Hi all…
cash flow dictates savings this year…accordingly, I’d be interested to hear any views on perceived ‘Budget’ drive axle tyre(295/80/22.5)…
Low intial cost, coupled with wear characteristics, rolling resistance demonstrable though MPG variations etc etc…
All thoughts welcome…
Thanks
Madders 
Hi Madders,
from recent bitter experience, i, like yourself thought I’d be able to save some money by going down the ‘budget tyre’ route. The result is I’ve just shelled out the best part of a grand to prematurely replace 2 x TorQue drive axle tyres and 2 x Prime Well steer tyres, all had between 7 and 9mm of tread left, but they had all started splitting along the outer tread grooves right down to the casing wires.
I,m now back on to Taurus which are Michelin’s own Budget range. Have used Khumo in the past with no problems.
the Torque TQ660 steer tyre is pretty reasonable, i have got them on both steer axles on my DAF XF SSC, and are lasting pretty well, i did hear that the Torque drive axle tyres were not as good
IIRC, i paid £200 per tyre for them
I’ve tried several types 
At the moment I’ve got a set of GT686’s on the drive and lift axle of the Renault, looking at the wear rate this will be the first and last set ! I’ve got a set of Michelin Encores on the FH ( have used them before too). and will be putting them on the Renault when the GT686’s wear out !
i have used Encore before, again, pretty good tyre for the money
whatever you do, DO NOT BUY TRACKMILLA 
from fitting on the truck new, to having to replace, 3 months
I know they’re not strictly “budget” tyres but the Michelin Remixes I had on my Premium were still looking very well when I sold it after 6 months of fairly hard tipper work.
Paul
When I’m not fitting mich or conti for whatever reason, I’ve tried encores but out of 8 tyres 6 either blew out or developed bulges I think they are overpriced fr a 3rd life tyre. I have tried Taurus with no problem and also Aeolus wore well for a cheap 1st life tyre, but I’ve only tried 4 of each.
I know your looking at cheap/ budget. But my truck I use came with bridgestones. The mileage is 150k / 249 kilo. Early 2011 60 plate daf 460 on general haulage curtain side work. Avg mpg 9.0 since new. Tyres are going to do another year easy. Mid steer and fronts have been swapped. Drive tyres will do easy 6 month I reckon.
Think you get what you pay for
I run bridgestone 297 on the steer, hankook dh05 on the drive, hankook am15 on the trailer which are s/singles
the 297’s then come off the front and get run out on the mid lift
never fitted mich for years and the last set of conti’s which were drive did not last as well as the hankook dh05’s
i know a tipper firm which run hankook ah 11’s on the steer and they seem to do quite well, they used to fit bridgestone 297’s but the hankooks do just as well if not better
GT’s are more of a budget brand and a fair bit cheaper, the last set i fitted were drive tyres and were made from chocolate if wear rate is owt to go by!
also the last set of toyo’s were also drive tyres and they were about the same as the GT’s
Been on Hankook for 5 years…bloody amazing but they’ve jumped upto £305 apiece for the drives…might have to bend over and take one for the team though having read some of your posts!!! 
Hankook and Kuhmo are both good. I’ve had Triangle and Double Coin as well, both ok, cheaper but wear quicker so same value really. My mate swears by Bridgestone for overall value.
Bandags get my vote this year,im running 4 on my drive axle and will get over 100km out of them,doing over 2000km a week loaded at 44t, only using them because a new diff cost me 2 and a half grand just after paying 2grand to have it painted so i really needed to save money somewhere.
Thread on here not so long ago look it up regarding the MPG the rubber can make .
On stuff like bulk scrap and landfill cheap is good choice but for road rubber its the case of buy cheap buy twice one fails on you roadside the call out will of already broken the budget you would have paid for decent rubber in first place .
Low intial cost, coupled with wear characteristics, rolling resistance demonstrable though MPG variations etc etc…
Asking a lot from a budget range there… just be grateful they wear down to 2mm I’d say.
Taurus/Encore are good for the money, but are you really down to the £50 extra per tyre that will get you some Mich remix? as a previous poster has noted, 1x call-out wipes out all that ‘saving’.
i run primewell on the drive with no probs after 100k of on/off road work
Taurus on the steer and midlift also with no probs
Primewell drives on 295/80/22.5 cost me £198 each
Taurus on the front in the same size cost me £210 each but the taurus drive would have been over £300 each
If you really want to save money with tyres then buy the Michelin Energy drive tyres, or even the remixed versions of the same tyre. The cost per mile of a tyre is neglible, but your fuel costs are not, so anything that saves you money on fuel has to be a priority and as you mentioned rolling resistance, you’re obviously aware of the impact tyres can have, so that should be the number one factor in making your decision. Of course the upfront costs are higher, but in the long run it’ll stop you spending a tenner to save a pound
Chaps
Thanks for your views, just so you know I have gone with Hankook again through John Pitchford of Ossett.
£290 apiece fitted at our place.
Good wearing, had 2 years from the last quartet…
Thanks again
Mads
If you spent less money on shirts you might have a bit left over for tyres.
yes, but a Jermyn street shirt is an essential part of the country truckers armoury! 
your interest in my wardrobe suggests you’ve too much time on your hands or you’re spending too much time in the closet…mine, by the sound of it…
coiler:
When I’m not fitting mich or conti for whatever reason, I’ve tried encores but out of 8 tyres 6 either blew out or developed bulges I think they are overpriced fr a 3rd life tyre. I have tried Taurus with no problem and also Aeolus wore well for a cheap 1st life tyre, but I’ve only tried 4 of each.
I run Encores on drive axles and super singles on trailers cant say I have experienced that sort of failure rate.My understanding of the encore brand is that its a michelin remix standard but not necessarily a michelin first life casing.As for pricing generally pay £185/£220 for drive axle tyres