What are the best tyres?

s-j-cooper_2

I need to get a couple of tyres soon and I was wondering what people thought were the best value tyres. I am not looking for budget brands as such, unless anyone knows of a brand that is a good tyre for very little money! I am also not going to be able to afford the really expensive ones.

Thanks for any help anyone can give!

buglawton

Go to the local library and look in the Which? Index for when the last Tyres review was done. Here you get an assessment based on grip, wear, noise etc and of course price. Based in this you can call to get quotes. Write down the Tyre Size on the sidewall before you even call for a quote!

I used this before. Then more recently, needed to get some fitted at a convenient moment. Went to tyre fitting service in the local village and got 2 front Pirellis for a Vauxhall Vectra for £115 total bill. This is better than Costco (membership needed) which is often mentioned as being the very cheapest.

Now, the Pirellis may wear faster but I made a discovery: they are very quiet so have turned my Vectra into a luxury quiet cruiser on motorways now. If you car is a town runabout, get generic no-name tyres it just does not matter. If you do long distances and want to quieten things down, check what Which? has to say about noise on the different brands.

K9cuddles

Goodyears F1's would say cheap.. but I would say excellent value for money!!! Becareful of cheap Eastern made tyres like Nankangs and I think there called Kumo? as they are a softer wearing compound so you'll be replacing them sooner then you think!!!

I've got a set of Pirellis on mine and there rubbish.. haven't even lastest 6 months... Goodyears will be my next purchase!!

vansboy

If you clik on http://www.mytyres.co.uk & make a selection of the size you need, then clik on the brands, they come up with, you can then clik on a roadtest report & get a reasonable idea, about the good n bad ones!!

If you let us know the car you have, other owners may have experience of various tyres & the results - might be worth asking on http://www.honestjohn.co.uk clik Thee Backroom - Discussion in there.

VB

BenL

I read Auto Express and for the last 2 years Vredestein Sportrac2 have won the tests.

I have them on all 4 corners now on my SportKA.

I bought them from mytyres.co.uk. They were just under £100 but I run 195/45 R16 low profiles. Tyres for Mendeos/Focus/Fiestas etc are usually cheaper.

The last 2 I had fitted at the local place cost £24 though due to new tyre disposal regulations so they day.

Ben

must_dash

Bought some new Tyres for my Voyager a few weeks ago and looked at mytyres.net and blackcircles.???, then rang my local TBE branch and guess what... http://img.moneysavingexpert.com/icons/icon14.gif

Spoke to a nice bloke who gave me some good information on what I SHOULD have on the car, and best of all he was cheaper than the two internet sites. Also if I have a problem with them I can go and bang on his door. Same place also did a 'major repair' on my Discovery tyre for £30 (with a guarantee) when elsewhere wanted £120 for a new one.

I will not be going back to the "I quicker than a ..... fitter" shop as they have tried to rip me off tomany times with high prices and poor service.http://img.moneysavingexpert.com/icons/icon13.gif

buglawton

S_a_r_a wrote:

I've got a set of Pirellis on mine and there rubbish.. haven't even lastest 6 months... Goodyears will be my next purchase!!

I went the opposite way - from Goodyears (which only gave me about 15,000 miles on a Vectra) to my very quiet Pirellis. If they really wear out as fast as you say then they won't be on my next shopping list. But I like the quiet performance.

s-j-cooper_2

Thanks for all your advice. I have an Astra (x reg) and the tyre details are: 175 70 R14 T. I have used the SEAT pirelli tyres from kwik fit, not sure how these square up to other brands (after reading about kwik fit, I don't think I will go back there though!).

mytyres seem the cheapest and I like the road test information. I would have to get them fitted by someone though, is that right?

vansboy

I'm not keen on the mail order route, 'cos as you say, the fitting is an 'extra'.

As welll as the cost & messing about waiting for delivery & still having to go to the tyre shop, to get fitted, I doubt if you'd really make a significant saving.

Plus, if you had a problem/fault occour a few hundred miles down the road, you can't just go back to one supplier to complain - it's bad enough the way tyre dealers handle complaints anyway. It usually means buying a new tyre & sending the old one away for 'examination'

Best doo your homework & get the local independent specialist to do a 'deal'!!

VB

withabix

My tip:

Try your local small tyre fitter for price and then wonder why you ever went to Kwik-Sh*t, National etc etc

I use Pirellis on my X-Trail. They have already lasted longer than the Michelins it came with new.

SatanicHare

My mate just fitted a pair of Hankook K105 Ventus Prime to the rear of his alfa 147, swears that there the best mid range tyre he's ever bought, great grip and very little road noise, £50 a corner from Camskill, got them fitted locally