Tyre Branding?

cormie

Hi,
I've just got a price of €65 each inc fitting for 4 Matador tyres off a mechanic for my Ford Transit Van (van = reinforced tyres). He said that there were also goodyear ones for €90 each. Now I've been quoted €75 each for firestone ones off another place too.

Does anyone know if there is really much difference between all these besides the name?

I'd like to spend as little as possible but still have good tyres.

He said there's cheaper than Matador even still but said they were the middle of the road ones where as the guy selling the firestone said they were the top of the range ones.

Any advice would be appreciated:)

Cyrus

dunno much about vans but you get what you pay for with tyres.

Matadors will be ditch finders i would imagine, firestone not much better and depending on the goodyear model they should be okay.

Firestone will not be top of the range, and its in the wet that cheaper tyres are found out.

RosieJoe

Hi there,

I fitted 4 Matadors on my Astra and with in a couple of months I needed to replace 1 due to the wall splitting! Might have banged it off a kerb but you would not expect the tyre to split:mad:

patrickc

i also fitted four matadors to my old astra, 1 was bald in less than ten thousand k.. whereas the last ones continental i got 40k from.

cormie

strange, both astras and both needing one replaced!

patrickc

mine was the front left!!

hellboy99

Personally I'd stay away from all them brands, Matadors are useless, ware too quick and prone to wall splitting. As for Firestone, they don't ware at all as they are solid and you've no grip, go get yourself a set of Pirelli.

cormie

Dang, was hoping I wouldn't have to shop around I don't really have the cash at the moment. There was another brand he mentioned as well as the Matdores, maybe I should just go with them and if I need, I can get new ones later.

How much would the Pirellis go for do you reckon?

Maybe the reinforced tyres for a van would be stronger anyway

Cyrus

reinforced crap is just

well reinforced crap, seriously tyres are worth the extra, there can be 10s of metres in the difference in stopping times etc esp in the wet

and as your driving a van you'll be tailgating j/k

try these lads, they have fitting partners all over ireland (or your local fella will do it) best prices around:

www.eiretyres.com

hellboy99

cormie wrote:

How much would the Pirellis go for do you reckon?

I don't know what they will cost for a van, I got a set of Pirelli 3000 for my car a while back and paid €160 for them including fitting.

cormie

That's for 4 yeah? That's not too bad at all, where did you get them done?

hellboy99

that was 4, got them done at McManus Tyres in Dundalk

RosieJoe

patrickc2006 wrote:

mine was the front left!!

So was mine! That's just mad Ted! :rolleyes:

SGKM

I dont know much about van tyres but with regard to 4x4 tyres, brands make a HUGE difference!!

BFGoodrich All Terrains are known to last for up to 50,000 miles and withstand a lot of abuse off road, where as i have read and heard horror stories of people buying cheap non brand tyres and remoulds only for the tyres to literally come apart at high speed or shread easily off road!

I suppose that the main difference in prices would be the dry / wet grip and braking. There can be HUGE difference in these from tyre to tyre!

I know that van tyres wouldn't be taking as much abuse but I'm just making the point. I found review websites like tyretest.com quite helpful when I bought new tyres last summer.

Esel

I say we all chip in so cormie can get the best tyres we can afford! It'll be safer for everyone.

patrickc

"So was mine! That's just mad Ted! "

learned my lesson dearer lasts longer!

cormie

esel wrote:

I say we all chip in so cormie can get the best tyres we can afford! It'll be safer for everyone.

seconded, I'll throw in €20:D

maidhc

Cheap tyres normally last longer than expensive ones as they tend to have a harder compound.

On a transit i'd throw anything on, so long as it was new and not liable to disintegrating! The transit isn't a vehicle known for its driving dynamics, the difference between budget tyres and top of the range tyres won't really alter this greatly!

Mojito

I just spent 600 euros on 4 new goodyear eagle F1 tyres. The tyres that came with my alloy wheels had the same V thread as the eagle F1's but were a cheap budget tyre. I noticed every time I was driving aroung the roundabout outside my estate that the tyres would lose grip very quick and the VSC on the car would kick in.

Now with the new tyres they stick to the road like glue! I read all the reviews about this tyre and found that the only bad point is there usless in snow. I think I can handle that living here.

Never try to cut cost by getting cheap tyres its the only thing that keeps you stuck to the road. They really really really make a big difference and could be the difference between you staying on the road or ending up in a ditch.

maidhc

Mojito wrote:

I just spent 600 euros on 4 new goodyear eagle F1 tyres.

A van though?

On cars definitely it is worth spending a bit of money, although I think middle of the road lines of Goodyear/Bridgestone/Michelin offer the best value/performance! Not a fan of very expensive tyres, they just wear out too quick IMO.

littlejukka

i paid 130 quid for a pair of firestones for my 14" steel corolla wheels recently in a kwikfit. getting 4 new pirelli 195/50/15 for new wheels and i'm paying 120 for the set. it's not just the tyre, it's who you go to for them.

Mojito

maidhc wrote:

A van though?

On cars definitely it is worth spending a bit of money, although I think middle of the road lines of Goodyear/Bridgestone/Michelin offer the best value/performance! Not a fan of very expensive tyres, they just wear out too quick IMO.

Oops!

I don't think he'll be needing those tyres for his van.

cormie

So you reckon tyres wont really make much difference one a van maidhc?

Cyrus

Cormie they will theres no way out of it.

What maidhc is saying is that theres no need to get eagle f1 goodyears or the like, but if you have any sense you will get a decent brand and a decent model.

Have a look at the site i linked and look for the mid priced tyres and then google some reviews.

Also the fact that a tyre is a pirelli does not mean its any good, pirelli do crap cheap tyres too folks

hellboy99

Cyrus wrote:

Also the fact that a tyre is a pirelli does not mean its any good, pirelli do crap cheap tyres too folks

I'm not saying that Pirelli are the best but compared to the last set I bought there a hundred times better & road handle is alot better too. The last set I got were Goodyears, I didn't even get a 1000 mile out of them and two of them blew out :eek: . Turned out there was a fault with the tyres.

Seth Brundle

cormie wrote:

So you reckon tyres wont really make much difference one a van maidhc?

Don't vans need special thick walled tyres, i.e. reinforced (to carry the various loads). IIRC Godyear F1s are not suitable for vans!

cormie

Yeah, van needs 8 ply reinforced tyres.

So I'm looking for 8 ply 195 r14 tyres:)

Moanin

Are NangKang car Tyres any good?

Cyrus

no, some reports say the ns-2s are okay in the dry, but id be sceptical

Seth Brundle

Moanin wrote:

Are NangKang car Tyres any good?

Car tyres are not suitable for a van!

Guy:Incognito

patrickc2006 wrote:

i also fitted four matadors to my old astra, 1 was bald in less than ten thousand k.. whereas the last ones continental i got 40k from.

Can happen with any tyres. I clipped a kerb going round a roundabout and tore a 4 inch hole clean out of the wall of a brand new Goodyear.