Are cheap tyres really that crap?

[AW8]

I have seen the rear Hankooks for £168 per corner on camskill tonight

link clicky here

Personally I would have gone hankook x4 or Falken x 4 rather than spending probably several hundred quid for an end result of mismatched tyres. 

I am used to being asked advice only for it to be ignored - also probably occasionally guilty of seeking advice, getting it and doing my own thing too

[andym3]

I always buy budget tyres and I've never had a problem! I've also found that they don't wear out as quickly as the more expensive tyres aswell! 

[535dboy]

[quote="andym3"]
I always buy budget tyres and I've never had a problem! I've also found that they don't wear out as quickly as the more expensive tyres aswell! 
[/quote]

Bit like insurance and CCTV, you never know how good it is until you need it !

[andym3]

I've used budgets for years! Including hard breaking, breaking in the wet / snow, motorway (high speed driving), long distance driving & snow driving! I do 15k miles a year & yes never had a problem with budget tyres! 

[shadrack]

i had 22" achilles desert hawks on the x5 and drove it like i stole it, they were £75 a corner fitted and never had an issue at all, had 2 sets in 40k miles

[535dboy]

[quote="shadrack"]
i had 22" achilles desert hawks on the x5 and drove it like i stole it, they were £75 a corner fitted and never had an issue at all, had 2 sets in 40k miles
[/quote]

It probably was stolen in yorkshire

[shadrack]

[quote="535dboy"]
[quote="shadrack"]
i had 22" achilles desert hawks on the x5 and drove it like i stole it, they were £75 a corner fitted and never had an issue at all, had 2 sets in 40k miles
[/quote]

It probably was stolen in yorkshire
[/quote]

lol

[sid10]

Best to down grade the wheel size 19" cheaper 18" better still , then you can upgrade the tyres plus you have a lot better choice as with most tyre sizes the more they manufacture in a size the cheaper the price ! Not many cars run on 20" staggered wheels hence the price .
  I run Vredestein xtreme winter tyres in the winter which are fantastic but I think they are going onto a different name now so their maybe some deals on the old stock .

[Shez1878]

Had this debate a while back. Had 4 x Kumho's on my E70 and they've been brilliant.

Cost £600 all in.

[briankerrys47]

[quote="535dboy"]
[quote="shadrack"]
i had 22" achilles desert hawks on the x5 and drove it like i stole it, they were £75 a corner fitted and never had an issue at all, had 2 sets in 40k miles
[/quote]

It probably was stolen in yorkshire
[/quote]Noooooooo he is a 'Yorkshire Lad'tighter than a Ducks a...e

[rj1986]

I've never had a problem mixing brands front to rear tbh.
Last lot on the front (Cooper) don't make anything in that size so had to mismatch last time.

[damian777]

Slight Variation on the subject , but just picked up  a Costco Wholesale brochure re  Michelin Winter Tryes  and the sales pitch re official stopping distances made  me  wince and i quote  ......
" Michelin tyres  show a typical  car travelling at  50 klm /hr  on normal summer tyres  on snow will take  48 metres to stop, but just 24 metres on winter tyres ? "
48 metres to stop from 31 mph  ?  Did they carry out  the test at  St Moritz  on the downhill ski slope ? )
A friend  of mine has  bought his wife winter tyres for her 3 series BMW and he does say the tyres do make a big difference re stopping and turning, not sure about general grip...but i  personally would hope  to stop a bit bloody sooner than 48 metres at 30 mph in my X 5  with normal run flats  and a decent depth of tread as i dont let them go below 3mm .-4mm.  i would guess even allowing for reaction time 20- 25 mts  would be normal ??  The advert  didnt specify if the snow was 5 mm depth or  500 mm !

[X5Sport]

On a dry road the average stopping distance on normal tyres is 23 metres, but that is averaged for all types of cars so some will be shorter with others being longer and if you include ABS then there are other effects.  On a wet road double that and on an icy road then roughly double it again for safety.  Hence the old 'only a fool breaks the 2 second rule' statement pushed so hard decades ago.

48 metres sounds pretty reasonable in those icy conditions, especially if the snow compacts into ice in the tread.  Summer tyres lose grip below 7C whereas Winters are getting good at that point.

Richard

[AW8]

Mindful this is not a winter tyre thread - BUT I can confirm diamaris are not good in snow.

I drove from south coast to east anglia on snow with diamaris a few years back and it was dire. Decents were terrifying and it took me 2 hours to get off the gradient driveway - ( after power sliding across the lawn for 20 mins)

[AVI-8]

"Are cheap tyres really that crap"
Well from personal experience there are cheap and there are cheap, I've used budget tyres in the past on old runabout cars with mixed results, you mentioned Falken, as far as budget tyres go they're one of the better ones, the Pace tyre I've never heard of so can't comment but will say in my experience the cheapest budget tyres can be downright dangerous on a wet road, I bought a set of tyres for my E39  think they were called Wanli ... That was a mistake, opposite lock when powering out of a bend was an everyday experience (yes even with traction control), total false economy also as they didn't last long, and that's another point most budget tyres wear more quickly I've found.

If money is a factor get the best budget tyre that finances allow, and read some reviews, I bought my E53 with Yokohamas which are nearing the end of their life, and will probably replace them with the same as they have grip which is up there with the best, I've got Continental Sports on my Porsche and can definitely recommend them though they're not budget tyres.