best value car tyres

highguyuk

highguyuk wrote:

Yeah, I looked again this morning and my tyres have shrunk to a 185/65!

Ahem...

It was dark and late ...

Rang around ...

£22 from a local tyre garage for Budget Tyres.
£35 from National Tyres for Bahrains? (On BOGOF) Not sure if that is the right spelling. These any good?

vk2003

tonyfaestoney wrote:

Also take a look at e-tyres here I found them cheaper than blackcircles & a good few others I checked. Best thing about them is they fit at your HOME or OFFICE, which is much more convenient and still cheaper. :dance: :dance: :dance:

I used etyres after they were mentioned on MSE, and found them to absolutely fabulous. They even came out the SAME day and fitted them! Kwick-Kwacks refused to price match them too!

rdwarr

Tyre prices seem to have dropped due to an increase in the number of cheaper brands being imported. I bought my car about six years ago and it takes 245/40/ZR18s. At the time it was impossible to pick up any sort of tyre for below £210 but now there is a big choice below £90.
As the car couldn't live up to ZR speed levels even if I wanted to I'm quite happy with something that will last a bit longer and cost less at the expense of top end performance. I once paid £470 for a pair of Michelins at Costco and they lasted 10,000 miles ("It's the compound, mate.").

highguyuk

So how long should tyres last?

I never knew there was all the speed ratings up until today - learn something new...

le_eswiss

vk2003 wrote:

I used etyres after they were mentioned on MSE, and found them to absolutely fabulous. They even came out the SAME day and fitted them! Kwick-Kwacks refused to price match them too!

etyres is fab. Have used them 3 times in the last 3 years, and everytime they deliver AND fit tyres by the very next day (once on the same day). They have an 0800 number, and the fitters are helpful and experienced.

joshm_2

highguyuk wrote:

It was dark and late ...

Rang around ...

£22 from a local tyre garage for Budget Tyres.
£35 from National Tyres for Bahrains? (On BOGOF) Not sure if that is the right spelling. These any good?

Hi, I think you are referring to Barum tyres, which are Continental's budget brand. Since Contis are highly respected, I would guess that Barums are good too. They have a web site (https://www.barum-online.com).

I do a fair amount of searching when I buy tyres (both on quality and price) and I'd be happy with a set of Barums, for what it's worth. I'd pay the premium for a branded tyre from a well respected firm (in this case Conti/Barum) over a generic budget tyre. When you think of the job tyres do, they are an important factor in safety and handling, so it's best to give quality some consideration.

HTH, JoshM

joshm_2

highguyuk wrote:

So how long should tyres last?

It depends on a number of things, including how you drive, what kind of driving you do, what car you drive, whether you check and keep the pressures correct, and also whether the tyre is a hard or soft compound.

I got over 40,000 miles out of a set of Goodyear NCT3 on my 3 series BMW but that was mostly motorway miles and they were a reasonably hard compound. I checked my pressures regularly too. I think 40K is pretty good going for a set.

Drive like a maniac (hard cornering, wheelspins, etc), don't check your pressures, and run a sfot compound (I remember that Michelin once used quite soft rubber on a lot of their tyres - whether they still do or not I don't know) and you may be lucky to get 5,000 out of them.

At the other extreme, I kow of people who take their cars to track days and can burn through a set (not cheap when you're running a Porsche!) in a day...

JoshM

highguyuk

Yup, Contis make is what he said. Well done for decoding that one!

So if they are Contis, why not call them Contis!? Surely they would sell more if they had that brand name!

If I have to buy 2 new tyres im tempted to go for the Barums ... but if I only need the one there is no point as it is BOGOF at National. Ive got Encoro tyres ATM apparently ... any opinions on these? Best way to see if I need a new tyre? (One has a puncture, not sure about the other. Had a free inspections few months ago who said the back ones wouldnt last alot longer).

Otherwise, it'll be 1 tyre for £22 at the local garage.

speedyjoe

highguyuk wrote:

So if they are Contis, why not call them Contis!? Surely they would sell more if they had that brand name!

Because the sales would impact their premium brand.

Lot's of things are sold by manufacturers on the ridiculous premise of "reasuringly expensive"

Of course the same manufacturers realise that there is a class of customer not at all interested in brand but rather value for money. They want those customers as much as any other.

On the subject of Barum tyres I had a set in the early '90s which were very very cheap but which outperformed the Dunlops I had previously. When I later looked for a set on another car they had gone up in price quite a lot. I see Continental bought the brand in 1993 so that's probably why. If they are still as good I would highly recommend them.

simes

They may be owned by continental, but Barum tyres could be made in a different factory and will definately be a different compound and tread. Continental tyres have varied widely in mileage life ( my sister got only 10k out oh hers on a Renault megane, but my g/f got 36k out of the fronts on her peugeot 307 diesel).

Budget brands often beat the big names in surveys anyway. I would happily fit Barum tyres on my car.