I recently treated myself to 4 spanking new Jinyu's. 240 quid for 4 tyres.

Guess what? - The car still drives!!!! Nothing untoward to report at all. Don't be sucked in to the tyre snobbery.

The tyres I had before didn't even have a name and they lasted 15k on the front.

I was in the same position as you back in October.

Bought a used PD170 vRS with four brand new Evergreen budgets fitted.

There was no way I was binning £320's worth of tyres, budgets or not.

Expected a pretty tough time over the winter but I have been pleasantly impressed, good tyres.

Plenty of grip in the wet and dry, nice and quiet and hard wearing too. I don't drive like a tool but then I'm no dawdler either.

Judging by the many tyre threads on here premium tyres aren't always as good as you'd think...

The tyres I had before didn't even have a name and they lasted 15k on the front.

Did the manufacture's name get worn off on the kerbs?

Judging by the many tyre threads on here premium tyres aren't always as good as you'd think...

As with everything, there's good and bad, the new label system should help with budget tyre's, and the premium's. .

...the new label system should help with budget tyre's, and the premium's. .

Please tell us more...

Snobbery? A different opinion makes someone a snob?

I've owned a lot of different cars, many bought used with a bunch of different tyres on them. Every time I've had the misfortune to come across budget tyres I've been shocked at how bad they are. OP - if it was me I'd pull off the crap tyres and put something quality on there straight away.

Read some magazine tyre tests - the budget stuff is always miles behind the performance of even the mid-range tyres let alone the premium stuff.

Picture this - you're on a wet motorway, 70mpg, lorry jacknifes in front of you. You have your wife/kids etc in the car. Now, do you want the best possible tyres on the market to be on your car, or something that saved you a few quid but might take another couple of cars-lengths to stop?

Not sure what relevance 70mpg would have. That's pretty good fuel economy though. Those branded tyres of yours really are the balls!

Snobbery? A different opinion makes someone a snob?

I think you got the wrong end of the stick.

Your 'killing the wife and kids by buying budgets' comment isn't exactly a compliment!

Remember we drive Skoda's, a non-branded version of an Audi / VW. I think we all agree our cars are just as able as their more expensive stablemates.

Why can't this principle be applied to tyres?

The tyre test reviews such as Auto Express and Evo to name a couple almost always place the big brands at the top. The data they produce, including wet weather braking distances, often show vast gulfs between the good and the bad. I'm no tyre snob, but in my experience a premium tyre (if you can afford it) or a good mid-range like Kumho KU31's / KU39's is the way to go. The budget brands are generally awful and the £50-£100 saving is a sacrifice not worth making - it's the price of a tank of fuel!!!! I'm running Conti CSC 5's at the moment and they are really really good, especially in the rain (which we've had rather a lot of). I'd rather buy less fags/booze/choc/p@rn (whatever you vice) than compromise on safety.

Please tell us more...

Just like when you buy a washing machine, there's a label attatched to the front, on tyres from November 2012 I it starts, fuel, wet grip & noise rating, should see some of the shocking cheap budgets off, Bridgestone & Toyo are starting there label's this week.

Read some magazine tyre tests - the budget stuff is always miles behind the performance of even the mid-range tyres let alone the premium stuff.

The new Nokian has just won test's at been the best tyre for stopping in either wet/dry braking, Michelin came 14th behind other budget tyre's. The Michelin will do more miles than the Nokian. All depends what you want from a tyre. So the question is, what's a premium tyre, one that stops or one that does lots of miles. .

So a budget tyre has the potential to offer more grip (and therefore shorter stopping distances) than a hard wearing premium brand!

Remember also that a good chunk of budgets are simply the premium brands discontinued designs.

For those that only buy premium tyres I hope you all added the extra cost curtain airbags to your Octavia's...

...Remember also that a good chunk of budgets are simply the premium brands discontinued designs...

They are often made in the same plant/moulds as discontinued 'premium brands', but it doesn't mean that the compounds are the same.

Forums are probably a more honest source of info than magazines. A car may is hardly going to slag off a major advertiser in a tyre test.

Mags of all sorts (possibly not of the jazz variety) all bias reviews towards their big advertisers. They're hardly going to cut their own throats are they.

The Maxxiz my car wears have come out top in some tests for wet weather performance, and not in others so which is right? In my own experience they've been better than the original contis and the previous Avons the car has worn, all for less money.

Arrowspeeds are awful. I used to fit them to my cars as a student and nearly had several serious accidents where they just lost all grip on damp roads. I started using part worns of better brands after that and now I'm earning obviously I just buy decent tyres.

If it was me I'd have them replaced. Yes it will cost a couple of hundred but tyres are the most important safety feature of a car and could save you and others from serious injury or worse. No space for compromise in my mind. Give them a try first if you like but the first time they let you down could have serious consequences.

I think you got the wrong end of the stick.

Your 'killing the wife and kids by buying budgets' comment isn't exactly a compliment!

Remember we drive Skoda's, a non-branded version of an Audi / VW. I think we all agree our cars are just as able as their more expensive stablemates.

Why can't this principle be applied to tyres?

Which is why people go on about uprating the suspension or uprating the brakes to those off the Audi?

Seriously though, it's a bit unfair.

Tyres are the only thing holding you to the road and if an extra £100 once every 2-4 years means the difference between stopping in time and avoiding even a small bang or steering instead of aquaplaning, then surely that's worth it.

That cost is likely to be well below most peoples excess.

Remember we drive Skoda's, a non-branded version of an Audi / VW. I think we all agree our cars are just as able as their more expensive stablemates.

You've hit the nail on the head there. This has nothing to do with "brand" and has everything to do with "performance".

If a budget tyre outperformed or matched the performance of the premium tyres, the yes I'd have them like a shot. Trouble is, in my experience they are nowhere near the performance of the best in the class.

And yes, i have all the airbag options

I bought 4 new tyres for my Mk I Octavia VRS a few years ago. Went with Cooper Zeon's XTC's (I think) as I couldn't afford to spend a huge amount on tyres at the time.

Fair enough, they were 225's not 205's that they were replacing but compared to the orginal Dunlops, they we brilliant. Much less understeer, just better all round. The front's lasted almost as long as the original tyre's.

When I replaced the fronts, I changed them for Cooper's again, this time they didn't have the same tyre so I went for 2XS'. Seemed just as good.

Cost me £300 for all four fitted.

I've been so impressed with Cooper's, I have changed the tyres on my Suzuki 4x4 to an offroad version as well. These were a little more expensive but still over £100 cheaper than the 'big brands'

When I need to change again, I won't hesitate getting the same brand again.

When I need to change again, I won't hesitate getting the same brand again.

Cooper own Avon if ever you can't find any Cooper's they both use the same compound, Cooper is popular in the states. .

I've used Hankook Evo V12's on my other car, very good in the wet and the dry and decently priced on Camskill. Wear rate is above some though.

Preferred them to the Kuhmo KU31's I had on the Fabia.

Evo's recent tyre test had a newer Hankook Evo come in second place.

If in doubt which you obviouisly are change them & stick the others on flea bay

I just changed two fronts for the first time on mine at 15000 mls with the same brand that were originally factory fitted, i.e Continental Sportcontact 2, for £178 the pair fitted at Harris Brothers Tyres Swansea. Not a bad price at all for their quality. I find them great for wet or dry and feel totally planted and safe.

I've previously had, on two other cars, Bridgestone Potenza RE050A's which are very pricey and although great water clearance in wet conditions and great grip in dry due to soft compound on outer tyre edge, they gave a rough and noisy ride and wore on their edges very quickly (9 to 10,000 mls)even when driven with care. I even had the inner side-walls of two front Bridgestones severely crack due to a defect during manufacturing process. No help at all from Bridgestone to replace!! So... premiums? not all good, even when expensive.

Some non-branded seem very good from reports I read but I'd be careful when choosing if I had that option.

Falken

Champiro

Infinity

Maxxis

Wan Li

Sunny

Marangoni

Federal

Jinyu

All of these lasted better and performed just as well as continentals and dunlops I've used at half the price.

Michelin are pretty good though, but can't justify the price.

Falken - Used these and they're good. More mid price though

FK452 were bleeding useless on ice, but they are sold as a performance summer tyre (so not a negative) and lets face it, what is good on ice?

Wan Li - Rated as ditch finders and I know a person who found a ditch with them, in damp conditions doing nothing much wrong.

Sunny - Ones on a colleagues car were hateful in the slightly wet conditions we see here.

Jinyu - Can't say I've drive them, but heard they last well, but are hard and useless in the wet unless driven like miss daisy.

The rest I can't comment.

Don't get me wrong, I can see why people would buy some of the mid range tyres.

But seriously buying some of those listed, to me is a risk too far. Especially based on experience.

I have four Evergreen budget tyres on my vRS.

Been through a winter with them and was impressed during a trouser staining emergency stop a few months ago.

http://www.evergreentyre.com/

Paying a premium for a 'branded' tyre is the same as buying a VW instead of a Skoda. Same mechanicals, a nicer interior and a 30% price increase.

If you a worried about them then put them on the back and get a pair of Barum tyres for the front.

Made by Conti. National were doing buy one get second half price so less than £200 for decent tyres.

Edited 4 July, 201213 yr by lol

So I picked up the car last night in the rain, half hour drive home, including pushing it a bit round some roundabouts, and no scares whatsoever. Seemed to grip well on the front. Not tried emergency stop yet but happy enough so far so not planning to panic and change them just yet.

Liking the engine so far.....