Cheap Tyres vs Expensive Tyres (Car)

Reminds me of the discussion about servicing and whether to use the vehicle manufacturer for a service. On my old Audi I went to Audi twice and paid almost £500. Until I started working with a Quality Manager, who previously worked for Audi in Germany. He said save your money and go Audi approved. It makes no difference and is £200 cheaper!
 
Apart from the driver, the tyres are what keeps you on the road and safe. Tyres are the one thing I wont compromise on, it is not just my safety but also the safety for others too. I always buy premium range, usually Michelin, Continental or Pirelli.
 
I've always paid for a good quality tyre. There is a lot to consider.

Noise, durability, dry & wet performance/grip, braking performance and now environmental aspects (how quickly does the tyre degrade and leach rubber into the ground).

Personally, I tend to steer clear of budget tyres (Landsails, Ling Longs etc). Its not worth the risk to me. I've always used Conti's in the past, but I've settled now on Uniroyal Rainsports as they are cheaper, but just as good as the Conti's. Yokohama and Kumho are good and middle range pricing.

Michelin are very good, but wowsers, what a cost.
 
Since having grandkids I now go for the premium tyres. Just a psychological thing I suppose.
 
I would say it depends on the car. If you have a fast car or heavy car then good tyres are essential. Even on a light or less powerful one I'd only scrimp on the speed rating. I'd still buy the best tyre I can afford.

I always think of it like this: you're travelling at 70mph in 2 tonnes of metal. Only 4 tiny straps of rubber are connecting you to the road, don't compromise on the quality of those strips.
 
Nero said:
What about cold weather tyres? Do people change to them in winter?
Click to expand...
It's mad that we don't in this country. Travelling around other cold, northern European countries and most mandate winter tyres. It seems crazy we don't
 
Nero said:
What about cold weather tyres? Do people change to them in winter?
Click to expand...
softer compound tyres are better in the wet and lower temperatures. They don't last as long in the hot summer but if you aren't going to replace your tyres every season then just stick to all-season. The last thing you want is a summer tyre in a wet spring/summer/autumn or winter
 
Nero said:
What about cold weather tyres? Do people change to them in winter?
Click to expand...
SmallTown said:
It's mad that we don't in this country. Travelling around other cold, northern European countries and most mandate winter tyres. It seems crazy we don't
Click to expand...
BaronSmoggie said:
Michelin cross climates are ideal in that scenario, no need to change. I ran them on my Volvo for 4 years with no issues.
Click to expand...

When it does snow we get a fair bit on the roads in Richmondshire and it can make the school run and getting to our horses difficult. When I had a front wheel drive car I used to run All Seasons on the rear all year and switch between summer and winter tyres on the front. Now I have an AWD hybrid and since last winter I’ve just ran it on all seasons for all wheels. I like Vredestein tyres, cheaper than Contis, Michelins etc but very good performance.

My wife has a pick up that just runs winters all year round but that’s as much for towing the horse trailer for extra grip in fields as it is winter snow. She only does about 4-5k miles a year though.
 
Priv said:
When it does snow we get a fair bit on the roads in Richmondshire and it can make the school run and getting to our horses difficult. When I had a front wheel drive car I used to run All Seasons on the rear all year and switch between summer and winter tyres on the front. Now I have an AWD hybrid and since last winter I’ve just ran it on all seasons for all wheels. I like Vredestein tyres, cheaper than Contis, Michelins etc but very good performance.

My wife has a pick up that just runs winters all year round but that’s as much for towing the horse trailer for extra grip in fields as it is winter snow. She only does about 4-5k miles a year though.
Click to expand...
I’ll look into those tyres you mention. Reason I ask is I’m driving to and from Aberdeen on a regular basis now. I’ll mix it up with the train during winter but have been thinking about cold weather tyres.
 
Nero said:
I’ll look into those tyres you mention. Reason I ask is I’m driving to and from Aberdeen on a regular basis now. I’ll mix it up with the train during winter but have been thinking about cold weather tyres.
Click to expand...
Vredestein have always made very good winter and all season tyres. While being around 25 to 30% cheaper than the major brands. They consistently score similar and in some cases better than the huge brands in winter tyre testing.

Made in the Netherlands as well so not cheap Far Eastern made rubbish.
 
I wouldn't get the cheapest tyres. Some of them can deteriorate after not much use. Mid-range is where the value lies. The perfect tyres for the UK are all season tyres, especially if you're in the North. As mentioned, Falken are good and those Dutch ones will be decent. Obviously if you like spending a bit more and want a particular brand - you can buy premium.

You don't need to rotate your tyres. That was a thing when tyres were perfectly round and they would wear unevenly. Modern tyres are radial and wear evenly by themselves. Much more important to make tyre pressures are all good. Check them regularly.

Another thing, it's ridiculous the amount of SUV type vehicles skating around on summer tyres. They should make it mandatory to have all season or winter tyres during the winter.
 
I have used Kormoran tyres a few times and been pretty happy with them. They are a 'budget brand' but owned by Michelin I really like them. It's around £80 for tyres for my car 225/45/17.
 
SmallTown said:
It's mad that we don't in this country. Travelling around other cold, northern European countries and most mandate winter tyres. It seems crazy we don't
Click to expand...
It's because most of the year we're only in a narrow range of between 5 and 25 degrees, for most of the country and maybe 0-30 for most of the extremes (-5 to +35 is less than 1% for most places). It's quite a narrow range, the UK is pretty much one of the safest places in the world as far as harsh weather and temperature variations go, and in the north east of England we're also in pretty much the safest part of it. A lot of European countries deal with much larger extremes than we do, and they're more common.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top