Car tyres, to buy branded or non-branded?

Herzlos

sevenhills said:

RogerPensionGuy said:

He also talks about a thousand % better, so I take take as at least 10 times better.

I'll obviously draw my own conclusions from his interesting video, but very interesting if I'm driving around a track covered in snow and I definitely listen out for the noises achieved in snow.

Not sure if the video maker gets any kickbacks, but I certainly would not trust a guy on YouTube.

The Tomket Sport and Michelin CrossClimate 2 have exactly the same rating, despite the difference in price, £45 vs £78(C-petrol, B-rain).

Which just shows how little information the ratings have.

Tyre Reviews has covered winter tyres, with Michelin in 1st place and Tomket equivalent in 10th, with pretty different measured characteristics, across all conditions.

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2022-Tyre-Reviews-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm

I'm a big fan of the CrossClimates; They've been on my last 2 cars and I'll probably fit a pair to my new car before the winter. I'd rather pay the extra £33/corner, which isn't that much in comparison to a £20k car.

If it's a cheap car, and you don't drive it in particularly bad roads/weather, then I'd go for cheaper cars.
Given the OP is presumably in a newer BMW given the run-flats, so I'd be inclined to at least go for something mid range from a known brand.

baser999

For what it’s worth I’m another that takes the view that you only have a small square of rubber in each corner that keeps you on the road regardless of your driving style so for that reason would never buy cheap. I’ve fitted Michelin Cross Climates on my past four cars - Subaru Impreza, Forester, Freelander and now a Skoda Karoq, very different vehicles, in different sizes and couldn’t fault them. Dependable in all conditions but for that you’ll have to pay, they’re not cheap but then again not the most expensive out there. Shop around - bought my set from Camskill in April, decent price, Michelin had a cashback deal which pretty much covered for the fitting.

sevenhills

Herzlos said:

Tyre Reviews has covered winter tyres, with Michelin in 1st place and Tomket equivalent in 10th, with pretty different measured characteristics, across all conditions.

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2022-Tyre-Reviews-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm

Are they blind reviews, or does the driver know which tyres he is testing?

SaverRate

Personally, I have always gone branded and chose the tyre based on their grip, noise and fuel efficiency levels. 

I do 25,000+ miles per year and when I changed the tyres from Pirelli to Michelin on my old car I gained an extra 25 miles per tank according to the dash display. I have never really monitored the accuracy of the dash display though.

My current car has a mix of Pirelli and Falcon as thats what was on there when purchased. When they are due for a change I will go for either Michelins or Continentals as thats the best on grip, noise and fuel efficiency levels. 

Disclaimer - I don't pay for my tyres so the cost isn't really an issue for me. However, I do the same for the Mrs' car which we pay for. 

Herzlos

sevenhills said:

Herzlos said:

Tyre Reviews has covered winter tyres, with Michelin in 1st place and Tomket equivalent in 10th, with pretty different measured characteristics, across all conditions.

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2022-Tyre-Reviews-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm

Are they blind reviews, or does the driver know which tyres he is testing?

It's a proper reviewing group, using calibrated equipment on an empty track to measure noise, distance and time. It's as accurate as it's going to be, and it shows that the Tomket tyres take significantly longer to stop than the Michelins in all conditions.

Will a cheap tyre feel different to a expensive tyre, on a normal road? Maybe, but it's only when you're nearer the boundaries you'll notice, like on a track or if you need to make an emergency stop.

Stopping 10m later in an emergency could cost you a lot more than £130.

ontheroad1970

RogerPensionGuy said:

Below is some information on stopping distances in the wet.

Also worth noting tyres are well regulated and show performance levels, obviously with a car on the ramp for one hour, much more profitable using £250 tyres than £90 per corner.

Skoda and VW is a great example of why some of us are happier to pay more for essentially the same item.

Reference punctures, apparently a 14mm sharpe object like a stone or nail is less likely to result in a puncture with a brand new 8mm tread compared to a 1.6mm tread I'm advised. 
.
https://www.firststop.co.uk/why-tyres-are-so-important

More turnover doesn't necessarily equal more profit.  

Robbo66

I have recently changed all 4 tyres on my car, I used the Halfords home visit service and got them to fit 4 x firestones.

Service was great tyres on issues after 5/6 months of use and they were the cheapest fitted tyre for my car I could find at the time

KXL88

For general low speed city driving, the regular braking and perhaps turning performance would be comparable between budget till premium tyres. However the difference may be seen in longevity, wet braking performance and high speed manoeuvre in the wet. Whereas the premium (and most mid range) tyres would be able to stop you in say X meters, those on budget tyres generally will still be speeding along struggling to stop. Difference between an accident and a close call. Eg front car with premium brakes and stops trailing car can't stop in time and collides with front car. 

Likewise in evasive manoeuvre in the wet at high speed, on premium you might be just shaken, on budget it's more than likely be a lot more than just shaken.

Like beer, why do people tend to avoid supermarket beer than the named beers? 

Your tyres are the ones (and brakes) keeping you on the ground so to speak.
Go for premium, else at least midrange (or subsidiaries of premium brands). I would rather have all the grip and control for me to use if and when I rarely need it, than none available to me when I really need it. 

My current tyre is the Pirelli P7 C2 and previously Michelin Primacy 4 which I can recommend both. However before that I had Bridgestone Er300 and Potenza Re050A. The former I don't recommend. So even between premiums there are also better and not as good ones. 

RogerPensionGuy

A slight update. 

I put on the cheapest run flats with wet A, fuel C and noise 71DB.

I'm not a very progressive driver, but on various very wet roads full acceleration/braking and steering these tyres I've now got on are super, MPG increased and will be interesting at what milage they need replacing.

Nobbie1967

RogerPensionGuy said:

A slight update. 

I put on the cheapest run flats with wet A, fuel C and noise 71DB.

I'm not a very progressive driver, but on various very wet roads full acceleration/braking and steering these tyres I've now got on are super, MPG increased and will be interesting at what milage they need replacing.

Good for you, I’m sure they’ll be fine. From the comments on here, you’d think everyone tears around on the ragged limit everywhere rather than driving to the conditions.