"Rapid" brand budget tyres - anyone use them?

bigjl

Exemplar wrote: »

I'll vouch that Nexen are great. In fact they came out very well in the following test: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/60111/tyre-test-2012

They also offer a buyback scheme if you get damage/ puncture.

Saying this I do run Michelin myself as they were on my chav wagon when I bought it and would rather keep them the same.

If I wasn't on a budget at the time I would have rather had Michelin tyres instead of the Nexens. They are winter tyres and I should be swapping over for summer tyres soon, though to be honest they are quiet and wearing well so I may just leave them on all year.

Initial plan was to put a set of Michelin Energy tyres in May, but other things to spend on at the moment, new plan could be, as mentioned, leave them on all year or just get a set of Nexen Summer tyres.

tygar2

Iceweasel wrote: »

There is nothing wrong with run-flat tyres 'per se'.

Most people's first experience of them was Bridgestone Potenza which are truly horrid, I must admit.

But all run-flats are NOT the same - and the technology has moved on a lot from the 1st generation of them.

I'm presently on Continental runflats which are a whole different kettle of fish.

And not that more expensive than old-fashioned (normal?) tyres.

If you do move away from run-flats what are you going to do for a spare - mobility kit? - aerosol-spray can? - space-saver?

Car is a Mini One and currently has Continental Contisport Contact 3s in the front and Pirelli Eufori in the rear.

Main reason for considering non run flats is comfort.
Ride is very firm and juddery due to the large wheel and low profile combination made worse by the neccessary firmness of run flats. We get an amplified feel every bump in the road and sometimes feels like the car skips or bounces sideways rather than absorbing the bumps.

BMW and mini forums seem to generally advise that changing to non runflats to greatly improve the ride.

I was thinking of purchasing and keeping a Slime Smart Repair kit in the boot at all times in case of a puncture.

Has run flat technology improved much over the tyres I already have?

tygar2

AdrianC wrote: »

Of course they do. They're trying to sell you them.

Makes sense. However would they not make more money by recommending a more premium brand?

AdrianC wrote: »

Which is all very lovely, but when their lack of grip becomes clearest is when the extra braking distance makes the difference between a buttock-clencher and an insurance claim. Or worse.

205/45 17
http://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b0s457p0/

Out of that lot, I'd be looking at the £60 Uniroyals if budget is key. But the £83 Michelins aren't THAT much more... I'd bet that the cost per mile won't be dissimilar, either, because the real budget rubbish doesn't tend to last long.

Thanks for the Uniroyal suggestion. I had looked into them especially for the wet weather rating (Rainsport 3). I however found many reviews saying they wear out very fast - possibly because they are softer to achieve that wet weather performance. That wet grip comes at the price of durability. Seems 10000 miles and you might need replacements and at £60 plus fitting each that's about £300. Even budget tyres can last longer than approximately 1 year (10000 miles).

I will look into the other suggestions you made.

Thanks very much

tygar2

Exemplar wrote: »

I'll vouch that Nexen are great. In fact they came out very well in the following test: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/60111/tyre-test-2012

They also offer a buyback scheme if you get damage/ puncture.

Saying this I do run Michelin myself as they were on my chav wagon when I bought it and would rather keep them the same.

Quite interested in this buyback scheme...can you link me to it please?

Thanks

marty2be2000

I've got a pair of "Rapid" brand tyres on the front of my Volvo S60 commuter car, they were on the car when I bought it, the car also has Autogrip branded tyres on the rear. Size is 225/45x17 and I've travelled 2K miles on them in all weathers. They seem fine to me, and I've not come off the road yet or skidded into anything.

bigjl

marty2be2000 wrote: »

I've got a pair of "Rapid" brand tyres on the front of my Volvo S60 commuter car, they were on the car when I bought it, the car also has Autogrip branded tyres on the rear. Size is 225/45x17 and I've travelled 2K miles on them in all weathers. They seem fine to me, and I've not come off the road yet or skidded into anything.

They likely are perfectly adequate.

Perhaps if you were driving fast you might notice some differences and heavy braking in the wet might be worse.

But as I mentioned above if there isn't a significant saving over a tyre like Nexen, an OE Equipment tyre brand, then why take the chance.

If you buy a car with them on, perhaps a matched axles set as mentioned above, then it makes sense to leave them.

In my previous position I had four different tyres and wanted a set of matched Winter tyres.

photome

AdrianC wrote: »

Of course they do. They're trying to sell you them.



I've experienced various by-the-container what-brand-you-want-on-sidewall-sir alibaba.com specials. If ever I buy a car with them on, the first thing I do is replace them with decent tyres.



Which is all very lovely, but when their lack of grip becomes clearest is when the extra braking distance makes the difference between a buttock-clencher and an insurance claim. Or worse.

205/45 17
http://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b0s457p0/

Out of that lot, I'd be looking at the £60 Uniroyals if budget is key. But the £83 Michelins aren't THAT much more... I'd bet that the cost per mile won't be dissimilar, either, because the real budget rubbish doesn't tend to last long.

Not sure I agree with that.

I do agree that budget tyres generally willnot have has much grip in the wet, that is certainly true for ambassador tyres

But isnt one of the reasons for less grip due to the rubber being a harder compound which in turn would last longer than a softer compound used on(in particular) michelins and continentals

wrightk

marty2be2000 wrote: »

I've got a pair of "Rapid" brand tyres on the front of my Volvo S60 commuter car, they were on the car when I bought it, the car also has Autogrip branded tyres on the rear. Size is 225/45x17 and I've travelled 2K miles on them in all weathers. They seem fine to me, and I've not come off the road yet or skidded into anything.

Of course you wouldn't go skidding off the road. Whenever a question is asked about budget anything there are always the 'brand snobs' who come out declaring budgets will cause death, followed by various phrases straight out of the tyre manufacturers such as 'tyres are the last contact with the road why save money on them'

Fact is only you can determine whether they are suitable. As said before read the tyre ratings. You'll be suprised. A lot of budget tyres have better ratings than midrange equivalents and every garage/tyre fitters i've spoke to have all said they use the budgets on their own cars

AdrianC

wrightk wrote: »

As said before read the tyre ratings. You'll be suprised. A lot of budget tyres have better ratings than midrange equivalents

As also said before, those ratings are self-certified by the manufacturers.

When a container-load of tyres being sold through AliBaba.com can have whatever brand the customer wants stuck on the side, I'll let you decide how much worth that carries.

Let's look at the actual running cost of tyres, shall we?

Let's say we're looking at a set of four tyres costing £200. Ouch. £200... But they last for a single 15,000 mile year. So the cost is 1.3p per mile. If the car does 45mpg at £1.10 per litre, then the fuel cost is damn near ten times that. And that's before we calculate the cost per mile of insurance, VED, depreciation, MOT, servicing, repairs...

Tyres are very, very, very cheap. And they could well save a life.

khcomp

'But isnt one of the reasons for less grip due to the rubber being a harder compound which in turn would last longer than a softer compound used on(in particular) michelins and continentals'

In one of my better money saving exploits, I bought a Renault 4x4 with a brand new Accelera spare on it: I found three brand new on Ebay that were an exact match (and 'in date') for £50, fitted them all and ran the car for over three years & 20,000 miles. I then changed for Winter tyres & sold the Acceleras to a friend for his 4x4, they still had legal tread & had been surprisingly good in real snow & off road!