other was my e55 which was running well over 500hp, Agreed they were not as grippy in the wet

They definitely had a very progressive feel and you knew exactly how far you could push the car before things started to slide but they Never just let go.

They certainly just as good as the Perrili P zero's i have on the back of my 55 estate at the minute, Also the Ns2's took so much abuse and lasted very very well.

Dry grip was equally as good as the Goodyears i had but i would note the tyre noise was higher. For the money i find they blooming good.

Agreed there are some terrible tyres out there "westlake" for one, But i'd certainly rate Nankang tyres for Value for money when alround grip and longevity is concerned

Que the back lash lol

i had those fitted to 350 bhp toyota celica gt4 , back in the day and couldnt fault them tbh. i have nankang ns2 on the rear of my w219 now 275x35x18 @ £75 a corner , bit noisey compared to avon zv7's , and on the front i have delinte dh2 245 x 40 x18 @ £54 a corner . both are highly recommended for high miles and wear , wet grip is rated as c for both . i dont do motorway driving or any long trips ,just work and back mainly 7 miles each way and the odd trip out to whitby/scarbrough, but if i did i'd seriously consider a tyre package like goodyear , michelin , pirrelli etc . , ( sorry if ive misspelled a few words or missed a comma if your offended please block me ) ps . i think the worst tyres ive ever had were on my passat tdi running 170 bhp were accelera alpha , when they were at half tread , boy were they dangerous in the wet. ive recently bought myself a set of 18 inch veeman alloys and are shod with vredstein wintrac extreme s @ £140 a corner ready for any snow fall and cold wintry days . ill see how they compare to my £73 nankangs once i fit them .

 

[Stocho]

I’ve always been a big fan of Continetals and Michelin tyres or other decent brands especially if it’s a car I will be keeping for a while and they do make a huge difference compared to chinese ones in regards to handling, comfort and noise.

You mostly notice the very poor handling of cheap tyres in the wet.

Generally true, however I end up reading test results of specific tyres rather than just trusting brands. And yes when bought the car had 7mm Mizzini tyres - straight away threw them away.

For example as much as I wanted to get Michelin CrossClimate+ just could not make myself do it as they have poor results on curved aquaplaning tests. As the best winter tyres Continentals TS860, or even TS850 or even older TS830 were not available in the size approved by MB bought Goodyear Ultragrip Gen1 as it did reasonable in all the tests unlike Michelin CrossClimate+ that while shined in many tests was extremely poor in curved aqua test.

 

[bob6600]

My sons friend’s dad has owned RS6’s, AMG’s, M3/5’s and he’s exactly the same - “they’re all black and round” is his tyre mantra

So why does he buy high end cars? They all get you from A to B...

 

[Deleted member 37751]

So why does he buy high end cars? They all get you from A to B...

He sees “maintenance” as an unnecessary cost - he takes his cars to the cheapest place possible to be serviced too.

 

[clk320x]

He sees “maintenance” as an unnecessary cost - he takes his cars to the cheapest place possible to be serviced too.

Hmm I don’t understand his logic!

 

[thebiglad]

He's mad Lee.... exactly my point.. the manufacturers put Michelin, Conti, Pirelli etc on for a reason as they've been tested and they feel that they're right for the vehicle at 200 or so a corner... a £80 tyre on a 60-80k car in my eyes is murder....

Hi BG, I hope you don't mind my saying, but I think that's a bit naive. The bottom line is that car manufacturers - all of them - buy in huge bulk usually at least 2 years worth of stock at a time and they buy on price. No they don't buy the cheapest RACIST COMMENT REMOVED but equally they are not looking for the ultimate tyres unless they can charge extra for them.

 

[MarkBrandis]

I’m sure cheaper tyres are still safe and do the job otherwise they wouldn’t be allowed onto the market..

the legal limits are far worse than the laws of physics though. a cheap tyre may well stop within the legal limits, yet still makes you run into obstacles, where a good tyre would have stopped in time.

example: about 20 years ago i had a Mazda 626, FWD, obviously. as it was only a one winter runner, i put cheap czech tyre on.
i had trouble with hill starts on snow. when i say hill, it was the beginning of a ramp leading onto a motorway. so nothing steep at all.

 

[markjay]

Safety standards are Binary: compliant or non-complaint.

Safety, however, isn't.

An S-Class with loads of driver aids is no doubt a safer car than an entry-level A-Class in poverty spec.

Does this mean that A-Class buyers are all irresponsible people who are willing to put themselves and their families at risk?

Here's the test I propose:

You book a taxi to the airport on a rainy night. It's a 45 minute journey including some motorway driving. You and your partner and kids are all packed-up and ready to go.

The driver shows-up. Now, what would you do in each of the scenarios listed below - refuse to enter the vehicle and insist the taxi firm sends another car, or just climb in and proceed with your journey?

(a) The driver has strong smell of alcohol on his breath.

(b) One of the car's headlights isn't working.

(c) The ABS/ESP amber light is lit on the dashboard.

(d) The car is a model that you know did not fare well in the Euro NCAP crash testing.

(e) The car is fitted with Chinese-made tyres that you never heard of.

Would you, as a reasonable person, judge the journey to be safe-enough in the circumstances?

 

[clk320x]

Safety standards are Binary: compliant or non-complaint.

Safety, however, isn't.

An S-Class with loads of driver aids is no doubt a safer car than an entry-level A-Class in poverty spec.

Does this mean that A-Class buyers are all irresponsible people who are willing to put themselves and their families at risk?

Here's the test I propose:

You book a taxi to the airport on a rainy night. It's a 45 minute journey including some motorway driving. You and your partner and kids are all packed-up and ready to go.

The driver shows-up. Now, what would you do in each of the scenarios listed below - refuse to enter the vehicle and insist the taxi firm sends another car, or just climb in and proceed with your journey?

(a) The driver has strong smell of alcohol on his breath.

(b) One of the car's headlights isn't working.

(c) The ABS/ESP amber light is lit on the dashboard.

(d) The car is a model that you know did not fare well in the Euro NCAP crash testing.

(e) The car is fitted with Chinese-made tyres that you never heard of.

Would you, as a reasonable person, judge the journey to be safe-enough in the circumstances?

This is very interesting MJ.

The number of Uber cars running around with warning lights on the dash is worrying..!

 

[John]

I was helping someone at work with their tyres recently.

I noticed their ditchfinders at the rear were not even 5 years old yet but were cracking quite badly.

Whereas the rubber was still perfect on the Bridgestones fitted to the other half's Juke which I changed as they were approaching 2mm and were 6.5 years old (with Winter coming).

I would rather she had fresh budget tyres in good condition than the aforementioned but her choice to use ditchfinders is up to her.

However, you shouldn't need to rely on quality rubber over budget rubber to get you out the .... - your driving should be better than that.

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

At -£620 for 4x mps4s they’re a fantastic budget tyre

 

[E63AMG]

Playing Devils Advocate, how often do we need our tyres to be rated to 180 mph? How often do you jump on the brakes that hard we get brake fade? I for one don’t have these problems pottering around town and having the odd run out.

Maintenance is always important with any vehicle, but there are plenty of non mechanically minded drivers that will put the best tyres on their car, but have been driving around on the canvas threads as they don’t check them weekly.

They’d have been better off on £50 Chinese tyres in that instance.

Nige.