[moltuae]

Originally Posted by sarg

Michelin every time where available.

Unlike others, I wouldn't touch part worns, not for the only small patch of rubber between you and the road.

I'd also be put off by budget tyres if I was looking to buy a car, tells me the car has probably had corners cut in its maintenance

I'm the same. I'd skimp on food (if I had to) before I'd skimp on tyres. I always buy the best tyres available (with the emphasis on wet/dry stopping distance) and I replace both sets (summer/winter) every 2-3 years, or when the tread depth gets to about 5-6mm.

In everyday driving, cheap or worn tyres might feel comparable to new high-end tyres but if you need to take evasive action some day to avoid an accident, they're simply not going to provide equal performance. The difference in grip and stopping distances might equate to just a few metres, which will be practically unnoticeable in normal driving conditions, but when you need to take action to avoid an accident, every metre counts. I've had some very near-misses in my decades of driving and, on more than one occasion, just a minor difference in grip or stopping distance would certainly have resulted in a collision.

Admittedly, in my youth I did put budget tyres and part-worns on my old bangers, but those were different times, and the cars were so appallingly bad (by modern standards) that the tyres were the least of my worries. Something I do remember about those days of driving on part worn tyres (2mm-5mm) was how often they got punctures. I rarely ever get punctures now. It seems that a greater tread depth is less prone to picking up nails, which is another reason I prefer to change my tyres early.