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Any industry experts on here?
This seems to be a complete minefield. Auto Express and their like review these tyres fairly rigorously, but there are so many different models and variants that going by the EU tyre labels displayed by retailers (which one would assume were subject to tests) the ones you actually buy can be almost completely different.
For example, the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5 gets marked down for poor fuel economy, yet the one on Black Circles with a Mercedes OEM sticker gets A. But the one with an Alfa Romeo sticker gets D.
The Bridgestone Turanza 005 gets significantly marked down for wet grip by Auto Express but gets an A sticker for wet grip from the EU, unless you get the BMW labelled one which is B.
Like you say. It's a mine field. I find the best way to get an honest answer is to follow "tyre reviews" advice and ask for specific load rating etc from forums for that model of car. Jonathan from tyre reviews did a test of a BMW specific model compared to off the shelf version of the same tyre. BMW one was way ahead in every aspect. I've not bothered in the past but will pay more attention to it going forward.
BMW one was way ahead in every aspect
That's interesting. Typically OEM tyres, as in the ones you get on the new car, are rubbish compared to those of the same name aftermarket - but it's possible that the aftermarket ones with the OEM label are different again!
This site has tons of group tests on it (from various magazines/industy etc.) if you look at the column on the righ hand side.. all you can really do is read a bunch and go from there.
https://www.tyrereviews.com/
EU tyre ratings are to be taken with a pinch of salt as tyre manufactures do very specific lab controlled tests to tick the box, rather than real world live tests, which are inherently more subjective, but it does help give you a better picture.
I bought some 'Audi spec' conti premiums for my volvo for example, as they were slighly cheaper than the regular conti premiums... they were fine, very good tyres. YMMV.
Jon from Tyre reviews is the most knowledgeable, and importantly, independent, tyre nerd on earth.
Excellent YouTube channel too.
Additionally - don't get too caught up in it - buy premium and well Known (pilot sports, Eagle F1s, Conti sports etc) and you won't go far wrong.
I have Goodyear tyres on my car, probably a fairly standard model, but I’m replacing the now rather worn fronts with all-season tyres, and I’ve gone for Goodyear Vector 4Season Gen3’s, after reading several reviews. They seem to get fairly consistent high marks, and I can get them through work as well, which helps.
Aah, a sideshow to the main 'I've got this Mercedes...' thread.
When I ran a merc E estate I used pirelli p rosso/zero and never had any concerns.
Now running a big v8 with some version of goodyears at c£200 a corner; all good - so far.
As ^^^ buy premium and branded - ignore the cheap shit '...as good as...'.
Same as most things - you get what you pay for; cheap, reliable, good quality - pick any two; sometimes you only get one.
Now I own an E class I would just stick on a decent premium tyre with a low noise rating.
When I drove BMW’s or sports cars then you could feel the difference on turn in between different types of tyres or some would significantly change the handling
An E class is just a big old barge so just fit a quiet comfort tyre
That’s interesting. Typically OEM tyres, as in the ones you get on the new car, are rubbish compared to those of the same name aftermarket – but it’s possible that the aftermarket ones with the OEM label are different again!
Rubbish IME.
I reckon you're overthinking again plus relying on Joe Public to give a rational view of something they've near zero ability to understand. Most folk only care about the price, and if it wasn't for having to put a certain spec on their car would just go for the cheapest ditch-finders possible.
Tyres are easy, pick a proper name and you won't go wrong - yes, lot's of decent 'non-premium' tyres exist, but if you go premium* the only downside is they'll be a bit more expensive. But you know they'll be good. And of course, to the spec/size the car manufacturer recommends.
* - Michelin, Pirelli, Avon, Goodyear, Continental etc
I did recently go 'non-premium' on my OH car, but it came new with Hankook and they're a decent tyre - grippy and comfortable, so replaced like-for-like as just needed a pair.
Depends what you are driving.
On a normal car then you'd be hard pushed to tell the difference, and neither can the reviewers. I just get cross climates or an equivalent all season from a decent brand as mostly i'd like the tyres to work in the rain. And it rains a lot here, with snow sometimes. You can't really tell that much difference in dry grip in a 1.4 golf vs a summer tyre.
When I had a 911 you could actually feel the difference. I actually preferred the softer Kumho tyre than the horrible Porsche N rated pirellis or continentals. I think N rated tyres are designed to hold up to constant 160mph autobahn sprints and track days. This makes them terrible for UK B roads in the rain. Too stiff and too hard.
Rubbish IME.
Bridgestone Turanza came on the Prius, they were manifestly rubbish, you could wheelspin easily on any junction. Subsequently bought aftermarket Turanzas and there was no wheelspin. After this realisation I googled it and it seems to be a common phenomenon, but perhaps not on all cars and maybe it's better these days.
On a normal car then you’d be hard pushed to tell the difference
Yes, possibly, but then someone tested tyres and said this:
"the performance trade-off for good fuel economy is wet grip, and we can see that with the T005. It needed seven metres more to stop than the winning Hankook and five more than the next best. It was also doing almost 23mph when the best had stopped, which is a concern. "
The difference between stopping and hitting something at 23mph is significant. But other reviews say the Turanza isn't that bad. Hence this thread - there's conflicting information out there. I was hoping we could that classic STW thing where someone who designs tyres for a living would come along and explain it.
I reckon you’re overthinking again
Also known as 'thinking'.
Tyres are easy, pick a proper name and you won’t go wrong – yes, lot’s of decent ‘non-premium’ tyres exist, but if you go premium* the only downside is they’ll be a bit more expensive.
Old car would be run on budgets or part worns, new car is ex fleet and had 4 Michelin Primacy 4's all round, couldn't believe the price for a pair this year, but bit the bullet and will see how they go and last!
Jonathan from tyre reviews did a test of a BMW specific model compared to off the shelf version of the same tyre
He tested Pilot Sport 4S tyres on a BMW M3 on a dry race track. I can see BMW and Michelin putting in the effort to tweak a tyre for a prestigious flagship-ish performance model for enthusiasts but I doubt there's anything special about a tyre marked OEM for my 320d.
Typically OEM tyres, as in the ones you get on the new car, are rubbish compared to those of the same name aftermarket
I had not heard that before, but cars for me are only a way of getting me and my toys to where I want to be. My Focus came with Michelin Primacy 4’s and I would be amazed if Michelin would allow their name to be on tyres that didn't match the product they sell.
Tyres are a good place to not skimp.
Both our cars are basically mobile white goods, not toys, so I just go for an all season from a decent brand. Not too fussy about which brand, providing they're not a ditchfinder, I think we have a mix of Falken and Bridgestone at the minute.
I had not heard that before, but cars for me are only a way of getting me and my toys to where I want to be.
But you do need to be able to stop quickly sometimes regardless of how fast you are driving. The one time someone pulled out in front of us and we had to do an emergency stop, we were on the crappy OEM tyres. Thinking back, we didn't stop that quickly, and it resulted in a dent. I'm fairly sure we would've avoided a collision completely on decent tyres.
I can't overstate the difference between the OEMs and the Michelins that followed in terms of being able to stop quickly. And it was a Mk2 Prius, a car that's hard to drive aggressively even if you want to, which we never did!
EDIT some googling suggests that the OE tyres can be better not worse than the aftermarkets. It's possible that Toyota developed these tyres to have ultra rolling resistance to make the car look better in tests, and were consequently poor in grip terms. But they didn't last that long either. And this might also hold true for other cars sold on economy.