Tyres: Budget/Remoulds? Price?

jase1

GolfBravo wrote: »

Let's look at it this way:
Nankang NS2 is a "ultra high performance tyre"
Falken ZE512 is a "budget summer tyre"

So in this particular test the ultra high performance Nankang tyre is only marginally better than an ancient budget Falken tyre.

The Falken tyre recommended in previous posts is ZE912 "premium touring summer tyre".

lol like anyone listens to the blurb on the label.

There's only two important aspects here -- price and performance. The NS2 is 30-40% less expensive than the Avon it narrowly lost to, and 20% less expensive than the Falken it gave a good hiding to.

The ZE912 is a good tyre by all accounts -- I may well buy that one next -- but the OP was initially talking about budget rubber.

Not all budget tyres are poor quality. Would I take off a set of Nankang NS2s if they came with a car I bought? Unlikely.

mikey72

fivetide wrote: »

Ones that can be good are things like Barum which is Continental's budget brand and Kleber which are Michelin by another name and price tag.

5t.

Continental is big in china.

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/com/en/continental/pressportal/themes/press_releases/2_corporation/locations/pr_2011_05_18_hefei_en.html


Here's a worrying extract.




"05/18/2011

• Key milestone for ensuring strategic growth in the Asian tire market
• More than €185 million investment in tire manufacturing plant in Hefei creates approximately 600 jobs
• Annual tire production capacity of 4 million tires

Hefei, May 18, 2011. Today, Continental, one of the leading international automotive suppliers and tire producers worldwide, officially opened its first Chinese tire plant in Hefei, Anhui province. With the achievement of this milestone, Continental is strengthening its position in the Chinese market and ensuring its strategic growth in Asia. “Asia is one of our key growth markets. This investment is another major step into this direction, with which we are significantly enhancing our position in the automotive industry in China and in the Asia Pacific region,” said Dr. Elmar Degenhart, CEO of the Continental Corporation.
Here you can download the press release as a doc-file.

From 2012 onwards, nearly every second car worldwide will be manufactured in Asia, with China being the growth leader. Continental is looking to have an over-proportional growth in China and has expanded its presence in 18 production locations..."


Every second car worldwide made in Asia.....

4 out of every 8 tyres on new cars will be chinese.

And out of the other 4, there is a very good chance a lot of those will be as well.


edit -typo- made in Asia, not china

jase1

mikey72 wrote: »

Every second car worlwide made in china.....

Not quite... Asia is a pretty big landmass, and your summary forgets about Japan, South Korea, India, Iran, Turkey, Malaysia and Thailand, all of whom have significant car-building capacity.

GolfBravo

mikey72 wrote: »

Chinese and taiwanese tyres are getting a lot better in every test they appear in now.

They may get better scores than years ago, but they are still at the bottom of every test I've seen. Tyre technology is constantly improving, so it's not easy for any obscure tyre manufacturer to suddenly beat the big guys.

mikey72 wrote: »

They make tyres for a lot of the big names, (Avon being one) so I would expect them to be up in there with them, as we're starting to se in tests like thiese now.

Avon/Cooper Tyres is hardly a big name, below average tyres.

GolfBravo

mikey72 wrote: »

Every second car worldwide made in china.....

Not yet. Give it another 5 years...

mikey72

jase1 wrote: »

Not quite... Asia is a pretty big landmass, and your summary forgets about Japan, South Korea, India, Iran, Turkey, Malaysia and Thailand, all of whom have significant car-building capacity.

True, my typo, but then a lot of Japanese and South Korean is actually buit in Thailand, and they're looking to expand into Vietnam, and they'll no doubt be sourcing chinese tyres locally.

theloft

Tyre Shopper - easily the best prices and it includes everything except wheel alignment. You can choose a local outfit to fit them and choose the day/ am. or pm. Barum Bravaris 2 are an excellent choice.

BaconandEggs

Thank you all again for the advice. Got the kumho's fitted and well pleased. Nice bloke fitted them down our local independent garage. Valves and balance.

How much would you expect to pay for wheel alignment?

Think this will need to be done as we've loads of speed bumps round here (those mound type ones that you semi-straddle) and the wear pattern on the old tyres appears biassed towards the side closest to the centre of the car.

jase1

BaconandEggs wrote: »

Thank you all again for the advice. Got the kumho's fitted and well pleased. Nice bloke fitted them down our local independent garage. Valves and balance.

How much would you expect to pay for wheel alignment?

Think this will need to be done as we've loads of speed bumps round here (those mound type ones that you semi-straddle) and the wear pattern on the old tyres appears biassed towards the side closest to the centre of the car.

Anywhere from £20 for a basic front-wheel alignment to £100 for a full 4-wheel check.