Tyre advise please

HillStreetBlues

I think I have a slow puncture on NSR so keeping my eye on it.
The tyre in question is a Farroad 165/70 R14  2519 so 4 years old (only found out last week tyres have dates thanks to this forum). Having a quick search it's a budget tyre.
The tread looks good on it and I don't do much mileage so expect the age to decide EOL

Looking at the cost of a puncture repair it's about £27.70.   A new budget tyre is about £50

My thoughts are just get a new tyre as repair is over 50% cost of a new one, but as I know next to nothing about tyres apart from there are 4 of them on a car, so open to views.

Barkin

Get it looked at. If it's damage to the sidewall you won't have a choice, as it can't be repaired. 

Last slow puncture I had was due to corrosion of the alloy around the inner rim of the wheel. Tyre off, 2 mins with a wire brush, bit of gloop around the rim, and tyre replaced & balanced. I think they (small indie tyre place I've used for years) charged me 15 quid. 

Stateofart

A reputable tyre dealer will tell you if it can be repaired or not.  I would probably go new tyre.

tacpot12

Tyres are the only thing that connects your car to the road! They create all the acceleration, steering and braking that your car needs. Please don't risk your life and those of your passengers on a budget tyre. Repairs are fine if done correctly, but I wouldn't repair a budget tyre. I'd rather put the money towards two new tyres for the front where most of the braking and all of the steering happens. 

CliveOfIndia

tacpot12 said:

Tyres are the only thing that connects your car to the road! They create all the acceleration, steering and braking that your car needs. Please don't risk your life and those of your passengers on a budget tyre. Repairs are fine if done correctly, but I wouldn't repair a budget tyre. I'd rather put the money towards two new tyres for the front where most of the braking and all of the steering happens. 

That's sound advice, except for the last bit.  Conventional wisdom is that the best tyres go on the back, counter-intuitive as it may sound (especially on a front-wheel-drive car).

The reason being, if your front wheels lose grip you get understeer, which is reasonably easy for most average drivers to deal with.  If the back wheels go then you get oversteer, which is a whole different kettle of fish, and potentially much more dangerous (especially on a motorway).  Oversteer is much harder to control unless you're very experienced or have had specific training.

This applies to 2-wheel-drive cars - if you've got 4WD then it's perhaps less of an argument.

HillStreetBlues

Excuse the ignorance, but why would a budget tyre be a risk of life?
Totally understand that if getting a old tyre  or retread (if they still do them),  but don't they have to meet certain standards? or is it just a free for all?

Barkin

HillStreetBlues said:

 don't they have to meet certain standards? 

Yup. They do. 

Ectophile

HillStreetBlues said:

Excuse the ignorance, but why would a budget tyre be a risk of life?
Totally understand that if getting a old tyre  or retread (if they still do them),  but don't they have to meet certain standards? or is it just a free for all?

They have to meet certain standards.  But that's a minimum standard.  Cheap "ditch finders" may not grip the road in bad weather as well as more premuim ones.

But, that said, I'm not one for buying the most expensive tyres I can.

Neil49

HillStreetBlues said:

Excuse the ignorance, but why would a budget tyre be a risk of life?
Totally understand that if getting a old tyre  or retread (if they still do them),  but don't they have to meet certain standards? or is it just a free for all?

Let's put this into context. I'm looking to buy some replacement tyres and checked out some reviews including Autoexpress magazine. The results were interesting to say the least. 

In straight line breaking in wet conditions at 50 mph the variation in stopping distance between the best tyre in the review and the worst was a whopping 18 metres (roughly the length of 4 mid sized cars).

So no, they aren't all the same and the review I read has made me think hard about which tyres to buy. 

daivid

I use budget summer tyres and premium winters. My view is that in summer conditions the effect of differences between tyres (provided they are in good condition) is minimal compared to the effects of the driving. Maintain a safe distance and drive to the conditions then you should be fine. If you want to spend the extra for the incredibly unlikely chance of better tyres saving you from a crash that was no fault of your own that's fine by me, though do your research and why stop at tyres: upgraded brakes? adding emergency brake assistance? a spoiler to create downforce?

baser999

Would never skimp on tyres . As @tacpot12 has said, they’re the only point of contact with you and the road so why risk fitting cheap tyres.