is there any noticeable difference between tyre brands?

split_second

hi all quick question......

my car went for mot yesterday, failed on a couple of things (mainly odds and ends) one of which was one of the rear tyres was below tread depth and the other rear tyre was close to it. fair enough, they have done 32k miles i shouldnt be surprised, they are pirelli p6000s

i bought continental premium contact 2's when the front ones needed changing, they were a good deal at the time but that was a while ago, about 2-3 years back, i dont do huge mileage or anything.

anyway been looking at new tyres (its going on monday for new ones) but been trying to work out which ones to get, my main concern is being able to stop so have decided if i havent heard of the make, they arent going on, i come from a family of petrolheads so have heard of most normal makes but dont know if i should look for any particular ones. i drive a car that is on 205/55/r16s so there should be plenty of choice, any ideas? thanks

Skulls

I always bought the cheapest, thinking that I was saving money. Since buying my last car which had Michelin tyres fitted as standard tyres I have changed my mind. Finally replaced my rear two tyres last week, 4 years old having done 48,212 miles and still had 3mm tread. cost/mile works out much less than the cheaper tyres that I was happy getting 20,000 miles out of. A few years ago was the first time I had actually changed 2 tyres at the same time and could not beleive how much better the car handled with two new identical tyres on the front. If I can afford it I will in future always change tyres in pairs/fours and put a WELL TESTED branded tyre on my car.

split_second

i had whatever the standard ones were when i bought it, got it as a trade deal, but p6000s on all round and they are only coming off the back now 7 1/2 years later. i wont touch cheap ones either, always been taught not to, even when i had a £500 banger i had kumhos on it

masterlumps

split_second wrote: »

hi all quick question......

my car went for mot yesterday, failed on a couple of things (mainly odds and ends) one of which was one of the rear tyres was below tread depth and the other rear tyre was close to it. fair enough, they have done 32k miles i shouldnt be surprised, they are pirelli p6000s

i bought continental premium contact 2's when the front ones needed changing, they were a good deal at the time but that was a while ago, about 2-3 years back, i dont do huge mileage or anything.

anyway been looking at new tyres (its going on monday for new ones) but been trying to work out which ones to get, my main concern is being able to stop so have decided if i havent heard of the make, they arent going on, i come from a family of petrolheads so have heard of most normal makes but dont know if i should look for any particular ones. i drive a car that is on 205/55/r16s so there should be plenty of choice, any ideas? thanks

perhaps you could ask your petrol head family how to check the tyres first off before worrying about which brand to buy

Strider590

Best bet would be to join an owners forum for your car and find out what they're using.

Car manufacturers spend months and millions of £'s on testing to find out which tyre's give the best performance on particular car..... They then balance up supplier cost versus performance and make a final decision prior to release. So if in doubt, go with what the manufacturer fitted as standard, it probably won't be the best, but it'll come close.

split_second

masterlumps wrote: »

perhaps you could ask your petrol head family how to check the tyres first off before worrying about which brand to buy

i have another thread that explains why i am doing things for myself

split_second

Strider590 wrote: »

Best bet would be to join an owners forum for your car and find out what they're using.

Car manufacturers spend months and millions of £'s on testing to find out which tyre's give the best performance on particular car..... They then balance up supplier cost versus performance and make a final decision prior to release. So if in doubt, go with what the manufacturer fitted as standard, it probably won't be the best, but it'll come close.

the car is 9 years old, and the owners forum goes against everything the manufacturer says and does, the dealers have an awful reputation

rodenal

Premium contact 2's are a good enough tyre, i'd put them on again if they're reasonably priced, other than that you'll need to tell us what the place you're going to use have in stock and also what you're driving.

Very generally speaking hankook evo, kumho ku31's & toyo proxes are the cheapest tyres you want to be buying - in your size they'll be about £60 a corner, I can't stress how poor a tyre I found pirelli p6000's which are normally priced in the mid-range sort of band.

sunshinetours

Wife's car has Pirelli P6's - they are pretty poor on dry and wet grip. Last well though - presumably pretty hard compound

I have Conti Sportcontact 2's on my car during the warmer months and they grip fantastically. Not cheap tyres by any stretch, so if you can fuind on offer go for them

Any tyre with legal tread will be better than you currently have, especially at this time of year

RichGold

I've always had Continentals on my van, I do more than 80,000m a year.
I'm surprised you got your last tyres to last 7 1/2 years. I think I'm right in saysing usually they recommend changing them at least every 5 years due to degradation and perishing of the rubber, still, if they were passing the MOT's I don't suppose there was a problem.

sunshinetours

RichGold wrote: »

I've always had Continentals on my van, I do more than 80,000m a year.
I'm surprised you got your last tyres to last 7 1/2 years. I think I'm right in saysing usually they recommend changing them at least every 5 years due to degradation and perishing of the rubber, still, if they were passing the MOT's I don't suppose there was a problem.

Yep UV light breaks down the compound after time (you can see crazing of the surface) and apparently become more prone to a blow out. Standard advice for trailers and caravans where tyres normally get old before they actually wear out