Rubbish tyres on the majority of cars

CJhaughey wrote: »

This new labelling system is adequate but not comprehensive its also self certified.
I would use it as a guide but not the ultimate arbiter, it doesn't take into account winter tyres either just summer tyres.

The rating system is nothing short of a joke. The recognised tyre manufacturers seem to stick to realistic ratings but when you see some clearly inferior tyres with equal or better ratings to something made by Bridgestone you know something is amiss.

George Dalton wrote: »

The rating system is nothing short of a joke. The recognised tyre manufacturers seem to stick to realistic ratings but when you see some clearly inferior tyres with equal or better ratings to something made by Bridgestone you know something is amiss.

I was trying to be diplomatic, I know its a joke, you know its a joke but Joe soap thinks its great.
Brought to you by the same people that want to limit the power of domestic vacuum cleaners to save energy....

Oh dear, Counterfeit tyres are also floating around, see video

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/11/counterfeit-car-tires-pose-consumer-risk/index.htm

Coming across the same issue here:

went to a few random tyre places I spotted on the way home out of convenience. First one said it was to late to take on a new job (It was about 4 pm in fairness and the place closed at 6). In the second one, guy did a bit of a double take when I said I was looking for premium tyres and asked what he had in stock, spent about 10 mins tapping away at the computer, and then mentioned the name of a tyre brand that's so obscure I can't remember.

Said to him no, I'm looking for something along the lines of Goodyear Eagle F1s or similar, got the reply that "Brand X will work best, i think you should go with them". Left in the end without so much as getting a quote for the tyres I wanted, and will be heading to my old place on Monday, even though it's nowhere near where I live know, at least they will actually sell me the tyres I want. Don't get this attitude at all.

Found this article on tyrereview

www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/Autocar-Tyre-Test-Budget-Tyre-Performance.htm

Specifically this bit:

The results are shocking. To get the full test results you'll need to buy autocar this month, but the results from the wet braking speak for themselves:

Continental: 31.7 metres
Nankang: 33.8 metres
GT Radial: 35.8 metres
Wanli, Triangle and Linglongs: 40.2 metres

The Linglong equipped VW Golf Autocar used for its tests was still doing 27.8mph at the point where it had stopped on the Continentals.

fitzgese wrote: »

Coming across the same issue here:

went to a few random tyre places I spotted on the way home out of convenience. First one said it was to late to take on a new job (It was about 4 pm in fairness and the place closed at 6). In the second one, guy did a bit of a double take when I said I was looking for premium tyres and asked what he had in stock, spent about 10 mins tapping away at the computer, and then mentioned the name of a tyre brand that's so obscure I can't remember.

Said to him no, I'm looking for something along the lines of Goodyear Eagle F1s or similar, got the reply that "Brand X will work best, i think you should go with them". Left in the end without so much as getting a quote for the tyres I wanted, and will be heading to my old place on Monday, even though it's nowhere near where I live know, at least they will actually sell me the tyres I want. Don't get this attitude at all.

My experience completely.

I had a near-accident coming out of Castlebar heading for Achill one day a few years back, even though I was well within the posted speed limit. The road was damp and the car just slowly rotated around me and I slid into the ditch after doing 270 degrees. Luckily for me the ditch had been taken away in preparation for building the block wall that was there the next week. I'd always have considered that I was a careful driver not overstepping my own or my machine's boundaries, but that event was an eye opener for sure. For the rest of that weekend away the car was nervous on bends at slow speeds and very very understeery on roundabouts.

Once I got home, I changed the really crappy ditchfinders on my Passat estate for Conti Premium Contacts the same day and I've never looked back. Emergency braking went from just slowing down, to having items on the rear seat hitting the windscreen. I was stopping a good 40 feet sooner from 60mph. In the 200,000 miles driven since, I've had other people be idiots on the road around me and only for the fact that I had available grip to create space for myself I would have been on the receiving end of being driven into, through no fault of my own.

To those that think that they are careful drivers and can afford to have the low level of emergency grip that ditchfinders have, think this way: If that kid runs out between those parked cars, will that €20 per tyre that you saved be enough to salve your conscience about the damage that you've just done, and would it be worth the mandatory court visit that this situation would entail? How would you feel knowing that for that little bit extra in cost and effort, you could have had the grip there to dig into the ABS and be able to avoid injuring or killing that kid.

No matter *how* careful you are as a driver you will eventually have someone be stupid around you and that is what you need to take account of.

Get the tyres that have the better grip. It's really worth it longterm.

(For reference, I now drive with16" Goodyear Vector 4-Seasons on the A4 estate, and I do not want for grip, wet or dry, warm or cold. Plus they are lasting for a long time as well..)

v240gltse wrote: »

got a set of Bridgestone A001 for my E200 Merc ( 150e a tyre ) and WHAT a huge difference in wet/dry grip as well as soooo much quieter than the nankangs that were on it.

They'll definitely be an improvement over the Nankangs but I feel you would have been better with a quality summer tyre imho. They're on the back of a car I use and much noisier than the summer bridgestone tyres on the front.

I agree that good tyres on a car are very important, I drive an Astra OPC.

I bought Continental tyres a good few years back for €180 a tyre, I found this price to be ridiculous, so next time I needed a set I went online looking for cheaper alternatives, I came across Falken tyres and bought them after a good bit of research. I found them to be as good as the Continentals, I could not tell the difference from the drivers seat, never had a dodgy moment from either set of tyres in any weather condition, braking, handling, aquaplaning etc etc. I got the same mileage out of the Falken tyres too.

I now need another set in a few months time, I am stuck in a dilemma whether to buy Falken FK453 for €114 or Continental ContiSportContact 5 for €127.

The reviews for both seem great,
Falken http://falken-europe.com/node/735
Continental http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/66048/continental-contisportcontact-5

Is it worth forking out an extra few quid for the Continentals ( a premium brand ) or get the cheaper Falken ones ( mid-range brand) and save €50 on a set.

Just off the phone to my local tyre center. Wanted a price on a full set and the guy recommended Kormoran for €65 a corner(1.2 Clio)

Anybody have any experience with them or recommendations?

175/65/14.

Not a problem with Kormorans
Have them on my Carina.

Middle of the range tyre, probably the best mix of economy and performance imo.

commited wrote: »

If it were me:
4 of these: http://www.oponeo.ie/details-tyre/goodyear-efficientgrip-compact-175-65-r14-82-t#75473688
That's €200, and pay a tyre shop between €40-50 to fit the lot.

€4 a tyre cheaper than Eiretyres as well.