Cheap Tires - Scary!!

[Bamberd]

Morning!
I made the rookie mistake of replacing all 4 of the Pirelli tires that came with my car with some cheap (Kustone), ones.

They were all on the edge of bald so needed doing.

I didn’t have it done at Porsche but it was £560 vs £1280 at a normal garage and even though I expected them to not be as good I didn’t expect them to pretty much render the car un drivable in the rain.

And by un drivable I mean, the car literally sliding coming out of corners at about 20mph.

Needless to say the car has been back at Porsche and I’ve now had 4 Pirelli N raged tires fitted (at a whopping £1700).

Has anyone experienced this level of drop off when they’ve moved away from what Porsche recommends? I’ve gone with cheap tires before on other cars (BMW, Audi etc), and never had anything like this level of drop off.

For reference I have a 2023 Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo GTS with 21” GTS wheels.

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[whitex]

I don't think this has to do so much with Porsche rating, but rather the cheap tires and their performance on heavy vehicles like the Taycan. I have 3 sets of tires for my Taycan, all-season and winter tires are NF0 Porsche rated for Taycan, and my summer tires are not (Michelin Pilot Sport 4S). The worst rain handling is with Porsche recommended all season Continental's which came with the car from the Porsche factory. The best rain handling with Porsche unrated PS4S. These are my subjective ratings, I haven't actually gone measuring lateral G's in turns. My Taycan started its life in the winter, so I didn't get to try the factory all-seasons until few thousand miles later - they were noticeably (to me) worse handling. Not as bad as you describe (losing it while cornering at 20mph), but noticeably less grippy than the winter Goodyears (also NF0 rated). The Michelins seem to handle the best, but I should also note that Continental and Goodyears are on 20" wheels, while Michelin are on 21" - all wheels are Porsche OEM.

 

[BullitX]

Cheap tires are often terrible, which is why they're inexpensive. Now, imagine putting cheap tires on a heavy EV—that's just asking for trouble. I would never put cheap tires on an expensive car, especially not on an EV, and certainly not on a Porsche. At that point, you're risking your life and the lives of others to save, what, a thousand dollars?

If you care about your car, yourself, and others, please invest in A-class tires.

 

[andix]

Tyres are important, obviously. And the differences are huge.
Also, N classification is relevant if you drive fast, respectively brake from high speeds. Not in the UK, I guess…

 

[whitex]

One quick question: How long did you drive on the cheap tires @Bamberd? I'm only asking because during one of my tire changes, as I went to test drive the new wheels (and let the newly installed wheels TMPS sync up) ABS kicked in on first moderate braking road was dry and tires - it felt like I was driving on glass. I caught me a little by surprise, but nothing dangerous as I did it with nobody behind me or in front of me, that is why I test my car every time I swap the wheels. I was a little concerned, but after a few miles the issue fixed itself, the car started handling as expected. I suspect some wheel sensor might have gotten out of sync with the computer when I was changing tires - I lift the whole car so all wheel are in the air, front ones rotate freely during changing.

 

[Scandinavian]

I have never in several decades put on anything else than a premium tyre on my cars.

From the first SAAB 96 2 stroke Monte Carlo to the M5 and Taycan.

I took part in some tyre testing on wet roads in Scandinavia in the late 60’s, on prepared tracks. That came about as part of getting a rally license. It quickly demonstrated the importance of that small patch between you and the road surface. Since that experience I have never considered cheap rubber.

 

[whitex]

I have never in several decades put on anything else than a premium tyre on my cars.

From the first SAAB 96 2 stroke Monte Carlo to the M5 and Taycan.

I took part in some tyre testing on wet roads in Scandinavia in the late 60’s, on prepared tracks. That came about as part of getting a rally license. It quickly demonstrated the importance of that small patch between you and the road surface. Since that experience I have never considered cheap rubber.

Brakes and tires things I never skimped money on as far as car expenses are concerned. It can literally make a life or death difference.

 

[Bennachie]

Not only 'cheap tyres' but a make (Kustone) that I have never even heard of. So would not even fit on my mountain bike........................

 

[Fish Fingers]

Not only 'cheap tyres' but a make (Kustone) that I have never even heard of. So would not even fit on my mountain bike........................

Me neither.
They are Chinese apparently.

It may not matter in say a case for your smart phone, but n the world of tyres, that is definitely not a good thing.
?

 

[Jenner]

I am sure the combo of cheap tires and the new tire release lubricant made it a scary experience. Remember these things:

"You pay for what you get"
"Because so much is riding on your tires"
"Brakes stop the wheels TIRES stop the car.

This is just a heads up for ALL new tires. I am not defending your poor choice in tires (very very silly on a Porsche but you learned you lesson no need to harp on it!) but even a top tier tire will exhibit lower grip for the first 100-200 miles depending on how aggressively you drive.

"New tires can feel slippery because of a release lubricant that's applied during manufacturing to help remove them from molds. Some of this lubricant remains on the tread until it wears off on the road, which can reduce traction."

Also page 10 from the Taycan owners manual:

 

[RGBArgee]

Replaced 4 21in PZeros with Goodyear NFO at Costco £1064 .

 

[Horizontally Opposed]

Sorry you had that experience.

These cars have great technology but it all comes down to a few square cm of contact with pavement. If you cut a corner there, all of that technology will not help.

I would never downgrade tires. Why buy such a car and handicap it?

 

[Jonathan S.]

Reminds me of how https://www.tire-reviews.com/ will include a random cheap tire from some brand you’ve never heard of to demonstrate the typically far bigger gap between such a tire and major brands as opposed to the difference among major brands.

 

[Brombaer1971]

What could Go wrong putting an unknown tire Brand on a very heavy car with Ultra high torque producing car ?

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