Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
Lo good people and drivers of the world :)
I'm running a 15 year old 2004 Skoda Octavia 130bhp and before that the 20 year old shaggy 1998 Polo 1.4
Plus my family has a 2011 Subaru Forester and before that a 2007 Civic 2.2 DTI
Before those I was driving an 05 Saab 150 TiD, and for a while we owned a 1990 Civic 1.6 VTEC Del Sol on Winter tyres!
And what I have been doing is running the CHEAPEST CHOICE ALL SEASON TYRES that I can possibly find.
Now I'm not here to tell you to buy cheap tyres - in fact I'd suggest you don't tbh. As you will see the risks are .. variable! But I'm happy enough on these cheapies, doing 22k miles per year in al weathers, 50% motorway, 50% country lanes.
I buy nearly all of them online and have a friend fit and balance them, and over the years I have come across some real surprises, good and bad
Now a Subaru Forester is a very very different car for tyre wear to a front wheel drive scrabble wagon and it shows in tyre wear. That Subaru is big and heavy, with a lot of grip and tyres last really well.
I change all tyres in pairs on the same axle and keep the Sub front and rear axle dimilar tread depth, though not always same brand.
I tend to put new ones on the front, wear them to 4mm and then put new on the front and the 4m to the rear. Nothing goes below 2.5mm in summer or 3mm in winter
Here's the list and the surpises:
Kleber Quadraxer - my all round favourite, but steadily becoming more expensive as their popularity grows. Good tyre wear and good grip in snow, great on gravelly roads and quite acceptable all year round. Had them on Saab and Civic and they rock
Kumho SOLUS VIER KH21 - no where near as good but still acceptable and better value. Not much use with larger BHP
Mastersteel All Weather 225/55 17s - there are still on the Subaru and are great all round... BUT I list the size on this because.... read on
Mastersteel All Weather 205/55 16 - on the Skoda - the worst pair of ditch finders I have ever had the missfortune of having to drive
I shall expand - I had them fitted to the rear of my Skoda and on the way home, in mild rain I had 2 sideways, omne substantial... I moved them to the front, turned off traction control and roughed them up which helped a tad and then drove them for 13,000 miles, They are stilll the worst tyres I have ever had and while looking just like the 1" largers ones on the Subaru, are so bad I would never let my wife drive it. They are gone now. Never ever again. I'd not trust that brand now as I think they got popular and changed compound.
Ling Long Green Max All Season - on the Skoda, excellent in every respect except that they start quite shallow when new, so maybe the factory saves money by using less rubber. However, utterly dependable in all seasons
Good Ride SW608 Winter tyres - these are awesome on the Subaru and not bad in mud either! They have lasted over 30,000 miles in all seasons even though they are close to the end now, I love these. Hard to get in the right size though
now because those Goodrides are so good I then chose
Goodride SW602 All Seasons for the Skoda and they are brilliant. I have no idea about tyre wear yet as they are new on last week but at £40 each for 16" delivered, I ordered another 2 yesterday for when the Ling Longs are down.
Fate Antartika's which were on the VTEC 8000rpm missile and even in Summer they were progressive and smooth to break way. Fate are, again another value steady brand
So, there you have it - lots and lots lots of miles (well over 100,000 between Saab, Civic, Polo, Forester, Octavia) on mid... to cheap..... to ultra budget tyres and so far only 1 really bad cock up WHICH should not have been bad as the previous were so good (and still are)
Now I know many of you spend lots of money on tyres and do you know what? I agree.... it's a good thing to justify, because they are the only 4 things touching the road. But budgets are budgets and my cars are all maintained heavily, with constant fettling. And I have saved a lot of money with tyres that millions of people across Europe trust in snow and ice. And on the whole.. they're right to do so!
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
For many people they don't know better than the brand (or have no luck with a cheap tyre) so they just buy the more expensive options.
I am very good at stating the obvious. Obvious stuff like I have no idea how good I am at things I haven't done yet : ]
How about more sporty driving? Do you think the compounds are now so generic that even if you are cornering or (of course) accelerating like an impressive insect with a lot of moment of inertia value and momentum? Like, pushing a corner?
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Zak33
Fate Antartika's which were on the VTEC 8000rpm missile and even in Summer they were progressive and smooth to break way. Fate are, again another value steady brand
The 2.2TDI was a Beemer engine wasn't it. VTECs have always been petrol and only recently got the DTEC for the diesel engines?
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
PC-LAD
The 2.2TDI was a Beemer engine wasn't it. VTECs have always been petrol and only recently got the DTEC for the diesel engines?
He said he owned a Civic Del Sol which was available with a 1600cc B-series engine, they revved to around the 8k region.
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Hoonigan
He said he owned a Civic Del Sol which was available with a 1600cc B-series engine, they revved to around the 8k region.
My bad, kinda missed it after reading that he owned a diesel civic, would have been nice to have to have a honda 2.2D turb that revved that high though XD
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
Anyone tried the Copper all weathers ? - they are cheaper then the Goodyears and Michelin. My choice is the CrossClimates but the price is getting silly.
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
I use Michelin Cross Climates, that prices are going up but best tyres I have ever bought, I have bought budget in the past from Nankang and Rotella etc and they just haven't been as good, the nankang were lethal in the wet.
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
This thread has been incredibly useful as I'd not managed to find all year tyres for my car 185/55R16 from Blackcircles or similar, so a follow up question: Where are you getting your tyres assuming it's not a local indie?
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
My price/performance tyres (235/45/18) are currently Avons. I have found them to be excellent.
Not surprising when I found them excellent in my last car as well. I have tried Michelin Pilot Sport 4's and wasn't impressed as the tread went very quickly and they are very overpriced to begin with (£160+ a corner). I only got 12k miles from them (I'm not a sporty driver).
I would expect at least 20K. Time will tell how much I get out of the Avons. I used to get around 25k in my old Ford. I hope for about 20k now.
I also tried Uniroyal rainsport 3's. Again, found these to be a decent tyre but the softer rubber caused them to wear overly quickly.
I have always wanted to be able to have winter tyres. But my tyres tend to cost a lot. So it isn't economical for me right now. Maybe some day!
But I would highly recommend Avon's.
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
neonplanet40
I have tried Michelin Pilot Sport 4's and wasn't impressed as the tread went very quickly and they are very overpriced to begin with (£160+ a corner). I only got 12k miles from them (I'm not a sporty driver).
I would expect at least 20K.
Yeah, that's not good. Alignment OK? I'm at just over 3mm left on my PS4 fronts after 21k miles.
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
Yes, I had it checked and it was all fine. The middle of my tyre tread wore out quickest. THis was normally mean overinflation. But I have stuck to the recommendations for my cars tyre pressure. I may stick to the low end of that now (i always aimed for the middle)
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
neonplanet40
Yes, I had it checked and it was all fine. The middle of my tyre tread wore out quickest. THis was normally mean overinflation. But I have stuck to the recommendations for my cars tyre pressure. I may stick to the low end of that now (i always aimed for the middle)
likely they warm up more than others and hence the slight over inflation
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
Because I can have tyres fitted locally, for a sensible price with a sensible disposal price for the old ones, I buy all my tyres online from Oponeo
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Millennium
How about more sporty driving? Do you think the compounds are now so generic that even if you are cornering or (of course) accelerating like an impressive insect with a lot of moment of inertia value and momentum? Like, pushing a corner?
the compound isn't as important that the flex, in both tyre wall and the tread blocks.
Winter and All Season tyres don't have solid blocks.. they have micro groves cut in them. Ultimate on the limit grip is, on the whole sacrificed.. but on 75% of them they're much easier to drive quickly as they let go quite gently. Rubbish for flat out lap times, but quite nice daily and safely on roads.
With the exception of the bad tyres.... which were just utterly dire!
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
this photo shows what I mean
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/public/...ide-SW-608.jpg
thats a Good Ride SW608 and I quite quite like them
Each tyre tread block is split by numerous small zigzag slits to allow them to flex around snow.
it does mean that they wear a little faster and than they flex on aggresive cornering, and aren't as sharp as normal solid block tyres. But it's quite easy to adapt.
Re: Bargain tyres - I've been testing now (for many years)
Quote:
Originally Posted by
neonplanet40
My price/performance tyres (235/45/18) are currently Avons. I have found them to be excellent.
Likewise.
I've run Avons on my bikes for ages, trying various different models and always found them to be well worth the money.
Found the Avon ZV7 for the car in 205/55 R16 V, highly rated for wet grip and longevity, so slapped some o' them on and have been very happy.