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Sounds like an advertising gimic to me!
Rubber is rubber when all is said and done.
As a working man running a Mondeo, with 16inch wheels, on a low income, I can either pay:
£55 per wheel for budget tyres
or
£100+ per wheel for michelin or equivalent
What would you buy!
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"What would you buy!"
I always buy branded mid range tyres which cost slightly more than a budget tyre I've never heard of.
I've had Vredestein, Toyo and Goodyear, all well respected but cost much less than Michelins. VW fit Hankooks which are generally a mid range price.
If rubber really is rubber and you have a tight budget wouldn't you buy remoulds or part worns for £20?
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Quite right Davey, and one particular tyre that is knocking the hell out the big players in tests is the Hankook S1 Evo, though as you say Toyo T1R, Vred Sportrac, Uniroyal Rainsport...if you didn't search for anything else you'd not go wrong and doubt they'd be a tenner apiece more than ditchfinders.
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If I was on a busy motorway on a wet day, I would much prefer the cars behind to be fitted with cheap new tyres with lots of tread than premium tyres at the legal limit. (because a full set of premiums could cost more than the following cars are worth)
Edited by martint123 on 20/11/2010 at 21:35
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Any motorbike riders here?
What would you put on your two wheels?
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Any motorbike riders here?
What would you put on your two wheels?
There is no such thing as a cheap tyre for a bike ;( Something like 4p per mile for a rear tyre.
Scooters and mopeds possibly, but there again there is no tread depth test for those - just a "visible" tread pattern.
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I ran 25k miles in my Yaris on budget tyres.. rather dubious wet weather handling but I never stopped in last winter's snow.
As I am mean but wanted better, I waited until Michelin had an offer and bought 4 new Michelin Energy fitted for £214. The difference in feel is obvious and the wet weather handling is transformed.. no more fidgetting on corners.
Having said that, I do few motorway miles and would use budget tyres again if I had to. But if doing lots of motorway miles, no.. I suspect in emergencies they would give poor braking/disaster avoidance...
But for town driving? Cheapies will do.
(I expect the Michelins will offset their cost by doing more miles.. I hope so..)
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Any motorbike riders here?
What would you put on your two wheels?
I generally run Avons on my 'busa - best compromise for grip against longevity, that said some of the budget brands of superbike tyres are excellent these days Continental (cheap in the bike world) and Maxxis tyre are pretty good.
Even budget car tyres are far better than what we were driving around on 15 years ago - things move on. On My Jag XJ8 I ran Kumhos, they were better in every way then the o/e Pirellis P6000s and came in at half the price. Today (C5 V6) I have mid-range Nexin N6000s (Korean) on the front and cheapo Chinese rubbish on the rear which are made of concrete and last forever. The car stops perfectly well, wet or dry, although I don't think I'd have the cheapos on the front, I tend to corner quite hard occasionally as my fuel saving driving style is about keeping the speed up on the bends.
Michelin tyres are the best in terms of quality of construction but I generally hate them and always have done, they are too hard for my liking. They are superb motorbike tyres though. When I bought my C5 it was shod with Michelin energies (£140 per corner) the tyres were bordering on dangerous in the wet such was the lack of grip - so much for premium tyres.
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Ford direct cars are quite expensive, but are supposed to be top quality. Now we find that they put on rubbish cheapo tyres, I wonder what oil they use? Do they use fake brake pads?
If I bought a car with nasty tyres on (which I wouldn't) I would replace them. In this case I would replace them with Continentals like the rears.
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Am I correct in thinking that the UK does not need to introduce any legislation regarding tyres as they are covered by a new 2010 EU regulations which indeed does include wet braking.There is a big difference between fakes and genuine but cheap imports.
Edited by Andy Bairsto on 22/11/2010 at 18:17
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I am not sure if I am allowed to mention names or not (so I will and then they can be snipped).
Recently on my e39 530dT, I had Vrederstiein Sportraks. They were OK, but used to pick up far too many stones (as I have lots where I am) and I used to get punctures the whole time. Changed the rear (RWD car) on to Kuhmo KU31s. Dreadful grip and used to spin the tyres in wet and dry all the time when accelerating. Braking felt bad, but that could be mind tricks.
Fortunately I got a puncture and changed the KU31s to the front and replaced the rears with Conti PremiumContact2s. I like Contis as this is what the car came with all those years ago. Grip on the driven tyres is so much better than with the KU31s.
While these aren't winter tyres, I think that the Contis might be all weather ones. The KU31s were very much summer tyres and didn't like (supposedly) to work under 7ºc. Whether they are all weather or not, I have had Contis for years and they do work OK in the cold. I am not going to take the car out on the snow without chains, so a full on winter tyre isn't necessary.
I do think that of the 3 tyres, the best braking and handling was the Conti (in this guise and previous ones). The prices...
KU31 - £80
Sportrak - £100
Conti - £120
As there is only that thin bit of rubber between you and the road....... so 4 x £40 (difference of all KU31 and all Contis) spread over say 16,000 miles (for nice round numbers) is 1p per mile. or ¼p per tyre.
Which reminds me of a saying by John Ruskin: "It is unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money - that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought for. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a litte and getting a lot. It cannot be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better."
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Buy the cheap tyres, travel around 3 mph slower ie 67 mph instead of 70 and stop in, roughly, the same distance; just set out earlier, pocket the £160 ;)
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Completely and utterly flawed logic in my view.
Good quality tyres provide what is sometimes a make-or-break difference in safety margin in an emergency situation. Nobody is immune from such situations however they drive - we share our roads with unpredictable people and animals and we all experience occasional mechanical failures, sometimes safety related.
Poor quality tyres are associated with inferior adhesion, unpredictable behaviour, poor balance and a higher incidence of blowouts. Their life/unit cost factor is often inferior anyway.
The quotation above is so true, and its relevance to tyres shows what a false economy so called "budget" tyres really are. Continental or Michelin get my business.
(Although I have more latterly fallen out with Michelin over their introduction of the metric wheel sizes - a thundering irrelevance and a form of closed shop trading. There's nothing wrong with their tyres though.)
659.
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It was kind of tongue in cheek, but only so far.
What is better in the wet, a quality tyre with 3mm of tread, or a budget tyre with 8mm.
Spend a lot of money on a tyre, and people will, generally, expect their money's worth. Spend less on a tyre and you may be more inclined to change it more often, I do, buying Hankooks or similar. I do not push my car near its limits on purpose, emergency situations are different, but you can't be certain that your emergency will occur when the tyres are new.
my point was, so long as you know what you are dealing with, you can drive accordingly.
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Life doesn't work like that.
You buy a tyre, use it and scrap it either when it reaches the legal limit or, more sensibly some time before this.
In each situation, averaged over a period of time, a good quality tyre will provide the user with a higher margin of safety than a budget tyre.
Buy cheap deodorant if you like it - but never cheap tyres.
659.
Edited by 659FBE on 25/11/2010 at 15:47
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As I revived this topic after buying a Ford Direct car the discussion is going in an interesting direction that I hadn't considered. It seems that it's not just budget v premium but even premium v premium and summer v all seasons.
I was told by a salesman at the show room that Ford - and maybe other maufacturers as well - take whatever tyres they can get at the time to put on their new cars. So you take pot luck according to him.
I've always believed budget tyres used out of date technology but how out of date? A couple of years or a decade? And with technology being global don't multinational companies go to where it's cheapest? I haven't seen Henley (Goodyear) or John Bull (Dunlop) for ages so isn't it reasonable to assume that they're re branded with an Far Eastern name? But what?
I've written to Ford Motor Co to get their view on the safety aspect of putting budget tyres on a Ford Direct car. I'll be interested to see what they say.
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As I revived this topic after buying a Ford Direct car the discussion is going in an interesting direction that I hadn't considered. It seems that it's not just budget v premium but even premium v premium and summer v all seasons. I was told by a salesman at the show room that Ford - and maybe other maufacturers as well - take whatever tyres they can get at the time to put on their new cars. So you take pot luck according to him.
An interesting point and something which is directly relevant to myself after buying a Ford Direct car. I challenged Ford Direct (after fitting some horrible Chinese tyres) on the basis that they state in their literature words to the effect of "we will fit either genuine Ford or Ford approved parts" so therefore they would only fit a brand of tyre that Ford would normally fit from new, ie Michelin, Conti, Hankook etc. Therefore the salesman should not have said any of this. I won my case, ie I got them to fit some proper tyres but it was a struggle.
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Take a look at the Autoexpress tyre test. Big money doesn't consistently equate to good results, oddly enough the wet braking throws up some anomalies, with Maxxis and Kuhmo doing quite well.
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>>oddly enough the wet braking throws up some anomalies, with Maxxis and Kuhmo doing quite well.
Why's that an anomaly?
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Anomaly.
Deviation from the normal or common order form or rule.
A person who is unusual.
Interesting word .
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The perception here appears to be that pounds = performance. These cheapies are doing better than some premium brands.
I have used both brands Kuhmo and Maxxis, Ecsta, I think was one model and Victra the other. The only crash I've had was when someone ran into me whilst I was parked. I do a comparatively high mileage and have had no tyre related problems yet.
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My local independent tyre seller was pushing Cooper tyres the other day. Has anyone had experience of them?
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Had them on my Chevy Blazer (2001)firm has been going for years,did what it said on the box highly regarded by off road fans.
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Yes, a few years ago-maybe 10. They were b***** awful. Lack of grip in the wet and dry. The compound was hard-if I remember well near 400. I think that Cooper have taken over Avon so there might be some branding issues and they might be ok now. Regards,
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I started using the cheapest tyres on mytyres.co.uk several years ago - Star Performer UHP's, 205/55/16's on a Touran 2.0Tdi. Many thousands of km later, with lots of unlimited autobahn driving in wet and dry weather, I can say that I am very happy with these tyres. I wonder whether they wear faster than more expensive rubber, but I don't tend to drive with fuel economy in mind.
Now I'm in the process of trying winter tyres from the same maker.
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Maybe I'm the exception, I tend to buy cheaper tyres and change them when they reach 3mm of tread depth. If you're driving at motorway speeds and hit deep standing water, Ling-love-you-Long-time Chinese rubbish with 3mm of tread-depth will be far safer than Michelins with 1.8mm of tread. That said, I never use rock-bottom budget tyres on the front but mid-range (usually Korean these days) rubber. Decent spec cars with ASC and four channel ABS will be fine in terms of stability with mixed tyres - even in emergency situations.
Perhaps I'm jinxing myself or have been lucky, I'm a high mileage driver, the only premium tyres I've used are the ones on the cars when I bought them and I've never had a problem - I cannot even remember my last puncture I had. Modern rubber, even cheap nasty stuff, is far better than what we were driving around on just 15+ years ago - let alone going back to the cross-plies of my youth!
People are too obsessed with safety data these days - if people just took a little more care with their driving, death and injury on the roads would fall far more than those handful that could reasonably be attributed to budget tyres.
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I was just looking at an Autoexpress tyre test, like you do, which said that when a car with Contipremium2 tyres had stopped the car on Wanlis was still doing 30mph.
In most tyre tests the cheap Chinese tyres come out bottom especially in the wet.
Is it really worth it to buy rubbish when your life or mine could depend on a few square inches of rubber?
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"In most tyre tests"
How many and where? Any Chinese, Korean etc road tests?
Echo the comment about driving standards from a previous poster, drive within the equipments capability. Would you expect a 1960s Fiat 500, Moggy, Bedford van, Hillman Minx et al to be able to stop as quickly as an M Type? Should older cars therefore be banned irrespective of tyres?
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People are too obsessed with safety data these days - if people just took a little more care with their driving, death and injury on the roads would fall far more than those handful that could reasonably be attributed to budget tyres.
+1
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>>>How many and where?
Which magazine, Autoexpress, Autocar have all done tyre tests which put premium tyres top, usually Contimental.
Of course people should drive carefully, that goes without saying, but what about an emergency? What if a child ran out in front of you? With decent tyres you may just stop, with the cheapo tyres you may not. Google tyre tests and see.
We have had these arguments many times before. Some people are tight, so they buy cheap tyres, oil and anything else they can get cheap. They do not save anything in the end, most people would say that a Michelin tyre will last longer than a Lingwanlong. You get what you pay.
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>>>How many and where?
Which magazine, Autoexpress, Autocar have all done tyre tests which put premium tyres top, usually Contimental.
most people would say that a Michelin tyre will last longer than a Lingwanlong. You get what you pay.
I've done 40K miles on my rear LingLongs - they have over 4mm of tread depth left, although I will replace them at 3mm as I usually do, the front tyres (currently Nexins) have done 20K miles and are too at about 4mm. My car pulls up strongly wet or dry.
The stopping distance at town speeds between tyres is marginal - the thinking distance will have far more impact, paying attention to the road and anticipation are kings here. If someone runs out in front of me (I don't speed in town) it's their fault - I couldn't care less. Its just bad luck.
At motorway speeds most drivers drive nose to tail with (luck aside) no hope whatsoever - premium tyres or not - of avoiding an incident within their visual range. Keeping your distance and using anticipation regardless or tyre brand is what prevents accidents.
I remember driving on the M25 in my Range Rover Vogue - crappy brakes (standard then) and gripless AT tyres, I anticipated the accident the idiot in front was about to have before he even realised he was about to have one, I hit the hazard lights straddled the two outside lanes and brought the traffic behind me to a controlled halt just as he started having his accident (in a car that would stop far, far quicker than my Rangey) He ended up sideways across the two said lanes after hitting another car and bouncing off the armco, if it wasn't for my reading of the situation dozens of cars would likely have piled into him side on- that sort of accident is usually fatal at motorway speeds. As I said, tyres play a small part in the big scheme of things. It's the nut behind the steering wheel that makes all the difference.
People are switching away from premium tyres because they cost too much - which they do, you are paying twice as much for a marginal gain in performance. The premium tyre manufacturers are just trying to scare people back onto the known brands when cheaper tyres are perfectly acceptable unless you want to do trackdays.
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To iterate my point, I believe that it is the vehicle and driver combination, and its capabilities which is key. Knowing what your vehicle can and cannot do and using the road accordingly.
What if a child ran out in front of , for instance, an LDV Maxus - fully laden as opposed to a Zonda? Ridiculous comparison maybe, but that is just to illustrate the vast differences in vehicles on the road.
How far down the road of "what about in an emergency" do we go?
"With decent tyres you may just stop" Yes you may, but you may not, there are many other factors.
Too many variables to say that the tyres are the killer; brake performance, tyre pressure, tread depth, driver reactions, visibility, sobriety, concentration, experience, road conditions, all contribute. If these cheap tyres are dangerous, why are they allowed, where do we draw the line in tyre performance? Do we ban cars from the road if there is a possibility of ice which would all but negate tyre choice?
Should all of the factors which contribute to stopping a car be subject to a tightening of tolerances?
"They do not save anything in the end" I buy cheap tyres, Partco discs and pads, does that mean I will at some time kill a child because of this?
In your argument we also get the "they" word and the "some people" phrase. Who are they, who are some people?
You have your opinions, they are not necessarily facts.
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Steve and davmal.
Most of what you say I agree with , of course good driving stops accidents.
My opinion, is that both of you and anyone else would be safer in a car with "good" tyres than with "ditchfinders".
I stand by my comments, good tyres, good brakes, good driving are the keys.
Steve, I know if you are driving slowly and carefully and hit someone, it would be their fault. But you would still be very upset.
Many years ago a child ran out from in front of a bus, I was driving my father's van which had no rubber on the brake peddle. I hit the peddle and my foot slipped off, I hit the child and threw him into a ditch. I got out to see and the child got up and ran off. The child and I were very lucky thank goodness. I have always been very particular since then.
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Steve, one more thing. I recently bought 4 Continental Premium 2s for my Golf. They were 195/65/15V, I paid £59 each fully fitted, balanced, new valve and VAT. I do not think I would have paid much less for some cheapo tyres. Maybe £10 a tyre, I would rather have the Contis thanks and know I've got the safest and best.
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There's plenty of decent deals available on your very common tyre size, if I spotted such a deal for mine then I would undoubtably buy the premium tyres over budget brands - however I've never seen my particular tyre size cheap - as it tends to be a Citroën C5 and nothing else fitment, My previous car (Jag XJ8) suffered a similar lack of choice..
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I wrote to Ford Direct and received a phone call about my Sunny Tyres. I was told that they were approved by Ford and that they had spoken to the dealership who assured her that they were perfectly ok. So the dealership informs Ford Direct that the tyres conform to the Ford Direct standard. Does that make sense?
When I asked that it be put in writing I was told to get back to the dealereship who would then contact Ford Direct - who I actually wrote to - to let me know if I could have confirmation of their approval of the tyres in writing !!!
I explained everything to the guy at the dealership but the one thing consistant about this organisation just north east of London is that no one at any time has passed messages on and that even included the time when I wanted to try out the car before purchase. The competition amongst the sales staff must be pretty intense.
Anyway I have now tried the car in all conditions and they're ok as far as I'm concerned. In the wet I've even tried throwing the car round corners in areas with a fair amount of run off room and they're ok for me to feel safe.
All I want is for Ford Direct to assure me in writing that they think so too but they don't seem to want to.
I could get back to Dom Littlewood who first brought this up on Fake Britain but I see the item has been removed. Why I wonder?
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Rubber is rubber when all is said and done.
If only that was true…
I've just put my money where my mouth is, and bought two new Michelin Pilot Exaltos to replace the worn out ones after 27,000 miles. I just couldn't bring myself to buy anything less than a premium tyre.
Edited by BigJohnD on 06/12/2010 at 12:40
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John, it is true.
Competition in the tyre industry is so fierce that any products that don't make the grade just don't make it to market.
For most cars and drivers that don't go mad, one brand is the same as the next these days as regards performance, handling, etc.
It's just what brand you like.
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Many tyre tests from different sources say that you are wrong. The heading for this post tells you so. Some of the worst tyres, like Wanli, were slated in "Which" magazine for being dangerous in the wet.
Cheap tyres make it to market because customers are hard up, tight or ignorant and often tyre firms will push these cheapo brands, because you will soon be back for new ones.
Are you seriously telling us that Michelin or Continental tyres are as good as Wanli and Sunny tyres? And don't bother saying yes, people will think you are mad.
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I do not think they make car tyres from just rubber these days there is certainly a lot of carbon in them as they are conductive and I suspect many other chemicals.
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And silicone also goes into tyres you get what you pay for.
The Michelins I have on the car at the moment are excellent in the rain and have been in the snow.
My next choice will be Vredestein all weather.To much to lose driving a car with cheap tyres or tread down to below 4mm with my familie in the car.
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As someone who has worked in the Automotive and Motorsport industry for over 25 years, take it from me that with tyres, in general you get what you pay for. Making top end tyres is a black art. I just say to people, to purchase the best that they can afford. The ADAC,AMS,Auto Zeitung,Auto Express etc. tyre tests are a good start.
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I believe you turbo 25 years is a long time.Its a shame that it always boils down to money .I want people who can't afford the expensive tyres still to be safe for my sake and theirs.
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.I want people who can't afford the expensive tyres still to be safe for my sake and theirs.
I can afford any tyre I want, whether I'm prepared to pay twice as much for a marginal gain in performance is another matter entirely. As I've stated before, driver error is the cause of the vast mejority of accidents - not tyre performance, even "nasty" budget tyres are far better than what we were driving around on 25 years ago, as long as you have plenty of tread depth, concentrate on improving your driving not your tyres and you'll be fine. I'm a high mileage driver, the majority of my cars have been big cars with large engines and I only buy mid-range or budget tyres unless there's a fantastic offer on premium stuff - I've never had a problem following this practice.
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so you get what you pay for? err not with fakes you dont...arent some of you missing the point of the topic here?
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well I put my money where my mouth is and invested in a pair of China's finest this very day.
Initially I was enthralled by Nankang xr611's at £30.40 all in but he couldn't get them... was offered Primewell's which are probably ok
So I chickened out and ordered Kumhos elsewhere. Victim of the marketing machine or clever researcher time will tell.
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The tyres are only fakes if they are sold as the exact same tyre. Having the same or similar tread pattern to another if they have a different name is irrelevent. The compound is critical to any tyre. As for "marginal gain" on top end tyres, well stopping metres shorter on roads or motorways whether during hot or cold weather conditions isn't marginal if it stops you hitting the car in front or the person in the road. I just hope the those idiots are not behind me and my family when I have to slam on the anchors.
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Always bear in mind that excessive deceleration is more dangerous than excessive acceleration!
I always brake with the idea that the driver following is an idiot with no insurance or brakes, on his phone, or just split up. And then try to watch them.
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Erm,
To bring this discussion bang up to date.
Which is better in snow
(i) an absolutly premium brand summer tyre
(ii) a middle of the range winter tyre.
I agree with steve Lee tread depth probably has a greater bearing in the wet than brand name.
So again
In the wet
(i) preimum brand name summer slicks
(ii) New budget ( but reasonable) tyres with max tread?
And absolutly per Steve Lee, it is the drivers brain function that prevents accidents, by the use of forward observation & anticipition/defensive driving.
Cheers
M
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Erm,
To bring this discussion bang up to date.
Which is better in snow
(i) an absolutly premium brand summer tyre
(ii) a middle of the range winter tyre.
I agree with steve Lee tread depth probably has a greater bearing in the wet than brand name.
So again
In the wet
(i) preimum brand name summer slicks
(ii) New budget ( but reasonable) tyres with max tread?
And absolutly per Steve Lee, it is the drivers brain function that prevents accidents, by the use of forward observation & anticipition/defensive driving.
Cheers
M
Or even better- premium tyres winter or summer with maximum tread .Forward observation is ideal but as we know many drivers don't and never will possess it. It won't stop the idiot crashing into the back of you.
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"Or even better- premium tyres winter or summer with maximum tread ."
Great idea. Just a question, or two.
When does maximum tread cease to be maximum tread?
Does the required tread depth vary with the amount of water on the road?
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Or even better- premium tyres winter or summer with maximum tread .Forward observation is ideal but as we know many drivers don't and never will possess it. It won't stop the idiot crashing into the back of you.
Having premium tyres won't stop idiots crashing into the back of you either.
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This post has gone totally bonkers.
A new premium is better than a new budget.
A half worn premium is better than a half worn budget etc etc.
Why do some posters think that if you have premium tyres you will keep them until the canvas appears.And if you have rubbish, cheap, nasty Chinese ditchfinders you will change them at 3mm?
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I do precisely that - buy "cheap nasty ditchfinders" and change them at 3mm tread depth. Another bonus from this approach is I cannot remember the last time I suffered a puncture - the chances of acquiring a puncture increase with tread wear.
I'm not a slow driver, I cover 25-30K miles per year and have never had a problem with grip.
My girlfriend's C3 has Michelin Energys on it with approx 2.5mm of tread life left - I have driven it in the snow recently and it's all over the place - no grip at all. My C5 feels far far more planted with its meaty but budget Ling-loveme-Long-times on the back and budget+ Nexen N6000s on the front. I'd expect the lighter car with narrower tyres to be far better in the snow - My Imp for instance is fantastic - despite being fitted with budget tyres.
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I appreciate it is a generalization, but if one has paid say £150.00 for a tyre I suspect one would be keener to run it to the very legal limit.
However a £50.00 tyre. Pah, why fret, change it.
And believe me I do know that ultimately there are performance differences ,but tyre performance is only one of a whole slew of factors involved in an accident, and I kinda wonder do some who drive on "super tyres" rely on them too much?
Anyway one soon adjusts to the tyres performance?, yes?
That steveLee comment about punctures is spot on btw.
hi sur tractor tyres bes nae different in this respect.
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I too am in the buy cheap, change sooner camp. My wife's car with Dunlop 150 quid a pop tyres is no better than my Hankook/Kuhmo shod vehicle. There again I drive within my capabilities, not each individual components limits.
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I will change mine and my wifes car tyres when I feel its the right time to change. During a hot summer,I may let them wear down to 2.5-3.0mm, but if its approaching winter then they will be replaced if less than 3-4mm. The cost of the tyre for us is irrelevant.
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Lucky it doesn't rain in the summertime then.
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I too am in the buy cheap, change sooner camp. My wife's car with Dunlop 150 quid a pop tyres is no better than my Hankook/Kuhmo shod vehicle. There again I drive within my capabilities, not each individual components limits.
Couple of points:
1) They don't state what is an "acceptable" standard for tyres. The "fake" tyres could be perfectly adequate to pass a stopping distance test.
2) The premium tyres were Continental, and presumably one of their high-end models. The budget ones were hardly a "bad" tyre; they were Apollo Accelere (if you look on the video carefully enough the censoring of the name is incomplete -- deliberate?). These are tyres owned by Vredestein, last I checked also a premium brand. So in essence they're equivalent to the Barum, Matador, Lassa and so on.
So we're effectively left with "cheap tyres aren't as good as more expensive ones". And? Who expects them to perform identically?
Certainly not Continental. I am sure that if Matador (Continental cheapies) were put up against Vredestein premium tyres the tables would be reversed. That's why we have budget and premium.
They might as well state that 10p Asda bleach isn't as effective as Domestos.
_________________________________________________________________
This is the 1st reply when this thread started from primeradriver that deserves another viewing . So the "fakes" were ID'd as being from Vredstein and Matadors are cheap Continentals. .
It looks like a case of large companies covering the whole market-as they always have. It wouldn't surprise me if this original test comparison was a stunt by Continental.
Anyone old enogh to remember the first Uniroyal Rain Tyre of the 60s? Great name. Barbara Castle the transport minister fell for it and gave them lots of publicity. It now seems that Continental own Uniroyal. Another stunt?
Who owns Sunny or is it a large Chinese company starting in the market exporting to only hot countries hoping one day to swallow up a top brand or two?
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Hi, I watched this programme when it first aired. I am involved in the tyre industry and have to disagree with the opinion that the 'fake' tyre was an Apollo Accelere (pronounced Ex-Sell-Leer). It is infact an 'Accelera (pronounced Ex-Sell-La-Ra) produced by EP Tyres http://www.eptyres.com see tyre models, very similar to Continental. They should not be confused with Apollo tyres. India based Apollo (they bought Vredestein in recent years and produce Dunlop in South Africa as far as I'm aware), produce decent quality products.
From my experience the 'fake' tyre are of poor quality, sidewalls crack, rubber is rock hard- poor grip.
I hope I have cleared this up for everyone.
Than You
Edited by TreadMan on 20/12/2010 at 21:30
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