Budget tyre suggestions please

[JonnyJazz]

If your existing tyres show no sign of deterioration and have plenty of tread, I'd not bother replacing them.
I am riding on 14yr old tyres that are perfectly fine.

As for part worn, a cheap friend of mine has always bought part worn for the past 20 odd years I've known him and never had any problems.

 
   

[E27006]

If your existing tyres show no sign of deterioration and have plenty of tread, I'd not bother replacing them.
I am riding on 14yr old tyres that are perfectly fine.

As for part worn, a cheap friend of mine has always bought part worn for the past 20 odd years I've known him and never had any problems.

 
   

If part-worn tyres were banned, then every used car sale would have to be retyred as a condition of te sale.
There are videos on youtube where budget tyres from China are tested against better known makes, there is a clear difference between a £35 to £40 Chinese tyre and a £50 to £60 tyre in terms of wet conditions of the grip and braking performance. I would just pay the £15 to £20 extra for the peace of mind.
Note in the video, the recomndation for Toyo tyres,  checking mytyres, where I source tyres fro all my vehicles,  Toyo tyres in 185/55 x R15 sizes are £54 to £60 each

[2robbie2]

There are many conflicting views on this, but for what it's worth, I would never, ever buy part-worn tyres - having spun off the M1 motorway many years ago, my father and I learned a very valuable lesson in tyre purchase - which was reinforced by a mechanic friend of mine I met since then who has one firm piece of advice - 'if nothing else, buy the best quality tyres you can afford as these are the things you reply on to stop and which may prevent you from having a very serious accident.'

Also - tyres do have a lifespan (rubber degrades over time even if unused) of somewhere between 6 and 10 years (you can find out the date of manufacture from the DOT reference on the side of the tyre). Unless I had no other option, I would never purchase a tyre that I intended to use immediately if it was more than 6 years old (and for all normal purchases, I would only purchase a tyre that has been manufactured in the last 12/18 months).

In recent years, the best performing and most durable brand I have used is Michelin - I had a set of Michelin Primacy tyres on my old Mini Cooper which lasted 25,000 miles - the extra cost was wholly worth it and proved to be considerably more economical than the cheaper tyres I have purchased in the past. When my current Michelin Energy Saver tyres wear out (just purchased a Honda Jazz 69 plate so they have very little wear), I'm going to fit Michelin CrossClimate tyres - there are a lot of excellent reviews about these online.

One final thing - in recent years I've started to purchase tyres online through BlackCircles (after having researched a lot of similar retailers) - and have made significant savings - you buy online and book into a local garage - never had any problems and would thoroughly recommend them.

[richardfrost]

...I would never, ever buy part-worn tyres...just purchased a Honda Jazz 69 plate

You just purchased four part worn tyres.

The assumption seems to be that part worn tyres are half bald, have 18 puncture repairs and are some crappy brand. Well that is not always the case. I think you need to use a little common sense and don't let the tyre fitter shove any old thing on. For £25 per tyre, fitted, my lad is legal on the road. When the time comes, I will treat the Jazz to new shoes.

[culzean]

First of all you have to ask why the tyres were removed from original vehicle and are being sold separately.  My bro in law bought part worn and got a blowout, luckily not going fast or on a 'smart motorway'  but inspection showed pre-existing damage to sidewall.

[2robbie2]

Hi Richard - no the assumption from me is that the tyres have plenty of tread left and are from a top-quality brand. But it's a personal choice and I recognise that my experience (one tyre suffering a complete blow-out on the M1) and the advice from the experienced mechanic I know have heavily swayed my opinion.

A brand-new Michelin Cross Climate from BlackCircles costs about £83 for 185/60 R15 (fitted price). I could buy a lot cheaper and get a decent quality part-worn tyre fitted for about £30 - but as I see it, I value my life at more than the £53 extra per tyre I'd pay (or £212 for all four).

This isn't a dig at others who chose part-worn tyres - they are just the maxims that I live by. I recognise that others have purchased decent part worn tyres and never experienced a problem.

The only other piece of advice I have been given from my mechanic friend is that just because a car is legal on the road with an MOT or minimum tread of 1.6mm doesn't mean that it is safe.

[richardfrost]

But how do you judge the 4 partly worn tyres on your 69 plate Jazz? You have no history for these tyres. That's my point really. At least the part worn tyres can be assessed off the rim by the tyre fitter. Tyres coming with a second hand car are assumed to be fine, but they should be considered part worn and given a good look at, in my opinion.

Having said all of this, as I stated in my first reply, I personally would have bought brand new. I'm just trying to balance the argument.

[guest4871]

It is an interesting point about tyres on a second hand car. I purchased one a while ago with 4 matching tyres from the same manufacturer.

I was puzzled that the two rear tyres were worn to indicate they had been run over inflated. One did not have a DOT mark.

Otherwise, they looked fine if a little wonky.

My suspicion, now, is that they were all replaced by the dealer as those on the car may have been U/S.

I now have new tyres from the same manufacturer. They are all wearing evenly.

So you don't know what you are inheriting!

[2robbie2]

Hi Richard - you're quite correct in that you can't trust tyres on a used car for sale, but I would personally tend to have more faith in some new(ish) original tyres on a 1-year old car where I can make an assessment about how that car has been driven and whether it has been in any accidents (and also cross-reference the DOT code against the age of the car). There is no ability to do this on part-worn tyres for sale through a third party.

On the other hand, I recognise that on older used cars for sale it may be almost impossible to assess how the tyres have been used or whether they have been in an accident on another vehicle - when I have encountered this (and where I don't know the seller personally), I have subsequently replaced all 4-tyres as soon as finances allowed, irrespective of the tread left on them or the manufacturer (and factored that into the payment price) - just for my piece of mind and all that. The M1 spin-off left me acutely aware that it only takes one tyre to blow-out to put your life at risk (and/or somebody else's), no matter how safe or responsible the driver.

[Jocko]

just because a car is legal on the road with an MOT or minimum tread of 1.6mm doesn't mean that it is safe.

I never run a tyre below 3mm and many companies and car hires change them before that. It is those 4 and 5 mm treaded tyres that meet the used tyre market.
Kirkcaldy used to be known by the local tyre fitters as Remould City. With high unemployment and low wages it was the best many car owners could afford.

[2robbie2]

Yes - the RAC and other organisations recommend that you never go below 3mm which sounds reasonable to me.

You're also right that finances restrict the options available to many people - many have no choice but to take a calculated risk with part-worn tyres and remoulds (and which is why I wouldn't criticise anyone for taking this option).

[UKjim]

Kwik Fit are selling Yokohama Bluearth ES32 (as fitted to new Jazz) for £50 each. I had them last time and they were brilliant.

I have these on our Jazz and I agree with Jocko, excellent tyres for the money, no Chinese death rings for me!

[Jocko]

I was so enamoured with the Yokohama Bluearth ES32 tyres I had on the Jazz that when I needed to replace them I went for Yokohama Bluearth 4S, the all-season tyre, and I am thrilled with them too.

[Bazzzer]

Kirkcaldy...

I've been there once in 1975.  A workmate and I had travelled up to Scotland for a fortnight touring/golfing.

It was a Sunday, our day had started at Moffat and we reached Kinghorn during the morning, had a round of golf, and were fortunate to find a pub open there for a pint and some lunch.  We played another round in the afternoon and afterwards found ourselves in Kirkcaldy, presumably our campsite was near there.

It being a Sunday, we were not too hopeful of finding anywhere open to buy something to eat.  We walked up one side of the deserted main street, past the cinema which had a metal gate locked across its entrance, crossed over and walked back along the other side. We eventually reached a Chinese restaurant at 7.10pm.  There was a door with some stairs beyond.  On the door was a notice "Couples only after 7pm".  The waiter inside refused to serve us as it was just after 7pm and we were not a couple, so we had to have a takeaway to eat in the car.

The cinema - I'm not sure if it was the Regal or the Rialto - was showing the film called The Land that Time Forgot
which we thought was quite appropriate!

[Bazzzer]

I am riding on 14yr old tyres that are perfectly fine.
   

There are proposals to make tyres over 10 years old a "fail" rather than just an advisory.

I discovered while on the M50 that having lots of tread on an old tyre doesn't make it safe.  Luckily, I wasn't on the M5.