I have just put an Avon as a spare as I will fit them later to the front.

I put Rotalla tyres on the cruze, they felt a bit slippy in the wet when new but were quieter than the nexens they replaced (the nexen is too lightweight)

as above it deserves the best tyre you can afford.

look at the tyre ratings for noise and wetgrip

Depends what you mean by budget. Mid-range brands like Kumho and Cooper are significantly cheaper than Michelin / Continental / Dunlop etc.

I've had Kumho Ecstas on a couple of cars and have not been able to detect any difference in terms or wet or dry grip, braking or road noise, but they've saved me around 30 - 40% of the cost of the factory-fit Michelin / Conti.

Quite. I've done many miles on Toyos and Coopers (the latter Winters) and they were very good. Given that most of us drive at no more than 50% of capacity most of the time I can't see the extra 10% a premium tyre may give you in a particular area makes a significant difference. That said, I did buy some very cheap tyres once, and they were dreadful; that was back in the days when I was young, impoverished and easily lead by the monkey's at Kwik Fit. But there are many cheaper tyres with a good reputation.

Ultimately, it's all about driving within limits of your vehicle and finding a good compromise. And 'buying the most expensive tyres you can afford' is a popular maxim, but what does it mean? Afford out of disposable income, afford out of disposable income plus your car fund, afford out of loan? Per month, per year? How many people buy the best brake pads they can afford? Or the best discs? Or the best shock absorbers? How many people buy a spare set of wheels with winter tyres?

I'd suggest lots of research on-line when you've identified a make, there's a world of information out there.

The difference in cost between a budget tyre in a standard size (205 55 16) and a mid range tyre in the same size is only a few pounds. If you look on the Camskill site true "budget" tyres are between £28 (Aptany) and £40 (Kormoran) each and well known "mid range" brand tyres start at £40 each (Uniroyal).

So for an extra £12 a tyre you can get a product that is more fuel efficient and has better wet grip.

While a budget tyre should perform perfectly well in normal conditions in an emergency the better tyre could help prevent a serious accident. Hopefully this will never happen but who can tell.

I would buy the better tyre every time. Over 20,000 miles if you get 1mpg more you would probably save more than the £48 extra cost plus these budget tyres can be difficult to balance and the cost or rebalancing would wipe out any savings.

I was once confronted by an airborne Golf on the M40 (driver asleep?!) after it had hit the barrier and a nearly new set of Michelins left us without a scratch. Less braking grip and I might not be typing this now!

Something like this is thereason I won't have the very cheapest tyres on my car from a brand I've never heard of. Just not worth trying to save a few quid when your tyres are such a vital component of your car.

It may be useful to check a site like Event tyres where the “new” EU ratings are shown with each tyre choice. Ratings are for noise, wet grip & fuel economy. ( Just like your fridge, rating A is the best ).

There is no indication how scientific these measures are, but they must be a useful guide.

Edited by mustangman on 20/02/2015 at 10:34

No offence but surely if you can afford a premium German car like Audi, you would fit a decent set of tyres ?

Is it just me ?

I would raise my eyebrows if I see Audi/BMW/MB with LingLong tyres…

Kumho is one of the factory-fit brands for Mercedes-Benz.