Best performing all round tyre?

wayned, Jul 30, 9:57am
Looking at the best tyre to suit all my vehicles, to keep it simple.
Performance, longevity, economy.
Not after $200 tyres, hopefully something cheaper.
I try and wear them out evenly and replace all 4.
Cars (all manuals) Pulsar Hatch, Fielder Wagon, MX5

newtec1, Jul 30, 10:06am
Black ones.

gunny7, Jul 30, 10:12am
Best performing all round tyre?
aren't they all "all round"?

vr4_legnum, Jul 30, 10:12am
Have a look at Starfire tyres (Make under licencing by Cooper tyres) They give good performance and life
Also worth to have a look at GT Radial Champion 128, They are good all a rounder
Or if you still wanting something cheaper, Jinyu/Evergreen tyres are great tyre for the money, One of best China make tyre I've seen come out in last 3 or so years

morrisman1, Jul 30, 10:16am
Its at the high end of your budget but I can vouch for the bridgestone RE002. They are quiet, very good grip, mine are lasting well (about 25000km so far and heaps of life left, should get 40k + out of them). I paid about $180 each I think it was for a 205/55r15. I wouldnt hesitate to get them again.

Why not put some good tyres on your mx5 and just some intermediate type on your others? Most tyres from reputable brands will be pretty good overall.

mack77, Jul 30, 11:01am
In my opinion the only way to do this is to go to the library and pick up any NZ Consumer magazine, turn to the last page and look up "tyres test". This will tell you the date of the magazine that has the latest tyre test results. Ask the librarian for it.
That's the only way to get the correct information because no individual can be aware of the performance of all the different tyres.
Remember, very cheap tyres usually perform poorly but last a long time and the most expensive tyres are usually not the ones that perform the best.
That's the method I use to determine what tyres to buy (even second hand) and almost everything else.

franc123, Jul 30, 11:26am
The consumer tests more often than not show up how mediocre a lot of these high end tyres can actually be in the whole cost vs performance vs life equation, they simply don't stack up against the cheap to medium priced alternatives.

tamarillo, Jul 30, 8:24pm
If they fit look at the budget Firestone range. Good name, budget tyre.

whqqsh, Jul 30, 9:03pm
Id still go Michelin, even their 'budget' XM1's are pretty good compared to many other more expensive options (got a set on my 'coon wagon now). Ive found them especially good on bigger cars like light in the bum Commodores

underconstructy, Jul 30, 9:05pm
Black round ones to be specific

wayned, Jul 30, 9:16pm
I currently have Kingstar SK70 on the Pulsar. Wife drives it and has never been an issue, but whether that is the tyres or her conservative driving. MX5 has Firestone TZ700 on the rear, mixture on the front, again no issue but haven't had it long, fronts need replacing soon. Fielder has Firestone TZ700 all round, most evenly worn set of tyres I have ever seen, only a couple of mm tread left, just got the car so no idea how they go. Except in the cold and wet it is hard to get going without spinning up.

tony9, Jul 30, 9:38pm
Only bicycle tyres. Car tires are round on one plane only and oval on the other.

Must be nuts looking to fit bike tyres to a car though.

mm12345, Jul 30, 9:42pm
Exactly. Stuff having crappy tyres on an MX5. They're so light that tyre wear is low, and if you stick to standard small rim size, decent tyres are pretty cheap anyway. Last tyre change I did on SWMBO's MX5, there was still oodles of tread left, but the compound was getting hard from age, crazing on the sidewalls, and on a wet road it was starting to get dangerous. Hers has torsen diff, so if the diff locked on a wet road under acceleration because one wheel slips, both rear wheels break loose which is great fun except when you're not expecting it.

tintop, Jul 31, 1:29am
Go to www.consumer.org.nz, you can join now for 3 months for $3

They have recent reports ( June 11 ) for about 70 car tyres of various sizes.

mack77, Jul 31, 9:30am
Interesting comment, but the Consumer NZ tests just let one know which tyres perform the best and how much they cost.
I have never seen them give any indication of how long they may last; as they would have to use each of them for perhaps 50,000km!

seadubya, Jul 31, 9:47am
Consumer don't test for longevity due to cost, but they still give a reasonable amount of information to non-members https://www.consumer.org.nz/products/car-tyres it could help narrow down the choice to a point where you could ask around about a couple of tyres to get an idea on lifespan.

smalltrader2, Jul 31, 8:24pm
Testing tyre wear is an exact science. Some tyre manufacturers already have US DOT Tread Wear Number which you give you an indication of wear rate under strict testing conditions.

The issue is the road that person A travels on vs the road that person B is travelling on and the driving style, tyre maintenance, type of car are all variables which will add to different wear results. The same tyre might get 50,000 Km for person A on his/car vs 25,000 Km on Person B.

newtec1, Dec 2, 5:03pm
Right.preferably with air in them. Good spoting