Cheap tyres, A false economy?

[TS]

I need new tyres on my Vectra (2.0 DTI) in a few months, just doing some research as I know very little.
The car is currently on the original steels with 215/55/R16 97W tyres. They're a few different types (not ideal but it was that way when I bought it).

Kwik fit offers:
£98-150 per tyre. Although they also have one at £58 a tyre, an Arrowspeed N1000. Neverheard of them. Terrible?

The £98 range upwards are mostly names I know.
£98 - Capitol Eco 007, Roadstone Nfera SU4
£108-118 - Goodyear Efficent Grip Performance, Pirelli Cinturato P7, Conti Premium Contact,
£120-122 - Michellin Primacy 3, Conti Premium Contact 5, Dunlop SP Sport 01, Pirelli P7
£150 - Pirelli Conturato P7 ? Haven't we seen this tyre before at £108-118? Not sure whats going on here. Different branches, different prices?

Black Circles do one that £45 a tyre? No named manufacturer (Value Tyre).
£62 - Runway Performance 926
£88 - Kumho Escta SPT KU31
£90 - Kumho I'Zen KW27 (winter tyre)
£92 - Avon ZV5
Some Hankooks, Yokohama, Dunlop, etc.... decent range up to £120 for some winter Goodyears.

Any recommendations?

I only know some of them from bicycle tyres, in that world Conti's are ace (imo), every other 'car manufacturer' making bike tyres is a bit so so.

I don't drive fast or stupidly. I'm surprisingly boring. Most of my mileage is motorway cruising. Average about 4-5.5k annually. The car isn't exactly a looker so how they look doesn't come into it really.

Obviously safety is important but I don't want to pay for super amazing tyres and not need anything as good/expensive.

If my luck is anything like last time I bought tyres (Conti Eco Contact) the car will breakdown and die a few weeks after getting them.

My steels are ugly but I don't really want to spend much money on the car cosmetically. I'm thinking of slapping on some black paint and getting some new wheel trims so they don't look quite so bad. Also Alloys will push my insurance up won't they?

Also can I put skinnier tyres on? Won't that be more fuel efficent?

[ChasR]

Be ready for a can of worms to be opened.

IMO you get what you pay for with tyres. With budget stuff they tend to either not grip so well or last no time at all (to the point where you may as well have gone with the priciest tyre in the first place!). Of course, how many miles you do a year does come into play (I was doing around 40k a year in my Mondeo, so I soon became friends at some points with the tyre fitters!).

On my V6 Mondeo I had the following:

17" in 205/50R17
Goodyear NCT5s :Despite the haters they were OK on grip and they lasted almost 20k on the front.
Kumho KH31s: The grip was poor in comparison (not horrific) but they did not make 10k (they were only £20 a cheaper a corner than the Michies as well!).

16" in 205/55R16
Budgets: OK grip in the dry, poor in the wet, lasted just over 10k. (Around £45;Sun or something was the brand).
Michelin Primacy HPs: Great all round (bar the snow; they are horrific!), and they last around 20k on the front.
Contis: Over 12k on the fronts and they gripped very well.

On a previous car with your size (a B6 Passat 1.9 TDi) I fitted a set of budgets all round (AutoGuard or something like that). They gripped fine in the dry, a little iffy in the wet, and the fronts were down to 4mm (from 7/8mm) in around 4k. I did not even light the fronts up or do anything like that in that car.

[cobblers]

camskill.co.uk/m62b0s291p117355/Nankang_Tyres_Car_Nankang_NS2_Sportnex_Ultra_Sport_Nankang_NS_2_-_205_55_R16_91V_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_E_Wet_Grip%3A_C_NoiseClass%3A_2_Noise%3A_71dB

I've ran Nankang NS2s on everything from a Lupo to a T25 camper van over the last ten years, and I've never had a bad experience (other than wearing a pair out in 800 miles because a blind man set the tracking on my van)

They wear well enough and handle well enough in both wet and dry.

[Colonelk]

Another vote for nankang NS2s

[ChasR]

In his size almost all of the tyres are 'premium' tyres and not sport tyres, meaning that almost anything like NS-2s and Falkens will not be available (although the modern day ZE913 may be).

One more thing, try your local independant tyre fitters, and where most of the taxi drivers go . They tend to be cheaper than anyone else, and near comparable prices online after delivery. A friend of mine has the same sized tyre on his Saab 9-3 and his prices were cheaper all round (my local fitter quoted him £75 for Avon ZV-5s, and £115 for Michelin Primacy HPs).

[BenzBoy]

I've had various super-cheap Chinese tyres and found them to be pretty universally poor, or at least of noticeably lesser quality than branded stuff. I had a set of "Hero" brand tyres on my Golf GTI which seemed to be hewn from granite and coated in teflon. Awful things in the wet.The damn things would not wear out though.

[composimmonite]

Worn tie rods (changed last week) on our Skoda Fabia meant the front tyres wore out quickly on the edge so I replaced them with some budget tyres from local dealer that were the same as the ones coming off. I noticed they were made in China ! However whilst not long lasting due to the tie rod problem they gripped well and were excellent in snow.
I suppose it depends on what you want from a tyre and also how you drive. My wife & I are sedate / careful drivers so don't push tyres to the limit and the cheap ones fitted are adequate for our needs. My Smart, however, has quality tyres that are terrible in snow, grip like glue in the dry but are wearing alarmingly fast and with being ultra low profile are "costafortune" to replace.
I think the expressions is "horses for courses".
Have you considers buying a good set of secondhand wheels & tyres as an alternative to just new tyres as they can be an excellent option ?

[BenzBoy]

I think the main problem with the cheap tyres is that there's a huge variation in things like compound and performance in the wet, but not enough reviews and unbiased information on them, so it's hard to make an informed choice. There are just so many different unknown brands. Places like Mytyres and Black Circles don't even specify the brand on the budget stuff - it's just the cheapest they can get hold of.

[ferny]

If it's a motorway plodder I'd be looking at the tyres which performed best in wet weather and cheap, but not too cheap to give that suck through teeth gut feeling of distrust. On a normal road car you're not going to.notice a great deal of difference.

[DavidB]

I've always used decent brand name part worns, I've never bought new tyres.
I have had cheap Chinese tyres and found them to be terrible - I went from chavvy 17 inch wheels with horrible tyres on my Impreza to standard 16" wheels with Kuhmo Ecsta and the difference was huge!

[espritv8]

I always try to get good brand used tyres from scrap yards saves a stack of cash!

[bobblegut]

Ive had cheap tyres before and they lasted ages , that was because they were rock hard and useless in the wet , so much though that i had to drive like miss daisy . I went for some above the middle of the road dunlops and they are much better .
I do believe you get what you pay for . Its piece of mind as well.

[surprisingskoda]

Those prices you've been quoted, certainly by Kwikfit, seem extraordinarily high.
If nothing is available readily in that size it may be worth looking at the extremely common 205/55/16 for cheaper options.

I've ran many a tyre over the years. Hero are one epically awful tyres, but like Dean I found them to be long-lasting, in a negative way! I've also run Camac and Barum as low cost ok-ish tyres although wet weather performance was not up to much and understeer was increased in both RWD and FWD formats.
Nankang are called "ditchfinders" for a reason and I will not allow them near my cars. Roadstone, Silverstone, ChengShin, Sunny, and anything with "Arrow" in the name all belong in the same bin.
A slight mark above real budget is Accelera. Manys a bad report has been aired about them, but they're grippy, long lasting and well priced. I've ran a lot of these and it does actually please me to see a set on a car when I buy it. Nexen are another brand with poor rep but good quality. By contrast, Michelin for the name they have fill me with dread - wear out in moments, crack between the tread blocks if you park the car up for more than two days, and their "eco" tyre is just a normal tyre with less grip. Not cool.
Always thought goodyear were good until I fitted some to my 540. No grip, no confidence, I'm driving it notably slower since removing worn out Contis. A friend of mine will never run goodyears, this could be why.
Bridgestone, Falken, Pirelli, Federal, Toyo, Vredestein, Dunlop, Hankook all pass the test.
You really, really do get what you pay for, combined with some knowledge of the quality of your choices.
Personally even on small cars I pick good tyres. Even a good part-worn is better than a new cheapy.
My mothers Peugeot 206 has new Pirellis fitted. My Alfa 156 has new Falkens fitted. My M535i had Nexens, my Skodas are mostly Pirellis. You WILL notice a big difference in fitting a good tyre.
I'd be choosing the Kumhos from BC from your choices but as said get down to a local indy and see what they have, but they're default position is normally the cheapest available so make sure to specify that you want "good" tyres.

[notsoswift]

When push comes to shove:
2mt extra stopping (more like 10 in the wet) = guaranteed death vs written of car

[jaykay]

I run hankook on my car as a reccommendation from a friends garage, they all run them too. Seem like a good cheap tyre

[ChasR]

On the few cars I've had Hankook's on they have never lasted long but they have gripped well.

[welshpug]

hankook are o.e fit on a lot of fords now, where pirelli isnt used.

michelin I am personally a big fan off, though have a fill set of contisport 5's on the BMW now, bloomin brilliant wet grip and soo much quieter than the rotalla budgets that were on the front, fuel usage rating are much better on them too.

[omega]

all tyres will have they good and bad points
some will stick well some wont,some last 5 mins some will last 10 years
its up to you to drive to the tyres,if they don't grip well don't drive like a rally driver drive like a nun.

[bobblegut]

My prioritys are grip , noise and wet weather performance , then find something for a reasonable price . Maybe you could try to phone that balck circles place or somewhere similar for advice, guessing they wont be like the normal tyre shop as my converstions usually goe like this -

ME= I'm after some good all round tyres , middle of the road , not to expensive '

Tyre Monkey = Ive got some Micheline A1 turbos , i can do you a deal £250 each instead of £255 .

Me= your a dick .


They never actually listen or suggest what you need , only sell you stuff i guess they are on commision .

[welshpug]

they wont be on commission, just get a larger profit margin on the linglongs than a premium brand.