Technical Buying tyres

[rodduz]

As long as they fit does anything else matter when buying tyres?

 

[Lal B3N]

Speed rating and load rating as long as they are similar to standard spec shouldn't be problem. Not many people actually get anywhere near the speed rating of the tyre.

And that its a top brand is the main one for me, wouldn't bother with anything from Asia. Nankang, accelera, fulda, sava etc all pile of crap.

 

[lordrobs]

I try and go for at least a mid range tyre that I've heard of. Wun Hung Lo budget tyres can be ok, then again they can be rubbish and it isn't worth the risk IMO.

 

[rodduz]

Do you just go to a local garage and say you'll have a mid range kind of tyre? Not top spec but not crap basically? And they will know the score.

 

[Caravadossi]

Start off with your OH - tyre spec is inside rear cover
e.g. 175/65R15 84T or 185/65R15 88T

What are you running on now?

What do you want from the tyres?

There’s 4 tier levels: premium, mid-range, budget & crap.

Don’t ask tyre shop to recommend – they’ll recommend the tyre that wins them prizes or rebates!

As the Chinese tyre importer says “Why would you expect our budget tyres at that price to perform as well as German tyres?”

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[Booth]

Right. People need to realise this. It may sound so obvious, but when you think about it properly, it makes you realise.

What is the ONLY thing that is keeping you on the road?

Your tyres.

Choose wisely.

That is all.

 

[Lal B3N]

Our spot recommends Falkens as a good mid range tyre. Budget is crap and they are truly awful in any signs of damp/wet roads.

 

[rodduz]

Start off with your OH - tyre spec is inside rear cover
e.g. 175/65R15 84T or 185/65R15 88T

What are you running on now?

What do you want from the tyres?

There’s 4 tier levels: premium, mid-range, budget & crap.

Don’t ask tyre shop to recommend – they’ll recommend the tyre that wins them prizes or rebates!

As the Chinese tyre importer says “Why would you expect our budget tyres at that price to perform as well as German tyres?”

111223

All I know is they're continentals and the numbery stuff is...

195/55R16 87H Not that I know what much of that means!

I don't want any awesome grip or handling out of the tyres just pretty much what I am getting now, a lot of mileage would be nice.

Cheers

 

[Lal B3N]

All I know is they're continentals and the numbery stuff is...

195/55R16 87H Not that I know what much of that means!

I don't want any awesome grip or handling out of the tyres just pretty much what I am getting now, a lot of mileage would be nice.

Cheers

I would personally just stick with the Continentals. They are a tad pricey but you get what you pay for. Pirelli and Michelin are also very similar prices which are worth considering. If you dont want to spend that much then consider the Hankooks they offer in that size.

 

[Andy Monty]

195/55R16 87H Not that I know what much of that means!

I don't want any awesome grip or handling out of the tyres just pretty much what I am getting now, a lot of mileage would be nice.

Get the same as what is on the car then

195= refers to the tread width

55= Is the profile (hight of side wall)

R = Radial tyre

16= is the rim diameter eg 16" alloys

84= is the Load index (max weight on the tyre) ((84=500 KG)

H =is the speed rating ((h=130mph)


more info here

http://www.blackcircles.com/general/sidewall

 

[rodduz]

I would personally just stick with the Continentals. They are a tad pricey but you get what you pay for. Pirelli and Michelin are also very similar prices which are worth considering. If you dont want to spend that much then consider the Hankooks they offer in that size.

Okay, cheers. Might give the garage a ring now and see what they got in stock?!

Cheers

 

[Andy Monty]

Ring several and make it clear you are shopping about

when you ring ask for a price for 2 or 4 or what ever your buying

say you want "continental "what ever they are called probably something like premium contact or sport contact " in 195/55R16 87H And make it clear that you are going to be shopping about


Ring up and say "err i want some tyres for my car err they are low profile i think"

They will have your pants round your ankles....


also get a price from these chaps

http://www.mytyres.co.uk/

they have a fully fitted option where you can pay in the price to use one of their fitting agents local to you

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/stationssuche.pl?dsco=110


Then before ordering Ring the fitting station my local one was more than willing to fit my tyres for less than Mytyres were adding on due to all the paperwork they have to fill and the time it took to claim it back from mytyres.... So i ordered them at the Cheaper supplied not fitted price and paid the tyre guy directly in real paper money... he was happy, i was happy ...

 

[rodduz]

Top man Andy that is what I will be doing.

 

[Loocas]

Im running falkens atm, id say theyre as my old contis

 

[middo85]

I've changed from the OEM potenza's to Hankook ventus V12 evo's, which are a mid range tyre and can say they are just as good for half the price

 

[Caravadossi]

Seems likely your on Conti PremiumContact2 87H – obviously premium class, with price level to match. Regarded as a `grand touring’ tyre – so should be good for greater lifespan than a high performance tyre.

But I wouldn’t write-off the mid-range options. I wouldn’t have a problem with fitting Fulda, despite what folks in Cumbria may think – they’re a well-respected mid-range tyre, recommended by German, Austrian & Swiss auto organisations. And given Hankook Ventus Prime are OE fit on the BMW Mini – then they’d be OK with me.

New tyre label list here …
http://www.bettertyres.org.uk/_uploads/buying-better-tyres/summer tyre list.pdf

--------
GP 1.2/8v 185/65R15 88T Fulda EcoControl
Croma 1.9/16v 225/45R18 95Y Falken FK-452

 

[jameshobiecat]

I always find the kwikfit buy online option just about as cheap and hassle free as it gets. I don't think I have ever beaten their prices by ringing around. Just make sure you check the tyre pressures afterwards, they always seem to get it wrong.

 

[Mozella]

....... snip ...............
And that its a top brand is the main one for me, wouldn't bother with anything from Asia. ............ snip .............

I strongly disagree. Yokohama builds some of the best tires in the world. I have many years of experience with their tires on a wide variety of automobiles including small performance cars, huge SUV's and racing cars.

Even though they are more costly than many premium brand tires, I often go out of my way to purchase Yokohama tires, especially back when I was circuit racing. I used them on my rally cars too as did many of my competitors.

True, not all tires manufactured in Asia are good. However, dismissing a tire simply because it is made in Asia makes your advice seem like ................ well ................. (I'm biting my lip to keep from using an unflattering word).

 

[JimbbobW1977]

Im running Vredestein sportrac 3's at the moment. As grippy as my old continental though slightly noisier.

 

[Caravadossi]

I strongly disagree. Yokohama builds some of the best tires in the world. I have many years of experience with their tires on a wide variety of automobiles including small performance cars, huge SUV's and racing cars.

Even though they are more costly than many premium brand tires, I often go out of my way to purchase Yokohama tires, especially back when I was circuit racing. I used them on my rally cars too as did many of my competitors.

True, not all tires manufactured in Asia are good. However, dismissing a tire simply because it is made in Asia makes your advice seem like ................ well ................. (I'm biting my lip to keep from using an unflattering word).

All credibility was lost when mid-range were lumped-in with budgets! A classic example of listening to testimonials without checking-out the authorities of the … 20yo expert(?)

Yokohama seem to have a reasonable reputation – & I’d be keen to try them, but for (as you’ve indicated) the price level. I understand they’re OE fit for the FIAT Freemont - & the preferred tyre of car (& tyre) bible man, Chris Longhurst. There’s perhaps some advantage in selecting out a reasonable tyre brand & staying-with-it. We see so many testimonials from folks arguing how brilliant their budgets are – when two months downstream they’re arguing a case for a different one.

http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible_pg2.html

“… it can normally and quite reasonably be expected that there will at least be some correlation between price and performance. Would one really expect, for example, a well engineered and regulation compliant Vauxhall saloon to outperform an Aston Martin on every measure? The answer is that you wouldn't expect that, so why would you expect a tyre costing so much less than a Michelin or Goodyear brand tyre to match or beat the premium brands in all areas of performance?”
Raif Firebrush, Ovation Tyres (Shandong-Changfeng Tyres)
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