Tyre test - why budget tyres could kill - What makes a good tyre?

What makes a good tyre?
The major tyre companies spend millions of pounds each year on research and development, so although a premium tyre might look almost identical to a budget alternative, there are often big differences. These include:

Rubber compound
Like baking a good cake, it isn’t only what goes into the mixture, it’s the ratio of each ingredient and how they’re all mixed together. Making a tyre that excels in one area – such as cornering in the dry – isn’t difficult, but road car tyres also need to perform well in the wet and have decent longevity.

Tread pattern
The pattern comes into play when the road is wet. Like the bow of a ship, a good design should cut through the water, allowing the rubber to make contact with the road. The grooves need to channel the water away from the contact patch, because failure to do so results in aquaplaning.

Internal structure
A good structure keeps the contact patch consistent and allows the tread pattern
to work effectively in wet conditions.

On video: See the tyre test explained
Watch how we tested the tyres, here.

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What Car? says
Don't even think about skimping on tyres. It’s tempting to save money in the short term by going for the budget option, but you’d be unwise to do so. Tyres are the only part of your car that make contact with the road, so you’re far better off sticking to the premium brands and hunting around for the lowest prices on those. As our investigation clearly shows, cheap tyres could easily cost you your life.