Reading through the information, the thing that stands out big time is that some tyres have good grip and traction, yet are placed lower in there rankings due to noise (admittedly road noise is tiring)... Surely whilst tyre/road noise should be taken into account, that grip and handling characteristics should have a far greater weighting to them...
Thank you for the info Cem, but, I personally feel that the weighting of the results is inaccurate.
The trade-off between noise and grip / handling qualities is the one I've noticed most myself when swapping tyres. Again, it comes down to personal preferences. I really dislike noisy tyres to the extent that my current choice has sacrificed some performance for quietness.
Others might not be prepared to do so, and put up with the noise. Some might be so gentle in their driving inputs that they don't notice any difference in performance at all and just rate the tyre as poor because it's noisy.
Not everybody is as perceptive behind the wheel. Some just feel uneasy about negotiating corners fast and slow down. They might not consider whether it's the tyre, tyre pressures, a suspension issue, their driving style or the road surface that has prompted them to do so. They may not even be conscious that they have slowed down.
Not everybody has a consistent driving style, so making comparisons is pointless. If you sometimes progressively enter a corner and sometimes snatch at the wheel your experiences are going to be variable before you start swapping tyres.
Not everybody will experiment with tyre pressure and suspension setup to ensure they get the best out of a tyre.
Not everybody buys tyres for the correct reason. I see the Toyo R888 is towards the bottom of the field. That's probably the grippiest, best handling tyre on the list in the right circumstances (in the summer, when it's got a bit of heat in it) but I pity the bloke who even rated it in the snow. I wouldn't put it on a car that gets in the winter let alone snow.
It's got a mediocre but not poor 5.31 for tread wear, too. It would last about 3-4k of road use, IMHO, yet it gets similar wear ratings to some of the "granite formula" "I wish I could wear these rather things out" ditchfinders in the list.
As many have said, tyre reviews can be a useful guide. I find the numbers useless, though. I like to read written reviews of tyres and consider if I'm on the same wavelength as the guy writing it before considering whether to take the advice on board.
Kevin
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Topic: dont waste your money-tire tests-heavy pics (Read 5094 times)