Whats The Best Budget Tyre?

[fil4362]

thanks for the suggestion but as a mechanic of 20 years i understand directional tyres and what they do. As mentioned in my post the car is set up correctly (including tyres on correct rotation). I was talking about tyres giving out on the limit when i am actually trying to get the tail out. When doing this i am sure your aware that most of the weight of the car is on the one tyre especially when a scandanavian flick is used ( ye i know not best practice on thte roads haha) . Also in a bend the outside tyre is rotating faster than the inside one, so the tyres are under diffrent weight loads and speeds so tread patern matching shouldnt be the problem either. Like i said not saying its a bad tyre just not as good as the check one on the other side.

[Maffison]

Your opinion surprises me. I recently bought my IS so have test driven a lot of cars on different tyres. The Goodyear Eagle F1's were the stickiest tyres I drove on. I have them on my car now and struggle to spin the rears in the dry. Outstanding rubber imo.

[James Marks]

Of course fil can't be wrong, he's been a mechanic for 20 years as he says on pretty much every single post (though I'm sure there's one or two that say 25 years?). The Eagle F1 is a good tyre, certainly not the best but better than most. They're not overly expensive and seem to last well too.

Perhaps fil just has an old Eagle F1 running against a newer tyre - good tyres always get worse as they age and wear, and can often end up worse than a brand new budget tyre!

[kam05]

Michelin make the best tyres IMHO, but they cost about £150 each for the IS200 (215/45/17).

Therefore I agree with James, the Goodyear Eagle F1's are a good comprimise (cost/wear rate etc). I'm running the asymmetric version of the F1's and I think they good.

[Asi]

going abit off topic here. the topic is about best budget tyre which i would recommend fedrel tyres

[fil4362]

going abit off topic here. the topic is about best budget tyre which i would recommend fedrel tyres

Thanks Asi. you quite correct. this post is about budget tyres but yet again the post has come down to snobbery about "i wouldnt put cheap on my car" Most people would value the opinion of a honest mechanic who sees thigns inthe real world. 25 years a mechanic 20 years at the same garage 3 years as an apprentice so take your pick as to how long i have been in the trade. Seems to me this web site excepts you as an "expert" mechanic as soon as you pull on a pair of Lexus overalls so my yearsof experiance dotn count as i have never worn a pair of Lexus overalls. To some people on here i obviously dont have a valid opinion.

The simple fact i am a mechanic on a number of years means i have done and been around people who do cars including tyres every day of the week and not just put tyres on my own cars every few years.

I was recently "told off" for being abrasive on this site i know the comment made by james marks is certainly agresive. Theres no other way about it. Personaly i am not bothered in the slightest. If you dont like my post simply dont read them. I mearlypass on my experiances of many years in all aspects of the motor trade. As mentioned if you dont like my post dont read them. I never once said that the good year was a bad tyre just not as good as the other tyres on my car. I personally wouldnt waste money buying them and as this topic is about a budget tyre the good years shouldnt have come up there certainly not budget.

Edited November 30, 2009 by janey
Breaking T & C's - Trading

[Asi]

thanks for the offer mate. i get my tyres dirt cheap anyway as my cousin owns a garage so i get them at trade price

[fil4362]

well just to do a proper test i just bought 2 federals this morning to put on the front, i already have 2 federals for the rear i now have 215/45 vr17 on the front and 245/40 vr17 on the rear. All 4 are federals. The weather in Manchester is wet at the moment with chance of frost over night. I am up early in the morning for a drive into Wales on a scuba diving trip so will give the tyres a good test this afternoon and tomorrow. Will post later in the weekend as to the results.

[oedipus]

Must disagree with the goodyear eagle tyre being good. I have a mark 1 rs200 (1969) i have a goodyear eagle on the back on one side and a motorway home brand tyre on the other side. If the car is going to slide its always the goodyear that goes first. The car is set up properly and i have swapped the tyres side to side to confirm this. I am not saying the goodyear is bad just that its not as good at the motorway home brand tyre on the other side.

In the car driving mastery school where I work freelance, we intentionally bias the car's handling to make it skid. It depends on the profile left on the tyres and the compound. For instance, when we 'program' a car to oversteer in a left hander, we fit a hard compound slick on the right at the rear. One day, we accidentally fitted a Michelin Pilot Primacy slick (no thread left AT ALL) on the right rear wheel and the car (Peugeot 307 2.0 HDI 5d) wouldn't oversteer. The front tyres were road legal Continental PremiumContacts.

That's how big a difference the compound makes. You have to know that we use an epoxy skidpad to simulate icy conditions at 25-30km/h (15-20mph).

Coming back to your remark: Good Year Eagle F1 GSD3 was a very good tyre. The predecessor GSD2 wasn't half as good, though. But should still be better than your "motorway home tyre". That is if you consider all factors: pressure, thread pattern condition, compound, directional or not, fit for purpose (summer/winter?). Like with the other aspects, if you balloon it, you'll be able to prove it doesn't handle right.

[fil4362]

Ok test done as stated. 215/45r17 on the front new set fitted saturday morning. 245/40r17 on rear slightly used set done aprox 100 miles.

I have driven 400ish miles this weekend on the tyres stated above. Was wet and dull saturday night cold start this morning and damp and dull all day. Drove up to Capenray dive centre up through Lancaster from Manchester. Most miles on motorway with about 5 of twisty A roads after motorway. I drove within the speed limit with traction control turned of. Nothing, not a twitch or even a spin from the junctions. Drove same route back with traction on (as i forgot to turn it of when on return trip) I booted it abit and crept over the motorway limit a smidgen on the way back. Was tired after days diving btu still nothing no slips skids or slides.

The tyres i have on are Federals. £38 for the fronts and think the rears were about £46. (plus vat).

So i thinks its time i put my " good tyre but wouldnt have them on my car " comment in the bin, i happy to keep them on now. The yokos i bought can stay in the garage for when the federals wear out.

So in answer to the topic "best bedget tyre" i dotn know but i happy with the Federals so far.

Oh my Lexus is an S model so no limited slip diff??

[gokhan]

could you provide me with the details of the federals as my tires are all going to need changing in a few months (going to go to WIM)

would like these as they seem cheap and long wearing

[Asi]

lexus S dont have LSD only sports have them

[fil4362]

Certainly can. they are Federal 215/45R15 V rated. Personaly i wouldnt bother with the larger size on the rear the standard size is ok . They in Decembers discount list from a company called Oak tyres based in Liverpool. They have a branch in Manchester also (which is were my tyres come from) but the order line is Liverpool. I get a discount so you may not get them at same price. They are directional tyres with a square edged tread area.

I have been fitting Federal tyres to customers cars for ages i bought a pair for the rear to solve the loose rear problem them bought a pair of yokohamas for the back instead as i thought the feds were ok but they yokos would be better. The yokos are better but, after today the feds are good enough. Depends on your driving style i guess. With traction control off and some heavy feet i can get the wheels spinning with either tyres on, but if your just driving the car, on todays performance the feds are better that i thought they would be.

Oak tyres do a range of "budget tyres" they even do a tyre in the Lexus size for as little as £28 but its a make i have never heard of and have never tested either. I have fitted them for customers who have the "cant you do them any cheaper" question. The customers didnt complain but then again they didnt come back syaing how good they were either. I work to the east of Manchester and some of the areas around here a slightly less affluent than others so i do offer the very cheap tyres but only if requested to. I put the same mark up on a tyre regaurdless of size or make so it doesnt matter to me selling a cheap tyre or a branded tyre. I sell the tyres with a tenner mark up, this includes fitting new valve and wheel balance. The bigger companies advertise "tyres from -----". this doesnt include fitting or new valve or balancing they even charge for tyre disposal all on top of the tyre price.

Hope this helps and if you struggle to get the tyres i happy to getthem and send them down to you but i sure you can get them in London

[fil4362]

Its half past midnight but just had a quick look an eBay item number 120499550710 looks exactly the same as the tyres i suggest