Budget Tyres vs Premium Tyres

We have been asked many times about the quality of budget vs the price of premium tyres, for everything from a small car, Ford Fiesta to a big 4x4, Audi Q7. Below I will help you answer any questions you may have when buying new tyres.

Buying new tyres can be a confusing nightmare. With a huge selection to choose from, the decision can be mind boggling. Tyres are generally placed into 3 categories; Budget, Mid-Brand and Premium, but what gives you the best value for money, we take a look below to see what's what.

Budget Tyres

The key question for budget tyres is what is their overall value for money. Yes they may be cheap at the time but if they don't last as long or performance is sub standard will you need new tyres sooner rather than later. Ideally budget tyres are suited for slower speeds on B roads or for cars that do a lower annual mileage. Whilst they will still be a very safe tyre performance hasn't really been looked at due to the selling price. So if you just use your car as a run around for popping to the shops, the budget tyres could give you the ideal combination of price with performance.

Mid-Brand Tyres

Mid-Brand Tyres are middle of the market, slap bang between Budget and Premium Tyres. Often tyres in this section are manufactured by Premium Tyre companies and put under a different name, for example Continental make Semperit Tyres. What happens with Mid Brand tyres is that they use the technology from Premium tyres, maybe 3-6 months later than Premium Tyres use it. Ideally suited for general everyday use, with wear and fuel efficiency far outweighing that on budget tyres.

Premium Tyres

Premium Tyres are the ones everyone has heard of such as Pirelli, Michelin and Continental. Tyres in this category use the latest in tyre technology in all aspects of the tyre, Fuel Efficiency, Performance and Wear, meaning they will easily outperform cheaper tyres in 90% if not all areas. However they can be expensive, depending on the size you need. They're ideally suited to cars that cover a lot of miles or are regularly used at high speeds on motorways for example.

Still Don't Know What Tyres To Buy?

The EU have tried to make it easier when buying tyres, by introducing an 'EU Tyre Label'. This new label is similar to what white goods, such as Fridges have on them. The Tyre Label show the performance of the tyres ' Wet Grip, Fuel Efficiency and Decibel Levels'. Rated on A-G on both Wet Grip and Fuel Efficiency with A being the highest rating. These labels are on every tyre whether it's Budget, Mid Brand or Premium, so you can see exactly what performance you're going to get from each tyre.

Should You Buy Track Day Tyres?

With the increase in popularity for Track Day events, manufacturers have started making tyres specifically for everyday road driving and track days. Manufacturers including Yokohama, Toyo, Nankang and Federal now make a specific track tyre.

With these new breed of tyres becoming more readily available, we have noticed an increase in customer questions regarding using track day tyres on their vehicle.

Questions include:

• Should i put track day tyres on my car?
• What are they like on the road?
• How long will they last?
• What are they like in the rain?

These are all excellent questions to ask before you decide to buy any track day tyres. Below we aim to answer all these questions and more, to help you decide whether track day tyres are right for you.

Like road tyres all track day tyres have their differences, so for this review we are going to use Yokohamas AD08Rs as a guide.

What Are Track Day Tyres Like On The Road?

Firstly we will look at what track tyres are like on the road in the dry, as that's where most people will use them most. With performance the main feature of the tyres, noise levels have been slightly affected when compared with everyday road tyres, making them slightly nosier, but not so much that you would notice constantly. They also take slightly longer to warm up, i.e to get to their maximum performance, which is due to the compound that is used, but unless you want to thrash it around from the off you won't notice much difference. They also have the added benefit of giving you increased feedback from the road.

In the wet, track tyres have come a long way. They used to be a real pain to warm up and find any grip at all. They have however improved hugely since, with the AD08Rs being especially good for wet driving. Drivers do still need to be aware that they are performance tyres, so in a heavy rain downpour and deep lying water, care needs to be taken to avoid aquaplaning.

But what are they like for day to day driving i hear you ask. Well as shown above they are extremely capable of being used everyday, you just need to bear in mind that you understand their limitations in heavy and deep standing water. Apart from that they are an excellent tyre to use everyday.

Never Mind The Road What Are Like On The Track?

This is what Track Tyres were made for, pure performance on the track. Dry grip is superb, handling hits the max and braking is astounding. Using track day tyres compared to everyday road tyres, makes the difference between a quick and slow lap time. With standard tyres you will feel the car moving around, harder to control, braking a finer art and the sweat dripping of you as you battle for control. With the Track Day Tyres your lap time will increase, grip is huge, you'll get feedback from every corner, you'll feel like being in a go kart and most importantly of you'll have more fun. 

They also allow you to work on your skills as a driver, give your car increased stability and fill you with confidence of how far your car can perform. 

How Long Will Track Day Tyres Last?

Like all tyres it is impossible to give a specific time period for how long they will last. As things such as how you drive, weather conditions and how often you drive can all affect how long your tyres will last. On estimations a likely milage of between 10,000 and 20,000 miles gives a good idea of durability, which is mainly in thanks to the latest tread compound used.

Are Track Tyres Right For Me?

In short, Yes. If you are thinking of blasting round at track days and want a tyre that you can just rock up and go straight from road to the track you can't go wrong with track day tyres. We rate track day tyres so much that we have them on our own cars.

If you need any more information or have any other questions regarding any of our products don't hesitate to get in touch with one of our experts. You can contact us via email on info@ears.co.uk, phone on 01625 433773 or via our website at www.ears.co.uk .

Check out some independent reviews for track day tyres below:

• Yokohama AD08R
• Toyo R888
• Nankang NS-2R

Ears Welcomes Blogger

From a recent update of our website, we have decided to update the rest of our brand to bring it back to where it once was.
In this era of new technology, we are going to fully utilise a select few at first, including Blogger, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter & Instagram, to bring you the latest news, views and interests direct to you.
We're looking to show you a range of videos from in race karting footage to the kind of cars we deal with. As well as being on hand to answer any questions or queries you have about any products from tyres to helmets, harnesses to seats.
If there is anything you would like to see on any of our accounts, just let us know and we accommodate your requests.

Thanks for reading.

The Ears Team