Need new Tyres

SimpsonsFan

15 months ago we put 4 new tyres on our nissan qashqai. I don't know how many miles we've done since then but at a guess I would say we'd be doing the average amount or a little less. Say 12,000 miles a year. At the time we didn't buy the named brand tyres like Michelin etc as they were around €800 for the 4 tyres, instead we bought pirelli tyres as they were cheaper at just over €500.
Now 15 months later we need 4 new tyres, first I thought we'd have gotten longer out of the tyres! So when buying new tyres should we pay the extra money for the named branded tyres. Is it the more money you spend on tyres the longer they last?
Thanks.

wexie

Considering Pirelli are the sole supplier of F1 tires I wouldn't really consider them to be a no name.....

It's not really so simple as the more you spend the longer they last. You could buy very expensive tire that are super grippy in all conditions...but because of the compound they use might not last so long. Or....you could buy cheap tires that are ditch finders but because they have no grip hardly wear and therefore last much longer.

The trick is to buy an appropriate tire for the car, the use of the car and your budget. Longevity isn't the only factor, you also want to stay on the road.

Sorry if that doesn't help much, I could recommend my tires (BFG AT's) which I've put over 60K km on and are still going strong but you'd probably wouldn't thank me for it.

Brands I know to be good (again, depending on tire) and generally good value are Kumho and Hankook. Either way I'd expect to get more than 12k out of a set of tires.

bazz26

Pirelli are a well known premium branded tyre too.

Tyre wear depends on many factors, they type of compound rubber used, the car they are on, driving style of the person behind the wheel and the roads they are being driven on. It is not as simplistic as saying that one brand will last longer than another because they cost more.

Generally the tyres with the most grip tend to have a shorter life span.

mailforkev

Pirelli are arguably the most premium tyre brand out there.

In my own experience I never had a set of Pirellis last particularly long, always seemed to prioritise grip over longevity. I replaced the factory Pirellis on my own car with some Continental SportContacts when required and will probably go for the same again when needs be. I doubt they would be too far off the 100 quid mark a corner in Qashqai size.

monkeypants

bazz26 wrote: »

Tyre wear depends on many factors, they type of compound rubber used, the car they are on, driving style of the person behind the wheel and the roads they are being driven on. It is not as simplistic as saying that one brand will last longer than another because they cost more.

As well as all that, where do you start to feel uncomfortable about the level of grip provided as the tyre wears? Some people will take it down to the minimum legal thread depth, some further and some will change with several millimetres to go.

I remember when I was 16, being a passenger in a car with three bad tyres. Only the left front was worth a damn. Going round a quick, left hander and the car is drifting to the right, only the left front is keeping us from knocking a hole in the hedge on the right. Not pleasant, but I thought I was immortal back then.

creedp

wexie wrote: »

Either way I'd expect to get more than 12k out of a set of tires.

12k miles for a set of tyres seems very low. Whatever about the front which can wear out relatively quickly on a FWD diesel the back tyres should last a lot longer, maybe double the distance. If rotated a set of tyres should get you at least 20k miles. To compare I've an S-Max 2L TCDi which chews front tyres and I get about 15 - 17k miles from the front and over 30k from the back. If I rotate them I get approx 25k miles from a set. Normally I don't be bothered as I prefer to replace 2 tyres at a time and not have to fork out for a set of 4 in one go! I've got pretty much the same mileage out of Bridgestones and Kumhos.