Cost of 4 tyres and Tracking

mikey72

A bit further west than that, but I was sticking to local landmarks.

Hintza

Empty_pockets wrote: »

Only advice i'd offer is get the best tyres you can afford. They are tremendously important.

Don't necessarily agree with this. Cost does not always equal quality.

Having said that I do agree with the sentiment. Although we are not well served by tyre reviews in this country the Germans are and you can normally figure out what they are talking about even if you dont speak German.

I'm currently going through a Cooper Tyres phase at the moment. Good reviews coming in from Australia and cheaper than some of the bigger brands for my type of tyres.

mikey72

Hintza wrote: »

Don't necessarily agree with this. Cost does not always equal quality.

Having said that I do agree with the sentiment. Although we are not well served by tyre reviews in this country the Germans are and you can normally figure out what they are talking about even if you dont speak German.

I'm currently going through a Cooper Tyres phase at the moment. Good reviews coming in from Australia and cheaper than some of the bigger brands for my type of tyres.

http://www.tyretest.com/

I usually have a quick look on here, it seems a reasonable site.

Mytyres, as it's a german site, have some interesting brands of tyres for sale at times, at decent prices. Probably brands that normally make it to the uk otherwise.
Having said that camskills are good as well.

jase1

Cooper tyres are just what we've always known as Avon = good all-round tyres.

The fact is that, with the exception of a small number of very cheap manufacturers, most tyres are perfectly adequate for the average 1.6l hatchback. Even some budget manufacturers (Federal, Nankang, Khumo, Hankook, Maxxis, Nexen and others) are producing some very creditable products now.

I'd even go so far as to say that, with a few exceptions, even the very cheap tyres are OK as long as you're not stupid with them. I had some "Durun" tyres once -- this is considered one of the worst ditchfinders -- and although they were apt to breaking free on roundabouts in the wet if you pushed them too hard they were still more grippy than a near-bald tyre. The problem with them is, in my view, that because they are marginal even when new, they become a right handful when they are worn out, so I wouldn't recommend them.

So yes, buy the best you can afford but even then do your research -- I have found some quite expensive tyres (Pirelli P6000, Michelin Energy Saver) to be little better (if at all) in terms of wet grip than a lot of budget tyres. On the other hand, a mid-range tyre like the Uniroyal RainExpert or Toyo T1-R is comparable with many much more expensive tyres.

mikey72

jase1 wrote: »

Cooper tyres are just what we've always known as Avon = good all-round tyres.

The fact is that, with the exception of a small number of very cheap manufacturers, most tyres are perfectly adequate for the average 1.6l hatchback. Even some budget manufacturers (Federal, Nankang, Khumo, Hankook, Maxxis, Nexen and others) are producing some very creditable products now.

I'd even go so far as to say that, with a few exceptions, even the very cheap tyres are OK as long as you're not stupid with them. I had some "Durun" tyres once -- this is considered one of the worst ditchfinders -- and although they were apt to breaking free on roundabouts in the wet if you pushed them too hard they were still more grippy than a near-bald tyre. The problem with them is, in my view, that because they are marginal even when new, they become a right handful when they are worn out, so I wouldn't recommend them.

So yes, buy the best you can afford but even then do your research -- I have found some quite expensive tyres (Pirelli P6000, Michelin Energy Saver) to be little better (if at all) in terms of wet grip than a lot of budget tyres. On the other hand, a mid-range tyre like the Uniroyal RainExpert or Toyo T1-R is comparable with many much more expensive tyres.

Cooper bought out Avon, and now have the Avon brand made in China.

Uniroyal are a brand of Continental in Europe, but oddly Michelin North America in the USA.