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Are Budget Tyres Finally Good Enough? 8 Cheap Tyres VS 1 Premium Tyre

Jonathan Benson
Tested and written by Jonathan Benson
9 min read Updated
Below are all the data points for the Are Budget Tyres Finally Good Enough? 8 Cheap Tyres VS 1 Premium Tyre, displaying how each tyre performed across all test categories. The spider chart below provides a complete overview of performance, where one hundred percent represents the best performance in each category. The larger the area covered by each tyre's plot, the better its overall performance.
How to read these charts: For each test category, data is presented relative to the best performing tire. The direction indicates whether lower or higher values are better - pay close attention to this when interpreting results.

Performance Overview

This radar chart shows relative performance across all test categories, with 100% representing the best performance in each category. Reference tires may have gaps where data is not available.

Continental PremiumContact 7
Tomket Sport Series 1
Nankang Econex NA1
Winrun R330
Davanti DX390
Triangle SporteX TH201
King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
Double-Coin DC99

Quick Navigation

Dry Performance Overview

Dry Braking (M)

Dry braking in meters (Lower is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Continental PremiumContact 7 with a result of 35.27 M. The difference between best and worst was 11.8%.
  1. Continental PremiumContact 7
    35.27 M
  2. Tomket Sport Series 1
    37.83 M
  3. Nankang Econex NA1
    38.45 M
  4. Davanti DX390
    39.08 M
  5. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    39.32 M
  6. Winrun R330
    39.41 M
  7. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    39.48 M
  8. Double-Coin DC99
    39.62 M
  9. Triangle SporteX TH201
    40.01 M

Dry Handling (s)

Dry handling time in seconds (Lower is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Continental PremiumContact 7 with a result of 51.73 s. The difference between best and worst was 3.1%.
  1. Continental PremiumContact 7
    51.73 s
  2. Nankang Econex NA1
    52.23 s
  3. Tomket Sport Series 1
    52.78 s
  4. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    52.84 s
  5. Winrun R330
    52.85 s
  6. Triangle SporteX TH201
    52.97 s
  7. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    53.21 s
  8. Davanti DX390
    53.32 s
  9. Double-Coin DC99
    53.39 s

Subj. Dry Handling ( Points)

Subjective Dry Handling Score (Higher is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Continental PremiumContact 7 with a result of 100 Points. The difference between best and worst was 70%.
  1. Continental PremiumContact 7
    100 Points
  2. Winrun R330
    90 Points
  3. Tomket Sport Series 1
    85 Points
  4. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    85 Points
  5. Triangle SporteX TH201
    80 Points
  6. Nankang Econex NA1
    75 Points
  7. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    75 Points
  8. Davanti DX390
    70 Points
  9. Double-Coin DC99
    30 Points

Wet Performance Overview

Wet Braking (M)

Wet braking in meters (Lower is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Continental PremiumContact 7 with a result of 31.58 M. The difference between best and worst was 31.4%.
  1. Continental PremiumContact 7
    31.58 M
  2. Tomket Sport Series 1
    38.69 M
  3. Nankang Econex NA1
    39.61 M
  4. Davanti DX390
    40.75 M
  5. Winrun R330
    40.91 M
  6. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    43.45 M
  7. Triangle SporteX TH201
    43.6 M
  8. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    43.93 M
  9. Double-Coin DC99
    46.04 M

Wet Handling (s)

Wet handling time in seconds (Lower is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Continental PremiumContact 7 with a result of 84.85 s. The difference between best and worst was 11.9%.
  1. Continental PremiumContact 7
    84.85 s
  2. Tomket Sport Series 1
    89.21 s
  3. Nankang Econex NA1
    89.36 s
  4. Davanti DX390
    92.19 s
  5. Winrun R330
    92.25 s
  6. Triangle SporteX TH201
    93.11 s
  7. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    93.93 s
  8. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    95.24 s
  9. Double-Coin DC99
    96.27 s

Subj. Wet Handling ( Points)

Subjective Wet Handling Score (Higher is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Continental PremiumContact 7 with a result of 100 Points. The difference between best and worst was 50%.
  1. Continental PremiumContact 7
    100 Points
  2. Tomket Sport Series 1
    90 Points
  3. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    75 Points
  4. Triangle SporteX TH201
    70 Points
  5. Nankang Econex NA1
    70 Points
  6. Winrun R330
    70 Points
  7. Davanti DX390
    65 Points
  8. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    65 Points
  9. Double-Coin DC99
    50 Points

Wet Circle (s)

Wet Circle Lap Time in seconds (Lower is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Continental PremiumContact 7 with a result of 11.5 s. The difference between best and worst was 10.2%.
  1. Continental PremiumContact 7
    11.5 s
  2. Nankang Econex NA1
    11.9 s
  3. Tomket Sport Series 1
    12 s
  4. Winrun R330
    12.4 s
  5. Davanti DX390
    12.4 s
  6. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    12.7 s
  7. Triangle SporteX TH201
    12.7 s
  8. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    12.7 s
  9. Double-Coin DC99
    12.8 s

Straight Aqua (Km/H)

Float Speed in Km/H (Higher is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Continental PremiumContact 7 with a result of 74.91 Km/H. The difference between best and worst was 13.8%.
  1. Continental PremiumContact 7
    74.91 Km/H
  2. Nankang Econex NA1
    74.13 Km/H
  3. Davanti DX390
    70.98 Km/H
  4. Winrun R330
    70.83 Km/H
  5. Tomket Sport Series 1
    70.52 Km/H
  6. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    69.61 Km/H
  7. Triangle SporteX TH201
    69.51 Km/H
  8. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    67.3 Km/H
  9. Double-Coin DC99
    64.55 Km/H

Curved Aquaplaning (m/sec2)

Remaining lateral acceleration (Higher is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Continental PremiumContact 7 with a result of 3.3 m/sec2. The difference between best and worst was 30.3%.
  1. Continental PremiumContact 7
    3.3 m/sec2
  2. Nankang Econex NA1
    3.2 m/sec2
  3. Davanti DX390
    3.1 m/sec2
  4. Winrun R330
    3 m/sec2
  5. Tomket Sport Series 1
    2.8 m/sec2
  6. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    2.8 m/sec2
  7. Triangle SporteX TH201
    2.7 m/sec2
  8. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    2.6 m/sec2
  9. Double-Coin DC99
    2.3 m/sec2

Comfort Performance Overview

Subj. Comfort ( Points)

Subjective Comfort Score (Higher is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Winrun R330 with a result of 100 Points. The difference between best and worst was 10%.
  1. Winrun R330
    100 Points
  2. Continental PremiumContact 7
    92 Points
  3. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    91 Points
  4. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    91 Points
  5. Triangle SporteX TH201
    91 Points
  6. Tomket Sport Series 1
    91 Points
  7. Davanti DX390
    91 Points
  8. Nankang Econex NA1
    90 Points
  9. Double-Coin DC99
    90 Points

Noise (dB)

External noise in dB (Lower is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Double-Coin DC99 with a result of 70.2 dB. The difference between best and worst was 5.6%.
  1. Double-Coin DC99
    70.2 dB
  2. Davanti DX390
    70.3 dB
  3. Nankang Econex NA1
    71.9 dB
  4. Continental PremiumContact 7
    72 dB
  5. Winrun R330
    72.2 dB
  6. Tomket Sport Series 1
    72.6 dB
  7. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    72.9 dB
  8. Triangle SporteX TH201
    73.2 dB
  9. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    74.4 dB

Value Performance Overview

Price

Price in local currency (Lower is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Double-Coin DC99. The difference between best and worst was 46.8%.
  1. Double-Coin DC99
    45.87
  2. Winrun R330
    46.59
  3. Nankang Econex NA1
    46.69
  4. Tomket Sport Series 1
    50.49
  5. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    54.3
  6. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    55.18
  7. Triangle SporteX TH201
    56.08
  8. Davanti DX390
    57.78
  9. Continental PremiumContact 7
    86.19

Rolling Resistance (kg / t)

Rolling resistance in kg t (Lower is better)

Key Insight: The best performer was Tomket Sport Series 1 with a result of 8.28 kg / t. The difference between best and worst was 15.7%.
  1. Tomket Sport Series 1
    8.28 kg / t
  2. Winrun R330
    8.37 kg / t
  3. Continental PremiumContact 7
    8.38 kg / t
  4. Davanti DX390
    8.56 kg / t
  5. Double-Coin DC99
    8.63 kg / t
  6. Triangle SporteX TH201
    8.71 kg / t
  7. Nankang Econex NA1
    9.18 kg / t
  8. King-Meiler Sport 1 KM
    9.42 kg / t
  9. Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1
    9.82 kg / t

Overall Findings

Based on the weighted scoring from all tests, here are the overall results:

Position Tyre Score
Continental PremiumContact 7 99.6%
2 Tomket Sport Series 1 92.1%
3 Nankang Econex NA1 89.8%
4 Winrun R330 89.5%
5 Davanti DX390 88.3%
6 Triangle SporteX TH201 86.8%
7 King-Meiler Sport 1 KM 85.9%
8 Maxtrek MAXIMUS M1 85.7%
9 Double-Coin DC99 82.5%

Test Winner

Double-Coin DC99
Double-Coin DC99

82.5%

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