I'll never do the budget thing again.
Auto Express tested a number of budget tyres against a Conti tyre which they reckoined represented a typical "quality tyre".
In a braking test from 50mph to zero, one of the cheap tyres was still doing 30mph at the point that the Conti tyre had stopped the car completely.
They're the only things holding you car onto the road, so I'll never skimp again.
Its then just a question of pesonal preference over which "premium" tyre to pick....
I'm no expert, but my Pirelli P Zeros wore out in 10,000 miles, whereas the Conti Sport Contact 3's I replaced them with are still going strong after 20,000 miles and they seem to be more sure-footed too...
I'll probably replace them with the same again, but I haven't experienced some of the other makes quoted here...
Conti's always seem to get a "top 3" rating in any of the Auto Express tyre tests though, so they seem a good all round compromise.
If you want a really sticky tyre that grips in the dry but wears out quicker, then there are probably others that do that better, but if you're an "ordinary" road driver, looking for a good balance of dry handling, wet handling, tyre wear and longivity, then Conti's always seem to offer that balanced formula in the tests...
