Agreed, wouldn't put on the Chinese stuff thats about currently, but have been impressed by falken, barum and now kumhos as good as so called premium brands but without the massive marketing budgets

Ps the Chinese brands will get better

just dismissing cheap tyres because they're cheap is in my opinion strange.

suppose you bought a new Ferrari and replaced the tyres with cheap knobbly Chinese ones - sounds on the face of it unusual but if you were a farmer and just wanted to drive it around the muddy farm fields it would be a sensible choice.

equally, land rover fit Pirelli tyres for the RR but then markets the car as having excellent off road ability but hardly anyone actually goes off road in it. there are better tyres for a fatty than Pirelli if you only use it in dry weather.

many years ago it was common to fit classic mins with colway remoulds because they had soft compound which gave great grip but wore down quickly.

many kit car owners fit soft compound Toyo r888 tyres which are superb in the dry but dangerous in the wet, but who wants to drive a kit car in the rain?

and the statement "your 4 tyres are your only contact with the road - only fit top quality tyres" is a straw man argument as it suggests that NOT fitting 'top quality' tyres is somehow a death wish!

tyres should be suited to your use of the car and simply because they're a cheaper brand does not address that issue.

all tyres are a compromise 2010 VSE [Roger]

Take ‘cheap’ out of the equation, look at the trusted reviews and you will see a common thread on which tyre brands and types work and which don’t, the common tyres that ‘work’ are Michelin, Goodyear, Continental, Pirelli as ‘first tier’ then Falken, Bridgestone and Toyo then the rest follow, as you work down the brands further from the top tier brand the more polar the tyres become I.e they only perform in say the dry and then not in the wet and or are noisy etc, the top tier will tend to be well rounded and perform in the top two or three placed tyres in each test criteria in any review.

So if you only want a tyre that performs well in say the dry but are happy that you may not be able to stop quickly in the wet by some times 10’s of meters then it may make sense to save a few 10’s or 100’s of pounds.

Tyres are always a trade off, just the main brands tend to cover more bases well. Unfortunately in the UK it isn’t law to fit winters for part of the year and summers for the rest, this makes a massive difference in safety. Off road tyres should not be used on road other than to access the off road driving and driving style, speed etc should be moderated by some margin down while on road... but most people don’t and just put themselves and others at risk.... this is an important point,its not just you you are putting at risk when you drive without consideration of what tyres and road conditions... so if you want to fit cheap ‘Chinese’ tyres you should drive slower by the amount they perform worse in a certain situation than the leading performers... do you??

When I bought my l322 2 months ago, it came fitted with 4 Toyo proxys on 22" overfinch wheels. I have no idea when they was fitted but plenty of tread in them and been driving it in all sorts of weather of late and find them an excellent tyre. The grip is excellent in the wet and when driving at 80mph up the M5 in a downpour through large puddles it just ploughs right on no problem. Not had any scares with them as yet but then I'll see when they wear down and if still as good then I will replace them with Toyos again. £220 a pop but you get what you pay for I suppose and extra peace of mind when you've got a missus and daughter in car.
I never used to be a 'tyre snob' until some years ago when I had a 2008 Saab 9-5 hot Aero which came with some unknown brand of tyre on and nearly launched into the central reservation on the M40 on way home from picking it up. Next day put Michelin sports on it and made a massive difference in every way. Let's face it, if the Chinese are flooding the world with their useless toot, their tyres are not going to fair any better.

Had toyos on my tvr, good tyres

Saab aero not the best at keeping a straight line when foot to the floor, whatever tyres you're running

A tyre on one car may not work well on another, to many variables in suspension, chassis, weight, CoG etc. even tyre size changes the characteristics even on the same car, tyre manufacturers change construction and compounds between sizes so comparison between a 16” tyre to a 20” tyre of the same manufacturer and model isn’t the same.

The best idea is to get a review on your specific vehicle to get you in the ball park, even then, your climate (macro and micro), your roads, your vehicles Spec/wear/set up and your driving style and routine may mean what worked for one doesn’t work for you.

For me, in Southern Spain where we don’t see ice, snow or mud, mostly hot, never bellow 5’ degrees, very heavy occasional rain in winter, twisty mountain roads and fast freeways, driven hard at times where braking, cornering and stability performance are very much required and utilized the Falken FK 510 Azenis SUV’s work really well, good scores and experience in rain and standing water, dry handling, reasonable quiet and returns OK economy. Plus so far standing up to the very stony tracks (gravel and larger sharp rocks) l use regularly. In Spain they are priced better than the regular fit competition and are of a more modern tech than most.

I rate the FK510’s at least as well as Pirelli and Continental standard fit at a better price point.

Must admit dingg, my Saab aero ( dame Edna) handled exceptionally well considering it was a Vectra chassis. Now if it was a Vauxhall, then I'd totally agree with you lol.

ur20v wrote:

A tyre on one car may not work well on another, to many variables in suspension, chassis, weight, CoG etc. even tyre size changes the characteristics even on the same car, tyre manufacturers change construction and compounds between sizes so comparison between a 16” tyre to a 20” tyre of the same manufacturer and model isn’t the same.

The best idea is to get a review on your specific vehicle to get you in the ball park, even then, your climate (macro and micro), your roads, your vehicles Spec/wear/set up and your driving style and routine may mean what worked for one doesn’t work for you.

I just took a peak at my current tyres and they are all Accelera IOTA 255/50/20 109V...
Mostly I've been saying 'replace with same' which the beastie would have come from LR/RR outfit equipped with, but never really thought much about it. I think they are about £100 per tyre, but look good and the rubber looks OK and they must have been on the TDV8 beastie for the two and a half years I've owned it, and we've NEVER had any tyre or vehicle stability woes - EVER! I do drive quite smoothly - spent time in younger days on race tracks and did years or motorcycle slippy slidey stuff as young as 7 or 8 - and I was wondering, just wondering, if the calamities of some drivers' is just bad or misjudged driving practises?!? I know when I was in my teens and riding mostly bikes but also cars most of my buddies had accidents or mishaps and would often blame tyres or spring units etc instead of considering the fact that they didn't pay too much attention to their often erratic and sometimes dangerous riding practises. I remember one such guy/lad who was always looking around left and right on his bike, instead of looking forward, to see who was looking at him.
It does pay to 'be in the moment' when in command of nearly three tons of heavy machinery...
Being on the mobile when you end up in a ditch isn't down to cheap tyres, now is it?
My tyres are fine - honest. They've been through all weathers and most conditions, and are just fine.
Big tyre manufacturers do have people spouting for them in all quarters you know...
There have been a few suggestions here that maybe people aren't putting the safety of other road users and the general public in their minds and thoughts if they don't use TOP brands of tyres... this reminds me a bit of the funded finger pointers and lefty snitches involved in the current bat flu '''''''CRISIS'''''''
All these tyres have to pass certain regs to be sold and used we all know...
I see lots of Range Rover and or other LRs around us when out driving - and many have off-road tyres fitted as standard... These might be in line for a good ticking off if anything...

I see decent tyres a bit like having ABS or ESC, hopefully you'll never (or very rarely) really need them, but it's important to have that safety net. Some tyres are terrible in everyday/normal use, I had P6000 on a Peugeot company car a long time ago and they were scary in standing water. Others may seem fine when driving normally, but won't perform as well as a 'better' tyre in an emergency situation.

So I always buy the best tyre available, but based on reviews/tests rather than brand or price.

Just my opinion. MY23 Panamera E-Hybrid
MY19 SDV8 Autobiography - Sold

RRover, I haven’t advised to use ‘top brand tyres’, just don’t look at price only... but do research on what works (and doesn’t) and be aware that not all tyres and manufacturers are equal by a long way.

Like all things in life some people will be ‘lucky’ with crap and unsuitable tyres and get away without any problems like instability or lack of grip, but this is just luck. If you look at the data, a good tyre can better a crap tyre by over 50% in braking etc.... when you are talking about multiple car lengths extra to stop in an emergency, it can easily be the difference between stopping and rear ending a car, running someone over or going through a hedge backwards.

Saying all tyres are legal and met certain standards is just short sighted at best and shows a lack of understanding especially as you try and qualify your opinion with a form of expertise from riding bikes and time on race tracks, your opinion is strange considering that tyres performance on track and ‘slip sliding’ push limits of grip and stability etc should reinforce the need for good tyres and really show up bad ones?

Everyone assess risk differently, some will prioritize money and mileage over safety like grip, stability, stopping distance etc. same with brakes, OEM or aftermarket, same with insurance... comprehensive or third party only.... it works until it doesn’t.

Just saying you drive very conservatively, have good driving skills and attention doesn’t help when someone or something else doesn’t have the skill, attention etc and puts you and your tyres in a position where performance and time run out.

Anyway looking at your comments, we are polar opposites on just about every level... your comment on ‘bat flu’ is stupid, provocative and insulting to those who have died or been effected at any level by Covid 🤬

Trying to judge tyre performance subjectively is a complete waste of time - “I fitted DingDong Ripsnorters, they’re great and I’ve never had a crash”. Like people saying, eg, AT3s are great in the wet, when the test numbers tell a very different story.

As a general rule I never buy the cheapest or most expensive anything. For the cost of a set of "top end" tyres I can get a set of perfectly acceptable "budget" winter tyres and summer tyres, nobody will ever convince me that the "best" summer tyres are as good in the winter as the "worst" winter tyres (and vice versa).
My point is that there are no "bad" tyres just loads of "wrong" tyres, seems simple to me fit the tyres that most suit the conditions that you expect regardless of cost, slow down when conditions aren't what you expect and accept that unless you're called Lewis Hamilton you are nowhere near as skillful a driver as you think you are.

ur20: Apologies if I got your back up as regards the tyre debate/s on this thread. Maybe you'd prefer a one sided approach, initially I wanted to delve a little deeper into why it is suggested that only the most expensive brands of tyres work on at least our big 4.4 beasties, just for some additional insight. Yes good to do research (I am a researcher but in the scientific field but not and expert - certainly not a funded expert) but as you say we will probably all have varying outcomes and experiences and opinions. My point is that I will not buy a tyre just for it's name - that's all, or that I've got more money than sense!
Yes I guess luck or the lack of it does play some part, also. I probably couldn't say if I do have good driving skills, at least anymore, as no-one had assessed this, not that I know. Smooth with good lines I am sure - that's something that does't go away.
I AM aware that there are lots of AWFUL drivers on the roads these days - have gotten us out of could be accidents on both motorway at speed and other roads at less speed, as complete idiots have for some reason been allowed to play with cars. Polls have shown that at any one time their could be up to 40% of road users under the influence of one thing or t'other, and that's only peeps who have been pulled over on those check-ups they used to do. Our local rags give long lists of such crimes, of peeps under some influence whilst driving, and it ain't going away any time soon.
I can't really comment further on the bat-flu thing - even though you missed the point: but there sure are a lot of virtue signallers out there trying to name call because they have a certain ideological stand point. Surely you can't consider me as to be blamed for anyone supposedly dying from (you never die of) bat flu? A quick response to that one might be: don't listen to MSM... The Amish don't watch telly - and they are just fine apparently. I just like to do a bit of research (lots in fact) other than 5-min updates with one-sided BBC reports, that's all. I am also in touch with a number of peeps in general health care and a few real scientists who I research for - so am in touch with ground zero. One last comment on that one: go check the global mortality rates per country... you might get a shock!
My cheap tyres are just fine...