The reasonably priced tyre buying thread....

[iainrcz]

Had them on my last 407, very impressed.

Uniroyal Rainsport 3’s.

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[Ghosty]

Avon ZT5 or Hankook Kinergy Eco for me.

[UltraWomble]

[Sir Snipes]

I've got some bizarre Japanese affair on the 45, Sumitomo.

 

A bit of research reveals they're actually the guys behind Falken, which are pretty good I believe, and until recently produced some of the Dunlops under licence from Goodyear.

Don't know nowadays but sumitomo use to own a fair few of the big names but you would never have known. Iirc they also continued producing Dunlop sport somethings after they sold the name - you use to spot them by the missing DOT code on the sidewall.

[Flat4]

Toyo, Kumho, Uniroyal, Nokian and Falken are all good mid range choices. Avon tyres have decent figures but I have heard a few cases of bulging sidewalls and blowouts with them which puts me off slightly.

Of the cheapy brands, I would probably go for Ceat (owned by Pirelli) or Barum. Some of the Nankang tyres are getting better and better as well so wouldn’t discount them on an older vehicle

Considering Toyo CF2’s for the daily. Dunlop’s are £75 a corner, Toyos are £50. Useful saving.

Also a local place seems to do a roaring trade in part worns from Germany. Advertising Kumhos, all have 5-6mm tread and come in around £25 a pair for smaller tyres. Four 5mm tyres on an old Micra for £50 plus fitting? Sounds like a sensible budget move

Quite liked the feel of the Falkens that came with one of my Legacies. Toyo T1R Sports were great in summer but refused to move when I got caught out in snow. Other half is running the CF2s on his Almera atm and you can actually feel decent through them even though the handling is so vague in that car.

[forddeliveryboy]

I've been pleased with a set of Davanti on the D5 V70 which came from a chap who bought a set then immediately read a pistonheads thread and thought he was doing himself a favour selling them for less than cost of a new Pirelli. 400 miles, 70 quid. I was prepared to take a chance at that price.

 

They've good steering feel and have ok grip in the warm and dry - and with modern tyre sizes that's more than enough grip unless you've pressed the ludicrous button - great in the wet and superb in the cold and wet. I mentioned in another thread they felt like a winter compound with summer tread pattern, they were very grippy in some snow in November.

 

The only downside is wear, the fronts will perhaps have managed just shy of 20k by the time they're down to 2.5-3mm, not bad for cheaper tyres perhaps but the usual driver is very gentle on them. It's the old story, you don't get owt for nowt. I'd recommend them as all-weather tyres for someone doing a low annual mileage.

[r.welfare]

I’ve gone for a set of Autoshite’s favourite, the Uniroyal Rain Expert 3, at just under £200 for 4 in 195/65R15 size from F1 Autocentres. Replacing a set of Maxxis that were on the car when I acquired it some 13k miles ago; probably about 3-4mm left but I was beginning to lose confidence in them. I understand they are a soft compound so will see what kind of wear I get from them.