# Tyres with well know Brand V's unknown brands



## ajapale (13 Mar 2009)

I got quoted €145 a tyre for branded tyres at Advance Tyres.

A back lane garage (one man show) has quoted €70 for an unknown brand.

Is there much of a difference between tyres? 

Are known brand tyres twice as good as cheap generic tyres?


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## tiger (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*

I would shop around for the price, but would stick with the branded tyres.
Some discussion on boards.ie, have seen several stories of no-name tyres which handled very poorly/dangerously in wet conditions.
Tyres and brakes are not where you want to be cutting corners (excuse the pun).


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## krissovo (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*

I would say it depends on your driving style.  I am fairly aggressive so when I recently changed the michelin's I have now for some estern bloc non branded I nearly killed myself one wet day on a roundabout when the back end kicked out on me and so I had to calm down.  On my michelins I never had that issue so I replaced them for my own comfort factor.


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## Caveat (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*

I'm no connoisseur, but I've been told on a couple of occasions that _Hankook_ tyres represent reasonable quality at the budget end.  It's what I've been using for the last couple of years anyway - no complaints.


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## mathepac (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*



tiger said:


> ...
> Tyres and brakes are not where you want to be cutting corners (excuse the pun).


+1 - I'll buy cheap anything, even cars, but not brake components or tyres.


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## Frank (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*

I'm with mathepac 

There is a very small amount of contact with the road.

Don't go for the dearest but don't go for the cheapest either.

Go to a good independant that has been going for years they genrally know there stuff better than the young lad in a chain group.

Pirellis or BF goodrich have stood to me in the last few years.


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## rgfuller (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*

Try pricing your tyres at Irish and UK online retailers to see if youre quotes are about right. Somewhere like www.eire*tyres*.com or http://www.camskill.co.uk

You used to be able to signup to which.co.uk for 30 days (can't find it anymore) and check out their tyre reviews/comparisons: http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/car-...sh&HBX_OU=50&jtid=18762855&source_code=607PTJ


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## Ancutza (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*

I've been on BF Goodrich for a while now but before that I used Matador for about 6 years with no issues at all.  Cheap, good stopping distances and hard-wearing. Made in Slovakia I think but available in Ireland.

Nokian are also excellent and cheap. Particularly good winter tyres.


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## Pique318 (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*

Kumho & Falken are the best value tyres out there, IMO. 
Apart from them and the Big 6; Good Year(excellent), Michelin(too expensive), Pirelli(high performance only IMO), Dunlop(very good), Bridgestone(excellent), Continental(overpriced)) they're the only ones to spend your money on. BFG and Firestone are relatively rare but also good apparently, although I've no experience of them.


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## Caveat (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*



Pique318 said:


> Continental ... Firestone



As I've said, I'm no expert but TBH I've often heard these brands rubbished in preference to the likes of _Hankook_  - as mentioned.

What do you reckon? Any thoughts on Hankook (sp?) ?


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## RonanC (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*

Hankook are very good quality tyres for what they cost, I'd happily have them on most cars. I'm a big fan of Toyo's but they can be soft at times. 

Tyres are only as good as the drivers style. You could spend 1000's on tyres and wear them out in a matter of weeks. You must also ensure that your tracking is spot on and that the wheels are balanced. 

Advance have a contract with Continental and therefore offer these first. 

Continental also produce other and somewhat cheaper tyres with different brand names.. Barum, Uniroyal, Viking & Semperit.

AutoExpress Tyre Test


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## mathepac (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*



Caveat said:


> ... Any thoughts on Hankook (sp?) ?


TBH, I've only ever seen them on taxis, which would indicate that they last well.


Caveat said:


> As I've said, I'm no expert but TBH I've often heard these brands rubbished ...


Its difficult to rubbish an entire brand, or be dismissive of it, as within each major brand there are levels of technology and performance that make a tyre at a particular price point in a range attractive to some users and useless to others.

For consideration when choosing a tyre : 


 Longevity - do you want it to last 40k kms / 25k mls?
 Road Noise - Brahms on the Bose or thumpa-thumpa-thumpa from the tarmac repairs?
 Wet weather performance - probably important in Ireland 
 Comfort - difficult to reconcile with re-inforced side-walls for high-speed cornering grip
 Main usage - motorway or minor roads, touring, continental holidays?
 Budget - put a price on safety
 Safety - the chances are if a particular tyre was specified by the vehicle manufacturer, it has some decent safety record (there are known exceptions, unfortunately)
By all means educate yourself with reviews, but note that a (just for example) Bridgestone Potenza specified as a summer tyre in the USA and getting rave reviews there, is different to the one supplied by a tyre-fitter here.

Based on my requirements, my best tyres for road use are Goodyear F1 GS-D3 (I haven't tried the Goodyear F1 Assymetrics yet)  and Toyo Proxes T1S / T1R.


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## bullbars (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*



Ancutza said:


> I've been on BF Goodrich for a while now


 
BF Goodrich are the best I've come across for my jeeps and indeed the choice for many offroaders. Longest lasting and the low noise level from mud terrains and all terrains is excellent


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## Caveat (14 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*



ajapale said:


> I got quoted €145 a tyre for branded tyres at Advance Tyres.
> 
> A back lane garage (one man show) has quoted €70 for an unknown brand.



Good post Mathepac.

As I say, (and I'm sick of hearing it myself at this stage) I know very little about tyres, but I reckon it might be useful to hear what brand the €145 tyres are, what brand the €70 tyres are and what car you are driving.


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## CCOVICH (14 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*



mathepac said:


> Based on my requirements, my best tyres for road use are Goodyear F1 GS-D3 (I haven't tried the Goodyear F1 Assymetrics yet)  and Toyo Proxes T1S / T1R.



I have had F1s for the last few months now.  Prior to that had Pirelli P Zero Neros (factory fit).  Much happier with the Goodyears, although bought the car when the Pirellis were part worn and so will see how the Goodyears last over the next few months.  Have also seen the Goodyear Asymmetrics and the Toyo Proxes highly recommended on the Alfa forum, Toyos are cheaper and so I wouldn't mind trying them next time out

I bought the Goodyears (17s) on camskill.co.uk when GBP was much stronger for about GBP£75 a corner (incl delivery).  Fitting, balancing and disposal (locally) was €15 a corner IIRC.


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## Pique318 (14 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*

FYI, go and look up the tyre you're thinking about getting on www.tyretest.com, good ratings site that I have no affiliation with.

By the way, I don't think you can get them any more but easily the best tyre for the wet I've ever used has been Good Year Eagle Ventura. The level of confidence they gave me in the wet has not been bettered yet.


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## ajapale (15 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*

Thanks for the excellent responses!

The tyres are 215/60 R1695.

Advanced Tyres offered Continental and Accelera.

My local guy offers Wanli brand for half the price of Advanced.

Wanli are reviewed in the site mentioned above but I can find no reference to Accelara.

aj


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## mathepac (15 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*



ajapale said:


> ... Advanced Tyres offered Continental and Accelera ...
> Wanli are reviewed in the site mentioned above but I can find no reference to Accelara...


All I know about Accelera is they are made in the Phillipines.

Wanli, made in China, I know about their HGV tyres.


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## CharlieR (15 Mar 2009)

*Re: Tyres with well know Brand V' unkknown brands*



rgfuller said:


> Try pricing your tyres at Irish and UK online retailers to see if youre quotes are about right. Somewhere like www.eire*tyres*.com or http://www.camskill.co.uk
> 
> You used to be able to signup to which.co.uk for 30 days (can't find it anymore) and check out their tyre reviews/comparisons: http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/car-...sh&HBX_OU=50&jtid=18762855&source_code=607PTJ


 
All the major outlets will sell you Michelin, Pirelli etc as they make the most money from them and the Toyo, Hancoks are budget brands according to them.

Not so long ago Japanese cars were budget cars, and the premium supposedly came from Germany and Europe, now they make the most reliable ones in the world.

I have been using Yokahama's and more recently Toyo's on my car and am very impressed. The continentals were appalling and the grip was poor. Getting about 12k to a set of fronts on a focus st3. Have toyo's on now and have done 18k on the first setT1R's and have PX4s on at the moment and they vave done 5k and have 6.5mm left on them so very pleased.

Hope this helps and Camskill offer a fantastic service, I haven;t found anywhere cheaper in UK.


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## CCOVICH (15 Mar 2009)

I see Blackcircles recommended a lot, but not sure if they ship to Ireland (based in UK)


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## Pique318 (15 Mar 2009)

An important thing to note is that improved life results in reduced grip (generally speaking) so the ones that wear for 20,000 miles will offer far less grip than those which wear in half the distance.

btw, I've often heard Wanli and Nangkang (and others) referred to by the somewhat offputting nickname of 'ditchfinders'.

Tyres are the only piece of the puzzle that counts when everything else remains the same. Don't try to save a hundred euro on them. Buy the best you can afford and they may cause you to avoid a crash.


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## AlbacoreA (16 Mar 2009)

I got cheap no name tyres last time, because I needed them for a NCT and the place had nothing in a brand I knew. Well they are the worse I ever had. Look fine but woeful dry or wet.


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## tiger (25 Mar 2009)

Related story in today's times:
[broken link removed]


> One of these brands, Linglong, performed particularly poorly in a wet braking test at 80km/h.
> Where the premium brand tyre had come to a full stop, the car with Linglong tyres was still travelling at over 40km/h.


Though I'm guessing the main brand tyres had some interest in putting the report together...


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## AlbacoreA (25 Mar 2009)

Going by my own experience I'd have to say I wouldn't buy a budget tyre again. Some people wouldn't notice the different, but for me it was night and day.


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