are my new cheap tyres safe

ILW

Driving has got rather staid and boring since I started in the mid 70s. Think you did have to be a better driver then to stay on the road in rough conditions.

photome

TysonTheTyreMan wrote: »

Well, the argument that the tyre is being sold and therefore legal doesn't really work for me. Before the EU labelling the manufacturers didn't have any obligation of a minimum security level. Being legal or not isn't the question, security is the real question. Between two tyres the braking distance on wet driving 60mph can be over 30 ft (the length of two cars) longer! I would go for something else, to be safe…

why would you go for something else...have you seen a stopping distant chart for the tyres in question? they may be better than "your something else"

Ultrasonic

OddballJamie wrote: »

Problem with the 'EU rating' is that the tyre companies self rate their tyres.

I've read that before too. Is there really no external check of the results or the test methods? If there isn't, why don't all manufacturers simply claim their tyres are all AA rated? I think there must be something to encourage accurate measurement and reporting...

worried123

nickj wrote: »

if the cost you paid was "a deal" then it doesn't sound like much of a deal for cheap branded tyres , you haven't said what size tyres you got but for Tyre Size 175/65T14 , you could get goodyear, dunlop or continental for around the same price from kwik fit. , unless your car is a ferarri or range rover i don't think it's much of a deal

I agree with you......I am naive about such things....what does a woman know about car tyres....have googled and it seems that for £5 more per tyre i could have got goodyear at kwik fit...as for their `super tracking` the car makes a creaking noise underneath now whenever i get in and out of the car.......think i have been `taken for a ride` slightly but the tyres are on my car now and i cannot afford to replace them....I will know next time..

tommyjj

Unless you drive like a maniac, the only difference you'll notice will be underwhelming wear, fuel economy, and braking distance over a premium tyre.

A contemporary budget Chinese tyre is at least as good as a premium tyre from 10 -15 years ago, and if dangerous would not be on sale.

photome

tommyjj wrote: »

Unless you drive like a maniac, the only difference you'll notice will be underwhelming wear, fuel economy, and braking distance over a premium tyre.

A contemporary budget Chinese tyre is at least as good as a premium tyre from 10 -15 years ago, and if dangerous would not be on sale.

I keep seeing the wear issue posted, I am not convinced that you are right. If a tyre has less grip it may be down to it being a harder compound in which case a cheaper tyre may last longer

If my theory is right then why do posters keep saying they will wear out quicker?

alastairq

IN the past, a Colway remould would typically be a softer compound [than the mainstream tyre whose tread pattern it emulated]...and would stick like blu-tack!

so-called 'premium' tyres imply superior performances in all respects.

History will tell, so-called premium tyres can seriously let one down. [and I'm not talking about when it gets punctured]...witness the debacle a decade or so ago with Goodyear tyres on Volvo T5's? [customer s complaining of tyres shredding after a few thousand miles?]

A lot of 'budget' tyres are actually produced by mainstream manufacturers anyway.

Done so in order to tap into all levels of the tyre market. [like Dacia and Renault?]

Stopping distances are at best subjective, when applied to ordinary, day-to-day driving.

And if someone is driving in a manner that tries to exploit the performance advantages [cornering, stopping distances, etc]....of their tyres, then they are probably failing to exercise 'due care'....or worse.

If it all goes wrong, don't blame the tyres, blame the driver?

Joe_Horner

alastairq wrote: »

IN the past, a Colway remould would typically be a softer compound [than the mainstream tyre whose tread pattern it emulated]...and would stick like blu-tack!

Ahh, the good old Colway remould, that brings back memories Did many happy miles on them back in the 80s at under a tenner a corner about every 10 - 12k miles or so. And they did stick well, didn't they? Comfortable ride and not too noisy either, iirc!

Of course, you always had the (slight) risk of bits of steel belting appearing through the sidewalls if the QC department got it wrong but never had one actually explode :rotfl:

alastairq

Never had a quality control issue with Colways myself....[and I abused them mercilessly when trialling]....Kingpins weren't quite as good.....gawd help anyone on Barums!
Best I had out of a pair of Colways was around 32,000 miles, for a set of snow tyres, on the back of my Volvo. Never saw any snow, to speak of, bought in May....lasted about 3 years.....family begged me not to buy rain tyres....

Hey, what's with this idea that because it says ''tubeless'' on the side of a tyre, one shouldn't fit tubes?


they said tubeless 40 years ago, and no tyre fitter quibbled when asked to fit tubes...so why now?

[I fit tubes for trialling.....run very low pressures for grip, and tubeless go flat if the bead is cracked by a rock]....

Took ages to find a tyre fitter who'd simply 'do what I asked'.....

Sign of the times I suppose?


If you want fun driving, fit narrow tyres.....for even more fun, fit cross-plies?

ILW

Spent a year or so driving an old Suzuki SJ with proper off road knoblies. Once over 40 it was a competition between the gearbox and tyres which made the most noise. Perfectly safe as long as you drive to suit the conditions.
Something many drivers to not seem to understand anymore, they expect the technology to do everything for them.