Not Another Tyre Thread

the beer revolu

OK , sorry for starting another thread on tyres but I'm bamboozled by the choice out there and online reviews are wrecking my head, so I've come here for some advice.

In my current situation saving €80 on a set of tyres means a lot to me so I'm avoiding the big name brands. I do, however, want a decent tyre with reasonable durability - all weather.

I drive a BMW 320d tourer E46.
I do a mix of urban, motorway and country road driving.
Size 205/55 ZR 16 I need 4 tyres

I've been quoted.
Debica €60
Windforce €55
Toledo €60
and someone can order in Nankangs for €60

None of the dealers seem to mention models, just brands.

what do people think of the above choices?
I hear good things about Nankangs or should I really suck up the cost and get
Firestone/Perelli/Bridgestone for €85 or Uniroyals for €80?

Any thoughts appreciated.

colm_mcm

for god sake don't get any of the above cheap ones.

eietyres do uniroyal rainsport3 for €60. add €10 for fitting.

Neilw

A few years ago nankangs were a budget tyre, now they are near mid range because there are so many cr@p Chinese tyres about.

Saying that I still wouldn't use them or buy anything off that list.

Decent mid range tyres would be hankook, kumho, bf goodrich, followed by Dunlop, Bridgestone, Goodyear and Michelin towards the higher end.

MrMaki

Bridgestone Turanza are 64 euro each
http://www.oponeo.ie/details-tyre/bridgestone-turanza-t001-205-55-r16-91-v#110443639

I wouldn't put on my car Nankangs even if they were offered free of charge.

I did have nankang sport few years back fitted by dealer on my new car, and after I did 180* on the roundabout I replaced few days old nankangs to more premium brand.

pred racer

The nankangs are ok if you can't afford anything better.
I would try and stump up the extra few quid if you can though.

pablo128

I know you said the funds are tight, but €80 would seem very cheap if you were to hit even a kerb.

Neilw's post above is spot on.

punisher5112

If one can't afford tyres of decent quality they shouldn't be able to afford to drive.

colm_mcm

A come on, it's not as if the OP just went with it without checking all the options.

XsApollo

Did you try looking for some part worn tyres.
Your size isn't too unusual,
I imagine there are good ones readily available.

CIP4

As said Nankang are the best of a bad lot but they really are not that good. If you can at all try and get the likes of goodyears, Michelin, Bridgestone, uniroyals or even hankook or kumho.

the beer revolu

punisher5112 wrote: »

If one can't afford tyres of decent quality they shouldn't be able to afford to drive.

Thank you for your very helpful post...... Not.
I am looking for decent tyres. I'm just not convinced that the big, heavily advertised brands offer the best value for money.

I started this thread to explore the possibility that some of the cheaper, newer to market brands might actually be very similar in terms of quality to the big brands.

I'm looking for educated advice.

pablo128

the beer revolu wrote: »

Thank you for your very helpful post...... Not.
I am looking for decent tyres. I'm just not convinced that the big, heavily advertised brands offer the best value for money.

I started this thread to explore the possibility that some of the cheaper, newer to market brands might actually be very similar in terms of quality to the big brands.

I'm looking for educated advice.

Genuinely, with tyres you get what you pay for. The cheapest Chinese crap will still grip in the dry. The problem is driving in the wet. When you need the grip, its just not there. I nearly died in a crash about 15 years ago when I lost a car in the rain on new but dirt cheap tyres. I hit a lamppost head on after going over a roundabout.

punisher5112

the beer revolu wrote: »

Thank you for your very helpful post...... Not.
I am looking for decent tyres. I'm just not convinced that the big, heavily advertised brands offer the best value for money.

I started this thread to explore the possibility that some of the cheaper, newer to market brands might actually be very similar in terms of quality to the big brands.

I'm looking for educated advice.

It's not aimed at you op.

And it is good advice I have had experience of a hell of a lot of Tyre types to cheapest crap, mixed quality on all corners and best brands.

I had Michelin sports on before and found wet grip terrible so not always the name is what to go by more so the compound and ratings on the Tyre.

Loads of us on here have given advice and ones then come on and say the cheap nylon rubbish is fine.

The types and brands should be regulated and a better minimum standard in more opinion.

I do hope you take all advice and do get a decent set.

SpannerMonkey

the beer revolu wrote: »

Thank you for your very helpful post...... Not.
I am looking for decent tyres. I'm just not convinced that the big, heavily advertised brands offer the best value for money.

I started this thread to explore the possibility that some of the cheaper, newer to market brands might actually be very similar in terms of quality to the big brands.

I'm looking for educated advice.

on a front wheel drive car you may not notice much of a difference in normal driving but you would if you even needed to stop fast ie emergency situations

but on a rear wheel drive car there is a massive difference . you dont have the weight of the engine over the drive tyres which helps with the grip . in wet road conditions the car will feel skittish and nervous and its generaaly just unpleasant to drive in .

i fully appreciate that you want to save money and may not see the value in premium brands such as michelin or pirelli but there are many excellent mid range brands that are exactly what you described "very similar in terms of quality to the big brands. " brands like Hankook or Uniroyal even brands like Nokian or BF Goodrich are light years ahead of the cheap chinese crap you have been given a price on and they dont cost much if any more that them either . and for the sake of looking around you have a safer car that will drive and feel the way its ment to.

blade1

I have Vredestein's on mine and like them a lot
Have a look..
http://www.oponeo.ie/tyre-finder/s=3/summer,winter,all-weather/t=1/car/p=1/vredestein/r=1/205-55-r16

XsApollo

If you don't want to order online and can get Uniroyal Rainsports 3's fitted for 80 euro a piece, that's what I would be getting. Best value for the money at that price.

If you want to buy online, oponeo.ie is the best place to go.

There are plenty of 60 euro tyres on there in your size, stick to Kuhmo, Hankook and uniroyals in that price range.
Uniroyals are 61 euro I think, factor in 10 to 15 euro fitting per tyre.
And you will have nice tyres for max 80euro a piece.

Keep away from the Chinese crap and triangles and federals.
For a marginal saving the difference in quality in wet weather is huge.

Edit; vredstiens as above are decent too.

the beer revolu

Some great advice here, thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply.
Even if going straight for the premium brands, it's not easy to know what to go for.

Supergurrier

Buy kumho or vredistein's from camskill.

Faster delivery and better service than openeo

Jentle Grenade

If you're in Cork I'd recommend Banks' Tyres out on the South Douglas Road. Great service and only a fraction more per corner than buying online in my experience.

ShaunieVW

I had the rain sport 3's on my a3. Brilliant tyre phenomenal grip all the time and miles ahead of all else in the rain. They can be soft though and were near the limit after 11k miles for me on the front. Loads on the rear. I drive like an arsehole at times though and tyres may have gotten abused at roundabouts.

CiniO

the beer revolu wrote: »

OK , sorry for starting another thread on tyres but I'm bamboozled by the choice out there and online reviews are wrecking my head, so I've come here for some advice.

In my current situation saving €80 on a set of tyres means a lot to me so I'm avoiding the big name brands. I do, however, want a decent tyre with reasonable durability - all weather.

I drive a BMW 320d tourer E46.
I do a mix of urban, motorway and country road driving.
Size 205/55 ZR 16 I need 4 tyres

I've been quoted.
Debica €60
Windforce €55
Toledo €60
and someone can order in Nankangs for €60

None of the dealers seem to mention models, just brands.

what do people think of the above choices?
I hear good things about Nankangs or should I really suck up the cost and get
Firestone/Perelli/Bridgestone for €85 or Uniroyals for €80?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Nankangs N-20 are fairly good.
N-2 are worse, so go for N-20.

Debica - which ones? If it's Debica Furio they should be good. Presto - not the best.

SpannerMonkey

if you have a look here it will give you reviews from owners of each tyre

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/

enricoh

Don't know where yer located but I just checked my local crowds website in Drogheda. E55 for kormoran ,fitted, balanced n New valve. I doubt u will do better buying online.
Kormoran are owned by Michelin n I got them fitted on my ma's yoke. They are definitely lasting anyway n not noisy.

SpannerMonkey

enricoh wrote: »

Don't know where yer located but I just checked my local crowds website in Drogheda. E55 for kormoran ,fitted, balanced n New valve. I doubt u will do better buying online.
Kormoran are owned by Michelin n I got them fitted on my ma's yoke. They are definitely lasting anyway n not noisy.

owned by yes but nowhere near as good . made the mistake of trying them a few years ago because i was told the same oh they are basically a michelin , got the whole speel about how they use old michelin tyre moulds and they are a good tyre , grand in the dry but nearly lost the car in the wet one day coming onto a slip road off a motorway. had to change my trousers when i got home. they are awful on a rear wheel drive in the wet never ever again

colm_mcm

Kormoran Runpro are C (self) rated in wet conditions.
Of course a tyre label isn't a stone clad guarantee but the aforementioned Unitoyal rainsport 3 are A rated.
On a RWD car I would want all the wet grip I could get.

bear1

Take a look at yokohamas.
Very good tyre.

Mister Jingles

Campbell's garage are doing 205 Hankooks kinergy eco for 72 a corner fitted if ordered on their website last I checked.

CiniO

colm_mcm wrote: »

eietyres do uniroyal rainsport3 for €60. add €10 for fitting.

I read review that while they are excellent in wet, they are made of soft rubber, which causes car being woobly on dry road when driving fast as well as wear down fairly quick.
Would that be right?

Supergurrier

CiniO wrote: »

I read review that while they are excellent in wet, they are made of soft rubber, which causes car being woobly on dry road when driving fast as well as wear down fairly quick.
Would that be right?

The problem is same as goodyear f1

The sidewalls are very thin which makes the tyre sidewall deform more on cornering. This makes the car feel like its rolling about mid corner.

Doesn't affect grip and improves comfort abit but makes car feel wallowy.

Had RS3's on my S60 and two sets of F1's on my ST and going from Vreds to F1's it was very noticable.

conzy

I can second http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/

price is what you pay value is what you get.. Not everyone can afford premium tyres, but nobody should put plastic chinese tyres on their car. There is always a happy medium.

If you must buy locally, see what they stock, and buy the best tyres you can afford by looking at the reviews on that site. I find oponeo excellent. Many places will be happy to fit tyres for 15 a corner if you supply them. And some places will match or get near online prices when you factor in shipping / waiting / fitting / messing around

I have found Vredestein and Matador to be excellent bang for buck tyres.

XsApollo

I've just replaced Rainsports 3 on my a6.
The difference when I put them on was very noticeable.
Car felt like a boat, very wallowy.
Excellent grip but definatley feel the difference in normal driving with the softer walls.
Still a great tyre.
I put Kuhmo KU39 on and car feels stiffer.

biko

Yeah RainExperts can feel wobbly but all you need is a few extra PSI in there and they are grand.

Supergurrier

biko wrote: »

Yeah RainExperts can feel wobbly but all you need is a few extra PSI in there and they are grand.

Kinda pointless though as you will then get more wear on middle of tyre and sidewall will still deform heavily.

Getting 2x 275/35/R18 Kumho KU 39 on back of tractor atm as changing wheels in afew months and they are best cheap tyre about

the beer revolu

who would have thought that choosing a tyre would be so difficult!

I'm leaning towards Firestone TZ300 for €75 each, fitted.

Anyone have experience of these tyres ?

conzy

the beer revolu wrote: »

who would have thought that choosing a tyre would be so difficult!

I'm leaning towards Firestone TZ300 for €75 each, fitted.

Anyone have experience of these tyres ?

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Firestone/TZ300.htm

Most people seem happy enough with them, They seem "good" and not great

SpannerMonkey

had them on my old 320d they were ok a little skittish in the wet but ok . should be better options for the money kuhmo as said above are one of the better cheap tyres . any tyre place will order a tyre for you . no extra cost . just tell them what brand you want and they wil get you a price . i cant remember the last time i rang a tyre place and took a tyre they had in stock . always have to order them in

the beer revolu

I've ended up going for Hankook kinergy eco for €78 each. Being fitted as I type.

Thanks again for all the replies..

pred racer

the beer revolu wrote: »

I've ended up going for Hankook kinergy eco for €78 each. Being fitted as I type.

Thanks again for all the replies..

Somebody came on boards looking for advice, then acted on that advice :eek:

C'est pas normal :pac:

You will be happy next time you have to react to an emergency OP

colm_mcm

That's never happened before :eek:

SpannerMonkey

good man yourself . Hankook are a fine tyre . and ya wow this has to be a first lol :eek::D

Roger Mellie Man on the Telly

SpannerMonkey wrote: »

had to change my trousers when i got home

Thanks for making me laugh.

Mister Jingles

the beer revolu wrote: »

I've ended up going for Hankook kinergy eco for €78 each. Being fitted as I type.

Thanks again for all the replies..

Good choice, I had them on my old mondeo. If I had stuck with the 16' alloys I would have bought them for my new one but there a lot more expensive in 17' unfortunately.

the beer revolu

Quite looking forward to an hours drive to work tomorrow. I've never had a car long enough to have 4 new tyrestyres on it before!

pablo128

the beer revolu wrote: »

Quite looking forward to an hours drive to work tomorrow. I've never had a car long enough to have 4 new tyrestyres on it before!

A little bit of advice. New tyres generally need about 200 miles to bed in. After a couple of days with your mileage they'll be fine, but just go a little easier till then. Best of luck with them.

SpannerMonkey

pablo128 wrote: »

A little bit of advice. New tyres generally need about 200 miles to bed in. After a couple of days with your mileage they'll be fine, but just go a little easier till then. Best of luck with them.

agreed new tyres can be a little slippy for the first while

the beer revolu

pablo128 wrote: »

A little bit of advice. New tyres generally need about 200 miles to bed in. After a couple of days with your mileage they'll be fine, but just go a little easier till then. Best of luck with them.

Thanks for that info.
No intention of finding where the limit of grip is tomorrow or any time soon, though.

wonski

Discs need to bed in.

Pads, too.

Tires to bed in?

Next thing I am going to read is that oil need a time to bed in

Any science behind tires bedding in, except the stickers ?

colm_mcm

It's def a thing with motorbike tyres anyway.

wonski

colm_mcm wrote: »

It's def a thing with motorbike tyres anyway.

A thing usually means nothing

CJhaughey

wonski wrote: »

Any science behind tires bedding in, except the stickers ?

Tyres are made of layers of steel and synthetic fabric, pressure and heat from driving and the air pressure will allow them to settle in over a time and also the mould release compound in the outer part of the tyre rubber wears off and they become grippier.
If you have ever had fresh tyres on a motorcycle you'd know exactly what I am talking about.
Linky http://www.mobiletyreshop.com.au/blog/should-you-break-in-your-new-tyres/

SpannerMonkey

or if youve ever had fresh tyres on a powerful rwd car you know that they definately do need a few miles before they grip properly