Rate these tyres please

Ginger83

I had a puncture repaired and took a note of tyres which I'll need soon. Can you rate your 1,2,3 from these please (205/55/X16)

Nexen N Fera SU4 €80

Austone SP-802 €65

Bridgestone EP150 €100

Sunny NA301 €65

Avon SV7 €95

Triangle TE307 €65

Hankook Kinergy Eco2 €85

Bridgestone Blizzak LM001 RSC €110

sundodger5

i wouldn't touch Austone, Triangle or Sunny.

The Bridgestone Blizzak sound like all season tyres, Never used all seasons personally but their is some wisdom in using them particularly if we got a cold spell. I would go with Bridgestones or if on a budget the Hankooks are usually good bang for buck.

No experience of the Nexen or the Avon. That said i have read good things about them in the past.

Hope this helps.

Max H

https://www.tyrereviews.com/

you will find reviews on most of those tyres on the above site

hoodie6029

Thought this was going to be like ‘roast my selfie’. Disappointing…

bazz26

I'd remove these straight away as the only things that qualify them as tyres is that they are round and black:

Austone SP-802 €65

Sunny NA301 €65

Triangle TE307 €65

Bridgestone, Nexen, Avon and Hankook are all decent established brands but personally I wouldn't see any benefit in paying extra for the Bridgestones over the other 3.

techie

I just bought 4 x Nexen N Fera SU4 for my car before Christmas, first time with Nexen's and initially very impressed, good grip and quiet on the road too

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121562285#Comment_121562285

Thanks. Any particular reason why Bridgestone are not worth the extra?

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121562797#Comment_121562797

Thanks they are in the middle of the price range. I don't mind the cost as long as they are decent enough.

wandererz

Have a look at this selected list sorted by price.

All good brands. I would go with any of them.

The Uniroyal Rainsport 5 is an excellent tyre and have used it in the past.

Have the Pirelli's on my BMW, Continental on the other.

The icons give you an idea of fuel economy, wet weather capability and road noise.

You will have to factor in fitting costs, but select a local company from the list and it will show you cost.

https://www.tyreleader.ie/car-tyres-205-55-16/?m%5B36%5D=on&m%5B4%5D=on&m%5B5%5D=on&m%5B9%5D=on&m%5B18%5D=on&m%5B19%5D=on&m%5B2%5D=on&m%5B10%5D=on&m%5B8%5D=on&m%5B15%5D=on&orderby=prix

Greengrass53

Had both Bridgestone and Goodyear tyres on same car. Goodyear hands down.

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121563186#Comment_121563186

Thanks

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121563206#Comment_121563206

Thanks. What was the reason for this?

wandererz

From a third party perspective, until Greengrass53 replies, it could be for a number of reasons:

- Roadholding

- Roadholding in wet

- Road noise

- Fuel economy

- Speed Rating etc

Even within a brand like Goodyear there are going to be different models of tyres at different price points.

If you drive a VW Touran 7 seater for example then you don't need a tyre rated for 160km+ or even 140km+. Leave that to sports cars. Concentrate on wet weather capabilities instead.

Condsider all of the above points as well as whether you need a summer or all season tyre.

If you live in an area that gets snow or ice and you don't intend to swap tyres then an All Season tyre would be better.

If you live, for example, in Dublin, Waterford, Wexford, Cork areas along the coast then a summer tyre with good rain holding capabilities would be sufficient.

If you are a sales and marketing, delivery company etc person who drives all over the country in all types of weather then an all season tyre would be better.

Note: these are generic examples. Don't hold me to it.

mickdw

Bridgestone, Avon, Hankook but you would need to look at the particular models within each.

colm_mcm

From that list, the Hankooks

wandererz

@Ginger83

What type of car do you have

Do you transport children

What is your daily trip like and

In which part of the country or area type (i.e. high country/mountainous, lots of ice in winter)

Charles Babbage

I think All Seasons make a lot of sense in Ireland. We get lots of cool wet roads and they do well in these conditions, we sometimes get ice and snow but for most people not enough to warrant have two sets of tyres, and some tyres are pure useless in snow whereas All Seasons make a decent effort. We do not get much dry hot weather, but on a dry road most tyres will stop you, it is the other conditions that should concern us.

tikka16751

I firmly believe if the experts were given two test drives, one with the cheapest and one with the dearest tyre they wouldn’t know the difference.

The J Stands for Jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121562285#Comment_121562285

I've had Hankooks and Avons. Both are good.

sundodger5

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564067#Comment_121564067

tell you what, try something like hankook (not the dearest) vs the Austone on a wet windy road and you will know the difference.

I am a long time out of the tyre game but the mantra of buying the best you can afford holds true.

GreeBo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564067#Comment_121564067

A test drive maybe not, but a test stop in the rain I reckon would be pretty obvious.

colm_mcm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564067#Comment_121564067

I’d respectfully disagree. Even a mid range brand like Hankook or Toyo will drive markedly different to the likes of Sunny/Triangle, you will see traction control/stability control cutting in more often and ABS will be more likely to kick in on braking.

Greengrass53

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121563426#Comment_121563426

Sorry not well up on specifications but the Bridgestone were done after 25K, whereas Goodyear have done 50K and still a bit left in them.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564067#Comment_121564067

Unfortunately for you there are multiple tyre ‘experts’ on Youtube etc who can easily tell the difference between tyres.

Even I could tell the difference between Pirellis and Michelins after just a few hours of driving.

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564012#Comment_121564012

We have a wheelchair accessible Citroen Berlingo. Powerchair + user =250kg.

Short school run. Rural area prone to ice and snow.

No commuting.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564067#Comment_121564067

I knew as soon as I went around the first roundabout with cheap tyres. Like driving on ice. Night and day difference.

wandererz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564100#Comment_121564100

In that case I would be considering

- All Season tyre

- H rating <130kph

Can be supplemented with snow socks or similar during bad winter conditions.

https://www.tyreleader.ie/car-tyres-205-55-16-0-H/?s=G&m%5B36%5D=on&m%5B4%5D=on&m%5B5%5D=on&m%5B9%5D=on&m%5B18%5D=on&m%5B19%5D=on&m%5B2%5D=on&m%5B26%5D=on&m%5B10%5D=on&m%5B8%5D=on&m%5B46%5D=on&m%5B15%5D=on

tabby aspreme

Changed my car a few months ago, and it had ditch finder tyres on it with 5-6 mill of thread left on them when I bought it, drove it a few weeks and put Continental Contact 6s on it, the different is unreal. I would have put Nokian Wetproof on it if I could have got them, as there the best tyre I've ever used.

blackbox

I have personal experience of Austones. A car I bought had new Austones on the front.

They were fine in the dry but unusable in the wet. I got rid of them very quickly. Replaced with Continentals - car was transformed.

Ginger83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564154#Comment_121564154

These?

https://www.tyreleader.ie/car-tyres/continental/ecocontact-6/205-55-r16-91v-1452681#list-reviews

wandererz

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564210#Comment_121564210

While tabby aspreme goes out to check the specific model, I think everyone here agrees on certain things:

1) Avoid cheap tyres (or any Chinese tyre brands)

2) Some brands may sound Chinese made but are actually Korean (Hankook, Kumho, Nexen) or Japanese (Falken, Yokohama etc) and can be excellent tyres.

3) Brands like Continental, Bridgestone, Goodyear etc have a long history behind them and are good brands with tyres at different cost and requirement points.

4) When you walk into most tyre shops, they simply quote you for a tyre. If you don't like the price they go down the range until you agree. But that may be a death trap under certain circumstances.

Flinty997

Also even with the good brands. Check the model. Occasionally they have a lemon. If rarely.

Charles Babbage

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564084#Comment_121564084

The point about tyres is not that there are differences in good conditions, which might be 95% of the time. The difference is apparent when the pressure is on.

User1998

I wouldn’t usually fit budget tyres but I had a car I was selling recently that needed new tyres so I just wanted the cheapest I could find, I was getting quotes of €100+ and eventually got quoted €60 a tyre. 225/45/18.

This was by far the cheapest quote I could find so I went with it. 18 inch tyres aren’t usually this cheap.

They fitted Greenlander tyres, which are Chinese, but I’m actually really impressed by them. I’ve been driving on them with no issues and even did a 250km journey in the rain with no complaints.

tabby aspreme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564210#Comment_121564210

Yes.

I see that supplier also sells Nokian Season proof in the size you require, they would be a good tyre if you live in an area prone to frost and mucky side roads

Alun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564443#Comment_121564443

I just had a set of these fitted to my wife's car. I was going to fit Michelin CrossClimate 2s, which is what I have on my car, but they were relatively expensive given the smaller size, and these had good reviews and were a lot cheaper. The tread pattern is very similar to the CrossClimates and appear to have much more tread depth as well.

Alun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564067#Comment_121564067

Bought an MX-5 once with virtually brand new Triangle "Talon" (oh, the irony!) tyres on it, they were gone within the week, Absolute death traps.

GreeBo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564260#Comment_121564260

That was kinda exactly my point?!

rob316

I had those Nexen's a good tyre. They are middle of the road but a fairly known brand, south Korean. (a Man City sponsor actually thats how I recognized the name)

I have Goodyear Eagle F1's now and they are worth every penny.

The J Stands for Jay

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564086#Comment_121564086

I bought a used car with brand new Chinese tyres fitted by the dealer. Decided they were crap and after about 3 months replaced them with Avons. It was like I'd got a new car, the different was unbelievable. What finally made.me change them was understeering at low speed on a roundabout in the dry.

reubenreuben

Chinese brands, also known as ditch finders.

Buy and try, but you will be sliding all over the joint and the noise sounds like your wheel bearings are gone.

chicorytip

The premium brand will last longest. The cheap Chinese brand will last longer than the medium range Korean brand but will grip less in the wet, create more road noise and decrease fuel economy. So, Nexen or Kumho make the most sensible buy.

hoodie6029

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121570133#Comment_121570133

+1

‘All the taxi drivers use them’ is usual sales pitch in Dublin. They would not be my standard bearer for car maintenance.

It’s night and day with even a mid-range tyre.

weadick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121564154#Comment_121564154

I usually buy mid range tyres but decided to go with a well known brand this time around. I got Continental Eco Contacts fitted as I had heard great things about Continental tyres. However, I'm after reading reviews of them online and they are being slated. While they wear well and are comfortable the wet grip is supposed to be atrocious. I feel really stupid now as I just assumed a band like Continental would be better. Afraid I might be driving a death trap now.