I never buy Dunlop (or SP) because of the number I've had to throw away when they've develop lumps, bulges and de-laminated.

Ibiza ST : the performance version.

But you're thinking about skimping on tyres, to the tune of £30 per corner, and worrying about fuel economy to boot !

Performance cars cost more than standard cars to run. Do you try skimping on your brake pads too ?

Cheers for the thought process....

The Falkens are: 125/45 R16 V 86 whereas the Dunlops are 215/45 R16 V 90

I have no idea with letter is the rating you refer to as the wear rating but since they are identical letter wise, I don't think it makes a difference.

I would be interested to know what the 86 at the end of the Falkens means though and why that figure is 90 on the Dunlops.

Don't think I can add an image here but its interesting that the Dunlops also list (or display) symbols for "Audi AO" and "XL" (reinforced) whereas the Falkens don't.

As you can probably tell I know very little about tyres. Would the above symbols not being on the Falkens make a difference?

awesomescreenshot.com/02039wou91

Looking at those tyres, you might see enough difference in fuel economy to warrant the extra costs. If the 4 tyres lasted 20k, you'd have to use £120 less fuel in that time, or, to put it another way, £6 per 1,000 miles. At (roughly) 40mpg, going from HJs real mpg stats, you'd be using £153 per 1,000 miles. For that to drop to £147 per 1,000 miles, you'd have to improve to 41.8 (ish) mpg.

Would a different tyre give close on 5% improvement in fuel economy ? I'm a little sceptical myself, but I suppose it's possible.Then again, 2 or 3 psi difference can improve or wreck handling or fuel economy, so why not a different tyre compound or tread pattern.

I'm very sceptical about how much fuel can be saved, Michelin say upto 80litres during the life of the tyre (estimated to be 28,000miles by Michelin) which if I calculated correctly is about £106 over the life of the tyre.

Now that is IF you save 80litres of fuel and I doubt it very much in the real world, So if you can save £30 a corner buying a cheaper tyre, I'd say you would be no worse off.

I have the 914 Ecoruns on the Audi A8L and am very pleased with them indeed but they are C rated in my size..

In fact the variation of all ratings across sizes makes you wonder how relevant tyre tests are as they only test one size.

Edited by Hamsafar on 07/08/2014 at 13:27

I'm not convinced about the claimed savings either, i suspect far more fuel (and brake wear) could be saved by allowing the vehicle to overrun to slow down instead of the usual hurtling up to junctions followdd by heavy braking, unecessary stopping due to zero anticipation, then fast acceleration from rest back up to high speed, rinse and repeat.

Exactly GB but, The driving standard your talking about only really comes to those of us who haul heavy loads and don't want tennis elbow from all the excess gear changing.

It never ceases to amaze me the people who continue on the throttle heading towards a red traffic light!