Cheaper Tyresi See The Gen

[cootuk]

I see the GenII tyres 195/55R16V ae now over £110 for standard Bridgestone Turenza ER300.

That's really the starting price for a well known brand name (assuming you avoid partworns)

There's a new brand here, popular in Asia called Giti who do a GT Champiro 228 for about £65 fitted, and claims to be a LRR tyre.

I'm quite a fan of lesser known brands like Toyo, Kumho, Falken as you can get pretty good tyres for half the price of a mainstream european manufaturer, though obviously brand snobs tell you to avoid them.

Anyone had experience of these?

[acetip]

I see the GenII tyres 195/55R16V ae now over £110 for standard Bridgestone Turenza ER300.

That's really the starting price for a well known brand name (assuming you avoid partworns)

There's a new brand here, popular in Asia called Giti who do a GT Champiro 228 for about £65 fitted, and claims to be a LRR tyre.

I'm quite a fan of lesser known brands like Toyo, Kumho, Falken as you can get pretty good tyres for half the price of a mainstream european manufaturer, though obviously brand snobs tell you to avoid them.

Anyone had experience of these?

suggest you look at autoexpress tyre review the test on there show how some of the cheaper tyre are lacking in wet & dry grip including braking distance.yes its your choice what you use but i think its a false economy when you gamble on something as important as tyres.

[Ancient Nerd]

I see the GenII tyres 195/55R16V ae now over £110 for standard Bridgestone Turenza ER300.

That's really the starting price for a well known brand name (assuming you avoid partworns)

There's a new brand here, popular in Asia called Giti who do a GT Champiro 228 for about £65 fitted, and claims to be a LRR tyre.

I'm quite a fan of lesser known brands like Toyo, Kumho, Falken as you can get pretty good tyres for half the price of a mainstream european manufaturer, though obviously brand snobs tell you to avoid them.

Anyone had experience of these?

Go for the Michelin Energy Saver. They are way quieter than the Bridgestones, longer lasting and better mpg. Sadly, they aren't available for the T4 and T-Spirit Gen III.

[cootuk]

Hmmmm...so this is sort of what I mean. People recommend the major brands.

Here's a bout the only review I've found on these cheaper tyres.

http://www.tyres4u.com.au/brandselector_doc-gtprodch228cttmay10_img-gt_show.aspx

Choice ‘Australia’s independent consumer organisation’ released their latest tyre test on 31 May 2010.

GT RADIAL = 2ND BEST IN THE WET.

GT RADIAL BEAT MICHELIN & Pirelli AS WELL AS Bridgestone & DUNLOP.

GT Radial Champiro 228 (77%) is on Choice's Consumer Tyre Test "What to buy" List in the Top 4 after BF Goodrich Sport TA (82%) , Goodyear Assurance (82%) and (now deleted) Kumho Solus KH15 (78%)

GT Radial came = 2nd best in WET CORNERING & WET BRAKING ! (Which is when safety matters).

GT Radial proudly scored better than these famous tyre brands:

GT Radial Champiro 228 77%

Bridgestone Turanza 76%

Michelin Energy 69%

Yokohama A.Drive 66%

Pirelli P7 65%

Dunlop SP Sport 62%

Hankook Enfren 62%

Toyo TEO Plus 61%

[kithmo]

Magazine tyre reviews are ok to use as a comparison but they use extreme braking and cornering tests which are only useful if you drive to the limits all the time. When I buy tyres I look at price, how long they last and now I've got a Prius, rolling resistance & road noise. All tyres that are sold in the UK have to pass EU testing and be marked as such and should be safe for normal use. The magazine road tests give percentages for each category tested and even the cheaper tyres score quite well at 70%+ compared to 90%+ for the higher priced tyres. I usually buy mid or high price range tyres but mainly because the cheaper ones do tend to wear out faster and it is just as, or more, cost effective to buy the higher price ones cos they last twice as long.

[sjrainsford]

If you alter the tyre size slightly by going to a 205mm wide tyre instead, look at the price difference!

Ok, it will give a marginally larger rolling radius. But the price difference is perhaps enough to swing it for some!

[Seamaster73]

Magazine tyre reviews are ok to use as a comparison but they use extreme braking and cornering test...

They're also influenced by advertising spend, which generally favours the majors. ;)

[Doesn'tExist]

I've got no problem with Toyo, Kumho or Falken but lets not pretend that GT is in the same category Nothing to do with brand snobbery either, but more with proven pedigree, own r&d facilities etc.