Budget tyres or Premium tyres?

red_eye

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.

Some of the budgets have better wet stopping rating then some of the more expensive tyres

DUTR

red_eye wrote: »

Some of the budgets have better wet stopping rating then some of the more expensive tyres

I noticed that too when I was looking, but I guess there is more to the complete story than a few ratings.

Strider590

Found this quite interesting....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca3KmMZ577o

xHannahx

Hubby has always said with tyres he will buy the best he can afford as its all that's between the ton of metal and the road.
For some reason he's got michelins on his car and budgets on mine! The irony was this morning he couldn't get any traction on his car to get out in the ice so he took my car to work and he got out with no problem!

bigadaj

xHannahx wrote: »

Hubby has always said with tyres he will buy the best he can afford as its all that's between the ton of metal and the road.
For some reason he's got michelins on his car and budgets on mine! The irony was this morning he couldn't get any traction on his car to get out in the ice so he took my car to work and he got out with no problem!

He's not been checking your life insurance policies in detail lately, has he?

Joe_Horner

Don't forget that many (but not all) people who advocate premium rubber have always done so because that's what the reviews tell them to - which means they're potentially just repeating press / marketing / other people's bias.

Most (if not all) people who tell you that budget tyres nowadays are generally fine are basing that on actually using them themselves - often for 10s or 100s of k incident free miles.

I'm very much in the second camp but haven't had to do one of these mythical emergency stops that people bang on about since the examiner tapped the dashboard back in 1984. So, to be fair, I can't really comment on their ultimate wet braking because I've never had to use it. In fact, in that time, I've never found the limit of any tyre I've had fitted except when I've wanted to for a bit of fun.

What I can say (from long personal experience) is that budget tyres driven smoothly are more than good enough for today's road conditions because, unless you're a complete nutter and simply corner way too fast, it's sudden control inputs (harsh steering, jabbing the brakes rather than progressive etc) that tends to break grip.

If you're not convinced by that look at someone like Lewis Hamilton (or the various Stigs) on a Top Gear lap compared to the celebs. They hardly seem to be trying - smooth transitions flowing from one corner to the next - but get round much faster and with much less squealy tyre action than the celebs who tend to jerk the wheel round like a dodgem car

force_ten

Joe_Horner wrote: »

Don't forget that many (but not all) people who advocate premium rubber have always done so because that's what the reviews tell them to - which means they're potentially just repeating press / marketing / other people's bias.

I would say buy the best quality tyres you can afford, if you can afford the best then go for it, I have continental sport contacts as my summer tyres as the topped the independent tyre tests at the time of purchase

as for budget tyres I have no real experience and would not buy any of the tyres that are being sold online as a Value Tyre and you dont even know what it is going to be until you rock up to get it fitted, kind of like picking your tyres out of a lucky dip

for many years i ran all my cars with viking tyres on them and they were very good tyres at a mid range price i got some excellent bargains buying vikings off my local supplier, and if they were still available in the UK it is a brand i would still consider

benjus

I had this choice about a year ago and ended up going for midrange - the Falken Sincera SN832 Ecorun. There was a Groupon/Blackcircles promotion on at the time which meant I got all 4 fitted for £140 (it was for a small car). They've been great - lots of grip and not too noisy. They seem to have good reviews online as well.

salubrious

There is a difference of course,

A lot of people justify an opinion on tyre quality from their own preference, which from what I can see is generally dictated by cost.

Not to say budgets are bad tyres, because they are not.

Sam_Fallow

Any tyre is a good tyre if you stay well inside your limits, the car's limits and the tyre's limits.

The only budget tyre I would entertain would be the Accelera Alpha. Had these before on a 3.0 Merc and they were okay.

Next step up would be the Kumho Ecsta. Got a pair of these on the rear of my current vehicle and no complaints. Will Likely put a pair on the front when the time comes.