Tyres - What is the Truth?

mikey72

Lum wrote: »

Ahahaha, those Nissan alloy wheels, which someone in another thread pointed me to, came with 4 different brands of tyre, none of which I'd heard of.. AKR, Solus and two others I forgot. All with different levels of wear and two of them with uneven wear.

21 quid for a set of cheap winter wheels is great, and he was a really nice guy, but I'm so glad I'm not going to be running on these tyres, or buying the car they came off!

Makes you wonder how some people manage it.

I've bought two sets recently, one had two different pairs of tyres, budget, but ok generally, apart from one that looks like it was damaged in the crash that wrote the car off, with tread damage and a buckled rim,and a totally flat, ancient, worn out spare with a good rim. So four good rims for the winter tyres.

Another set for another car had 4 different tyres, some new, one so old it was cracking, good tread on them all, but not a single match between them, from cheap budget to the older premium tyre.

red_eye

Wig wrote: »

Not sure what your point is?

for me 175/65/14

cheap = £28
mid £50
Expensive = £70 - £85

That's virtually half the price.

point is mid is £22 more then the bugits, for the extra piece of mind i'd happily pay that, small price to pay for the safety of my family.

And I have driven with budgets and they were terrible in the wet. Some cant tell the difference because driver aids on cars nowadays disconnect the driver, but there are there.

Lum

Expensive = £70 - £85

Just paid £125 per corner for my Eagle F1s, I could have saved a fiver doing it online, but then had all the hassle of picking them up from the courier's depot in Cardiff, which would probably cost close to a fiver in petrol.

Plus since those tyres are no-longer made, my local place have agreed to order another two for me, and sit on them for a month until I'm ready to replace the rears.

Wig

red_eye wrote: »

point is mid is £22 more then the bugits, for the extra piece of mind i'd happily pay that, small price to pay for the safety of my family.

And I have driven with budgets and they were terrible in the wet. Some cant tell the difference because driver aids on cars nowadays disconnect the driver, but there are there.

But your point totally misses my point that there is no noticeable difference between the two - for me and probably thousands like me.
And there are no driver aids on my car nor any car I have had, except ABS and I've only had ABS kick-in a handfull of times not including snow and ice. I've had my Corsa about 3 or 4 years now and I have never had the ABS kick in, except in snow and ice.

I'm not going to spend double the amount on tyres over my lifetime.

and you said this

the effectiveness of your brakes are dependent on your tyres

Tyres have limited grip, this is shared by accelerating, braking and turning therefore grip used for braking cannot be used for turning. The budgt range of tyres have smaller grip circles http://f1-dictionary.110mb.com/traction_circle.html.

Yes they have to be made to pass a standard premiums exceed the standerd and have a better thread design to remove water.

Which also misses my point and is all totally irrelevant to me given that I can find no difference between the different tyres.

red_eye

Wig wrote: »

But your point totally misses my point that there is no noticeable difference between the two - for me and probably thousands like me.
And there are no driver aids on my car nor any car I have had, except ABS and I've only had ABS kick-in a handfull of times not including snow and ice. I've had my Corsa about 3 or 4 years now and I have never had the ABS kick in, except in snow and ice.

I'm not going to spend double the amount on tyres over my lifetime.

and you said this
Which also misses my point and is all totally irrelevant to me given that I can find no difference between the different tyres.

Sunday driver???

how can you tell that point the a budgit and priemum tyre loses traction? tyres have different levels of grip, abs can activate on all types tyres there are a load of veribles at what point it activates hence the grip circles I posted in the idea that it will show low grip tyres have a smaller circle therefore less able to brake and turn.

I suggest you book your self in for a track day I will guarantee you will tell the difference even in a corsa and think "what if" in an emergency.

its your money spend it how you will if buying the cheapest tyre is your thing then good luck on high speed limit roads.

Wig

I never lose grip, simple as that.

I don't use the roads as a race track, I would enjoy a track day, but it would have no bearing on what I experience on the roads every day.

I don't follow the flock of sheep who fall for this brand name marketing carp.

Paradigm

Wig wrote: »

But your point totally misses my point that there is no noticeable difference between the two - for me and probably thousands like me.
And there are no driver aids on my car nor any car I have had, except ABS and I've only had ABS kick-in a handfull of times not including snow and ice. I've had my Corsa about 3 or 4 years now and I have never had the ABS kick in, except in snow and ice.

I'm not going to spend double the amount on tyres over my lifetime.

Which also misses my point and is all totally irrelevant to me given that I can find no difference between the different tyres.

I've got lots of sympathy with Wigs POV...

As I said in my earlier post, my wifes old diesel polo has cheap tyres & she has never had a problem, I've asked!

Her car doesn't have ABS, Traction control or anything else but she still has never had a problem. 99% of her journeys are at sub 30mph in rush hour traffic during sun, rain & snow.

If she was complaining about no grip, not being able to stop etc then we'd look at "better" tyres, but she isn't.

I have no doubt that when steaming down the M1 in the middle of winter Michelins make sense but 15-20 mph in a city centre?? I don't think so.

mikey72

True.
If you drive to suit the road, and aren't constantly surprised by the rest of the road users, you're ok.
If you insist on seeing the speed limit as a target, and hurtle into corners without a care, you probably won't last on premium tyres either.

red_eye

I never lose grip, simple as that.

Something I used to hear from the young in my banger racing days, think there best because their mummy says so "I will never crash, im the best driver in the world" blah blah guess what happens straight into the armco.

I don't use the roads as a race track, I would enjoy a track day, but it would have no bearing on what I experience on the roads every day.

No need to use the road as a track on the roads there are times when you need to take evasive action to avoid an accident sometimes at hight speeds depending on road.
A track day will educate you on the limitations on tyres as well as your driving skills so yes it will have bearing on what you experience everyday as you will know what you and your car are not capable of.

I don't follow the flock of sheep who fall for this brand name marketing carp.

Well done to you! But just because all tyres are made of rubber does not mean thread pattern and ingredients that go into making a tyre have a significant impact on the way it grips and clears water.

I made my point that budgit tyres are crap and mid, high range are way better in grip and the benefits of grip in relation to handling and braking. But im not here to convert you to the world of better grip so stick with your budgets:p

thescouselander

One things for sure - if you need to stop quickly, in an emergency, your choice of rubber can make a lot of difference to how quickly you stop - that difference can be tens of metres in some circumstances. Get cheapo tyres if you must but as they say - you only get what you pay for.