Best Make Of Tyres For Wear

[seatkid]

This report wont please Sepulchrave! :rolleyes:

 

More info

 

Conclusion - avoid Chinese brands if you value your safety.

Edited March 31, 2009 by seatkid

[big_kev]

Even more info. including report

 

Nice to see my Wanli's outperformed the Conti's in aquaplaning and were half decent in the wet although they are carp in the dry.

 

Any peeps out there with winwong's or triangle's .....keep your distance guys.. :rolleyes:

Edited March 31, 2009 by big_kev

[sepulchrave]

This report wont please Sepulchrave! :rolleyes:

 

More info

 

Conclusion - avoid Chinese brands if you value your safety.

 

It pleases me immensely actually, Conti's biggest gloat shows a wet braking distance from 50 mph of about 31.8 metres and my Nangkangs just a metre behind them on a much lighter car than my Sharan (Confidence interval, do me a favour!).

 

I Told you they were surprisingly good. :P

 

A workmate has a set of Linglongs on his Merc and they really are appalling, last ages though. ;)

 

Seriously, you people are in a bad way if you value thinly veiled ad revenue-driven journalistic claptrap over the well of forum experience you are attempting to stifle with your sanctimonius scorn.

 

Unless you dogmatic blowhards try them you have absolutely no idea, so spare me your belief system nonsense.

 

I simply reported that my budget Nankangs were surprisingly good FROM FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE and some of you flat earth coneheads jump down my throat for daring to share this with the forum despite having no relevant personal experience.

 

You'll be trying to frighten the kids next in increasingly desperate attempts to appear to be right.

[big_kev]

you flat earth coneheads

 

He knows you then SK... :rolleyes:

 

 

I like Sepulchrave's replies.....doesn't beat about the bush....straight in with the insults.

 

Got a point though about the journalistic claptrap.

[sparky Paul]

Got a point though about the journalistic claptrap.

...and I think I would have to agree. In addition, and I don't know if this is correct, but this report appears to have been instigated by Continental, and all of the tests have been conducted by Continental themselves.

 

The way the charts are scaled, and adjusting the base as close as possible to the Continental's result, make the differences appear huge - when in fact some of them are very small. I don't doubt that the absolute best performance is offered by tyres made by the big tyre manufacturers offering the latest advances in tyre technology, you would have to expect this. However, even in this report, I am quite surprised how close some of the next best results are - in most cases within a percent or two of the Continental's result.

 

That's not to say that there are no bad Chinese tyres, and this report seems to have included quite a few of them, and it is this contrast between the Continentals and the very worst Chinese tyres which makes good headlines. Personally, I would have liked to have seen more of the better reviewed Asian tyres included in this test, as well as some of the mid-range European tyres. What is needed to make a proper informed choice is completely independent and truly objective testing of all tyres, with relevant grading, something which is sadly lacking.

 

Just because a tyre is made in China, it doesn't automatically make it bad - most of the big tyre manufacturers have, or are currently building, tyre plants in China. Some of the existing tyre plants in China also produce big branded tyres under license for local markets. I'm sure that some of the Chinese-branded tyres from these same plants are perfectly good, but some of the tyres from the lesser Chinese factories are going to be poor, and it is a risk if you are content to fit brands nobody has ever heard of before.

 

 

The whole tyre thing is something I've been experimenting with for a while now. Previously, I always went for a premium tyre on the main car, and tended to opt for European made mid-range tyres on the secondary car, but recently I have experimented with various different types, including Chinese made tyres. My choices have been guided by positive reviews and user reports, and to be honest I have had no problems with the ones I have used.

 

Would I buy Chinese tyres again? Possibly, but only after considering reviews and tyre tests, and I would prefer to go for established European brands if the difference in price wasn't too prohibitive, which it usually isn't. I very nearly fitted Vredestein Sportracs last time, which were very highly reviewed at the time, and were very reasonably priced at

Edited April 1, 2009 by sparky Paul

[seatkid]

some of you flat earth coneheads

EVERYONE knows the earth is flat ..... ^_^ :P

 

I work for Goodyear, so I'm glad you are doing my job for me ;) We had even shorter stopping distances than Continental in the Autocar 2007 test.

 

However, we are very grateful to both Autocar and to Continental for faciltating this test. In Germany, magazines carry tyre tests on a regular basis, and it is something we (and the other major tyre manufacturers) actively encourage. Autocar ran tyre tests in 2004 and 2007, and although Goodyear took number one spot in both tests, to me the important message from these tests is that tyres may all look black and round, but are very, very different - so do your research. The structural failures highlighted in this test are even more shocking than the tyre failures.

 

At Goodyear we'd encourage regular magazine tests covering all sectors of the market (supermini, 4x4 etc) , but these take an enormous amount of time and logistical planning. It's up to you to lobby the magazines to say you would rather read these reports than a test of a new Lamborghini!

 

The differences are even bigger when tyres are worn. Our latest Goodyear OptiGrip has a new tread pattern that emerges when the tyre is worn and gives it comparable worn performance as when new. Whilst Continental are using their website to encourage the disposal of tyres at 3mm tread depth due to performance drop-off, we think the 'regenerative' tread is a more intelligent solution, particularly in an era where consumers want value for money all the way through the tyre's life. Autocar are currently testing this tyre on their Kia C'eed, so we look forward to their feedback.

 

In the meantime, thanks to Autocar and Conti for highlighting this subject.

 

 

"my Nangkangs just a metre behind them on a much lighter car than my Sharan"

Dissing the report yet selecting the bit that you like....... :lol:

"A workmate has a set of Linglongs on his Merc and they really are appalling"

So you agree with the report? :blink:

"I simply reported that my budget Nankangs were surprisingly good FROM FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE"

True....but thats not all you said..... -_-

 

"is your response what they call 'emotional intelligence'?"

 

Yeah, .....claptrap......in the meantime I await with interest the comments of the Insurance association......... -_-

 

Next time someone slides into the back of me, I'll make a point of checking his tyres :lol: :ph34r:

Edited April 1, 2009 by seatkid

[insider]

A report clearly intended to advertise Continental. Interesting that they didn't compare other premium brands at their test track!

 

As sparky Paul stated the charts do exaggerate the differences and I believe this report is clearly intended to scare people rather than present scientific fact. The results are presented as relative, the baseline being Continental with no reference to an absolute requirement.

It's interesting to use the recommendations in the Highway Code as a reference point:

 

WET BRAKING FROM 50mph

Continental: 32 metres

Linglong: 41 metres

Highway Code: 76 metres (from Rule 126 - 38 metres in the dry but "The gap should be at least doubled on wet roads")

So, even the worst tyre will stop within 54% of the Highway code stated distance, 42% for Continental.

 

DRY BRAKING FROM 70mph

Continental: 37 metres

Linglong: 42 metres

Highway Code: 75 metres

Again, the worst tyre still stops within 56% of the Highway Code stated distance, 49% for Continental.

 

In summary, if you drive within the recommendations of the Highway Code the braking distances of the budget tyres are more than adequate.

Yes, premium tyres perform better but you would expect them to because you're paying more for them.

The question you should ask yourself is whether or not the tyres you buy are suitable for you, your vehicle and your driving style?

Good quality means "fit for purpose" and even the worst tyres here more than meet the criteria for stopping distance.

[sepulchrave]

Next time someone slides into the back of me, I'll make a point of checking his tyres :ph34r: :lol:

 

So stop being a mobile chicane chasing fuel mileage then you won't have to worry about it. :blink: