Tyres - which brand

alastairq

Vredestein are a good make.....a bit under-rated IMVHO....available online from MyTyres {I think] in Hull.

However, tyre performance really is much of a muchness..... stopping ability really doesn't amount to much since for an average motorist too many other factors come into play.[including, how many miles that super-stopper tyre has done when the driver suddenly gets caught out because they weren't observing and anticipating properly?]

Providing one's driving style does not push one's car too near it's limits......ie one drives within the law.........then even the cheapest generally-available budget tyres are perfectly adequate. To be sold, they have to comply with minimum standards,etc...and many budget tyres are made by the big-name manufacturers anyway.

Regarding mileages....I fitted a pair of Colway remoulds to the rear wheels of my car...they finally wore out after 39000 miles.......at £18 each that's not bad...compared to Michelin's latest, at nearly 5 times as much.

Tyre performances can be vastly improved by changing driving styles, and ensuring one's steering and suspension are properly set-up and adjusted.

Regular, and frequent checks on tyre pressures also improve tyre life, and performance.


In the end,'safety' is affected by driver skill......not how big the chequebook is........you don't 'buy' safety.

mikey72

alastairq wrote: »

Vredestein are a good make.....a bit under-rated IMVHO....available online from MyTyres {I think] in Hull.

However, tyre performance really is much of a muchness..... stopping ability really doesn't amount to much since for an average motorist too many other factors come into play.[including, how many miles that super-stopper tyre has done when the driver suddenly gets caught out because they weren't observing and anticipating properly?]

Providing one's driving style does not push one's car too near it's limits......ie one drives within the law.........then even the cheapest generally-available budget tyres are perfectly adequate. To be sold, they have to comply with minimum standards,etc...and many budget tyres are made by the big-name manufacturers anyway.

Regarding mileages....I fitted a pair of Colway remoulds to the rear wheels of my car...they finally wore out after 39000 miles.......at £18 each that's not bad...compared to Michelin's latest, at nearly 5 times as much.

Tyre performances can be vastly improved by changing driving styles, and ensuring one's steering and suspension are properly set-up and adjusted.

Regular, and frequent checks on tyre pressures also improve tyre life, and performance.


In the end,'safety' is affected by driver skill......not how big the chequebook is........you don't 'buy' safety.

You buy ' grip ' though.

alastairq

You buy ' grip ' though.

If you have to rely on the tyres 'gripping'', then the driver is doing something wrong.

'grip' can be had from the cheapest remoulds.......often because the remould manufacturer uses a softer compound...which provides more grip.

However, if a driver has every intention of pushing their car to it's limits and beyond, then yes, perhaps that driver needs to spend a small fortune on tyre technology, to keep out of the ditches.

But for normal, everyday, lawful usage, is the extra expense [which wont be fully utilised] be justifiable?

KillerWatt

alastairq wrote: »

In the end,'safety' is affected by driver skill......not how big the chequebook is........you don't 'buy' safety.

Skill certainly plays a large part, but the components that keep you on the tarmac (shocks, brakes, tyres, etc) also have a fair say in the matter.

alastairq

Tyre performances can be vastly improved by changing driving styles, and ensuring one's steering and suspension are properly set-up and adjusted.

Regular, and frequent checks on tyre pressures also improve tyre life, and performance.

from my earlier post?

thescouselander

alastairq wrote: »

If you have to rely on the tyres 'gripping'', then the driver is doing something wrong.

'grip' can be had from the cheapest remoulds.......often because the remould manufacturer uses a softer compound...which provides more grip.

However, if a driver has every intention of pushing their car to it's limits and beyond, then yes, perhaps that driver needs to spend a small fortune on tyre technology, to keep out of the ditches.

But for normal, everyday, lawful usage, is the extra expense [which wont be fully utilised] be justifiable?

But even a normally sedate driver may need the best performance in some situations due to the actions of other road users. I'd rather have the extra grip just in case - there's no way I would buy cheapo remoulds under any circumstances. The expensive tyres only need to save me once to have paid for themselves.

KillerWatt

alastairq wrote: »

from my earlier post?

I don't dispute any of that, but that doesn't alter the fact that there is no way a cheap remould is going to offer anywhere near the performance of a branded tyre.

As Scouselander has already pointed out, it's not just our own actions we have to be aware of - there are plenty of other idiots out there who we sometimes have to accomodate in order to get from A to B in one piece.

gilbert_and_sullivan

alastairq wrote: »

In the end,'safety' is affected by driver skill......not how big the chequebook is........you don't 'buy' safety.

If you peruse tests you'll find a test of budget tyres, one particular piece of Chinese tat took some 2 to 4 car lengths more to stop in the wet than the best tyres.

We've all been there at least once, all cruising along with reasonable stopping distances on a crowded wet motorway, bang something happens and everyone hits the brakes at full stopping power, i don't drive like a plank (well not all the time) but sometimes things go wrong, a bit of extra grip in the bank is well worth a few pounds.

Incidentally Colway remoulds had a very good compound that gripped well they made a good product, about 30 years ago i had a set of 'Kenprest' (speeling) remoulds on the drive axle of an artic truck, to this day they are unsurpassed in wet grip, you could not get them to lose grip.

alastairq

no way a cheap remould is going to offer anywhere near the performance of a branded tyre.

.......well....what sort of 'performances' are required?

Taking a 'cheap' remould as an example.......[although Colway have now disappeared].......the base carcasses are subjected to such rigorous testing procedures...many more reputable remoulds are in fact, better quality than many named-brand tyres.....

The old Colway company built up a huge reputation supplying remould tyres to those participating in rallies and other forms of motor sport.....I would place a greater faith in a remould from an established maker...than in many a new tyre from one of the big names......

For example, over the past two decades, many big-name tyre makers have fallen foul of inadequate performances from their tyres....[Goodyear, and their Volvo T5 horrors, for example?]


There is much influence from vested interest regarding tyres, etc.

From my personal viewpoint... driving a heavy, large car, often to the speed limit, and maintaining a high average speed......I have no problems riding on cheap...or 'budget' tyres.

Neither does my driving style have a problem with other road users.....I don't get caught out..[anymore.....]........and my driver 'attitude' ensures I wont in the future.


Sounds arrogant, doesn't it?



But it has taken me nearly 30years to improve my driver skills, and another 13 years to understand how driver attitude so seriously influences driver skills....all but two of those years being as a so-called professional driver...ie doing it for a living.......[and to really annoy everybody, I intend to continue doing it for a living up to age 70!]

So yes, I do control my driving environment, and, more importantly, fully accept I still have much to learn.......

Psychobabble

Another Vredestein fan here