What happened to cheap tyres?

grizzly1911

Notmyrealname wrote: »

First hand experience of power sliding out of a roundabout on brand new cheap 185/70x13 "National Tyres 4 for £130" budget tyres in a 1970's classic car with only 78 BHP when it was new. I was driving round the roundabouts at normal speeds only accelerating normally out of the roundabout on a sunny summers day and it wasn't even just the one roundabout. .

My bro used to do that in a Ford Anglia, (think Heartbeat -similar green/blue colour), roll was horendous, wing mirrors touching almost - on crossplys never lost the backend though - then again it probably wasn't 78bhp either.

grizzly1911

jase1 wrote: »

So you don't have an answer for the specific question you quoted then.

I don't disagree that ultra-budget tyres are inferior, but my response is more nuanced than that. Firstly, I've never come across a new tyre that I considered unsafe, just annoyingly limited, and secondly, the truth is that not every budget tyre is built the same. The Maxxis tyres I referred to were in fact the cheapest on the market (fortuitously -- I wouldn't generally buy the cheapest but these have a fairly good reputation), but as they have a softish compound (Treadwear rating of 300) the wet grip is acceptable.

We have some Maxxis on one of our cars (LTD) and they seem to be wearing quickly, you mention treadwear rating 300, is there an index rating tyres v. the treadwear rating v. "average" mileage expectancy?

Previously a company car and Bridgestones only lasted just 20K on 2 sets - Avensis I would be surprised if they make 16/17 to 3mm..

Continnentals on a late reg cooking Corsa lasted a mere 13K.

(EDIT the Maxxis are 400 and the Conntinentals were 300)

Both of these are not driven hard and include a fair bit of motorway.

I don't mind paying a reasonable price for mid range but I just wish they would last longer. Standard FWD vehicles could see 30KF/60KR until perhaps 10 years ago.

Ditchfinders always have to blame something IMO, when it is usually the nut behind the wheel.

In response to the OP sterling has devalued 20/30%, I believe, since 2008 which hasn't helped

Notmyrealname

grizzly1911 wrote: »

In response to the OP sterling has devalued 20/30%, I believe, since 2008 which hasn't helped

Against what currency? Its certainly not the US Dollar which is the most widely used trading currency. And its not the Euro either. Nor is it the Chinese Yuan.

Rik242

Anyway....
The price of steel has gone through the roof,(Thanks to demand from China) as has most metal, steel used in the construction of the tyres.
As was said, oil price has gone skyward, used in the production of tyres.
Raw rubber prices have soared, thanks to India and others realising its value.
Major players in the tyre industry have shut factories or downsized since the economic downturn in Europe.
China is in a trade war with USA therefore they (USA) are having to buy up tyres from around the globe.
And lastly, China is consuming far more than probably any other country, so when you go and buy something for the kids from a shop, have a look and see where it is made and think about it.

And really lastly! You could take 6 tyre test magazines and they would all have different results. The only thing you probably could say is that the premium branded tyres come out better than the cheap imports, which probably come from China. So by buying the ditch finders, you are perpetuating the problem. ( That and the plastic toy crap that you bought from Toys-R-Us for xmas)

Part worn tyres from a scrappie? I value my families life and would rather spend a £1,000 and more than risk their life with a tyre that has an unknown history.

Rant over.

grizzly1911

Notmyrealname wrote: »

Against what currency? Its certainly not the US Dollar which is the most widely used trading currency. And its not the Euro either. Nor is it the Chinese Yuan.

http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates/
1/2008 -/todate
USD 1.965/1.56 21%
CNY14.26/9.9 31%
EURO 1.34/1.18 12%
Taiwan Dollar 63.83/46.71 27%
Swiss Franc 2.18/1.46 33% - just out of interest as I like it there, it was over 3.0 when I first went:(

Edit:- AUSD -32%, NZD -20%, Gold -60%, JYEN -43%

Not surprised at the euro as we are in the EU mess but I don't think we buy many tyres from them.

It is another reason for fuel being high with light crude being roughly the same now as 2008 at 95/105USD/barrel level. Edit - Petrol rose form 90p to 107 rapidly 2007/2008 form which it has increased to 134 or +25%.

http://www.staveleyhead.co.uk/utilities/petrol-prices/

property.advert

People who won't pay for decent tyres should be put off the road for the safety of others, primarily me.

alastairq

property.advert wrote: »

People who won't pay for decent tyres should be put off the road for the safety of others, primarily me.

If drivers cannot cope with me, they should get some more tuition.

It's only fair, after all....when I cope comfortably on my cheapo, everyone-different tyres, with all you other road users, when you lot mess up...especially when you place more faith in your expensive tyres than is wise...?

grizzly1911

property.advert wrote: »

People who won't pay for decent tyres should be put off the road for the safety of others, primarily me.

But if they meet all the EU /BS specifications then why are they not "decent". It is brand marketing.

I don't dispute that if you are trucking around in your festa you need ifferent tyres to a Porshe but that is a different debate.

avantra

property.advert wrote: »

People who won't pay for decent tyres should be put off the road for the safety of others, primarily me.

Please show us the evidence and correctly reference it so your statement can stand scrutinising.

You are simply speaking out of ignorance, which is fine as you are not expected to know the facts surrounding the tyre manufacturing process and the different standards needed to import/make/sell tyres in the EU.

Your knowledge is made of rumors/brand brainwashing and not much else.

Yes, every tyre is different but they all comply with certain standards that combining with the way most people drives their cars will do more or less exactly the same.

Do you know how many accidents are caused by cheap tyres? no, I didn'nt think you do.

What you should so is find out first. My unbased totally private and very generelising guess is that the type of drivers who buy performance tyres do exactly this on the road - they try to perform, so probably some of them wreck more cars than others. Here is a nice task for you to research. You can start here http://data.gov.uk/dataset/road-accidents-safety-data

It's the same type of drivers that use HID to blind other road users and generally keep the distance from other users in inches rather than 10's of feet.

If you drive safe you will be able to avoid almost all accidents despite the rubber.

jase1

Notmyrealname wrote: »

Tyres, brakes, steering and suspension aren't things you want to gamble on just to save a couple of quid as they're the things that keep you on the road.

I don't. In fact I'm fairly anal about the whole thing. I have been running Toyo T1Rs during the summer on my main car (recognised for their high levels of grip, if not their longevity), and good quality winter tyres ATM. I don't mix'n'match on the same axle and I replace at 3mm. This is far, far more than most people do. I also drive 20k+ per year.

But I'm not naive enough to assume that anything with a recognised brand is brilliant, and anything without is rubbish -- that's a silly point of view and, judging by your increasingly weak responses, I think you know that it is.

I am quite happy to run Korean and Taiwanese (not private-label Chinese) rubber on the second car, as it doesn't get nearly the same amount of high-speed use. But I have to say that the Maxxis tyres are much better than the nasty P6000s that were on there previously and have not exhibited any signs of having dangerous levels of grip.

The worst tyres I've ever used in terms of wet grip were Michelin Energy, and they are a very expensive tyres. They came with the Focus works car, and that thing is a pain in the neck to drive on the tops around rural Durham/Northumberland. But even they aren't dangerous as such -- they just don't allow me to be an idiot in the wet.