Tyres - Premium or Budget?

[C.A.R.]

What's your view on this?

I was quite surprised at the weekend when talking to my father-in-law, he says that "you just get the cheapest you can in the right size" and that tyres are a "false economy".

This has come about because I need some new rubber, and because I'm an idiot and had to have the particular Focus I wanted, shedding the 2 front 17" wheels is going to cost about £160 because I want a decent tyre. I can get budgets for about £50 each.

I was pretty amazed that this opinion is quite common. Is it a sign of the economic times? People skimping on car maintenance and sundries perhaps at the risk of their own safety?

What's your opinion?

And what tyre would be your choice in 215/45/17 size? I've found the cheapest place seems to be camskill. Reviews / experiences welcome...

[Toms306]

I'd get midrange.

Budgets are awful, I've had them on a few different cars........I can't afford Premium though, so midrange seems ideal.

And yeah my Dad does the same as your father in law....he had the cheapest 'Wanli' budget tyre put on the front of his V6 Mondy.......yes only one lol.

[4WayDiablo]

I got some cheapies and tbh if you were a decent driver you should never need to put them or premium tires to the test (unless you do track time)

You should leave enough room to safely stop so no need for the extra grip and you shouldn't hoon it round corners

[Toms306]

You don't have to be hooning, budget tyres in the wet at very normal speeds are shit. Not much difference in the dry tbf though......

[mark_airey]

As its you I will say get budget ones, that and its only going on a Focus! but for anyone else who is less annoying and drives a decent car I would say that it's decent tyres all the way

[Ricky]

My budgets are noisy, and will spin a wheel in a straight line in the wet, in third at half throttle. They are awful.

[C.A.R.]

O/T Mark you've become a lot more irritable since you got married, is your mrs not putting out as much anymore or something?

[mark_airey]

O/T Mark you've become a lot more irritable since you got married, is your mrs not putting out as much anymore or something?

No..........just bored of the noises you keep making in place of helpful and constructive comments

You already know the answer to your question so why even ask, cheap tyres end in a ditch, they don't grip in anything, they last hardly any time at all and are just not worth the hassle!

[ginge191]

Id say go for budgets; firstly, you live in the UK and weather is so unpredictable so if you're going to be spending masses of money on decent tyres, they're going to have to suit the conditions, which in the UK, is random!

[MrsMidnight]

I love the michellin (if that's spelt right?) pe2s I have on mine, can't fault them! Amazing in dry and the wet, don't feel like they'd ever let go unless I pushed the car over its limit tbh

[Toms306]

Heres something to think about though - Would you rather buy brand new budgets, OR part worn (but still 5 or 6mm) premium/mid tyres for a similar price........ I got two goodyear NCT 5s in 16" ballon size for £40, both between 5-6mm. Fitted for a fiver each, and haven't had any issues with them.........

[lewisdmz]

Surely the obvious answer is that you should put on the most expensive tyres you can afford? The difference between cheap and decent tyres could potentially mean the difference between life and death in an emergency situation. You're going to be using the Focus for the little bambino aren't you? No brainer in my opinion.

[C.A.R.]

Exactly, which is why I'm going for something like a Rainsport 2 or maybe those new Hankook tyres if I can find some in stock.

[lewisdmz]

I've had the Hankook Ventus v12 evo on the back of mine for over a year now and they have been solid.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Hankoo...o-k110.htm

[C.A.R.]

They're back in stock now, £72 a corner on special offer. Think I may go for those.

[bigcheez2k3]

Mid-range for me, got TR-1's and Rainsport2's on there atm. Was going to get Parada's when the weather got better, glad I didn't now.

[Eeyore]

im just going to get toyo t1rs or whatever for the next buy. Ive only had to replace 2 tyres in my 3 years of driving. the toyos have good reviews and are a good price for what they are. Also they have a pretty tread pattern!

[Toms306]

T1-Rs aren't as epic in the rain as people say though, I have a pair on my 'clones (with Marshalls on the rear) and they were slippier in the wet than I was expecting though. Having said that, couldn't fault them in the dry!

[puglove]

Surely the obvious answer is that you should put on the most expensive tyres you can afford? The difference between cheap and decent tyres could potentially mean the difference between life and death in an emergency situation. You're going to be using the Focus for the little bambino aren't you? No brainer in my opinion.

This pretty much says it all really! Enough said. Close the thread lol

[Pompey306mark]

I will still go on about P Zero Nero's. Love my tyres. To answer ginge and Phil, you can get good tyres rest work great in most conditions.

Mine are great, Goodyear Earle F1, a few very good Contintenials.

[Niall]

Simple. Best you can afford. Tyres have to be one of the is gle most important things when it comes to safety that you have to replace regularly.

[InkedMuttley]

To be honest as said before unless you're hooning it (like I do - love the twisties round here!) then you can get away with budgets I had Federal Supersteel's on the Mondeo and they wasn't too bad but when they start wearing down they get noisy I had some really shit tyres on when I first got it they must of been budget budget because anything over about 15mph in the wet and on a corner the car just went straight on hence the reason I lost a chunk of my bumper and the whole splitter when the car decided to carry on at a really nasty corner and I ended up going over the kerb and just teetering on the edge of a field!

But honestly if I could afford it the car would be shod with Yoko A048's...mate has them on his Cooper S and they're awesome even in the wet!

[C.A.R.]

That's the thing though, why not buy the best tyres you can if you like your car?

There's literally no point spending money on your car be it a visual modification, paint or a remap / performance mod if you skimp on the tyres. They're the last thing between you and the road and will totally transform the way a car handles, even something as simple as a 1.5NAD.

I fitted some Uniroyals on the back of the Mazda Roadster last summer and followed Nick in his Mini down a really fast B-road. The advantage of the Mini was that he didn't need to slow down due to the cars' really low weight, but with those rear tyres on the Mazda it had more grip than power to overcome it, I took an S-bend absolutely flat-out at somewhere above NSL (had an 8 in it...) and the car felt awesome. Two weeks previous to that the car had Toyo T1rs on, which still had plenty of tread but one had a slow puncture. The Toyos never gave me anywhere near the level of confidence the Uniroyals did.

In the end I swapped the crappy Falkens onto the rear axle because they were easier to un-stick on demand, the uniroyals were too sticky and made the car boring to drive.

[lolsteve]

I don't want to ever put budgets on a car, when I used to drive my mums fiesta she had the opinion of "tyre is a tyre" and so had cheapies all over, one day in the rain on some slighty twisty roads I turned but the car decided the previous direction of movement was a better choice and nearly went and hugged a lampost. Safe to say brown trouser moment

[Niall]

That's the thing though, why not buy the best tyres you can if you like your car?

There's literally no point spending money on your car be it a visual modification, paint or a remap / performance mod if you skimp on the tyres. They're the last thing between you and the road and will totally transform the way a car handles, even something as simple as a 1.5NAD.

I fitted some Uniroyals on the back of the Mazda Roadster last summer and followed Nick in his Mini down a really fast B-road. The advantage of the Mini was that he didn't need to slow down due to the cars' really low weight, but with those rear tyres on the Mazda it had more grip than power to overcome it, I took an S-bend absolutely flat-out at somewhere above NSL (had an 8 in it...) and the car felt awesome. Two weeks previous to that the car had Toyo T1rs on, which still had plenty of tread but one had a slow puncture. The Toyos never gave me anywhere near the level of confidence the Uniroyals did.

In the end I swapped the crappy Falkens onto the rear axle because they were easier to un-stick on demand, the uniroyals were too sticky and made the car boring to drive.

So you've just answered your own question?

[C.A.R.]

What question?

I was asking for other peoples' opinions out of interest, I knew all along what my own opinion was...

[Scott]

What question?

I was asking for other peoples' opinions out of interest, I knew all along what my own opinion was...

I think some people haven't bothered reading you post fully

Personally I'd rather not f*ck about when it comes to tyres, after all they are what's connecting you to the road.

[Niall]

Actually I've changed my opinion. You can buy the cheapest tyres you like. We all know that what's needed in emergency situations is more pots!

[Ruan]

You need bigger brakes in emergency situations, everyone knows this.

On a tyres front, I used to be of the mindset, buy midrange-budget tyres... T1Rs, ZE512s, Proxes 4s, KU11s, KH31s, Parada Spec 2s etc etc... They do offer good levels of grip, however their life expectancy is low on anything with a decent amount of power, or if you drive remotely enthusiastically...

My main gripe is the fact they have wank sidewalls, all of them, Uniroyal Rainsport 2s are the bloody worst of that bunch for that, ace grip, last reasonably for a mid range... But you go fast round a corner and you may as well scrub the rim on the road...

Now I do tend to buy more high end tyres, I've been on Dunlop SP Sport Fastresponses recently and I cannot recommend them enough - especially for the money, I've used Michelin PE2s which are actually f*cking fapworthy tyres - expensive yes, but they completely transform the way the car drives... They lasted the best out of any tyres I've owned, but through all of that I drove like the biggest knob ever, because it drives so well on them...

Shite tyres are a false economy if you like driving... If you want a car that gets from A to B - get a big heavy car on P6000s, Michelin Ecos or Continental Ecos and be done...

[Dum-Dum]

Id rather a good brand part worn than a brand new cheapo.

I try and get the best I can afford without going OTT and I actually find that the better brands last longer so you get better VFM out of them too.