Best tyres for wet grip to stop car slipping

AdrianC

Joe_Horner wrote: »

there's not really such a thing as a "bad" tyre on the UK market anymore

Yes, there is.

If anything, the real cheap and nasty end has got worse - because the AliBaba-by-the-container-what-brand-name-you-want supply chain has got easier.

Richard53

I have always believed the 'no such thing as a bad tyre' remark. Until I got my present car, which came with barely-legal Pirellis on the back and half-worn Evergreens on the front.


Front end grip in the dry is acceptable. In the wet it is truly awful - shockingly bad, to the point where I checked all the steering components for worn joints and loose nuts. Going into a wet roundabout at anything like normal speeds, the front drifts and wobbles all over the place. The rear remains solidly planted, even with tyres just above the legal limit.


So yes, choice of tyre is important. The extra few bob for a decent brand is well worth it.

Joe_Horner

AdrianC wrote: »

Yes, there is.

If anything, the real cheap and nasty end has got worse - because the AliBaba-by-the-container-what-brand-name-you-want supply chain has got easier.

No, there really isn't thanks to the requirements of type approval.

ALL normal tyres legally sold for road use MUST have wet adhesion (between 0.5mm and 1.5mm of standing water) at least 1.1x that of a standard test tyre, measured under a very specific procedure and slowing from 80 to 20 kph (50 to 12.5 mph).

That includes Alibaba specials if they're going to be sold legally for road use.

Richard53 wrote: »

I have always believed the 'no such thing as a bad tyre' remark. Until I got my present car, which came with barely-legal Pirellis on the back and half-worn Evergreens on the front.


Front end grip in the dry is acceptable. In the wet it is truly awful - shockingly bad, to the point where I checked all the steering components for worn joints and loose nuts. Going into a wet roundabout at anything like normal speeds, the front drifts and wobbles all over the place. The rear remains solidly planted, even with tyres just above the legal limit.


So yes, choice of tyre is important. The extra few bob for a decent brand is well worth it.

Yet, I've got Evergreens on the front of my 5 series (and Landsails on the back) and have had no problem at all in Anglesey wet, including in the snowy stuff early 2018.

On the other hand, I did have a pair of (non metric) Michelins on a Montego years ago that were dire but fine when swapped to my mate's Mk2 Cavailer - and the Mondy was fine with the Bridgestone replacements....

Some cars just don't like some tyres, regardless of the name on the sidewall, and in that sense, yes, tyre choice can matter!

AdrianC

Joe_Horner wrote: »

That includes Alibaba specials if they're going to be sold legally for road use.

And who do you think's checking?

[Deleted User]

jimbo6977 wrote: »

I recently bought tyres in this size for a Megane mk1.

Ah I miss my old MK1 Megane bangernomic, it had mismatched tyres on every corner and never left the road.

In fact my current 207 had different tyres on every corner when I got it and I never had this problem until I had the current tyres fitted. So all the haters saying I'm going too fast are just gonna hate.

Joe_Horner

AdrianC wrote: »

And who do you think's checking?

For type approval (unlike the "rating" tests, which are carried out by the manufacturers) an approved third party technical service designated by the Type Approval Authority in one of the member states.

In the UK the TAA is the Vehicle certification Agency and the current approved technical service is Millbrook (also, as a matter of interest, the approved TS for Finland). But approval from other member States is also acceptable so, for example, they may have gained it through TUV in Germany.

It doesn't matter which country it's gained in because, whoever does the testings, the procedure is very clearly laid down - right down to the height of the water nozzles above the track.


eta: As for checking whether they're actually type approved - that's down to Trading Standards but no reputable supplier is going to risk prison by supplying ones that aren't, and consignments of tyres are a little hard to sneak trough customs unnoticed!

Kentish_Dave

AdrianC wrote: »

And who do you think's checking?

Indeed. No-one’s checking each container for consistency, the regulations were never designed to cope with the current method of distribution where you can have your container-worth of £10 per corner tyres supplied with any marking that you want.

OP, you have had plenty of good advice, but despite your assertions, you are driving too fast for the conditions if you are regularly losing grip without intending to.

I’ve Michelin Pilot Sport Plus on my “sporty” car, but even these will lose grip if you do not drive to the conditions.

AdrianC

Joe_Horner wrote: »

eta: As for checking whether they're actually type approved - that's down to Trading Standards but no reputable supplier is going to risk prison by supplying ones that aren't

By george, I think he's got it...

...and consignments of tyres are a little hard to sneak trough customs unnoticed!

Bless. Do you have any idea how many containers pass through the big ports daily?

Joe_Horner

AdrianC wrote: »

By george, I think he's got it...


Bless. Do you have any idea how many containers pass through the big ports daily?

But the disreputable ones are just as likely to sell fake bramded ones as sell fake type approved ones. The answer to that is to avoid disreputable dealers regardless of what they claim to be selling..

The point about the containerloads of tyres is that "a containerload" is rather a lot of tyres, and the importer (along with any subsequent retailers) are criminally liable if / when even one of those is found to carry fake type approval. Given that the difference in cost of producing a genuinely type approved tyre is very little, that gives big risk for little / no gain.

Yes, there are undoubtedly fake approvals out there, just as there are fake branded tyres. But as long as you don't buy from some random ebay seller or untraceable yard under an abandoned railway bridge you're not going to end up with them on your car!

ShandyAndy_2

We used to have Kendas on our old car, terrible in the wet, ended up replacing even though they had about 4mm of tread on them, they used to spin up going up a very steep hill in first and second gear with low revs, not fit for purpose.