Tyrereviews Summer Tyre Test 205/55 R16 2023

Rising living costs put many drivers in a dilemma: Is it worth paying extra for premium footwear, or will the cheapest tires from Asia, or even retreads, do the job? A major comparison test of eight budget-friendly tires, one retread (King Meiler), and a benchmark in the form of the latest premium tire Continental PremiumContact 7 revealed vastly different characteristics on both wet and dry roads.

The result is uncompromising: While some cheap tires manage to keep up on dry roads, on wet surfaces, cheap tires become a huge safety gamble.

• Braking on water: The best cheap tire needed more than 7 meters longer to stop from a speed of 80 km/h than the Continental. The worst tire in the test even stopped up to 14 meters further away! Where a car on Continentals has already come to a stop, you're still driving at a dangerous speed on cheap tires.
• Handling: Continental dominated with a huge lead. The best among the cheap tires was Tomket, which offered readable steering and predictable grip.
• Extreme risks: While Nankang offered a playful but oversteering character with the risk of skidding, the brands Davanti, Winrun, Triangle, and Maxtrex were plagued by significant understeer and zero feedback. The King Meiler retread performed comparably to the Asian average, but the absolute worst performer was the Doublecoin tire – it was the slowest, unreadable, and had the worst resistance to aquaplaning.

• Braking distance: The differences on dry roads were smaller, but still significant. At the point where a vehicle on Continental tires had already come to a complete stop from a speed of 100 km/h, a car on Tomket tires was still moving at $26\text{ km/h}$, and on the Triangle brand up to $34\text{ km/h}$ – which means a hard impact.
• Driving characteristics: The most pleasant surprise from the budget segment was Winrun, with a good feel in the steering and stable behavior. The King Meiler retread offered good steering response, but its compound couldn't keep up with the fast pace, and the tire lost time. Doublecoin again finished at the very bottom as an uncontrollable and treacherous tire.

• Noise and comfort: Surprisingly, the quietest in external measurements were Doublecoin and Davanti, which also offered decent bump absorption on the way to the track.
• Rolling resistance: Winrun and Tomket achieved approximately $2\,\%$ lower rolling resistance than the Continental.
• Price: The Continental tire was the most expensive in the test, but its performance on wet roads fully justified the price difference.

• If you're really on a tight budget: Tomket and Winrun offer acceptable predictability on dry roads and can handle regular driving, although on wet roads you must slow down drastically.
• Useful warning: It's better to avoid Doublecoin tires and other treacherous brands lacking grip.
• Final lesson: Cheap tires still aren't good enough to guarantee safety in critical situations. The difference in braking distance on wet roads can mean the line between a light braking maneuver and a serious accident.