# My thoughts on Sunny budget tyres.



## T.D.K

I bought new alloys around four months ago, they came with Sunny tyres, which are classed as budget tyres. I used to have Pirelli tyres as I was impressed by grip, durability and road noise.

The sunny tyres had some terrible reviews online, some classing them as dangerous but I found they were just as capable as my Pirelli's were, in terms of grip anyway. I'm no rally driver but give me some empty country roads and I will have a spirited drive. In the dry and wet, I felt safe with the Sunny tyres.

It's only been four months so I can't comment on how long the tyres will last but they still seem to have as much tread as when new.

My major gripe is road noise which is awful, even low speeds, the tyres constantly give a humming noise that really grates on long journeys. 

So would I buy budgets again? Yes, if any other budget brands have a low road noise, but if this is a common problem with cheap tyres then it's back to Pirelli or other similar mid-range brands.


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## Dannbodge

My car has budgets on at the moment and I hate them.
They give me no confidence in the wet and seem to under steer quite badly too.
It's annoying because I want to replace them but can't justify spending money on new tyres when these are like brand new.

Give me a set of Continentals any day.


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## T.D.K

Dannbodge said:


> My car has budgets on at the moment and I hate them.
> They give me no confidence in the wet and seem to under steer quite badly too.
> It's annoying because I want to replace them but can't justify spending money on new tyres when these are like brand new.
> 
> Give me a set of Continentals any day.


What brand do you have?

I find my budgets to give me as much confidence as the more expensive tyres I used to have.


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## james_death

Mixed reviews mainly terrible for some Events that have come on some secondary alloys i got from dismantlers.

Unlike most tyres the events come with 7mm new rather than 8mm they are all still on 7 some of the mould flashing still on....

However all the reviews for them on my car have been very good think one topped 36k Miles... still not down to the tread wear but performance was off by then.

With most things what one loves another hates... its the hatred you tend to hear most.

I got the wheels for fitting winter tyres to... thats not going to happen now they will keep whats on...:lol:


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## DetailMyCar

I think a lot of it depends what car they're on, which brand of budgets they are and what the conditions are like but biggest of all i think it comes down to balance...

If you've got 4 of the same the car will be far better / safer then having 2 budgets on and two decent tyres...

I bought a Megane 225 that had just had an MOT and that meant 2 new tyres, the guy didn't want to put anything expensive on so put on a pair of Wanli's (on the Rear) - After a few hundred miles I had a much more obvious name for these tyres then Wanli's...

They were truely dangerous, even lethal I'd say - Turned a reasonably powerful FWD car into a dangerous drifting over-steering machine.


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## toomanycitroens

I have Maxxis on the front at the moment, they are fine but very noisy.
Back to brands for me this year.:thumb:


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## The Cueball

toomanycitroens said:


> I have Maxxis on the front at the moment, they are fine but very noisy.
> Back to brands for me this year.:thumb:


I have these on the Jeep... I find them pretty good...

Totally different car mind you....that does count for a lot IMO

:thumb:


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## DetailMyCar

toomanycitroens said:


> I have Maxxis on the front at the moment, they are fine but very noisy.
> Back to brands for me this year.:thumb:


I wouldn't count Maxxis as budgets.... maybe Economy or mid-range like Kuhmo, Avon, Falkens maybe....

Maybe it's because I know the name so well after years of following Motocross but they have a good pedigree compared to the nasty cheap Chinesey ones out there...


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## Dannbodge

T.D.K said:


> What brand do you have?
> 
> I find my budgets to give me as much confidence as the more expensive tyres I used to have.


Hankook on the front and Millennium on the rear 
They retail for about £30 a tyre.


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## DetailMyCar

Dannbodge said:


> Hankook on the front and Millennium on the rear
> They retail for about £30 a tyre.


Hankook V12 Evo's are one of the best performing tyres I've ever purchased, I did so much reading up before doing so but when I put 4 of them on my car it was transformed, loved driving on them in all conditions - Even better then Continental SC2's I thought....


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## Dannbodge

DetailMyCar said:


> Hankook V12 Evo's are one of the best performing tyres I've ever purchased, I did so much reading up before doing so but when I put 4 of them on my car it was transformed, loved driving on them in all conditions - Even better then Continental SC2's I thought....


These are low end Hankooks - Ventus prime 2s I think.
My previous car had Continentals on and I love SC3s which I will be getting next


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## tictap

Had sunnys before, really noisy and terrible in the wet!! replaced them for falken's which were loads better..


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## SteveTDCi

i'm a brand snob when it comes to tyres, in the dry a tyre is a tyre, in the wet is when you really want it to grip under sudden braking and a few metres can really make the difference.


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## edthedrummer

DetailMyCar said:


> I think a lot of it depends what car they're on, which brand of budgets they are and what the conditions are like but biggest of all i think it comes down to balance...
> 
> If you've got 4 of the same the car will be far better / safer then having 2 budgets on and two decent tyres...
> 
> I bought a Megane 225 that had just had an MOT and that meant 2 new tyres, the guy didn't want to put anything expensive on so put on a pair of Wanli's (on the Rear) - After a few hundred miles I had a much more obvious name for these tyres then Wanli's...
> 
> They were truely dangerous, even lethal I'd say - Turned a reasonably powerful FWD car into a dangerous drifting over-steering machine.


I have a pair of crappy Wanlis on the front of my RS Megane, they are utter dog poo, but as mentioned before, they're like new, and whilst money is very tight i can't justify spending £300 on some michelins to match the rear.

There were four on it when i purchased the car, ended up with two new michelins on the rear pronto, and then some half worn pirelli's that a friend no longer required. Excellent tyres, but once worn, the wanli's in the garage ended up going back on


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## Grizzle

DetailMyCar said:


> Hankook V12 Evo's are one of the best performing tyres I've ever purchased, I did so much reading up before doing so but when I put 4 of them on my car it was transformed, loved driving on them in all conditions - Even better then Continental SC2's I thought....


Seriously???

Had 4 on my VW Caddy initially ok but half worn they became scarey in the wet and also didnt last long either.

Would never buy them again.


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## robertdon777

Work colleague had Freeway's/Freerun's or something like that on the back of a 330i BMW - His wife refused to drive it, that's how scary it was in the wet. Changed to F1's and the difference was like night and day.


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## Darlofan

I have used the cheapest tyres I can find online(usually tyreshopper) for years now and never had a problem. Record I had was 44k on front of my Megane. Just changed front set on Mondeo in december and looking at previous receipt i'd got just under 35k out of them which I was slightly upset with. I have the tracking done every 6 months as I usually find thats what causes the wear. I do 30-40k miles a year as well so need tyres to last.



SteveTDCi said:


> i'm a brand snob when it comes to tyres, in the dry a tyre is a tyre, in the wet is when you really want it to grip under sudden braking and a few metres can really make the difference.


Hear this argument lots and often wonder if it's driving styles. As above I do 30-40k miles a year and have done for 6 years now. The only time I can remember having to slam on and get the ABS to kick in was in a Tesco car park when a guy backed out of a space without seeing me.
If tyres are causing drift when going round corners or skidding when having to pull up sharply then I'd suggest slowing down round corners and leaving a bit more of a gap between yourself and the car in front.
BTW i'm not some old fuddy duddy that drives everywhere at 30mph.


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## Laurie.J.M

I've had non big brand budget tyres once and never intend again. They were ok in the dry but as soon as it rained getting any power down onto the road (even with only 80bhp) was pretty hard and I became quite reliant on the ESP and Traction control to get moving when quickly pulling away from junctions, plus the fronts were completely shot after barely 10000 miles. I've now switched back to some lower mid range Bridgestones which although more expensive (although not too expensive), they have infinitely more grip and have so far lasted around 18 months and about 18000 miles and they still have about 2 mm left before I hit the tread indicator, even though they're fairly warn down they still have more grip than the budget tyres did even when they were new. 

My parents believed in budget tyres for a bit but they're starting to change they're tune now, my dad's V6 Mercedes has budget tyres on it (not his choice they were on it when he bought it) and it's so bad on wet roads that you can't touch the accelerator on roundabouts without the traction control cutting in. He's said that once they're worn out which I don't think will take very long on a car that powerful he's going to switch back to Hankooks like he had on his previous car. My Mum's Honda CR-V isn't much better (particularly as the tyres are now quite warn), stab the pedal a bit hard when pulling away on a slippery road and the automatic 4wd cuts in to compensate for the loss of traction, then the Vehicle Stability Assist decides it needs to get in on the act and slows you to a crawl even if you've got your foot right down. I'd much rather pay that bit extra not only for big brand tyres but for tyres that work well and make your car safer and more predictable in poor conditions.


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## herbiedacious

Got Sunnys on the front of the Mondy & they're not too noisy. Have you checked the rotation arrows to make sure they're the right way round?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk


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## james_death

Great thread this, looking forward to more posts on budget and mid tyres.
Used to always use Kleber on the Zafira.


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## millns84

I've been through a lot of different tyres, albeit on different cars and I've had really inconsistent views on them...

Bridgestone - Fantastic on a warm sunny day, worst tyre I've ever come across in the wet...
Falken - Liked 452's, great all rounders. 512's were ok in the dry and unimpressive in the wet.
Toyo - T1S, good but wore very quickly.
Continental SC2 - Meh, good all round but not good enough to justify their price.
Kumho KU31 - Best I've used, quiet and grippy in all conditions. Even not terrible in snow for a summer tyre.

- Never really used "proper" budgets as I imagine the wet performance being worse that the Bridgestones I had, but you do read some reviews about some manufacturer's doing quite well at the low end of the price bracket, i.e. Maxxis as previously mentioned on the thread and I understand Barum and Neuton are also good.


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## john2garden

I've heard khumo, falken, hankook are all ok. Have a look in tyre test.com most tyres are reviewed there. When I bought my car it has durun tyres in, never again!


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## DetailMyCar

Grizzle said:


> Seriously???
> 
> Had 4 on my VW Caddy initially ok but half worn they became scarey in the wet and also didnt last long either.
> 
> Would never buy them again.


I didn't have the car long enough to wear them out but they were awesome, seemed to get amazing reviews which was what convinced me from the Megane owners club back at the time...

Tyre review seems good too http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Hankook/Ventus-V12-evo-k110.htm

Better rating then Conti SC2's
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Continental/Sport-Contact-2.htm

In fact having looked I think overall they get better reviews then just about anything 

Considering the price of them they punch well above their weight!


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## RisingPower

Darlofan said:


> Hear this argument lots and often wonder if it's driving styles. As above I do 30-40k miles a year and have done for 6 years now. The only time I can remember having to slam on and get the ABS to kick in was in a Tesco car park when a guy backed out of a space without seeing me.
> If tyres are causing drift when going round corners or skidding when having to pull up sharply then I'd suggest slowing down round corners and leaving a bit more of a gap between yourself and the car in front.
> BTW i'm not some old fuddy duddy that drives everywhere at 30mph.


It's not just driving style, you simply do not get the purchase, feel or consistency of grip in cheaper tyres.

These falken 452s are ok, nothing more, I wouldn't buy them again. Either vreds, ps2s or re050s are what i'll go back to. The zed is very light at the back and needs any grip it can get.

It's got nothing to do with pulling up sharply or leaving a gap, but from the sounds of it you have no experience of rwd cars.


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## Grizzle

RisingPower said:


> It's got nothing to do with pulling up sharply or leaving a gap, *but from the sounds of it you have no experience of rwd cars*.


You sound a right pleb at times man


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## RisingPower

Grizzle said:


> You sound a right pleb at times man


If he has any experience of rwd cars, he would appreciate that having as much grip at the rear as possible is a good idea, not just down to driving style.


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## PugIain

My car has Maxxis Victras on it and I like them.They grip really well and are good in the wet.Had them on a year now and am happy.


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## Grizzle

RisingPower said:


> If he has any experience of rwd cars, he would appreciate that having as much grip at the rear as possible is a good idea, not just down to driving style.


are you fecking serious??

Having zero grip at the back is priority, it goes in this order :driver: > :doublesho > :lol:

:thumb:


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## Pezza4u

I have been through plenty of budget tyres and I hated all of them. Fine in the dry but wet grip, well there isn't any!



Darlofan said:


> If tyres are causing drift when going round corners or skidding when having to pull up sharply then I'd suggest slowing down round corners and leaving a bit more of a gap between yourself and the car in front.
> BTW i'm not some old fuddy duddy that drives everywhere at 30mph.


I've gone sideways round roundabouts in the wet on budgets doing only 10mph, how slow do you want people to go!! On mid range and premium tyres the grip is much better. I will never go back to budget tyres unless I really have to.


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## msb

RisingPower said:


> If he has any experience of rwd cars, he would appreciate that having as much grip at the rear as possible is a good idea, not just down to driving style.


Think the guy had a fair point in all honesty its all about driving style, i have my fair share of experience of rwd cars and pretty much any driven like a prat will lose grip, having said that though so will and car regardless of the driven wheels


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## RedUntilDead

I bought a shogun pinin for the winter and I wanted four good tyres on.
All things considered I opted for the Infinity brand, cheapest by far for my size. Have to say I am well impressed. Road noise is okay, grip on tarmac has been good, never lost grip yet. I can only compare performance against the four worn wranglers which isn`t fair but I am still well pleased with the purchase!


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## bidderman1969

james_death said:


> Mixed reviews mainly terrible for some Events that have come on some secondary alloys i got from dismantlers.
> 
> Unlike most tyres the events come with 7mm new rather than 8mm they are all still on 7 some of the mould flashing still on....
> 
> However all the reviews for them on my car have been very good think one topped 36k Miles... still not down to the tread wear but performance was off by then.
> 
> With most things what one loves another hates... its the hatred you tend to hear most.
> 
> I got the wheels for fitting winter tyres to... thats not going to happen now they will keep whats on...:lol:


seeing as you are running a 75 too, (judging by your avatar, apologies if you're not) i had Prestivo's on my tourer all round, was impressed by them, had to change to Events as i needed all 4 doing at once, so far so good :thumb:

found Neuton's to be very good :thumb::thumb::thumb:


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## RisingPower

msb said:


> Think the guy had a fair point in all honesty its all about driving style, i have my fair share of experience of rwd cars and pretty much any driven like a prat will lose grip, having said that though so will and car regardless of the driven wheels


A fair amount of it is up to driving style, but you can't find grip from nowhere with crap tyres in the snow/wet when trying to pull away gently, or suddenly when you're doing 10-15mph around a big roundabout and all you get is massive understeer until you do 5mph (yes, there was no oil, no snow and it wasn't even cold out, it was mildly damp on budget tyres).

Simply, if there was no reason why they could charge for decent tyres, they'd have no market.


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