I am Retyring my car

[SantaClaus]

Happy car re-tyrement.
Did it get a gold watch?

[Chugnut]

A few of those around Kings Cross

[Bagpuss]

I've heard some good things about Kumhos

A few of those around Kings Cross

[Spacecadet]

are you one of NickFitz's sockpuppets?

I've heard some good things about Kumhos

[darmstadt]

Damn expensive these day

Damn right, €3,000 this weekend for 4 new tyres, admittedly fitted to new rims as well. My winter set...

[swamp]

yeah they're a stange make..but I don't drive huge distances (office is only 9 miles from home) and never break 65 on the motorway. these'll do. Any its a crappy '98 Passat anyway with no power.

You could argue that crappy cars that don't have electronic stability etc. need better tyres.

Just a thought. Here is an interesting post on the PH forum from someone who (seems to) know what they're talking about:

----

Thought I'd add my twopenneth as I used to work as a development engineer for a major tyre manufacturer...

My philisophy is that generally speaking, in life you get what you pay for. Premium tyres are precisely that - cutting edge in terms of design, manufacture and performance. Or at least that is the theory! These factors combined with slick marketing to boot, hence the term "premium".

With non-premium tyres, I'd say they fall into three categories.

1) Dreadful, cheap nasty excuses for tyres from Eastern Europe, the Far East or other third world countries. For example Stomil, fateO, Westlake, Ling Long. Poor in terms of design, materials and consistency of manufacture. Sufficiently cheap that the price itself should ring alarm bells.

2) Reasonably priced “second brand” tyres manufactured by premium manufacturers (e.g. Kleber by Michelin, CEAT by Pirelli etc). These are often manufactured alongside their branded counterparts, possibly with different tread compounds, materials and tread patterns. However from experience I can say that in the company I worked for, there were occasions when the carcass of a second brand tyre was EXACTLY the same as its premium equivalent. There were even occasions where the second brand tyre was manufactured with “rework” from high-end premium tyres – hence a tread compound perhaps at least as good as the premium tyre (rework simply means the use of uncured rubber compound, say components ran out of spec - common in tyre manufacture and perfectly OK). In truth you’d never really know what your getting, but any second brand tyre from a premium manufacturer should be “reasonable”.

3) Cheap, non-premium tyres, possibly from E Europe or Far East but often from UK, France, Spain etc. e.g. Nankang, Kumho, Toyo. Indeed Nankang often have pretty decent reviews and the latter two brands arguably overlap into premium, with their higher end stuff. Furthermore you see Kuhmo fitted as OE to Korean cars. OK, Kia may not be a premium car manufacturer, but the Koreans will have pretty strict requirements and quality control.

I’d say if you’re on a budget, options 2 and 3 are fine. Tread very carefully (no pun intended!) if you opt for option 1. Basically do your homework, find out which tyres are OK (and manufactured by whom) and use your common sense!

In answer to people saying "how are they (cheap nasty tyres) legal in this county", the fact is they WILL have to pass certain tests for integrity etc (under speed and loading) but it is pretty easy to develop a tyre that does this, whilst handling like a bag of ste!

From experience as a driver and car enthusiast (and as a father) I prefer premium brands but would happily drive on cheaper tyres as per types 2 and 3 on older, cheaper or less important cars. We have an old Toyota with 220k on the clock – I opted for fateO tyres at about 190k as we thought we’d be scrapping the car soon after. Being a Toyota, it soldiered on and the fateOs needed changing about 10-15k later – a pure false economy! Opted for Michelins last time (which will outlive the car!) but if I’d bought them originally instead of the fateOs a change wouldn’t have been necessary! (Michelins always lasted 30-40k on this car). Bear in mind that cheap tyres that don’t last are also bad for the environment!

Anyway, that’s it for now!

[lilelvis2000]

They sound a bit on cheap side. Reading this put me off cheap tyres:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing...%20on%20tyres?

yeah they're a stange make..but I don't drive huge distances (office is only 9 miles from home) and never break 65 on the motorway. these'll do. Any its a crappy '98 Passat anyway with no power.

[Spacecadet]

When they were brand new, the smell of rubber in the garage in the morning was overpowering...

sorry about that, you left the garage unlocked and I had to take the mistress somewhere

[DimPrawn]

You sniff tyres?

[swamp]

I get them at cost from a client..no labour either. £200

They sound a bit on cheap side. Reading this put me off cheap tyres:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing...%20on%20tyres?

[lilelvis2000]

I get them at cost from a client..no labour either. £200

[swamp]

£470 for me. Booked in for new tyres this Saturday

[Pogle]

Damn expensive these day

Tell me about it - it cost's me around £600 for 4 tyres

[Bagpuss]

Damn expensive these day