Do you use white-label tyres? This is why you shouldn't

The following video shows the influence that cheap tyres have compared with high-performance ones on a Honda S2000.

Although the temptation to save money on maintaining our car is completely understandable, there are some components where we should not cut corners. A clear example is tyres, and in the following video we see why.

The YouTube channel specialising in mechanics, Engineering Explained, uses a Honda S2000 to demonstrate its thesis: tyre quality has a major impact on our vehicle’s performance. During the test, the presenter swaps two types of tyres: a set of Bridgestone RE-71R (high-performance tyres) and VRI and HRI compounds from the Fuzion brand (a budget option).

To compare the grip levels of both tyres, Engineering Explained measured the vehicle’s braking times – from 100 to 0 km/h – and the peak G-forces using each compound separately. The tests were carried out several times to obtain more reliable data, and the average results are very revealing:

Fuzion HRI /VRI (the budget option: $65 per tyre)

• Braking time from 100 km/h to 0 km/h: 3.41 seconds

• Braking distance: 41.5 metres

• G-force during braking: – 0.999 G

Bridgestone RE-71 R (high-performance option: $138 per tyre)

• Braking time from 100 km/h to 0 km/h: 2.63 seconds

• Braking distance: 32.89 metres

• G-force during braking: – 1.193 G

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZltSorr9W0

As we can see, cheap tyres can end up being expensive when compared with high-performance ones in terms of safety. To put this data in context, the Honda S2000 brakes worse than a Lincoln Escalade (a large SUV) with the budget tyre set, but it stops faster than a Alfa Romeo 4C (sports car) with high-performance tyres.