Buying Cheap Budget Tyres? Information & Opinions on Safety Risks
The problem consumers face when buying tyres can be the cost of the better brands of car tyres. There is a huge wide range to choose from and this includes another option, cheap budget tyres. If you pop in to your local tyre branch the savings can be very appealing to customers.
Does half the cost mean half the quality?
If you are looking for car tyres you will notice some very high prices for the big brand tyres. Then you will notice the cheapest option and you may be inclined to think – are these tyres really that bad? Can the performance really be that much of a difference? After all, rubber is rubber right and they must be to the level of quality required to sell in the UK?
The major tyre companies undertake heavy research and development, looking into techniques surrounding the tread pattern, rubber compound, and the internal structure.
What did the car tyre test say?
Recently, the car buying magazine “What Car?” conducted this very test1. What was used in the test?
- Premium tyres: Michelin (£70), Goodyear (£60), and Continental (£58).
- Budget tyres: Arrowspeed (£44), Ovation (£37), and Sunew (£37).
- The car: Vauxhall Meriva
- Equipment: GPS-based timing equipment
Test 1 – stopping distances in dry conditions travelling at 70mph:
- Michelin Pilot Sport 3 – 48.5 metres
- Continental ContiPremium Contact 2 – 51.1 metres
- Sunew YS112 – 52.2 metres
- Goodyear Optigrip – 53.4 metres
- Ovation VI-182 – 53.4 metres
- ArrowSpeed CP661 – 53.9 metres
So comparing the best premium brand tyre against the worst budget tyre, the stopping difference was 5 metres longer for the budget tyre. Goodyear didn’t fair too well in this test did they?
Test 2 – stopping distances in wet conditions travelling at 70mph:
- Michelin Pilot Sport 3 – 59.5 metres
- Goodyear Optigrip – 62.1 metres
- Continental ContiPremium Contact 2 – 64.3 metres
- ArrowSpeed CP661 – 68.2 metres
- Ovation VI-182 – 76.0 metres
- Sunew YS112 – 82.4 metres
Looking at that there are some shocking differences. The budget tyres took an average of 14 metres longer than the premium tyres.
Two other tests were undertaken measuring the lateral grip (with the premium tyres showing better grip) and the cabin noise generated (which was roughly the same overall). You can watch a short video of the tyre test conducted by What Car?.
Tyre Blog opinion on cheap budget tyres?
Looking back at the overall results it is clear that there isn’t actually a direct correlation between the price of tyres and the quality of them. The stopping distances in the wet were alarming, but the rest of the tests show that there is only a small difference in quality – in some cases the budget beating the premium!
One company representative from Nexen objected to the evaluation from What Car? by saying:
“Drying braking: OK it is not a great result for Arrowspeed, but we have to consider that Arrowspeed is not far away from Goodyear’s result. Wet braking: Arrowspeed is the best out of the lower priced brands and also not far away from the other premium brands such as Continental. Lateral grip: close to all premium-brands and the same result as Goodyear. Noise very good result, better than Michelin and Goodyear and same result as Continental.”
And interestingly pointing out that:
“…considering all factors, including price-offer, the Arrowspeed – tyre has the best price-performance – relation in the test.”
The Michelin UK car tyre marketing manager Jianni Geras had the following to say:
“Although we are obviously very pleased that the Pilot Sport 3 was the clear winner in this test, the poor performance of the budget brands is very alarming. It’s clear from this that the large investment we make in R&D is hugely beneficial to drivers and this doesn’t even take into account the environmental performance of our tyres in terms of improved fuel efficiency and class leading longevity.”
So there we have it, a small number of tests conducted on a range of expensive and cheap tyres shows there is a difference in quality – especially in the wet – but certainly not half the quality even though they are half the price!
As a consumer shop around, read some reviews, or pop in to your local car tyre branch.
Footnotes:- http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/tyre-test-why-budget-tyres-could-kill/the-tests/251766 [↩]
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Hello! We are a tyre supplies company in Kent and we supply and fit new, budget and part worn tyres. I have actually done a test similar to the one you guys detail above and as a general rule I’ve found that the more expensive the tyre the better it performs. The problem I have as a business alot of customers want cheap car tyres! If I only supplied new tyres I’d lose a lot of business.
The way around this is to supply a range of tyres and basically be honest and give out the best advice I can i.e spend more get better, longer lasting and higher performing tyres.
In this economic climate I find people are going for the budget or part worn tyres because of price. I think that having a range of choices and explaining the difference in the tyres is the best way for me to run my business.
Hi Tom,
Thank you for leaving your comments and opinions. I would agree that in general the more premium expensive tyres perform better than their cheaper counterparts.
The major concern lies in the differences in price weighed up against the performance benefits. Having a range of choices would obviously be a benefit to consumers, especially if they are able to receive advice – which in the modern era can be easily researched online as the above tests show.
I would imagine many of the general public see tyres as an accessory rather than the important benefits they can bring to a vehicle, which could be the reason for the slow move towards winter tyres during Winter.
It is nice hearing your thoughts and that you provide advice to your buyers to help them find suitable tyres. Good luck with running your business.
I have recently had to choose to put budget tyres on my 320d coupe 255/35/18. I drive 300+ miles a week but because of fuel prices, cruise is never off and average speed is now well below national speed limits to enable a constant 48+ mpg. In this case driving at maximum grip levels is not required, the driver to plan manouveres in advance.
The tyres on the car still cost £170 for the pair as opposed to £200+ each for supposed big brands. The answer is that the big producers need to re adjust their prices down or they will lose the custom for cash strapped motorists.
Tyre noise from the 6th largest manufacturer in the world is just the same as Mich/Conti fitted previously. Grip v good even with TC off.
As for winter tyres cost is crazy and it is now a month since we an Aberdeen saw snow, and not once did my car get stuck even in the worst snow I have ever driven in. Snow sock are cheap mans winter tyres, as they can be used as the roads cleared and cost a fraction of winter tyres. Plus you have to store the summer tyres, more cost don’t you think we are paying enough out already?
regards
RN
Hi Rob,
Thanks for the comment. It is apparent that the difference in price does not always relate to the difference in quality and factors like stopping distances. Hence the reason why consumers wary of cost will likely use budget tyres.
I can accept the cost of winter tyres is a major sticking point. One thing I would point out is that winter tyres help throughout winter as they aren’t limited to just snowy weather. They are a benefit in low temperature conditions (below 7°C).
Winter Tyre Guide: http://www.tyreblog.co.uk/winter-tyres-guide
Again, I guess its up to the customer to look at tests like above and information to help make their choice on whether the costs are worth it.
My wife has owned a citroen xsara picasso since new in 2005, having covered 110,00 kms by oct 2011.
The origional rear tyres still had 4+mm of tread (mitchelin), however the side walls were showing signs of cracking.
No problems at all had been experienced with the origional tyres both in wet and dry driving conditions.
A pair of budget tyres were fitted to the rear, (ovation eco vision) I had them fitted but did not give any thought to the type, relying on the advice of the tyre fitter.
Two days later it rained (doe’s not rain much here) I experienced my first rear end slide going round a roundabout. I put it down to oil, camber, surface, but 5 months later (yesterday) it rained again and I spun again this time on a very busy roundabout full of other traffic all going at the same speed. I did a 180 deg and was very lucky to avoid all traffic.
I later did some tests and on a deserted supermarket car park in the wet found it very easy to “lose” the rear end.
Make what you want of this, but tomorrow I am going to fit some Know tyres.
Hi Tony,
That is quite a scary experience you have had. I guess different types of tyres can react in different ways to the conditions. The major brands will always point to the amount of research & development that goes into the production of tyres.
It was evident in the stopping distances tested above that whilst there wasn’t much of a difference in the dry, the wet conditions provided quite a large difference.
# Michelin Pilot Sport 3 – 59.5 metres
# Ovation VI-182 – 76.0 metres
Consumers can now check out such online tests to gather opinions on the different range of tyres available – then weigh up the cost vs performance for themselves.
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