Tyre warning !!!!!!!!

[irlmin]

Everyone here will know My thoughts on budget tyres especially the influx of cheap Chinese tyres , We had a customer into the workshop yesterday with an R56 complaining of poor brakes and the car 'turning around' ( her words ) on a roundabout , We checked everything out and took a test drive ---- boy was She right !!!! it was the most dangerous car I have driven in a long time and it was down to tyres , they had NO grip in the wet -NONE and the grip on a wet roundabout was also dangerous and would certainly catch out an inexperienced driver . back to the workshop and a quick chat to the owner resulted in Her buying 4 175x65x15 Continental Sport Contact tyres from Our neighbours EPT tyres for € 75 each fitted and balanced etc , ( She had paid € 70 for the Chinese rubbish just 2 weeks ago ) off again for a test drive and without the Contis even being scrubbed in it was a totally different car stopping straight and no skidding , roundabout grip was brilliant , so I will warn again about this , do NOT fit this rubbish it will catch you out and also the price of Branded quality tyres is not that much more and with better mileage in both wear and fuel consumption they will pay for themselves over and over again . end of rant !
G

[TBi]

Totally agree with you. Whenever I hear someone boasting about their cheap tyres I ask them how'd they feel if they knocked down a small child because they couldn't stop in time. At least with good brand tyres you'd know you did all you could but with cheap tyres... Would it be worth it?

[Bawnee]

Cheers for that G, scary read. All that's between you & the road is the rubber. I'd NEVER consider cheap or part worn tyres!!

[MiniMpi]

Totally agree Ger.
When I bought my R56 Cooper S it had new tyres all round......sadly they were Chinese Infinity's.
Literally NO grip in the wet and about 30% grip in the dry.
Lethal !!

[Derfinn]

Well said Ger. Wise words.

Always think tyres are the most important part of the car, given they are the bits in actual contact with the road!

[AdyP]

Ditto to all the above! These boring round black thing are (unless things go very wrong) the only things between you and the road.

If you want to buy the most expensive, fine. If you want to save some money, then buy something in the middle ground. But please buy from a known manufacturer who has the heritage and experience to make good tyres for a good price. Do your research, read tyre reviews and ask people for good advice (not necessarily the cheap tyre fitter). You can save money by buying online as opposed to taking whatever budget rubbish is doled out from the tyre shop.

Be safe and have fun.

A

[irlmin]

As an update to this a few of our customers have been raving about the 205 x 45 x 17 Hankook non runflat tyres and in particular the wet weather grip, seem like very good value as well , our neighbour EPT tyres have them at € 120 ea supplied fitted and balanced . they also have Michelin 175x65x15 at € 75.00 each supplied ,fitted and balanced . give them a call on 021 4874555 and mention Miniclub of Ireland .

[MiniMpi]

Cracking deals Ger !!

[Masterbiker]

As an update to this a few of our customers have been raving about the 205 x 45 x 17 Hankook non runflat tyres and in particular the wet weather grip, seem like very good value as well , our neighbour EPT tyres have them at € 120 ea supplied fitted and balanced .

I've just had two of these put on the rear. The road noise is so much less than the Dunlop SP Sport 01 runflats and is noticeable even though I still have two Dunlops on the front. The level of grip so far seem to be excellent in the dry (funnily enough there's been no rain since they were put on, on monday morning. So haven't been able to test the wet grip).

I can feel that the side walls are softer when going round a corner at speed.

It's going to be a couple of months before I need to replace the fronts and can give a full idea on how they are for all 4 corners, but so far I am very impressed.

[James Downes]

Inflate/check tyre pressure in the morning before you drive off.

Hot air expands so when you get to a shop or garage to check/inflate your cars tyres the read will not be correct and different from tyre to tyre.

I bought a Michelin Hi-Power Tyre Inflator in Halfords for €50 just so i could have my pressures spot on

This one: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessorie ... e-inflator

VW Caddy - 205/55R16
Front 30
Rear 36



It make a difference to MPG

[MiniMpi]

Nice one James !

[James Downes]

I found it interesting when i read it so i thought id pass it on.

[Sportspack-Mark]

Totally agree! its your only contact with the road so why skimp on it?

I was in a incident in a car with a friend who had Tigar tyres or some Indian donkey cart tyres fitted. Never again has he skimped on tyres