How good are cheap tyres?

[leicesterboy15]

My car is eating through it's tyres at the moment and I have no idea why, everything up front is new and newly tracked but still no joy. Now I need new tyres so rather than buy expensive ones I thought I would go for the cheapest ever just while I diagnose what the uneven wear problem is.

So then I thought I wonder if the average driver would actually be able to tell the difference between cheap and expensive tyres? Can you actually compare different tyres on the road considering there are so many variables?

I wouldn't say I was the average driver (the V8 made me do it officer) but I still wonder how much difference it makes. Hence I am going to take the plunge and get the cheapest ones I can find and boy are they cheap! I found these:

http://www.tyre-shopper.co.uk/ts/sea...e=2354018WL1WX

Yes thats £229.40 (approx $362) for 4 brand new tyres delivered, balanced, valved and fitted!!

Am I or just being sensible? I am about to find out, hopefully I won't be typing from the other side of a hedge next time!

[shogun]

I have had Bridgestone, Pirelli, quite expensive.
Now, since 2 years I am driving Nexen from Korea, no complain. Paid about $50 per tire, plus delivery.We have a speed limit here, max. 100 kmh, I do not feel a difference with normal driving, I am not the extreme driver.
As they say for the WANLI:A quality budget tyre
I checked on a German car magazine site for these Wanli from China: recommended as budget tire.

[compmore]

think the difference shows in the wet.have cheapies on the back of the 540 and its now twice let go in the wet.never did this before these went on.have to b pretty carfefull now when its raining

[leicesterboy15]

think the difference shows in the wet.have cheapies on the back of the 540 and its now twice let go in the wet.never did this before these went on.have to b pretty carfefull now when its raining

Yes I did think that! My timing for this experiment is not great considering we are just going into winter over here. I've got Dunlops all round at the moment and they don't inspire confidence as they are low so hopefully the new ones are better.

[Ross]

You'll be better served buying a used set of quality tires.
I bought some cheapos for the old family van, not the cheapest or worst mind you, and they were utter crap. Noisy and awful to the point of dangerous in the wet. Fortunately they wore out very quickly and were replaced with a used set of GOOD tires next time around.

[Russell]

IMO, buy the highest rated tire for my purpose. In my case it is for commuting. I use the tire rack ratings as a starting point. I look for wet weather plus ice and snow capabilities. BTW, I also have a set of winter tires and wheels.

Tires are critical for safety-be careful.

[ScottyWM]

Wow, funny that you posted this right after I bought new Michelin Exalto a/s tires. Just put them on yesterday. I had bought some much cheaper Uniroyal Tiger Paw tires about 3 years ago (when I was driving this car a lot less) at about half the price of the Michelins. First I bought two for the front... no problems. So 6 months later I bought 2 for the rear. Ever since I got the last two, I've had a vibration. It started out just barely noticeable, but eventually got to be completely annoying. There was an almost constant vibration and noise at the tire rotation. I tried to find which tire it was with no luck (I think because it was 2 bad tires). So yesterday I replaced them all with the Michelins and the difference is like night and day!! The Michelins are so much smoother and quieter - it's amazing. I kept the Uniroyals so I could put them on the E36 (maybe) and they still have a ton of tread on them even though I put around 40k miles on them. I'll probably still end up throwing them away. I wasn't entirely convinced that changing the tires would eliminate the noise and vibration (the car has 80k miles in the control arms now) as I was being advised, so I bought from a place with a money back guarantee. Now I need to go back to them and tell them how completely satisfied I am.

I'll never go cheap on my daily driver again. Now my pickup.... I put $35 Khumos on it, but I drive it less than 2k miles a year.

[Russell]

Wow, funny that you posted this right after I bought new Michelin Exalto a/s tires. Just put them on yesterday. I had bought some much cheaper Uniroyal Tiger Paw tires about 3 years ago (when I was driving this car a lot less) at about half the price of the Michelins. First I bought two for the front... no problems. So 6 months later I bought 2 for the rear. Ever since I got the last two, I've had a vibration. It started out just barely noticeable, but eventually got to be completely annoying. There was an almost constant vibration and noise at the tire rotation. I tried to find which tire it was with no luck (I think because it was 2 bad tires). So yesterday I replaced them all with the Michelins and the difference is like night and day!! The Michelins are so much smoother and quieter - it's amazing. I kept the Uniroyals so I could put them on the E36 (maybe) and they still have a ton of tread on them even though I put around 40k miles on them. I'll probably still end up throwing them away. I wasn't entirely convinced that changing the tires would eliminate the noise and vibration (the car has 80k miles in the control arms now) as I was being advised, so I bought from a place with a money back guarantee. Now I need to go back to them and tell them how completely satisfied I am.

I'll never go cheap on my daily driver again. Now my pickup.... I put $35 Khumos on it, but I drive it less than 2k miles a year.

I have Michelin Exalto a/s on mine. currently I have about 36,000 miles with about 7/32nds left. I will install my winter tires in about 45 days.

[Mr._Graybeard]

I've put about 20K on a new tire Continental has, the Extreme Contact DWS. Unfortunately they aren't available in 15-inch at Tire Rack, so it would require going to plus-one wheels or bigger to use them. The tire rack site says they're made in the UK and Europe, though, so perhaps some different sizes are available over there. I've found it to be a great wet-weather tire, decent light-snow performance, and grippy enough in the dry to be useable at the local road track. It's W speed-rated, and Tire Rack prices them at $99 at 225-55-16. That's only $11 per tire more than the Kumho tire of the same performance class (UHP all-season).

[Tiger]

Always buy highest rated tires... cheap or expensive or anywhere in between. For example... at Tirerack.com USA... there are alot of feedbacks and you can gauge if it is good or bad... in traction, wet performance... and even roid noise. It really helps alot for making up your mind on tires (tyres for you guys) purchases