Cheap Tyres ?

[whunt18885]

I have a 64 plate Aygo with the standard 15" steel wheels. I am very happy with the car however for the 2nd time now in 4 months I have picked up another puncture !! Some idiot decided to empty a bag of nails onto the road. 

I trying to get the car sorted as cheaply as possible as funds are tight at the moment - Whilst its only 1 tyre that needs sorting I am going to get a pair as I know odd tyres is a bit of a no-no also the other tyre on the other side is getting worn. I should mention at this point that the car is a commuting car only - It is only used on 30 mph roads and only travels 6 miles each way to my workplace and back.

My choices are limited as 165/60/15 seems a rare size however I have narrowed my choice down to either the Conti Eco Contact (OEM) or a Nankang Budget. Both get the same wet grip rating and both have the same noise level at 70db however the nankang is £21 cheaper per tyre! 

I have some concerns over fuel and safety so maybe someone can confirm the below:

1. The Nankang is fuel rating E compared to C on the Conti however in reality and the fact I do about 4000 miles a year max on slow roads does this really make that much of a difference ? Is it going to be more than £21 a year fuel saving 

2. Are the Nankang's considered to be ok for a budget tyre - Again the car never does more than about 25-30 mph via a daily urban commute so I am not bothered about on the edge performance, I have not used this brand before so just some basic thoughts ? Sounds silly but I assume that because its sold in Halfords means its UK legal correct ?

 

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

The noise level quoted in tests is measured from the outside of the car, so may not be as relevant to the tyre noise transmitted to the cabin.  Doubt whether you will generate savings of £21 per tyre on the mileage you do.

The things that is missing from the Energy Ratings for tyres is an indication of wear rates. Nankang are Taiwanese, and generally Taiwanese and Chinese tyres don't wear as well. Nankangs don't usually do particularly well in tyre tests.

Is the price Halfords quoted for the Contis around £71 per tyre?

You would do better to have a shop around tyre retailer websites to see what else is out there to suit your budget - eg Black Circles have got Goodyear Duragrip tyres for £54:  http://www.blackcircles.com/order/tyres/search

 

[mickburkesnr]

On my 2010 Peugeot 107 (same car as the Aygo of the same year) I was completely broke, and had two bald tyres on the front of my car. So I went to a local independent and bought two Sailun Atrezzo's for the car. Think I paid about £50 with money I loaned off the old fella until I got my wages.

Everything was OK for the first 2,000/3,000 miles. But then as soon as the rain falls the car will go in a straight line around corners. They're still on the car as the girlfriend drives it to the train station, but she never told me how bad the car actually was in the wet until I drove it. So I banned her from driving it until I get the tyres done on it.

Thing is it's attractive to buy tyres that are cheaper than another tyre. But they're cheap for a reason. The rubber doesn't grip as much as more expensive tyres, the tread pattern may be basic. That's not to say all cheap tyres are bad as I had a pair of Imperials on a bigger car and they've been a brilliant tyre in the wet. What you have to remember is that with the Aygo's they have very thin tyres, so your contact area to the tarmac isn't brilliant. So whatever rubber is on the ground you need to make sure it's going to stick to it as best it can.

For me though the best tyre you can get on the 107 are Toyo tyres. I have a pair on the back of the car and they've been brilliant. From the place I get my tyres from they're £47 a tyre (compared to £59 for the Conti).

The decision is yours, but personally I wouldn't skimp on something that's going to make you stop the car safely in the wet when you need it.

[Cyker]

It's a shame they went with 15" rims on the Aygo; My Yaris has 14" rims and the tyres are sooo much cheaper! My old Contis were £70 for 15" and £50 for 14", and the Dunlops I have now (Great grip in wet and dry but noisy as hell!) were £45!!!

 

Also, if you're only doing low speed journeys, it might be worth you looking at the PunctureSafe stuff I was trying out a while back.

It's thick gel that is put in the tyre after it's fitted and balanced, and it sticks to the inside of the tyre, with a little bit that sloshes about in the bottom.

When there's a puncture, it fills it in and sets and you don't have to worry about it for the life of the tyre.

Doesn't work for shoulder or sidewall punctures - Just leaks out of them, but at least it's pretty obvious what's happened as the blue gel gets all over the wheel (Thankfully it's water soluble in its gel state and washes off surprisingly easily!)

Seemed to work pretty well - In the 3(?) years I had it in I didn't get a single tread puncture, and never had to add more air to my tyres despite having to navigate a  daily obstacle course of speed humps and pot holes.

It does have some major downsides tho' - The sloshy bit  is a moving mass and will make the car judder like mad (Exactly like if you had a wheel or two that had throw a wheel-weight!) when you hit higher speeds. I also noticed it had a damping effect - The car felt like it had a bit of extra drag, with shorter coasting distance and a small but noticeable drag under acceleration.

I didn't put it in again with my current tyres because I couldn't deal with the vibrations at motorway speeds (Can't have been good for the suspension!), but already I have had 3 punctures and have had to go back to my old routine of checking and topping up the tyre pressures every month or so!

 

[eygo]

7 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

The noise level quoted in tests is measured from the outside of the car, so may not be as relevant to the tyre noise transmitted to the cabin.  Doubt whether you will generate savings of £21 per tyre on the mileage you do.

The things that is missing from the Energy Ratings for tyres is an indication of wear rates. Nankang are Taiwanese, and generally Taiwanese and Chinese tyres don't wear as well. Nankangs don't usually do particularly well in tyre tests.

Is the price Halfords quoted for the Contis around £71 per tyre?

You would do better to have a shop around tyre retailer websites to see what else is out there to suit your budget - eg Black Circles have got Goodyear Duragrip tyres for £54:  http://www.blackcircles.com/order/tyres/search

 

on the side wall there is a number next to the wording treadwear the higher the number the more milage you will get from the tyre

[Justhandguns]

20 hours ago, mickburkesnr said:

For me though the best tyre you can get on the 107 are Toyo tyres. I have a pair on the back of the car and they've been brilliant. From the place I get my tyres from they're £47 a tyre (compared to £59 for the Conti).

The decision is yours, but personally I wouldn't skimp on something that's going to make you stop the car safely in the wet when you need it.

I agree. Price/performance ratio is very good with Toyo tyres. I switched from the standard 14" Continentals to 15" alloys with Toyo Proxes T1, the front Continentals lasted only for 8000miles while the Toyo lasted for at least 20000mile and the rear tyres even more! I think tyres are a bit like a long term investment and essential for your safety as well, I would not go for the cheapest of the cheap. 

[Cyker]

Interesting... what Contis were those out of interest?

I had a similar experience when I went from Premium Contact 2e's to PC5's - The PC2e's lasted nearly 30,000 miles but the 5's lasted closer to 7,000 IIRC! They were really nice - Quiet, grippy etc. but they wore down like F1 tyres!

@eygo - That is awesome! I never knew that!!! Is it actually a standard or just something that manufacturers make up to compare within their own tyres?

 

 

[Wiz201]

I had a puncture in one of my winter tyres and bought a different brand but same tyre, no need to buy a pair of the same brand.

[Heidfirst]

If you bought a different brand you did not buy the same tyre (tread pattern & compound will probably differ).

You should try to keep tyres on an axle matched.

 

[eygo]

On 08/07/2016 at 4:44 PM, Cyker said:

Interesting... what Contis were those out of interest?

I had a similar experience when I went from Premium Contact 2e's to PC5's - The PC2e's lasted nearly 30,000 miles but the 5's lasted closer to 7,000 IIRC! They were really nice - Quiet, grippy etc. but they wore down like F1 tyres!

@eygo - That is awesome! I never knew that!!! Is it actually a standard or just something that manufacturers make up to compare within their own tyres?

 

 

here is a web site explaining the treadwear markings

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTreadwear.do

[eygo]

1 hour ago, Heidfirst said:

If you bought a different brand you did not buy the same tyre (tread pattern & compound will probably differ).

You should try to keep tyres on an axle matched.

 

i am with heidfirst on this one except i like to keep all tyres the same i have just changed mine to michelin cross climates

[Heidfirst]

6 hours ago, eygo said:

here is a web site explaining the treadwear markings

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTreadwear.do

not sure that is relevant for EU market tyres.

Even then it says that you can't use the treadwear grade to compare between manufacturers' ranges but only within that manufacturer's range.

[Wiz201]

On 09/07/2016 at 6:28 PM, Heidfirst said:

If you bought a different brand you did not buy the same tyre (tread pattern & compound will probably differ).

You should try to keep tyres on an axle matched.

 

 

On 09/07/2016 at 7:34 PM, eygo said:

i am with heidfirst on this one except i like to keep all tyres the same i have just changed mine to michelin cross climates

I do normally but it was just to keep my Yaris running until March and this was like January so I wasn't too bothered. Didn't affect the car in any way shape or form.

[FROSTYBALLS]

As the cause of the tyre replacement was a puncture, it also might have depended whether the tyre retailer had the same tyre in stock as the OE replacement.

[Xmas]

Ive had 4xnankings 30k miles 5mm left! Stopped in emergencies. They were cheap. I don't drive like Lewis.