Autocar Tyre Test - Budget Tyre Performance
Autocar's latest tyre test is all about budget tyres - and how they perform compared to a premium road tyre by Continental. Unsurprisingly, they don't compare well! The test focuses on wet weather handling and tests five of the leading budget brands: GT Radial, Linglong, Nankang, Triangle and Wanli.
The magazine tested wet handling and braking, dry handling and braking and aquaplaning, plus a high-speed test at the Contidrom test centre in Hannover. Senior tester Jamie Corstorphine summed up with: ??We expected the bargain tyres in this test to fall short of the Continental, but we were not prepared for just how poorly some performed.??
The results are shocking. To get the full test results you'll need to buy autocar this month, but the results from the wet braking speak for themselves:
Continental: 31.7 metres
Nankang: 33.8 metres
GT Radial: 35.8 metres
Wanli, Triangle and Linglongs: 40.2 metres
The Linglong equipped VW Golf Autocar used for its tests was still doing 27.8mph at the point where it had stopped on the Continentals. Overall the Continentals easily won, scoring top marks in all but one test. A consistent performance earned the GT Radials second place, but a wet lap time 3.4sec adrift of the Continentals indicated just how far even it falls short.
Given the average rain fall in the UK, it's well worth thinking twice before fitting super-budget tyres on your vehicle. If you save ?75 fitting 4 budget tyres you only save 0.05 pence a mile over a 12,000 mile life of the tyre. With the risk of an expensive insurance excess and loaded premium for the next 5 years, not to mention what could happen in a worse case scenario, is it really worth it?
I will forever be a value for the money Freaque, be it Scotch (GrangeStone12yr old), hookers (ask for Bethany; half&half with...€60) or my Triangle CNTT GLS TR 928 performance tyres ($50.00 balanced,mounted, valve stem & disposal fee USA). I drive a '99 Miata that I commute to work M-F and race/drift on Highway 1 (CA) on the weekends. I run P195-60R/14s which no body makes anymore. I've run Dunlops, Goodriches, Bridgestones, Toyos, Falcons & Yokohamas on my Miata but nothing matches these Triangles. With Nitrogen in the Triangles, it's like sliding on glass into the turns!!! The tyres look aggressive but drive whisper quiet. You need a Summer tyre but are low on dough? Triangles are your hook-up ( The #1 Tyre in China says it all---Move over Michellen Pilots!!).
Before I even opened your main page you mentioned Tigar,which is by the way,running a
Michelin program,you are slagging this brand of budget tyre.You are wrong.
But On your main page there is no mentioning of the test results for Tigar brand of tyre.
I wander why? Maby you have an interest in slugging a very good tyre owned by Michelin.
Am a mechanic by trade and I used Tigar tyres for many years,they are just as good as
Michelin.The only difference is in the price.Michelin commercial 195/70/15 costs around £100
Tigar costs £45.This includes new valve and balancing
I think you should get your facts right before you publish wrong information.
Regards
Zoran
Hi Zoran,
We don't mention Tigar, in fact we don't even have them featured on the site, something we'll change.
Also this test was a cover of an Autocar test, not one of ours.
I am a tyre fitter and I strongly recommend against the use of budget tyres in any circumstance.
they don't provide adequate grip in the dry, and in the wet are usually downright dangerous. my advice is to check performance reviews of different tyres and compare them, and compare budget ones to branded ones and see the difference between cheap and cheerful, and quality. THEN concern yourself with the price.
paying that little bit extra is worth not running over that innocent child that stepped into the road, or rear-ending that car that suddenly braked in front of you.
tyres I recommend myself are;
Kumho
Michelin
Falken
Goodyear
Dunlop
Yokohama (one of the best tyre manufacturers in the world)
also if tyre wear concerns you and you dont want your 100 yokohama's to wear out prematurely, make sure you get your wheel alignment checked at LEAST once a year, especially if you've caught a kerb as this could knock your alignment out.
Dead spot on, Mate!!! Cheap is not the same as Value for the dollar (Or Bob, as it were). Never go Cheap and never be brand loyal, make em earn your loyalty!!! Tyres are an investment, that means reading the reviews & getting recommendations from the Subject Matter Experts (SME) such as yourself. Also, I tell people, I drive a 15 year old car that runs 88% of a new Miata because I am religious about pulling maintenance and cutting deals. I just slapped in a Mishimoto 2row all alum radiator that cost $100.00 less that the crappy Madza stock radiator---man, what a difference!!! I know people will wince but I adore the ride I get with nitrogen instead of air---you feel virtually no resistance when cornering!!!
Standard tyres for my car are £280 each, I needed 4 and don't have a spare £1120! Have now fitted 4 Linglongs. Grip in the dry seems to have markedly improved. Not been in the rain yet but if they are as bad as they say then surely the Uk government would not allow them to be sold. Saving £700+ is not to be ignored and today's driver aids still make the highway code stopping distances a joke.
i own a 4x4 just had linglongs put on as they were the cheapest available as my tyre size is not a common one however if you buy cheap tyres for a road car without 4wd you will experience problems but look at the options expensive or cheap, expensive per corner on the smallest car is around £80 on a 14 inch rim where as a 16 inch rim is around £135. my car for a expensive tyre which does go off road would set me back £150 per corner where as the cheapest tyres range from £45 for a small car and £100 for a large car. so if the well known companies like goodyear, dunlop, bf goodrich were to drop there prices in the interest of safety then there would be no contest over budget or premium but on the other hand i will back the cheaper tyres for a heavy 4x4 as they are not built for speed where as 99% of other vehicles are but i would never recommend a cheap tyre to a motorcyclist as they will just get killed and that would play on your mind. and if you actually drive carefully all tyres and brakes will last longer and perform to a higher standard . i am a class 1 lgv driver and the first thing your taught is to drive carefully and brake in good time.
We bought our peromance estate from the dealer looked @treads good looked @ make goodyear f1 but did not check other three @ time so amazed to find sava tyre dealer would not change as tread good. 1 know i will have to change them befor bad weather season as very hard tyres and poor in rain.A few budget tyres are good as premium but most not in our extremes of weather so trying to find good all season but hard due to dealer option of 18 wheels limiting tyre choice .Also find that many superior tyres sold in europe and usa not sold here , why not ?!
My son aquired a 2nd hand Punto recently and it had Wanli tyres......the most dangerous tyres I have ever experienced, in the wet they are shocking and dangerous - changed them even though they looked fairly new - trust me being a Company car driver - don't touch them.
My dad had a simple trick to get me to change my worn out tyres. He'd put a penny and measure the tread life---if it were too worn, he'd stab the tyre with his pocket knife while exclaiming 'looks like your tyre needs changing!!! Also, guys, explain to women how to read the freshness date on a tyre. My girlfriend just bought a NEW, never been used NINE YEAR OLD TYRE!!! Tyres should NEVER be accepted if they are more than 5 years old---they'll separate if they are that old and never used!!!
Get good thefts protecting devices attached to your car; some of them are automatic while others have to be turned on manually. Both of these count while insurance to your car.Try to get discounts while insuring more than one car. This means, if you take insurance of more than one car combined,you may get discount on the insurance amount.
i have 2 triangle tyres 225 55 16 on my e39 bmw and they hav e no grip in the wet and not that good even when its dry i have 6000miles done and will have to replace them again with a good brand name this time they are worst tyres i have ever put on a car i wudnt buy them for my wheel barrow now
I have to agree here i have the same brand and size tyre on a vauxhall omega and they are utterly usless in the wet, had the car sideways more times than i care to remember . Now have Pirelli P7`s fitted which are awsome
I have triangle on my E61 245 45 17. In the wet the back end slides out as I'd you were drifting and the front go straight. Lethal tyres.
LING LONG?
Even Bon Jovi will sing "you give tyre.. a bad name."
LING LONG 265 70 16
These would have to be the noisiest tyres I have ever purchased. They handle fairly well on the road and off road, but the noise is almost unbearable. I decided to go with them because they were a lot cheaper. I had them for three months before I bought a known brand. It is worth spending the extra to get the reassuranace of a quality brand.You get what you pay for.
If the results were so shocking that would benefit to the safety of general public on roads, you should have posted for people to read instead of asking for money.
just brake earlier, use the gears, take foot off gas earlier: if you are exceeding the grip of the tyres, you are a crap driver.
Just brake earlier ? you can be the best driver in the world, driving down the road within the speed limit, taking extra care and a kid appears from nowhere in front of you, parked cars either side of you and you can do nothing but brake. I believe these tests were from 60-0, if we half this to 30-0 that means 5 meters(nearly 16 feet) longer to stop on cheap chinese tyres. Do you want to be the one to tell that kids parents why you couldn't STOP ?