Tyre Brand Choices

[Giblets]

Is the X5 drive quality more or less susceptable to budget tyres?

Given the cost of them, there can be big savings made comparing Bridgestone with Delinte or even Accelera.

I am leaning towards sticking with paying more for the Bridgestones, although would be interested to hear the thoughts and suggestions of others?

[shadrack]

right i have this all the time with my mates, i always run budget tyres and find them perfect, if you look at tyre reviews alot of high end tyres score low in tests and the x5 is 4x4 so you have extra grip anyway so i got tyres 1 month ago 315/35/20-dellente £100 each, branded £364 each saving me £528 a bad driver blames his tyres!! no probs with them so far and done 2500miles on them. also my 22s have 285 35 22 x sport autogrip on and these are excellent winter tyres with enormous tread on, each to there own but all tyre have to meet safety standeards and theres no such a thing as cheap re moulded crap these days n e more so why not save £500 per axle?

[CondorX5]

I guess I have a slightly different opinion about tyres and will not willingly buy a budget brand. The only thing ensuring your safety between your car and the road is the tyres- the wrong tyres in adverse conditions can make even the best engineered cars absolutely useless, as the last 2 winters have shown us all very clearly. An X5 is not a "budget" vehicle and I'm not keen on fitting the cheapest tyres and the cheapest parts to any vehicle, let alone an X5. That said, I generally choose a brand I trust - Michelin, Bridgestone, Vredestein etc. The "cheapest" tyre I would consider are the Toyo Proxes. Currently running Vredestein Sessantas (20") for summer and Vredestein Wintrac (18") for winter. Both great performers but not budget bargain basement.....

Different strokes for different folks, I guess - vive le difference!!

[X5Sport]

Along with brakes, i regard tyres as being 'Safety Critical' components and will only use the better end of the market. Budget tyres may meet all the legal niceties, but on that one day, in that one place where it all goes wrong and budget tyres let you down where maybe a better brand would not have then the argument is made.

Hopefully few people ever have one of 'those days' and fitting budget tyres causes no issues at all and proves to be an acceptable user choice. The key bit is user choice.

Personally my 'user choice' is to stick with the OEM approved fitments. It may cost me more (£650 for the set last time around) but in the end it is my choice. I spent too long as a risk specialist and though the likelihood of something nasty happening is low, even on cheap rubber, the potential impact can be horrendous regardless of tyre type. I choose to mitigate the impact by only buying decent (IMHO of course) tyres.

The E53 is only on its third set (2x Diamaris and now Bridgestone RFT) the E46 is on Michelin Pilot Sport rubber bands (it's a 330 Cd MSport Conv and needs all the grip it can get!) and the E71 has Dunlop RFT for Summer and Pirelli RFT for Winter. None have ever let me down, but then I've never fitted budget so can't compare.

No Yomotoslippi 'Ditchfinders' on my cars.

[Brutus]

Wouldn't fit budget tyres again unless I was skint and had no choice. (Not that I'm loaded now but budget is better than bald)
Fitted a couple of budget tyres to my Octavia vRS a few years ago, Marshalls I think they were, and regretted it within the first 5 minutes of driving. Not too bad in the dry but any sign of dampness on the road and they were awful.
Currently running Mich Diamaris on the X5. Been quoted £720 for a set of Vredestien Wintracs. I have been told these can be run all year round. Is this correct?

[Sanj]

Vreds are a summer compound so in lower temps will wear quicker (on same mileage, driving style) - Toyo's are 'All Season' spec. I have them and don't regret the choice at all, going from OEM Michelins. And at £660 valved, balanced and fitted, can't go wrong....

[Giblets]

Useful feedback guys, thanks.

The best price I can find for 4 Bridgestones for the 19" sport wheels is £780 fitted and balanced. Thats a local guy in the village.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a better deal for any of the decent brands (eg Toyo, Vredestien, Michelin or Bridgestone etc) ???

[AW8]

You need to do some legwork if wanting to shop for best prices

Supply only try Mtyres, blackcircles, camskill tyremen, jet tyres.

Fit at home or work event-tyres.

Also worth looking at tyre review sites like tyrereveviews.co.uk if you want to as to how certain tyres perform.

If sourcing as supply only allow for price to fit, valve balance say £10-15 per corner prices can vary depending on payment method &/or who you use.

Google is your friend

If you then want a second opinion or wish to share info on certain deal then you know where we al are

Good Luck & HTH

[Giblets]

Thanks AW8. Appreciate the advice.

I've already searched several companies on Google, but wondered if any forum members have recently replaced rubber for a good price and could specifically recommend an option to me?

[CondorX5]

[quote=""Sanj""]Vreds are a summer compound so in lower temps will wear quicker (on same mileage, driving style) - Toyo's are 'All Season' spec. I have them and don't regret the choice at all, going from OEM Michelins. And at £660 valved, balanced and fitted, can't go wrong....[/quote]

??? Sanj ol' boy have you been on the booze again?? Vreds (Wintracs in this case) are a WINTER compound, ie softer rubber, not summer....and they will therefore wear quicker in HIGHER temps, not lower!! Vredie Sessantas (summer tyres) have been reported by some as wearing quicker, but others say not the case - juries out for me on that one, only time will tell!!

OP, try Camskills and other online suppliers for comparisons, also Costco and even Tesco doing tyres now. Availability varies of course, but worth looking around!1

[Waka]

I've just bought 2 Toyos for my rear 19" from here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350372230351? ... 1423.l2649

very happy with service/price as the cost of tyres has rocketed in the past year...like most things!

[X5Sport]

[quote=""Giblets""]Useful feedback guys, thanks.

The best price I can find for 4 Bridgestones for the 19" sport wheels is £780 fitted and balanced. Thats a local guy in the village.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a better deal for any of the decent brands (eg Toyo, Vredestien, Michelin or Bridgestone etc) ???[/quote]

Just sent you a PM.

[Giblets]

[quote=""Waka""]I've just bought 2 Toyos for my rear 19" from here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350372230351? ... 1423.l2649

very happy with service/price as the cost of tyres has rocketed in the past year...like most things![/quote]

Thanks. Looks a good price for that tyre. I see they don't do the same tyre for the fronts though.

Will keep looking, but might go for those rears anyway......

[Brutus]

[quote=""CondorX5""][quote=""Sanj""]Vreds are a summer compound so in lower temps will wear quicker (on same mileage, driving style) - Toyo's are 'All Season' spec. I have them and don't regret the choice at all, going from OEM Michelins. And at £660 valved, balanced and fitted, can't go wrong....[/quote]

??? Sanj ol' boy have you been on the booze again?? Vreds (Wintracs in this case) are a WINTER compound, ie softer rubber, not summer....and they will therefore wear quicker in HIGHER temps, not lower!! Vredie Sessantas (summer tyres) have been reported by some as wearing quicker, but others say not the case - juries out for me on that one, only time will tell!!

OP, try Camskills and other online suppliers for comparisons, also Costco and even Tesco doing tyres now. Availability varies of course, but worth looking around!1[/quote]

I was a bit confused as well.
Looks like I be after a set of wheels to put the Mich's back on for next summer then as there's still plenty of life in them.

Just put 4 Sessantas on the Octy and I'm quite impressed with them. Don't know about the wear rate but it doesn't really matter to me as I only do about 4-5k a year in it.

[Sanj]

OK so I was on the juice at the time. I'm getting on a bit...

Sorry for the confusion.