Chinese tyres - Found some good ones......

I had Riken Tyres on my old p38 Range Rover and they worked really well

Just fitted 4 Blacklion Cilerros to the Astravan,

I want to change the wheels, and all the tyres fitted had tread and looked legal, but all were different and 1 of the 4 was load rated.

It drives better and I’ve not locked a wheel since fitting them, they are a bit noisier, but they are all season, so that’s probably why rather than them being Chinese. And they were cheap, so it was an easy decision

I suspect they’ll wear quicker (but then that’ll help me choose new wheels for it ) but in terms of grip and ride they are fine, I think I’d be happier with cheap tyres changed every 5 years than with older branded tyres (the ones on the van ranged between 7 and 16 years old, and spare was 25! )

My mate (enthusiastic biker and classic mini guy) is very picky with tyres, he highly rated the landsail tyres as well. He was less enthusiastic about the Bridgestone potenza's he put on his Bini Cooper S. He isn't a slow driver lol.

I had matador winter tyres on my golf, they were brilliant tbh. I live in the highest point of Sheffield and never got stuck even on ice.

Ive had ling long (think it means die soon) and winali on a e36 and it was scary! Even at slow speeds you didn't know if it was going to understeer or oversteer.

first thing I do with a new to me used car is bin any budgets for some premiums!

I've used Jinyus and was pleasantly surprised at how good they were.

Good enough for me, M8

*norecommendationlyke

I've found Landsail LS388s to be OK, but not great. they're comparable to a Kumho KU31, maybe slightly worse but LSs are predictable and work well. I have noticed the difference between those and a decent tyre like an Goodyear Eagle F1 or a Michelin Pilot Sport 4.

Brand snob you say? My sister knows nothing about cars but trusts me (mostly). After this you'll say she shouldn't! But even she can tell the difference as a non-car person.

Basically I gifted her my Mondeo 1.8 LX with 324k on the clock. I gave her that on Michelin Primacy 3s. Bar the pace, she liked the car and how predictable it was.

I then sourced a mate's 2007 Saab 9-3 1.8t for her when it turned out the rear main was gone on the Mondeo and that I wasn't going to advise spending alot to change it. She immediately noticed that it didn't drive as well as the Mondeo. I said it was the fact that was a 'vert, but she noticed that it didn't feel as planted in the corners, or just roll as well as the Mondeo. That car went as follows:

-Bought ; 16" ; Kumho KU31 SPTs up front, Toyo CF1s at the rear
-Fitted later; 17: Landsail LS388s up front and Continental CS3s at the rear
-Now ; Above but Goodyear Eagle F1s up front.

When she fitted the Eagle F1s she gave me alot of curse word almost a month as to why the hell I let her drive with sh!t tyres for that long ; her words were 'if I knew they were only £150 for the pair, I'd have fitted them as soon as I got the car! Are you mad or stupid?"

Despite me retorting with "well, they're on there and I'd like to let them live and wear out ; after all, it's a waste to use them despite the tyres being semi-useless", it took me a while to live down with her the fact that I let her go out with dodgy tyres.

I've fitted all sorts and years ago used to avoid the big brands. I also sold cars because I didn't like how they drove after. These include:
-Porsche 944 S2; a car change drove that (company car), but the KU31s were OK on that ; My Turbo on Michelin PS2s was a revelation in comparison ; it really was very (a little too!) confidence inspiring
-Pug 306 GTi-6 ; Went from Courier drivers (not so bad in the dry to curse word in the wet) to Toyo T1-Rs ; it just lost that sharpness
-Mondeo V6 ; Went and KH31s, convinced they were as good as Goodyear NCT-5s ; they weren't and after 10k were fit for the bin.
-M3 ; I thought that was good on the Falken FK452/3s. If the fronts didn't wear unevenly and the rears last more than 8,000 miles with daily driving, I'd have bought them again. The Michelin PS4Ss were a semi-revelation on that car. That is partly reason I once made a late boat back on a wet day . They lasted almost twice as long as the Falkens but they weren't twice the money at all. (£130 vs. £180 a corner back then + less hassle with going to a tyre shop who can actually balance wheels and not torque the nuts tighter than Jordan after a few lines).

I used to convince myself Uniroyals with chocolate sidewalls and other brands were half decent but I was only kidding myself. It's the R&D that the bigger brands put in. Not all of that gets passed down to their other partners. The exception here is Nexen. I really rate them but Jesus they don't last; A set of NBlues got 10k out the front of my W124 250D. Yes really!

These days, I moan about tyres but don't skimp anymore partly due to a few too many close encounters. Maybe it's my driving or the traffic (or both) but I've had some pretty close encounters including:
-Someone just stopping randomly on the M42 slip road because they wanted to rejoin the other part of the M42 going towards the M5 ; Going from 70 to 30MPH in a hurry is not fun!
-Someone on the A46 deciding almost next to me to come into my lane with zero indicating. I almost became a friend with the central reservation that day.
-Someone on the Fosse Way who overtook on a blind corner (near the WEC by the Solar farm for those wondering) and I slammed on the brakes in my Mondeo. Poo did almost come out as I realised I was 5 metres away from having a head-on until the guy went back in at the last second.

Those are just over the last 4 months.

You don't import IRC by any chance? I fancy trying one of their Trials rear tyres on my bike 4.00x18 tubeless, might as well buy from someone on here.

I accept no advice or other peoples opinions on tyres unless I have faith in that persons ability to actually drive and not just commute from A to B.