Tyres.

[Ponty]

Actually that's always been one of my acid tests in viewing s/hand cars; if the description of 'service history, great care blah blah blah' is matched by simple things such as good quality tyres in pairs in reasonable condition - and I don't just mean 'properly inflated' but evenness & state of wear around the visible (=alignment and general maintenance reflected) - well, its a very quick to-do, but essential part of the subjective appraisal.


(equally in the UK, you'll often see a Meriva or Picasso on the school run with at least three spherical kids inside, and if you can spot -in traffic , from behind - more than one dented panel, you can bet there's at best 2mm of tread left on 25% of at least one tyre, the other three being ..shot. and underinflated; and the driver distracted.

Things I actively steer around ...)

I won’t even consider a car for sale unless there are 4 matching decent make tyres. Tells me everything I need to know.

Said Picassos etc with ditchfinder slicks will commonly have a ‘stay back - child on board’ sticker or what have you. Trouble is, if they don’t stay back when behind you, they (and you) have got no chance if you have to brake hard.

The more I think about this, the more I’d ban these crap tyres. If you won’t maintain your vehicle properly, it can stay off the road.

 

[stevec67]

The more I think about this, the more I’d ban these crap tyres.

They have. Any crap tyre that fails to meet the standard doesn't get CE approval. No approval, no EU or for now UK sale.

If you won’t maintain your vehicle properly, it can stay off the road.

Yes, that's what the MoT and roadside checks are for.

 

[Ponty]

They have. Any crap tyre that fails to meet the standard doesn't get CE approval. No approval, no EU or for now UK sale.


Yes, that's what the MoT and roadside checks are for.

Then why do I constantly see death traps on the road? A couple of weeks ago I noticed an old X5 parked up, a mixture of Sunnys / Linglongs as bald as a billiard ball with the metal reinforcement visible. They clearly didn’t mind spending money on body kits and (possibly illegal) glass tinting and a crap private plate. You’re not telling me that should be on the road or would pass an MOT. 6 monthly MOTs over 10 years old would help. I’m all for bangereconomics but they have to be roadworthy.

 

[Cav]

Then why do I constantly see death traps on the road? A couple of weeks ago I noticed an old X5 parked up, a mixture of Sunnys / Linglongs as bald as a billiard ball with the metal reinforcement visible. They clearly didn’t mind spending money on body kits and (possibly illegal) glass tinting and a crap private plate. You’re not telling me that should be on the road or would pass an MOT. 6 monthly MOTs over 10 years old would help. I’m all for bangereconomics but they have to be roadworthy.

Take photos and send them to your local plod, most Constabularies have a website for such reports.

 

[stevec67]

Ask the police what illegal cars are doing on the road, not me. It's hardly my job to stop people ignoring a perfectly serviceable set of laws, nor am I an MoT tester. If the tyres are bald then it doesn't matter what brand they are.

 

[Ponty]

Ask the police what illegal cars are doing on the road, not me. It's hardly my job to stop people ignoring a perfectly serviceable set of laws, nor am I an MoT tester. If the tyres are bald then it doesn't matter what brand they are.

Agree, however, I’d suggest there are more illegal vehicles on the road with ditchfinders than Michelins et al.

 

[Tony Lockhart]

There are people out there, right now, on Britain’s roads, off their tits on drink and/or drugs. They get pulled occasionally, don’t care, are back on the road again soon as they can be. Do you think some people care one little bit about those boring round things?
There are people who buy brake pads and discs off eBay. Why the hell would anyone do that? “Look the same, in the same box!” Yes mate, and in civil aviation there are people trained to try and weed out fake/bogus parts so they don’t find their way onto your £35 flight to Estonia.

Thankfully I just don’t do the miles at the moment, so I rarely see the worst that our roads have to offer. I’m a lot less angry than I was! (650 miles in the last five weeks )

 

[stevec67]

Sure, but banning cheap tyres will simply have the same people driving illegal Michelins and Pirellis. I have cheap tyres on my car. 2 renewed yesterday, the old ones were at 2mm, the other 2 a're at 3-4mm, none illegal. The wear pattern is slightly out, geo check next week.

 

[Ponty]

I’m a lot less angry than I was!

Have you been hammering frozen sausages into their lawns?!

 

[Tony Lockhart]

Not yet

 

[Mullardman]

My garage told me that the sump was porous, which makes no sense to me, but I do have my doubts about that place.

I've experienced this. (Not on my Honda.... yet at least.) If a car manages to clock up years and miles without any oil leaks, the sump never gets that protective coating of oil and road dirt.

End result is that eventually, it will rust through from the outside and begin to leak. IIRC, this happened on my wife's first Punto.

 

[2ManyBoxes]

I've experienced this. (Not on my Honda.... yet at least.) If a car manages to clock up years and miles without any oil leaks, the sump never gets that protective coating of oil and road dirt.

End result is that eventually, it will rust through from the outside and begin to leak. IIRC, this happened on my wife's first Punto.

Before this my car hasn't leaked at all and it's 19 years old now so that does make sense. It also has spiders living in the wing mirrors and interesting mosses growing at the bottom of the windows so it does seem to be coming to the end of its natural life. It'll be a very sad day when it's finally scrapped

 

[James]

I won’t even consider a car for sale unless there are 4 matching decent make tyres. Tells me everything I need to know.

Said Picassos etc with ditchfinder slicks will commonly have a ‘stay back - child on board’ sticker or what have you. Trouble is, if they don’t stay back when behind you, they (and you) have got no chance if you have to brake hard.

The more I think about this, the more I’d ban these crap tyres. If you won’t maintain your vehicle properly, it can stay off the road.

I think banning cheap tyres (that have met minimum standards) is going a step too far. That'll be like banning KFC and McDonald's for poor nutritional value. It's about personal choice, really. I dare say that someone who doesn't frequent junk food outlets tends to be in better shape and health, as is a car that is fussed over with quality bits.

 

[Ponty]

I think banning cheap tyres (that have met minimum standards) is going a step too far. That'll be like banning KFC and McDonald's for poor nutritional value. It's about personal choice, really. I dare say that someone who doesn't frequent junk food outlets tends to be in better shape and health, as is a car that is fussed over with quality bits.

The thing is, people who eat too much KFC or McDonalds don’t generally directly impact me whereas people who run Linglong slicks can, catastrophically.

 

[Colin Barron]

They have. Any crap tyre that fails to meet the standard doesn't get CE approval. No approval, no EU or for now UK sale.


Yes, that's what the MoT and roadside checks are for.

The mechanic when testing my car commented that when the road tax disc was discontinued then the number of people having cars tested reduced.

 

[stevec67]

The thing is, people who eat too much KFC or McDonalds don’t generally directly impact me whereas people who run Linglong slicks can, catastrophically.

Depends if they are eating said KFC when they should be paying attention to their driving.

 

[stevec67]

The mechanic when testing my car commented that when the road tax disc was discontinued then the number of people having cars tested reduced.

Yes, since then there have been more people driving without insurance too. That's even with automated numberplate checkers on major roads in towns that flag up a "stop and check" to any nearby police cars. A friend of mine was stopped like that, he'd just done the renewal and it wasn't yet registering on the computer, after a proper check the copper established that all was well and let us go.

 

[35451]

This thread focuses rather too much on high speed aquaplaning on limit handling and less so actual stopping.

ROSPA research suggest that there are 10x more accidents happen under 30mph than do at 70mph (80,000 vs 8,200).

For primarily around town pootlers, ultimate stopping distance may therefore be more important than ultimate ability to cope with aquaplaning.

Maybe here's the case for not using budget tyres...or indeed having the best tread on front, since this affects braking distance most, with Front brakes and tyres doing most of the stopping power. Sure the rear may stay true and straight - as you sail on into that dog/child etc

Wet braking stopping distance from 30mph VW Golf.

Continental: 31.7 metres
Nankang: 33.8 metres
GT Radial: 35.8 metres
Wanli, Triangle and Linglongs: 40.2 metres

Nearly 30% longer to stop on budget!! This is on brand new tyres. Plenty data to suggest that those distances increase exponentially as tyres reaches legal min tread depth, with the budget brands dropping off more in performance.

From Autocar.

<<The Linglong equipped VW Golf Autocar used for its tests was still doing 27.8mph at the point where it had stopped on the Continentals. Overall the Continentals easily won, scoring top marks in all but one test. A consistent performance earned the GT Radials second place, but a wet lap time 3.4sec adrift of the Continentals indicated just how far even it falls short.

Given the average rain fall in the UK, it's well worth thinking twice before fitting super-budget tyres on your vehicle. If you save ?75 fitting 4 budget tyres you only save 0.05 pence a mile over a 12,000 mile life of the tyre. With the risk of an expensive insurance excess and loaded premium for the next 5 years, not to mention what could happen in a worse case scenario, is it really worth it? >>

 

[Ali T]

I am particularly impressed by these tyres, especially the +Plus variant. Seems to offer all - good grip in summer, great grip in winter wet in damp, ice and sludgy; adequate to get you home in full on snow - very long tread life, and not breaking the bank.

Just fitted a set to third car - daughters Honda Jazz - £320 a set fitted, to keep her mobile and safe in and around S Wales valleys on Phisio duty. I stopped her buying budget crap she was looking at for £220 all in.

Yes agreed, used them on my last three cars- excellent tyres. Shame they are not available in 19”, or there’d be a set going on the current jalopy.

 

[35451]

Yes agreed, used them on my last three cars- excellent tyres. Shame they are not available in 19”, or there’d be a set going on the current jalopy.

Ditto - although they are available in limited 19" fitments - but not the 235/35/19 i would need.

I think maybe like winter tyres, cross climates work better with a bit more sidewall depth to allow flex and progressive breakaway in more adverse conditions.