Budget tyres or Premium tyres?

paulfoel

Realistically, how much of a difference is there?

Surely, all tyres meet a minimum i.e. safe standard or they wouldn't be allowed to be on sale?

Not talking about pushing the car to the limit such as cornering as fast as possible, just talking about sensible driving. Not interested if I can go through a corner 0.25 secs faster with better tyres etc.

Generally, I guess, will the tyre not cause car to skid when stopping in the wet etc. Will it slide on ice in a corner.

motorguy

paulfoel wrote: »

Realistically, how much of a difference is there?

Surely, all tyres meet a minimum i.e. safe standard or they wouldn't be allowed to be on sale?

Not talking about pushing the car to the limit such as cornering as fast as possible, just talking about sensible driving. Not interested if I can go through a corner 0.25 secs faster with better tyres etc.

Generally, I guess, will the tyre not cause car to skid when stopping in the wet etc. Will it slide on ice in a corner.

Check out a tyre supplier like https://www.blackcircles.co.uk. They show the different attributes that each tyre has.

Basically they are rated performance in the wet, wear and noise. Theres also customer reviews.

There will be a difference between the cheapest tyres and the most expensive relative to the above, although on an "average" car you may not notice. I would avoid the cheapest of the cheap tyres - they're not nicknamed "ditchfinders" for nothing.

scaredofdebt

I tend to buy Michelin tyres as they last longer than the cheaper ones, so although they cost more it works out about the same over a given time.

Under normal driving conditions you won't notice much difference and if you drive like an idiot even the most expensive tyres won't save you, just as if you drive carefully then even "ditchfinders" will be OK.

If in doubt go for a mid-range tyre.

Iceweasel

paulfoel wrote: »

Realistically, how much of a difference is there?

Surely, all tyres meet a minimum i.e. safe standard or they wouldn't be allowed to be on sale?

Not talking about pushing the car to the limit such as cornering as fast as possible, just talking about sensible driving. Not interested if I can go through a corner 0.25 secs faster with better tyres etc.

Generally, I guess, will the tyre not cause car to skid when stopping in the wet etc. Will it slide on ice in a corner.

There is a significant difference.

There is no minimum standard that a tyre must meet that I know of regards grip/safety.

You guess right - cheapo tyres will take much longer to stop in the wet.

If it's icy - stay at home.

paulfoel

To be honest, I've had goodyear on there before and they wore appallingly quickly. Seemed to be decent tyres but I assumed they were slightly softer and thus wore quicker.

In the past, I've had a merc with continental tyres and they just did not last.

I'd rather have a safe tyre that lasts than a super duper one that I've got to keep buying.

King_Nothing

Last tyre braking test article I read, had something like a difference from the best performing tyre to worst as a difference of nearly 40 metres in the wet. Do you really want to go an extra 40 metres in an emergency brake from 60mph all because you've saved £X ammount each on the 4 things that make your only contact to the road?

I can undertsand there are cheaper tyres that perform better than more expensive ones sometimes, but just because they've all passed the test that enable them to be sold, doesn't make them all equal in all aspects of their safety and performance.

paulfoel

Iceweasel wrote: »

There is a significant difference.

There is no minimum standard that a tyre must meet that I know of regards grip/safety.

You guess right - cheapo tyres will take much longer to stop in the wet.

If it's icy - stay at home.

Really? Surely not....

BTW - noticed tyres are ZR rated. Who decides this?

paulfoel

King_Nothing wrote: »

Last tyre braking test article I read, had something like a difference from the best performing tyre to worst as a difference of nearly 40 metres in the wet. Do you really want to go an extra 40 metres in an emergency brake from 60mph all because you've saved £X ammount each on the 4 things that make your only contact to the road?

I can undertsand there are cheaper tyres that perform better than more expensive ones sometimes, but just because they've all passed the test that enable them to be sold, doesn't make them all equal in all aspects of their safety and performance.

Sure it wasnt more like 15m? I saw one report saying this.

All well and good of course, but I've also seen reports as you say where expensive tyres are as bad if not worse. It seems a bit of a lottery.

Iceweasel

paulfoel wrote: »

Sure it wasnt more like 15m? I saw one report saying this.

All well and good of course, but I've also seen reports as you say where expensive tyres are as bad if not worse. It seems a bit of a lottery.

This video is what I would go by:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2c9Ry0JfMw

or perhaps this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BZfL3iWKp4

or if you're still not convinced:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_j-2W2uZ8c

If you doubt the above just go and buy the cheapest you can find.

Good luck.

Bigphil1474

Check the tyre ratings as motorguy says, and buy the best you can afford for the standard you want. Whilst there may be no specific minimum standard for tyres in general(?), at least you know the ratings are measured on the same standard.

dannyrst

Cue 4/5/6 pages of "Change tyres at 3mm because they don't work after that" and "My mate down the pub said X brand are fine, and they are only £20 a corner".