Are Chinese tires really that bad?
- Thread starter nthach
- Start date
Tire shops using Chinese tires are probably making a lot more on them than regular branded tires. I have seen it in the water treatment industry. Cheap China parts sold retail to unsuspecting consumer. Double the profit in it.
They are. Likely double or more, and depending on the pay scale the commissioned sales staff make less as well. My old boss absolutely loved cheap tires and pushed them a lot.
Looked up prius 15 inch rim size and it shows 195 65 15 though I don't know what yours truly is so change if needed. I put that in walmarts search and only put walmart as the retailer to not get 3rd party seller junk but sometimes you still do so make sure you check who it's shipped and sold by regardless.
Mom and pop shops selling dangerous temu tires that'll probably blow up a mile over 70 are likely making more profit compared to walmart selling much better quality low cost tires.
Those crossmax tires for 48 bucks are what I'd say is the best value if you don't wanna spend too much, they seem to be discounted from $62 which is what Douglas tires cost but with 488 4.5 star reviews so it's worth looking at. Crossmax is a reputable discount brand and they give a 60k mile warranty though I think 40k is all they'll do and that's fine for the price.
https://www.walmart.com/search?q=ti...e}&sort=price_low&facet=retailer_type:Walmart
Mom and pop shops selling dangerous temu tires that'll probably blow up a mile over 70 are likely making more profit compared to walmart selling much better quality low cost tires.
Those crossmax tires for 48 bucks are what I'd say is the best value if you don't wanna spend too much, they seem to be discounted from $62 which is what Douglas tires cost but with 488 4.5 star reviews so it's worth looking at. Crossmax is a reputable discount brand and they give a 60k mile warranty though I think 40k is all they'll do and that's fine for the price.
https://www.walmart.com/search?q=ti...e}&sort=price_low&facet=retailer_type:Walmart
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I am not one to skimp on tires but I have to say, after seeing them on a lot of cars we service and test drive, the Sentry tires from Discount Tire is a heck of a good tire for dirt cheap and its a UHP all season. They run under $100 a tire in most cases and I was utterly surprised when driving cars with them how well they rode and performed. So much that I needed tires for my old beater 08 CTS and was made up on getting Sentrys but then did some more digging and was able to get a set of Goodyear Eagle Sports after rebates and discounts online for about $38 more than the Sentrys so I went the Goodyear route which I am happy with.
May I add:
Taiwan is not part of China.
Taiwan is an island off the coast of China.
As of today, two different countries.
EVERYTHING I have bought "made in Taiwan" for the last 15 years is top-notch quality.
"I'm only giving credit where credit is due"
Yea, the mom and pop I go to for alignments sells a lot of them - they throw in a free alignment with purchase so you won’t blame them if you eat through tires. I see quite a few Uber drivers there too. There was a dude with a GMT400 Suburban who wanted them to swap out the Atlases they’ve installed for something nicer.
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I been wondering this myself glad I found a thread about this topic.
I was considering a set of westlake su316 for my cuv. honestly they're probably decent tires.
I’ve been noticing because of the tariffs placed on Chinese goods, Chinese tires, amongst other things have been coming from Vietnam and Cambodia. I’ve seen Sailuns, LingLongs and Advantas with Made in Cambodia or Made in Thailand on the sidewall. More electronics and even high-end carbon fiber bikes are coming in from Vietnam or Cambodia. No tariffs but they’re still near the supply chains that are centered around China. And a plus - cheaper labor.
Yea, the local America’s Tire sells a good bit of them, and I think it’s their policy they don’t sell junk either. I’ve seen WestLake at the local store too. A friend went to Les Schwab and got some no-name Chinesium for an old Aerostar at a ransom but it’s made a few trips between California and Pennsylvania with no issue. That’s the main issue with Chinesium, they’re short-lived. I have about 50K on a set of Michelin X Tour T+H(the Costco version of the Defender T+H) and they’re at the 5/32nds mark. I’m considering replacement at the 4/32nds mark, I can get away with 3/32nds in the Bay Area rain but given drivers around there I’d rather not push it.
Costco is happy to sell me a Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 Plus or WeatherPeak at $160-180/tire or a BFG Advantage Control at $120/tire. Meh. Conti/General, Falken and Yokohama are in the running for this set of tires.
I’ve put on Firestone (AKA Bridgestone) Sure Drive Touring on both Sonatas I’ve had. They’re made in Viet Nam. The 17” were VR rated. Very quiet rides. Budget friendly.
Agree 100%
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And you'll have the bonus of referring to your Falken tires.
"These Falken tires are great"
"You can't beat these Falken tires"
"It's not my fault I had the accident, it's these Falken tires fault"
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I didn’t think so as they look decent. My 10 yo used Lexus came with them as the new car dealer installed them presale. I used them from new to 2/32”.
Looking back? I could not drive in 1-2” of snow and they were A/S. I had to make sure I got the snows on in time.
When I got the Pilot Sport AS4 and hadn’t put on the snows, the car seemed perfectly fine in 2” of snow. So now I think they are in fact different and I’d avoid.
Looking back? I could not drive in 1-2” of snow and they were A/S. I had to make sure I got the snows on in time.
When I got the Pilot Sport AS4 and hadn’t put on the snows, the car seemed perfectly fine in 2” of snow. So now I think they are in fact different and I’d avoid.
I believe Kumho makes these tires - the sidewalls and DOT number were definitely Kumho’s work. Which is weird, Firestone and Wheel Works stores are Bridgestone Americas Retail Operations stores and they did in the past sell Prime Well as their “value” tire. They do look pretty good for the price but then again, it’s a Firestone store.
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I have a set of Yokohama’s from Thailand.
Taiwan is also the largest Integrated Circuit (IC CHIPS not potato) in the world.
90% of the electronics inside our day to day gadget have Chips made in Taiwan.
They also manufacturer for other companies such as Intel, TI, etc.
Every country goes through a process as they develop into a modern economy. This happened to Japan, Korea, Mexico, and is now happening to China, and will later happen to India and some countries in Africa. Interestingly, I don't understand why countries in South America aren't.
The process is that the first products are pretty basic and inexpensive. That's partly because their products CAN'T be sold for a high price, so they have to be basic to meet the price point - and partly because it takes a while for the technology to be developed and the necessary lessons to be learned.
The next step is an improvement to the quality level (quality as in meeting consumers expectations!) and the ability to charge more. That leads to more money available to improve the technology and a better understanding as what it takes to compete in the global marketplace. That's where China is right now.
The process is that the first products are pretty basic and inexpensive. That's partly because their products CAN'T be sold for a high price, so they have to be basic to meet the price point - and partly because it takes a while for the technology to be developed and the necessary lessons to be learned.
The next step is an improvement to the quality level (quality as in meeting consumers expectations!) and the ability to charge more. That leads to more money available to improve the technology and a better understanding as what it takes to compete in the global marketplace. That's where China is right now.
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