Budget tyre's?

[Foxspeed]

We had this discussion every other day when I was a member of the 106rallye forum, in the end I got a colleague of mine who was the top chassis engineer at Aston Martin at the time (then went on to be head of wheel design for Rimstock, essentially team dynamics) and is now a design engineer for the company that supply Ferrari wheels (www.apptech.it) to write this as a guide for people.


Bare in mind this was written probably 3 or 4 years ago but the advice is still relevant!...

whilst a good read i think things have moved on a lot and the "gap" on some of the tyres from some makers has closed in on the premium brands.
aston martin wont have the cheaper tyres even on their radar :001_rolleyes:

plenty of tests in magazine where the continentals have won....but these tests were at their testing ground!

is also worth noting that renault have used bridgestone on the megane trophy and gone 9sec quicker.....

what i would also say is the tyres on your motor may give feedback to the driver (thats you) that you actually like when compared to the OE stuff

its still down to the performance/£££ ratio for me

 

[Roy]

As you say written 4 yrs ago companys like Hankook have made major steps forward like the rest of them.interesting read though

 

[Azza]

mmm you slag the hankooks but think the nexens are good.....curious :bounce:

may have something to do with the word "van"...

The reason why I say the Nexens are good is because I've had them fitted to a few cars now - recently on a Renault Laguna DCI 150 and I've found them very good!

Drove a Ford Focus with Hankooks before and that slid everywhere - not my favourite tyre but obviously just my opinion

The vans I'm relating too are VW Caddy's - small car-derived vans so not exactly a Transit and can't comment on the larger vans as my current one is still on Goodyears

 

[Black-hawk]

I think i'm going to give these a whirl http://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b747s1...912_ZIEX_FALKEN_ZE_912_-_215_45R17_91W_XL_TL_ , i'll let you know how they go...

 

[Foxspeed]

The reason why I say the Nexens are good is because I've had them fitted to a few cars now - recently on a Renault Laguna DCI 150 and I've found them very good!

Drove a Ford Focus with Hankooks before and that slid everywhere - not my favourite tyre but obviously just my opinion

The vans I'm relating too are VW Caddy's - small car-derived vans so not exactly a Transit and can't comment on the larger vans as my current one is still on Goodyears

on the commercial side of tyres for small to medium vans there can be large differences and the bigger stuff more so

tyre choice/likes some of it comes down to "feel" of the tyre and what its doing on the road and of course could also be down to wrong tyre pressures!

 

[Roy]

I think i'm going to give these a whirl http://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b747s1...912_ZIEX_FALKEN_ZE_912_-_215_45R17_91W_XL_TL_ , i'll let you know how they go...

Never seen anything about these will be interesting to hear your comments

 

[Roy]

I think i'm going to give these a whirl http://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b747s1...912_ZIEX_FALKEN_ZE_912_-_215_45R17_91W_XL_TL_ , i'll let you know how they go...

What you got on the rear wheels and how much tread you got on them

 

[james_h]

:thumbup:

whilst a good read i think things have moved on a lot and the "gap" on some of the tyres from some makers has closed in on the premium brands.
aston martin wont have the cheaper tyres even on their radar :001_rolleyes:

plenty of tests in magazine where the continentals have won....but these tests were at their testing ground!

is also worth noting that renault have used bridgestone on the megane trophy and gone 9sec quicker.....

what i would also say is the tyres on your motor may give feedback to the driver (thats you) that you actually like when compared to the OE stuff

its still down to the performance/£££ ratio for me

Hi Foxspeed.

Totally agree that 4 years later the 'lesser' brands have closed the gap. I find my self looking at tyres I wouldn't have even taken for free back then.

From people I know in the industry though, Michelin, conti etc are still miles ahead. Michelin spend more in development than probably all the budget brands put together.

On the Aston note, as far as I know Aston had a big contract with Pirell and a couple of other manufacturers whilst he was there. Not sure who their OE fitment is now.

When I next see this chap I'm going to ask him if he can do something more up to date, he has just finished designing the Mclaren F1 wheel for next season! lucky b*stard!!

On the tyre choice I am running Hankook V12's on the front and IMO their bloody awful - looking to switch back to Conti Sport Contact 3's asap. Good alternative could be Pirelli Pzero's but they seem quite expensive.

 

[Paul]

Personally i would never, EVER skimp on such a crucial part of the car. Is it really worth the risk?

+1 :thumbup:

These are the only things keeping you on the road - I like to know they are good! Performance car and budget tyres aren't a good combo.

 

[Arran]

The reviews of the v12s were so good about a year ago when the tyres were brand new, that overlooking them simply on their name was just ignorant. It's like the Korean car manufacturers, they are now producing some seriously good looking and good performing cars. The Koreans seem to be ploughing money in to design and quality at the moment, and it is working. They're selling huge amounts of cars that are beginning to represent a good purchase. 10 years ago how many Kia's were on the road and how many Volvo's were on the road? No it's the other way round, barely any Volvo's and loads of Kia's. It's becoming the same with tyres. Constant improvement has narrowed the gap, so the quality and design are now rivalling the best.

Many car manufacturers are now using Hankook's as the tyre of choice. Ford and VW I have seen.

I quite like Dunlop SP Sport StreetResponce I think they are called, but cost a fortune. I had them on my work van and they were very good. But is the cost worth the only slight improvement over the Hankooks? No IMO. The gap isn't big enough.

Don't get me wrong, there is no way in hell I would buy Sunwell tyres or something someone has made in their shed from melted plastic. These tyres are not designed for performance cars, they are desinged to pass an MOT and that is it.

I guess at the end of the day, the bigger brand tyres will always be better. But the Hankooks are nearly there.

 

[dangerdaz]

At the moment im trying something slightly different. Im running toyo r1rs as an everyday tyre plus intend to use them on track (same set). Really like them on road and rate them highly when i did snett.
No issues in the wet either 8)
The experiment continues....

 

[Azza]

I agree that Toyo's and Yoko S Drives are great tyres even though they are classed as a mid range tyre. Toyo's are soft so give good grip but don't last as long which ain't always a great thing at the price!

 

[Paul]

I was going to do the same with the r1r's when I changed this month, although they are supposed to crack in minus temps. I thought that I would have problems in the winter and didn't want to ruin £600 of rubber.

 

[Black-hawk]

What you got on the rear wheels and how much tread you got on them

It has conti sport3 n/s and conti sport2 o/s about 5mm tread, don't like running different tyres but they've been on since purchase.

 

[sweeney197]

I have Avon zz3s on and to be honest there spot on.

 

[smiler]

I've got conti's on the rear and a really cheap set on the front whoever put them on must've hated driving the car fast because it has nooooo hold on the road whatsoever about 60,plus I doubt it holds well in the rain either only had it a few weeks so I'm getting some conti3's put on on sunday morning

 

[harvey197]

my view is, tyre is the only thing keeping the car on the road, so from a bikers point of view i put on the best i can aford,

 

[dangerdaz]

I was going to do the same with the r1r's when I changed this month, although they are supposed to crack in minus temps. I thought that I would have problems in the winter and didn't want to ruin £600 of rubber.

I thought this too..until i read that it has to hit -9 for that to take effect.
But i will probably get some winter tyres on my speedlines n run them from dec-feb.

Oh n im buying them for 500 a set inc delivery.

 

[N0ddie]

I thought this too..until i read that it has to hit -9 for that to take effect.
But i will probably get some winter tyres on my speedlines n run them from dec-feb.

Oh n im buying them for 500 a set inc delivery.

Where from if you dont mind me asking?

Lol at -9 though. We had -19 last winter :rofl:

 

[dangerdaz]

I was going to do the same with the r1r's when I changed this month, although they are supposed to crack in minus temps. I thought that I would have problems in the winter and didn't want to ruin £600 of rubber.

I thought this too..until i read that it has to hit -9 for that to take effect.
But i will probably get some winter tyres on my speedlines n run them from dec-feb.