autocar did a test of wingwang type tyres vs a continental (at the contidrome, so maybe a bit predictable) Prices for a single 205/55 R16 tyre Continental (Continental Premium Contact 2) 75.83 GT Radial 58.65 Nankang 55.20 Wanli 51.41 Linglong 52.44 Triangle 51.06
and then from another test with the same Continental Premium Contact 2 http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/total_tyre_guide/212643/braking.html Wet Braking Results Kumho 100.0 Toyo 99.9 Michelin 99.4 Uniroyal 98.7 Maxxis 98.6 Vredestrein 98.6 Goodyear 98.3 Hankook 94.3 Continental 94.3 Bridgestone 94.2 Yokohama 94.0 Matador 93.7 Dunlop 93.6 Pirelli 92.3 Fulda 88.6 BF Goodrich 84.9
Very informative and thanks Matt. I'd never buy cheapos and rue the day Pirelli stopped making the 165/15 which I use on my 73 Volvo 145. They are what they were sent out from the factory with and the car was a joy to drive on them but it's a totally different car now I can't get them.
well its pretty common knowledge that no-name tyres are likely to be an absolutely liability. the fact they often seem to be made of bakelite makes even the slowest car a bit of a handful. (my brother had a 1.2 clio on dodgy tyres, it would wheelspin effortlessly in second coming away from slow corners) this article gives a good idea of how they actually compare to normal tyres. the different in price works out at about 0.05p different per mile over 12,000 miles so you need to be a raving loonatic to buy them.
Yeah, I was surprised at the prices quoted as they are pretty close over the life of a tyre. Continentals vs the cheapest of the cheap ditchfinders. Hardly surprising results though eh!
that autoexpress link is very interesting. good to know they like the bridgestone ER300, as ive just had a set fited to my porker wheels (cos they were about the only "proper" tyre that came in the right size and load rating for the passat).
even more predictable considering that it was carried out at continental's contidrome, but either way at least its an indication of how bad these tyres are compared to normal ones the reason ive been looking into this stuff is its tyre buying time again, but this time for the gf. couldnt have the gf tanking around on ropey tyres
It's a bit funny really, cos when I posted the result of an Autoexpress tyre test a year or so ago, in which Vredestein tyres came out best for every test, everybody on here said it was crap & implied that the Autoexpress tests were either fixed or not carried out properly. How odd that they now appear to be spot on
i wouldnt say they are flawless, any mag's views will be "swayed" by advertising etc but at least it gives an indication did you get vredesteins in the end?
I don't think Vredestein tyres actually exist, although I've seen them on cars nobody seems to sell them.
hmmm not good when youve not actually tried them! elite tyres round here sell them. i was going to put them on the GFs car this weekend but i decided to go cautious and get her the same kumhos as i have. i know theyre bloody good ill have a set of vredesteins for my next set though
i have kumhos on my mk3 does that make me cool my mk1 cabby has nangkangs and oh boy does that car drift lol
A tire shop offered me some Vredesteins and said if I didnt like them they would take them off and give me my money back I went for continental premium contact 2s in the end as I got some stupidly cheap.
i have a set of Vredesteins and have used them on a couple of track days, great grip, have lasted very well - i would easily get another set.
Where were you when I was being told that they were crap & couldn't possibly be as good as a big name tyre?
More fuel to the fire - I have a set of Vredesteins on the front of my 2.4 V6 A4. They're trash - the first sniff of water and they'll spin up at every chance they get. And the ABS kicks in horribly often in the damp, I hate ABS. Changed them front to back tonight, it had Michelin somethings at the back, and now it's ten times better. Both had roughly equal tread left (5mm?). They were fine in the dry, felt a bit "wobbly" round corners with bumps, but given a bit of damp they were deathtraps - I nearly slid out in front of a car last night at a crossroads, just stopped in time. Although I didn't intend to spend any money on the car as it's a free mega-miler, I'm binning them ASAP for something else - TBH I'd rather have remoulded ditchseekers. Just my experience - your car and driving style may be different...
