Cheap tyres - Whats not trash?

[Jacko 2397]

Looking at new shoes for the Lemonade, I normally write off a bunch of a cheaper ones so am a n00b at all the oddball brands available now.

225/35/19s or maybe 235s (front can rub a little depending on shoulder profile/front camber) whats a good cheap tyre, dont want to put trash on it but also have to make it make sense.

Laufenn LK03s? 

Any suggestions for an allrounder good tyre for the price?

[M3AN 4198]

I had Pirelli Dragon Sports on my 328 and, for what they cost, they were fine. IIRC they were around $200-$250 a corner? In similar sizes to what you're looking for. Okay in the wet too but quite noisy in the dry.

The benefits of these is that the construction is unlikely to fail on you and most people won't look at the tyres and think you've cheeped out. Most people don't even search for Pirellis when thinking "inexpensive but not cheap tyre".

P-Zeros, these are not.

Edit: just looked they were even less expensive, 4 x 225/45/17 = $546, less than $150 a corner. They were from Hyper so I suspect I got 4 for the price of 3 or something. And that was 2017!

Can't find them on Hyper at the moment but they have these for $185 a corner: https://www.hyperdrive.co.nz/product/122154/pirelli-powergy

Edited August 14 by M3AN

[E28E30 340]

I have those on my A4 daily @M3AN, 245/? 19 and they’re pretty good for everyday I reckon. They were on the car when I bought it but not super noisy

[Jacko 2397]

Yeah good point, Ive had dragon sports in the past and they were a bit meh, but you're right the name matters for resale rather than how good they are. I get some trade discounts so will make some calls tomorrow.

[balancerider 849]

Powergys are the updated Dragon Sport - meant to be OK.

19’s are all expensive though,  ~500 / corner RRP for a name brand. Hankook Ventus / Falken / Nexen NFera may be worth a look?

[M3AN 4198]

Tyres Tires - one genuinely good reason to live in 'merica.

[Neil McCauley 483]

If you’ve got trade discount, give Continental a ring direct and ask how much the current Sport Contacts are. I’ve got some amazing deals in the past and they’ve even shipped direct to a tyre monkey of my choosing. Example being the size I use on the van (MC6 245/40/19) is around $170 a corner on clearance right now.

[m325i 732]

People talk about sick deals from Costco?

 

[Palazzo 533]

2 hours ago, m325i said:

People talk about sick deals from Costco?

 

Re003 at $50 a tyre off with an $80 Costco card per tyre for 18” and above. Not sure if you get both to be fair, but that’s what the signage suggests.

[Jacko 2397]

Had a call around and fairly underwhelmed unfortunately... Best deal was on some of the new BFG Phenoms, but still bit silly for the budget.

Anyone tried Bridgestone Supercat Sports? Cant find any reviews anywhere of them, might be a new tyre as well?

[dln 24]

23 minutes ago, Jacko said:

Anyone tried Bridgestone Supercat Sports? Cant find any reviews anywhere of them, might be a new tyre as well?

Not personally, but anecdotally from an acquaintance "they're sh*t".

FWIW.

Edit: sorry that was just regular Supercats, now that I think about it.

Edited August 15 by dln

[Palazzo 533]

1 hour ago, Jacko said:

Had a call around and fairly underwhelmed unfortunately... Best deal was on some of the new BFG Phenoms, but still bit silly for the budget.

Anyone tried Bridgestone Supercat Sports? Cant find any reviews anywhere of them, might be a new tyre as well?

Bf Goodrich? They’re at Costco.

[Eagle 1787]

I rate Laufenn LK's in the upper echelons of budget type tyres 

Conti UC6\7 are usually reasonably priced and what we fit as our budget "performance' option. Maxxis are HP5 are another common one we fit but they are quiet noisy.

 

[M3AN 4198]

Do let us know at the end of the day what you end up paying per corner.

[Palazzo 533]

Don’t know what price you got on the BFGs, but Hyperdrive have 215/45/17s in the BFGs for more than I paid for Pilot5s in the same size.

[Mark D 6]

On 8/14/2025 at 5:09 PM, Jacko said:

 

225/35/19s or maybe 235s (front can rub a little depending on shoulder profile/front camber) whats a good cheap tyre, dont want to put trash on it but also have to make it make sense.

235 on the front and 225 on the rear 😎

[Jacko 2397]

Bunch of shopping around, getting nowhere, LK03s made most sense at 270 odd a corner. If anyone asks, they identify as Hankooks. 

[balancerider 849]

I’m sure they’re not 50% worse than the P Zero 4’s I’ve just paid 550 a corner for in 19” flavour

[Jacko 2397]

Yeah, the only real discounts I could find were off high end tyres. Found some RE003s for cheap (cheaper than the LKs), nearly went that way... but personally I think they're overrated as sh*t and they're death when half worn in the wet. 

As tempting as it is to drop 2k on purty tyres for it... 

 

[Kees 668]

Occasionally you'll come across a bargain set or pair on Marketplace / Trademe. Even better if you come across a good wheel & tyre combo.  

Just keep an eye out for the date stamp on them to make sure they're not too old. 

I recently bought a pair of brand new (early 24 date stamped & still with the stickers on them) 225/45/18 Continental MC6s... $180 for both! 

I also just got a set of Dunlop 265/55/18 all terrains (2022 date stamp) with 80% tread for $300 (for the set). 

Also remember you'll have to pay for fitting / balancing - which is usually about $160 for a set at a normal tyre shop. And if they're not brand new then you assume the risk that they may be damaged etc. 

 

[Olaf 3428]

2 hours ago, Jacko said:

Yeah, the only real discounts I could find were off high end tyres. Found some RE003s for cheap (cheaper than the LKs), nearly went that way... but personally I think they're overrated as sh*t and they're death when half worn in the wet. 

My experience of RE003's on my e46 (multiple sets) for the last 8-10 years are they're still consistently great performance for the money.  And above all else, I reckon their wet weather performance even when worn is their strongest suit.  When they're worn, they're a bit noisier - though nothing like worn Toyos.  A mate throws them at his fleet of Scoobydoos and loves 'em too.  

Why not put em on the Lemonade, if the price is right!?  Not like you're marrying this one 😊

[Jacko 2397]

1 hour ago, Olaf said:

My experience of RE003's on my e46 (multiple sets) for the last 8-10 years are they're still consistently great performance for the money.  And above all else, I reckon their wet weather performance even when worn is their strongest suit.  When they're worn, they're a bit noisier - though nothing like worn Toyos.  A mate throws them at his fleet of Scoobydoos and loves 'em too.  

Why not put em on the Lemonade, if the price is right!?  Not like you're marrying this one 😊

I pulled a "good" set off the Skoda after aquaplanning on the motorway, Id genuinely trust the track 615K+ falkens in the wet more than worn RE003s  

[Hutty008 74]

In my experience re003's are great when the road is damp but as soon as there is standing water they might as well be semi slicks as they hydroplan easily, it doesn't help though that I have them on a 1250kg car.

[gofaster 102]

I'm a fan of RE003's but only on smaller, lighter cars such as my Fiesta STs (Mk6, now Mk7) both running 17's.

Tried 235/255x18 staggered RE003's on my old N54130i, but would look elsewhere if doing it again.

Rock and a hard place when you are not keeping the car Chris, while trying to do the right thing.

Neil seemed to get a good price for his 19's via Continental, might be worth a follow up.