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Mar 20, 2022 10:35:58 GMT
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When I first started driving/riding in late 70’s I rode a bike for 2 years before doing my car test.I suppose because of that I have always thought about tyres first.Over the years I have tried cheap and expensive.Have always gone back too Michelin for both wear and grip on both cars and bikes. I always did, then tried the Dunlop D207’s properly awesome tyre, unbelievable grip & feedback 😀
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wodge
Part of things
Posts: 455
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Mar 20, 2022 10:47:28 GMT
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My experience of budget tyres is that they are either rubbish in the wet but last forever or good in the wet and last less than 10000 whereas a premium tyre generally is good in the wet and lasts 4 times longer thus making it the same price if you are a long term owner. So it depends on what the car is and how long you’ll keep it for me.
As my son is a skier I generally run 3 peak rated all weather tyres and have found these are 90% as good as good specialist tyres for each season and wear pretty well too. They cost less per tyre than a branded performance summer tyre and now I’m old and vaguely sensible 90% is more than I need.
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misteralz
Posted a lot
I may drive a Volkswagen, but I'm scene tax exempt!
Posts: 2,341
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Mar 20, 2022 11:17:14 GMT
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Agree with Dez, as is often the case. My default now are Vredstein - not mad cheap but not mad expensive, grip well in all weathers and wear well too. Got Bridgestone on one of the more high performance vehicles and they seem fine enough as well. No idea what they're like in the wet but also don't care. Previously had Kumhos which were great except for the cracking within two years, Pirelli which were average and destroyed within 5,000 miles, and Falken 456s which were downright dangerous in the wet. Used to rate Toyo Proxes as well but haven't had them for years.
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Mar 20, 2022 12:00:53 GMT
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I always choose tyres based on the wet grip rating, whether that is as much of a yardstick as its made out to be is probably debatable but for me thats the most important rating. Noise and fuel consumption are far less critical in my view.
I've got 5 year old good years on the front of my daily fiesta and they are due for a change around now, they are already heavily cracked and the car is used daily and has been since they were fitted although it doesn't do a huge annual mileage.
I've got nearly new Avon's on the back and they seem really good.
My wifes car came with Continentals but everytime she touches a pot hole she bursts one and after she has been through 4 of them i've changed to Falkens to see if thats any better, they are wet grip A but one thing to be careful of is I bought them on-line from Halfrauds who tried to palm me off, initally with a completely different non branded tyre because they claimed they had been sent the wrong ones (these are ditchfinders are just as good mate) and when I insisted on the Falkens I had ordered they then tried to palm me off with a lower rated Falken before finally getting what I ordered on the 3rd attempt.
Neither my wife or I do massive mileages and we don't drive above the speed limit (and very rarely on motorways) so good grip and a medium or above brand are what I go for.
When I had my Jaguar S-Type R and did a lot of motorway miles it came on Continentials and it seemed to tramline quite badly, I switched to Dunlop's when the continentals wore out and it was a much better car. I think sometimes certain tyres/brands suit certain cars and certain drivers as well :-)
As mentioned above good tyres are important because they are the only bit of the car that touches the road.
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Tyred of it all.Mercdan68
@forddan68
Club Retro Rides Member 68
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Mar 20, 2022 12:25:12 GMT
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I used to fit Goodyear, Pirelli etc These days I don’t drive like a dick anymore Sometimes my cars may sit for weeks which normally means short tyre life on any make So these days I just buy mid range tyres Also you will find most of those are made by the big tyre firms anyway
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Fraud owners club member 1999 Jaguar s type 1993 ford escort
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Mar 20, 2022 14:27:08 GMT
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Tyres are the one of the most important parts on a car especially when you've made performance enhancements.
When I was 19 I had an Rs1600i which caught me out in light drizzle on a hot road.
There was excess speed involved and I nearly saved it!
Took the front spot lamps off and bent the bumper scraping the front end across a dry stone wall. I was well lucky, didn't even damage the bonnet.
My next car was a mk2 RS2000 and I bought 4 new Motorway remoulds for it. Used to Scandinavian flick it on full send.
Was as good in the dry as it was in the wet.
I believe the kids now call this drifting! 😀
I've now got a Chevette HS which are on 205/60/13's on a 6" rim these are rock hard with old age.
I'm about to fit new tyres and am going for trackday tyres as I need to get used to the extra grip in the dry.
I'm thinking of going to 185/57/13 or 185/60/13's.
Was thinking the 57 profile would take some of the flex out of the sidewall and also reduce the gearing slightly. I know I'll have to be careful in the wet but won't be hooning as I'm older and wiser.
Any opinions on this please?
Thx Ian
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"To Big block or not to Big block?" Thats the question!
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bilkob
Part of things
Posts: 176
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Mar 20, 2022 16:12:29 GMT
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A car’s only contact points with the road. I’m astonished when people scrimp on tyres.
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Mar 20, 2022 16:53:51 GMT
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ive had new cheap ebay tyres of different makes and they have always been fine and on the other hand i bought a set of alloys with Goodyear tyres on them still with the nobble bits on the tyres date code on them made them 18 months old and they where badly cracked between treads goodyear said i would have to buy four more and send them back for a refund on tread that was left as i didnt buy the tyres new i just skipped them and fitted cheap tyres they didnt crack between treads
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Last Edit: Mar 20, 2022 16:57:33 GMT by dickie12
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Mar 20, 2022 23:41:53 GMT
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I have found a huge difference in the grip of a low end to high end tyre.
I've too many cars to go and been through too many tyres to individually go through each one, but I can surmise it a bit.
I've not been impressed by Continental, they just don't seem very good. Michelins are good on grip but don't last a crack. I've had a set start to split after just over a year! Goodyears go hard as they age making them sketchy on a performance car. Dunlop I think are OK. Pirelli I have found to be one of the best premiums, if it's grip and performance you want. Not so good for wear, but this is my choice for a performance car that will be used sparingly.
The tyres I choose to fit are generally these mid-rangers - Toyo, Yokohama, Kumho, Falken and Avon. All of them have been good grip, reasonable in the wet, long lasting and affordable. I've got multiple cars on these brands. I fitted Falken Ziex to my Alfa 156 several years (7/8) ago and the tyres are still not cracked.
Of the budgets, I've had good experience of Accelera, but I've heard much badness. For me they were long lasting and acceptable performance in the wet and dry. I've heard enough bad reports though to be wary. Nankang really annoy me as so many people rate them, but I'm convinced that's because they haven't tried an actual good tyre. I've never driven anything more twitchy than a car fitted with Nankangs, and they were the progenitor of the "ditchfinder" name for good reason. Barum I tried because of their Skoda connection and I was relatively pleased. Not amazing but certainly an upgrade from the absolute junkiest junk. I'd put Riken in this category as well. All the rest of the budget tyres are really just that, and not particularly safe in the wet. I've too many sketchy experiences to recount that can be attributed to each of the basement brands; A-Three-A, Westlake, Sunny, Triangle, et al. I wouldn't fit any of them and I'm wary of any car that has them fitted - invariably a mix of them and varying tread wear on each as well. That to me is just as unsafe - tyres shouldn't be mixed if at all possible.
I do occasionally run a cheaper tyre, if I buy something that has them fitted already, but then I know how to drive and I drive accordingly as well. I wouldn't put budget tyres on anything with any power or speed, or indeed anything I actually like. Or anything, in fact - I've either found some good brand part-worns or waited until I could afford some mid-range or better tyres for anything I have.
As someone else said, there are so many different experiences, and some tyres suit certain cars and certain people as well. There are some absolute no-go's, some premiums that aren't worth the premium, and a whole raft of good (and not-so-good) options in between. My opinion would always be to try and get something mid range, for any car, and any driver. I would always avoid budgets. And if you have a high performance car, fit appropriate tyres. Putting cheap tyres on your expensive/high performance car just reveals an awful lot about you as a person, none of it good.
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slater
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,390
Club RR Member Number: 78
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Tyred of it all.slater
@slater
Club Retro Rides Member 78
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Unless I'm looking for lap times I buy the cheapest of the cheap. They are all perfectly adequate. You never get anywhere near the limit of a tyre driving on the road if you drive appropriately..
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Tyred of it all.slipngripross
@slipngripross
Club Retro Rides Member 149
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In my eyes your are a bit special if you are sticking budget tyres on any vehicle you cherish or even carry family in. Anyone with any common sense knows it the only point of contact to keep an car on the road so you should be getting the best tyres you can afford.
Being in the motorsport and trackday industry tyres are always a popular topic. Generally speaking the most popular road going tyres that are suitable for all weathers are the Michelin Pilot sport and Uniroyal Rainsport. Although the latter has a softer sidewall so not ideal for cars over 1200KG. I run Michelins on my mrs daily, my road rally civic and my Impreza STi RA they generally work out about £500+ per set but they last well and they handle all conditions with ease. My personal opinion is that budget tyres are terrible and should be outlawed.
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jmsheahan
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 682
Club RR Member Number: 121
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Tyred of it all.jmsheahan
@jmsheahan
Club Retro Rides Member 121
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Some interesting reading in this thread. So many variables to give a definitive answer. Whilst it's true they all have to pass a certain level of quality, for me, they are the only point of contact to the road as has been mentioned a few times. I've always bought high mid-premium tyres and have tested quite a few over the years. Even my beaten up sh1tbox of a diesel 306 I used to do 30k a year in had decent rubber on it (probably the most valuable part ). They also kept it out of a ditch on various occasions. I think it massively depends on what car it's on and the size of the wheel/tyre. It's also lot cheaper to buy a premium brand in 15" with a decent sidewall than it is a 18" low profile if you're on a budget. I've always favoured Eagle F1's or Uniroyal Rainsports for an 'everyday' tyre but again it depends on the car. My other halfs Golf came on some brand new Cheap specials which I thought, ah we'll try them for a bit - man they were bad, felt like driving on wooden blocks, they lasted less than a week before being switched over
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Last Edit: Mar 21, 2022 9:11:38 GMT by jmsheahan
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mrbig
Part of things
Semi-professional Procrastinator
Posts: 462
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A few years back my local tyre fitter curse word me over by fitting a pair of Landsails instead of the known brand ones he promised me. (I'd left the car with him to do and needed it urgently for work). Of course he reeled off some Bullplop about them being made in the same factory as a proprietary brand. They were curse word deadly. I had a 150bhp Saab 9-3 1.9TD and it would spin the wheels in 6th gear in the wet just by putting your foot down. I binned them after 4 weeks and replaced with brand new Uniroyals.
I assume Landsail was an erroneous google translation from 'Aquaplane'?!?
My current Passat also came with some horrific unknown brand again and they were suitably lethal. I again replaced them with Uniroyal Rainsports, which are my go-to mid range tyre.
Budget tyres are dangerous IME and should be banned. I've heard people say that you can have them as long as you drive to the conditions, but that's very difficult if the traffic ahead suddenly comes to a stop on a wet motorway.
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1969 German Look Beetle - in progress
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Mar 21, 2022 10:11:45 GMT
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Budget tyres are dangerous IME and should be banned. I've heard people say that you can have them as long as you drive to the conditions, but that's very difficult if the traffic ahead suddenly comes to a stop on a wet motorway. Years ago, I had a a e36 that needed a ful set of tyres & someone local was selling 2 pairs of nearly new partworns (basically new) in the size I needed. Linlongs & Wanli, had them fitted & within 24hrs knew why he had taken them off. Went into my local B&Q in the rain, doing 10mph turned in the car park & went striaght on than then oversteered! I think Ling long means Die soon in chineese. That said, I have had Matador winter tyres for the last 7 years on a Golf & now some on Mrs people carrier & they are actually fantastic. But they are only used for 5 months of the year.
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Mar 21, 2022 10:35:39 GMT
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I usually go for premiums over budget, but generally I'll choose the set that is the quietest and has the best wet grip. Hasn't let me down yet. Normally end up with a supple, long-lasting tyre that returns good fuel economy.
That's about to fall on its face with the Anglia though. I can't actually get 'good' tyres in the size I want any more, so I'm having to pick between a small selection of not-very-good budget tyres. It's a bit like picking which type of poo you'd rather have.
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Mar 21, 2022 11:42:56 GMT
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Luckily for me the largest size wheel I have is 14" but that's also a curse as it's a pain to find decent 185/60/r14 tires for my eunos roadster. Anything ranges from £42 to £108 a tire and honestly for the last 2 years I've been running Uniroyal experts aside from the road noise they've been absolutely ample for me, bit of spiriting driving but nothing major but absolutely hugs the road in the wet only cost me £35 a tire.
However though as I've got new wheels coming I've been looking and hunting down more premium tires and the hunt is driving me absolutely mental. I have come across some Yokohama Advan HF Type D A008S which is a the vintage 80s tyre that's now back into production, whether I should go for it is another matter
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Last Edit: Mar 21, 2022 11:43:26 GMT by blawrence
// CURRENT // 1994 Eunos Roadster 1979 Ford Escort 1600 Sport
Instagram: Retro_Law
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Mar 21, 2022 14:29:59 GMT
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However though as I've got new wheels coming I've been looking and hunting down more premium tires and the hunt is driving me absolutely mental. I have come across some Yokohama Advan HF Type D A008S which is a the vintage 80s tyre that's now back into production, whether I should go for it is another matter Hmm, that's exactly what I've been looking for. Not sure I can stomach £108 per corner though. I'll have to sit on this one for a bit.
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mrbig
Part of things
Semi-professional Procrastinator
Posts: 462
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Luckily for me the largest size wheel I have is 14" but that's also a curse as it's a pain to find decent 185/60/r14 tires for my eunos roadster. Anything ranges from £42 to £108 a tire and honestly for the last 2 years I've been running Uniroyal experts aside from the road noise they've been absolutely ample for me, bit of spiriting driving but nothing major but absolutely hugs the road in the wet only cost me £35 a tire. However though as I've got new wheels coming I've been looking and hunting down more premium tires and the hunt is driving me absolutely mental. I have come across some Yokohama Advan HF Type D A008S which is a the vintage 80s tyre that's now back into production, whether I should go for it is another matter Are you looking for the same size with the new wheels? Loads of options in 185/60R14 over on camskill; (albeit quite a few eco versions) Bridgstone, Kumho, Falken, Dunlop, Pirelli etc. along with all the wibblepoo I would't even fit to my RC car!
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1969 German Look Beetle - in progress
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Mar 22, 2022 10:48:45 GMT
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Thanks for all you input fellas, I appreciate that. The Mustang got re-shoe'd yesterday, and I went for a set of Good Years. My feeling was that in no way should I be fitting some budget tyres like the Ling Longs on my friends M3 as although I don't tend to drive it like I've stole it, I'd still prefer to keep it shiney side up if I can. When I got it it came on a set of BF Goodrich tyres, which were pretty good. When they needed to be changed I went for a set of Falkens on the advise of the tyre shop that was selling me the tyres, and in all fairness, I was going to go for them again as they were pretty good too, however, the tyre shop I now use doesn't sell them. So they suggested a set of Matadors, which they said were almost as good as Falkens. Well, 'almost as good' isn't the same as 'as good as' So I said what about Good Years? My tyre fitting friend said that they're far better than Matadors, and its what he runs on his Vectra. So I asked him what was the price difference, and he told me that it was about £50 per tyre. I figured for and Extra £200 for the set I'd rather splash out. I've had this thing since it was new, and I doubt I'll ever sell it so I might as well spend the money and have the good tyres fitted.
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Mar 22, 2022 12:05:18 GMT
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However though as I've got new wheels coming I've been looking and hunting down more premium tires and the hunt is driving me absolutely mental. I have come across some Yokohama Advan HF Type D A008S which is a the vintage 80s tyre that's now back into production, whether I should go for it is another matter Hmm, that's exactly what I've been looking for. Not sure I can stomach £108 per corner though. I'll have to sit on this one for a bit. After my earlier post I'm just contemplating new rears for my E46 and the cheapest fitted option so far for the Bridgestones I want is £149 per tyre.
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