Oli18 Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 Hi there, Right, well it's coming up to my car's annual MOT in January and i am in need of a set of rear tyres for my motor; size 245/45/R18. You can really pay top dollar for a set of tyres and as much as I'd like a set of 'P-Zeros', I just can't justify it especially when my driving characteristics do not command them. I primarily drive my car at stand-still/traffic speed around London (perhaps 10-20 miles a week) with a nice motorway drive to Wiltshire every other weekend. It's not a daily commuter & I don't take it down the track. I would class myself as a relatively safe driver which leaves plenty of space between myself and the car in front. So with that in mind, i set out to find myself some good tyres that were not ultra-budget but atleast good value for money. I've just ordered a set of Kenda Tyres from www.mytyres.co.uk. (I can't recommend this site enough...it's so easy to use and they have a varied selection.) I have read that Kenda, Federal and Maxxis (all taiwanese) are producing relatively good tyres these days at at excellent value so I decided to take the plunge and buy a set. Total cost £71.60 per tyre (inclusive of delivery to my tyre fitter around the corner and VAT). £10.00 per tyre to fit by tyre fitter £ 1.50 per tyre for disposal of old tyres. So, for £166, i'll have 2 new tyres fitted which i thought was astonishing value. I decided against going for Ultra-budget tyres from China as quality seems so varied judging by some of the reports i've come across. Noise is also not an issue for me as i think the double glazing blocks a lot of it and I always have my stereo on. Of course premium brands will work better as they pump a lot more resources in R&D to give you the absolute latest in tyre technology but will brands that lag the market by a year like Kenda be that bad?...they are after all EC tested and the one's i've bought have a 'W' speed rating - apparently being able to safely do 168mph?! I was wondering if anyone else has driven non-premium tyres (so not brands like continental, pirelli, michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone) on their A8 (and non-A8s) and what did they think of it?.. Good move or bad? -Oli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure11 Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 -Oli I followed A8Tony's advice and went with a set of Cooper Zeons. He has good things to say about them. I am very please with them so far. Tony's done 45k on a set! They are not as cheap (approx £110 fitted) as the ones you have but if you only get 22.5K out of them..... so on and so forth. Just a thought. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostKiwi Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 I've used NangKang on my '92 Rangie (and they are fine for that as its really isn't that demanding on tyres) and also on my '99 S70 T5 (dreadful!), Falken on my previous '96 Xedos 6 (good but NOISY), Toyo T1Rs and T1Ss on my T5 (brilliant), Kumho Ecsta 701s and 702s on my S70 T5 (noisy but acceptable and good grip) and Toyo CF1s on our '99 C-Class (excellent and sooo quiet!). You don't need to spend a fortune on tyres but you do get what you pay for to a certain extent. The T1R and T1S Toyos were every bit as good as the Pirrelli P-Zeros in my view (on the Volvo). Not had to change the Audi tyres yet but I am hugely impressed with the Dunlop SP9000s - especially the longevity - 30k miles and still more left!!! On other cars I've used Michelin Pilot Sports (not impressed on the S3), and some other kind of Michelin on a Saab 900 Turbo Se (not impressed). One problem I found with the cheap tyres was they tended to go out of balance quickly as they wore - and they wear quicker too (and in the NangKang case on the Volvo they grip like a greased banana). Maxxis tyres seem to have an excellent reputation - especially on Mountain Bikes and amongst the offroad community. Be interesting to see how you get on. The double glazing is unlikely to help much with road noise as most of that travels through the suspension and chassis, not the glass... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenamesross Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 Based on your driving style you would prob be fine with those tyres. The only question mark would be wet braking but if you leave a big gap you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickGUK Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 Hi, I never went for "premium" brand purley on the cost, yes as you say Michelin etc will probably spend more on R&D, but the cost for some of them is just to much imo. I spent ages looking for tyres whne i fitted the sport 18's. I had to buy 4, so there was no way i would fork out for premium brands. I also bought mine from mytyres.co.uk and there service is second to none and i also spent ages looking at all the tyre tests. I bought Falken FK452's at approx £100 a corner, and they are simply superb in wet and dry, granted a little more noisy than the dunplops that was fitted to the 17's, but i dont know how much more noise is generated because of lower profile and wider tyres. What you will find that a lot of so called "budget" tyres are actually older tred patterns from the premium brands who sell them of to the likes of companys in china. If the tyre carries the correct E marks and speed rating, then it "should" have been fully tested before being allowed to be sold in the UK. Just my thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsYcHe Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 My new wheels came with Runway 916 (I think) on them and the noise is really bad on turning, probably because of the aggressive tread pattern, but the wet handling is so bad as to have tipped into sh*te. In they dry, the grip is OK, but still doesn't give the confidence that the Dunlop SP Sport 9000s that were on it give. So I'd give them a miss in the future. Used to use Nankang on the wife's Sedona and they were OK, but that wasn't exactly a performance motor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 I've just put a couple of Avon sports on my wifes car and I've got to say i'm really impressed with them.. half the price of the Good Years. This is them ZZ3: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaimiebrown Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 I'm keen on trying the Falken 452s too, but not as keen as not having to change my tyres at all for as long as legally possible..! With all of the badge manufacturing that goes on across the world - especially in the automotive arena - there is a case for going more generic in any case since they are probably made in the same factory as some well-known brands. Let us know how they work out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickGUK Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 [ QUOTE ] I've just put a couple of Avon sports on my wifes car and I've got to say i'm really impressed with them.. half the price of the Good Years. This is them ZZ3: [/ QUOTE ] Avons as we all know offer really good grip, however to offer that grip i think they are generally a softer compound compared to say Michelin, so i dont know whether you would get the mileage out of them or not. bit like Yokohama's. As always price v grip v name is always the difficult choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostKiwi Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 Interesting question the one of softness vs wear... I've always found P-Zeros (renowned for being as soft as butter) to last just as long as Michelin Pilots (renowned for being hard wearing). The P-Zeros though do grip a lot harder. My theory is that a soft tyre will grip the road surface and therefore not slide, hence not wear. As an analogy put your hand (the tyre) on some sandpaper (the road), give it a little lateral force and no skin comes off until the skin starts to slide across the surface. I suspect that because the P-Zero grips better before sliding it lasts better... I've also found the same thing with the Toyos I've used - renowned for being extremely soft but they lasted superbly! Can't think of any way to explain it otherwise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botang Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 I went for Michelin PS2's as the nice people at Michelin decided to give them to me for free Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Avons as we all know offer really good grip, however to offer that grip i think they are generally a softer compound compared to say Michelin, so i dont know whether you would get the mileage out of them or not. bit like Yokohama's. [/ QUOTE ] Interesting.. Black Circles rate their wear rate as ok! Black Circles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikw Posted November 29, 2007 Report Share Posted November 29, 2007 Most if not all UK tyres now have three perfomance measures moulded into the sidewall - Traction, Temperature and Treadwear. Any decent tyre should be A for the first two (or maybe AA). The treadwear rating is a linear scale with more being better, so a 150 rated tyre will, all other things being equal, last half as long as a 300 rated tyre. I've had the Avon ZZ3s before and they are rated 240 while the Dunlop SP9000s are rated 280, so they should last a little longer. / Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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