Budget Non Run-flats Tyres 2 weeks of usage

[Scottie21uk]

Hi,

This is really just some advise to others on budget tyres as i spent weeks comparing brands etc.

I own a 2003 3.0 se which i have had since November 2013 which came with Bridgestone Potenza Run flat tyres fitted with a few thousand miles left on them.

Over the last couple of weeks i have been looking to replace all 4 tyres with non run flats after reading they improve the ride of the car. Also I'm not and never have been a huge believer in expensive tyres.

After reading various reviews and doing a bout of research i hoped for Sailun Atrezzo z4+as tyres all round coming in at £270 fully fitted.

Now i did this with a bit of worry as i had read reviews of these budget tyres which would claim that first corner i came up to in the wet id be off the road and that the road noise from these tyres would be "Unbearable"!!

Now I'm not looking to get into a huge tyre debate, I understand thats there is tests etc that will confirm that the more expensive tyres will stop you quicker handle better etc etc and i firmly believe that is true.

That being said i don't think that makes all budget tyres "Bad Tyres". I have had these tyres on for 2 weeks now on slippy, windy, and salt filmed Scottish roads and the car has stuck to the road just dandy and i don't drive like Miss Daisy!!

Also taking the budget vs premium out of the equation the change to no run flats has made the z4 feel like the car it should be, with the Potenzas it was crashing around all over the place…The ride since has increased 100% in my opinion.

I believe that buying expensive tyres gives some people a false sense of security and if thats what you need then i wouldn't look to sway you from it. My advice though is that if you are in the same boat as me and are a careful driver by all means go for the budget option I've mentioned above. They don't have excessive road noise and you don't go spinning of the road every couple of minutes(premium tyre companies must be putting dome of these comments in i reckon).

Anyways i hope this is of some help to someone considering the more cost effective option of running a Z4

[mr wilks]

Now where is that can of worm,s ? It,s been a while since it was last opened

Good on ya mate not following the herd & exploring the world of rubber by trial & error .

Ive tried out many brands,sizes, season etc over last 5/6 vehicles in last few years & learnt a lot , , ,namely the very lowest are utter shite !
Sunny & Nankangs were particular bad / dangerous even

A decent brand part worn winter tyre drives great in most condition,s all year round

& a lot of the so called mid range tyres are trading on name & charge more for not much better qualities than budget tyres

Keep updating as the tread wears down as that,s where the budget brands start to disappoint i feel , the higher end Conti,s & Michelin,s still perform well even when on the bars

[Breadvan]

I wouldn't

I tried Sailun Atrezzo 's on my X3 and although they handled well both wet and dry I ended up with 4 sidewall breakdowns, no punctures but balloons in the sidewalls in a very short time, under 2000miles!!
When I replaced them the tyre fitter said they get loads of Sailuns with sidewall splits

[dan425]

I personally wouldn't put budget tyres on a car like a Z4. You're paying for performance. Whether that's grip when accelerating, cornering or braking, etc. Tyres aren't something I'd ever want to skimp on.

It's like motorcycle clothing. When I first started riding, I bought cheap gloves, a cheap jacket and a cheap helmet.

The gloves were unbearably cold during winter, the jacket leaked when it rained, the helmet was noisy at high speeds.

Since then, I've "splashed out" on better kit and have paid accordingly. My hands are toasty, I'm dry and no longer get fatigued as quickly due to excessive road noise.

When you're driving carefully in your Z4, you can get away with cheap budget tyres. When someone in front of you does something silly at 70mph on a motorway and you need to stop in the shortest space possible, in the wet, can you guarantee your budget tyres are going to perform to the same standards as their more expensive counterparts?

That would be the question I'd ask myself before I put budget rubber on my sports car.

[ben g]

I put nankang ultra sport ns2's on the fronts and they're far too hard to offer any decent grip.

I also swapped the Avon zz3's on the rear (average at best) for goodyear eagle f1's asym 2 and they are absolutely fantastic.

So fantastic, that i'm going to be replacing the nangkangs with the goodyears on the fronts.

Why go cheap on a performance car? Cheap doesn't always equal cheerful.

[BMWZ4MC]

I fitted Coopers (made by Avon I think) to the front of my 320d as I needed tyres for the MOT and that's what they had in stock. Previously, it would understeer on Contis and I thought that was simply the nature of a car with a heavy Diesel engine. Now, the front sticks like glue and it's the back that slips first under full throttle and hard cornering. Some cheap tyres are better than others...

[Scottie21uk]

Yup fully take on board what everyone says.

I'm an emergency driver and drive vehicles daily not designed for the job and speeds they are doing.

When the tyres are replace on these vehicles they are not "premium" tyres. We are trained advanced drivers and i genuinely believe that how you drive your vehicle is more important theta how much you spend on its rubber.

A bit like Dan 425 mentioned if your driving carefully then you'll get away with it. Well id like to hope everybody drives carefully…If you don't i wouldn't rely too much on premium rubber helping you out.

I will keep posting every so often with regards to tyre deterioration but so far i have to say I'm perfectly happy with them.

[mcbeee]

There is only one thing between you and the road and it's a piece of air filled rubber .... it pays to go upscale when your life depends on it......


Remember, you get what you pay for .....

[KERMIT1970]

Ditch finders ! Bad idea

[Montjeu]

Yup fully take on board what everyone says.

I'm an emergency driver and drive vehicles daily not designed for the job and speeds they are doing.

When the tyres are replace on these vehicles they are not "premium" tyres. We are trained advanced drivers and i genuinely believe that how you drive your vehicle is more important theta how much you spend on its rubber.

A bit like Dan 425 mentioned if your driving carefully then you'll get away with it. Well id like to hope everybody drives carefully…If you don't i wouldn't rely too much on premium rubber helping you out.

I will keep posting every so often with regards to tyre deterioration but so far i have to say I'm perfectly happy with them.

The problem is power to weight ratio, tyres widths, rear wheel drive, firm suspension etc don't compare to the emergency type vehicles I think you're referring to. I wonder what rubber souped up fed cars run on.

[Adamski]

If you're driving within the limits of the tyres, then good for you. No point spending top whack for tyres if you drive sensibly and don't load the tyres during cornering

I like to push the boundaries, and so would only fit performance tyres on mine

[johnbirt]

...

I'm an emergency driver and drive vehicles daily not designed for the job and speeds they are doing.

...

Don't follow. Are you saying you are required to drive a vehicle which is NOT designed for the task and the speeds likely to be used? If so why would anyone would put up with that?

I don't care how good a driver people think they are, I doubt anyone relishes a sudden blowout at 70mph on a motorway. Driving safely or being expert has litte to do with it in such circumstances. I cannot comprehend anyone even contemplating putting "budget" rubber on something that can kill yourself and others and for emergency vehicles to do so is to say the least worrying.

To be blunt, if you put cheap tyres on a performance car particularly but indeed any car as a cost cutting exercise ,then you should perhaps reconsider your ownership of such.

Even in the last few days a widely reported detailed survey of tyre usage in the UK claimed that a huge number of cars are currently driving on unreliable if not downright dangerous tyres.

[Markyboy]

I fitted Coopers (made by Avon I think) to the front of my 320d as I needed tyres for the MOT and that's what they had in stock. Previously, it would understeer on Contis and I thought that was simply the nature of a car with a heavy Diesel engine. Now, the front sticks like glue and it's the back that slips first under full throttle and hard cornering. Some cheap tyres are better than others...

I've been running my every day driver on Coopers for years Cooper (American) have owned Avon since 1997. The tread patterns are basically the same too but I'm not sure whether Avon is a Cooper or Vice verse in Europe. I'm always surprised they aren't more popular.