tyres brands

[vblanche]

Hello,

Is there any brand that has overall better tyres than others?

thanks
vince

[Skarbro]

1. Are they teaching people to spell tire, "tyre" now in school? :) This seems to be as common as spelling lose, "loose".

2. What kind of tire are you talking about? Winter? Summer? All-seasons? Off-road? Airplane?

3. I'm sure this has been covered before. Have you searched? A good reference is www.tirerack.com, although they do not cover all brands.

[vblanche]

1. Are they teaching people to spell tire, "tyre" now in school? :) This seems to be as common as spelling lose, "loose". oops, again the french (aka me) can speak proper english...:bang


2. What kind of tire are you talking about? Winter? Summer? All-seasons? Off-road? Airplane? I don't know yet, we don't have much snow here in the netherlands, but I expect below-zero temps, so that's why I'm also wondering if I should go for all season or winter tires....

[Wild Weasel]

It's not just French. It's European. The British say "tyre" as well, so since he's across the pond, I'd say it's perfectly reasonable. :)

As for who's the best... all the top name brands will argue that they're the best. Michelin, Goodyear, Toyo, etc.

At any given time, depending on their current offerings, any of them might be the best at some particular function.

As for what you need... well... I have no idea what conditions are like over there so I can't really give any valid advice. :)

[Skarbro]

Ah I forgot you were over in another country. :)

[3GFX]

I'll give you a summary vblanche.

The companies you hear the most of usually carry the widest range and are generally good at what they do.

MAIN COMPANIES:

Michilin, Good Year, Continental

EMERGING HIGH ROLLERS:

Kumho, Falken, Toyo, Yokohama


Another thing to keep in mind is many companies own other companies.
ie. General tires are made by Continental.

[vblanche]

what do you guys think about all season tires? how are they different from summer? I don't think I will need winter tires here in Holland, but in the same time, summer tires are not sufficient, I guess...

[3GFX]

Everyone is always gonna say get a set for each.

How safe do you want to be, that is the question.

All-seasons can barely do everything and are good at nothing.

SUMMER TIRES:

Best grip in warm dry and wet. No grip in cold weather.

WINTER TIRES:

Best in snow and/or ice, very good in wet.

ALL-SEASON:

Can do it all, but not very well.

[Wild Weasel]

Once the temperature drops to around or below freezing, you CANNOT use summer tires. They are not an option. The rubber compound hardens up like plastic and this can be very dangerous, like driving on ice all the time.

If you don't have to drive in snow and don't really care about performance, then you can use all-seasons year-round. Just stay home when there's snow on the roads. These tires are ok in the cold. They don't freeze up like summer tires do, though of course they also don't grip like summer tires do when it's not cold.

If you don't have a choice and have to drive when the roads are covered in ice or snow, then you should get winter tires.

[Fuman]

Gislaved is known in Norway, or so said steel case. (Don't know if you get snowed as bad as Norway though).
I have no idea what tire options you have in your local tire shops.
But you should ask them. We don't know how much snow you get.
How fast your streets gets plowed.

[FLIPDADY]

Dave you forgot Bridgestone/Firestone!

[vblanche]

Dave you forgot Bridgestone/Firestone!

mazda3 are coming with bridgestone potenza RE40 here in europe...people seem to say that they are noisy and bad on wet tires...

[3GFX]

Dave you forgot Bridgestone/Firestone!

That because they don't count unless you have a Ford Explorer :chuckle

[vblanche]

What about Nokian? do you know this brand? thanks.

[Wild Weasel]

I've generally only heard good things about their winter tires. Not sure about any others.

[3GFX]

Nokian, Nordic and Sava are some smaller less known brands that do well in the snow.

[GGM3]

Viking Snow Tech's are alos made by Continental, very good for the price.

Some other tire choices are Dunlops, Hankook, Pirelli and Gislaved for winter.

PS. Bridgestones are OEM's for some Ferrari's so they can't be all that bad but my friends Pontenza's are even worse than the Eagle's that come with the 3 not to mention the Blizzaks are great winter tires.