Are Chinese tires really that bad?

[dogememe]

I don’t typically buy them because for a little more money and the same install fee you can get something much better. They might be the cheapest but they aren’t always the best value.

 

[Enthusiast]

Douglas is actually Goodyear-literally every set I’ve ever had or ridden on is like driving on rumble strips! (Although Kelly is also a GY brand-a discount brand made by another discount brand). Uniroyal seems to be a better discount brand if one wants USA tires, we’ve had decent luck with them.

The uniroyals that I had on my Taurus were not US-made. I can't remember where they were made exactly it might have been Indonesia.

 

[ccs368]

Personally, I tend to choose a tire based on price, brand, and then positive reviews. Country of origin may not be updated and as an example, 2023 I purchased Conti LX25 from DTD. According to specs from TR, the two mfg plants listed were Equador and Portugal. 2 of my tires were molded in Equador and the other 2 were Russia. So I personally purchased tires from a German company with global mfg sites and I received product from a country that was not listed for that model but doubt that’s something you can raise questions with customer service. To date, 5K miles driven and no issues or surprises.

Would I select a tire from a known China owned or majority stake company? Honestly, probably not when I know the competition from Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone, General, and even Goodyear has something that meets my needs. Just saying that COO may not be controllable in purchase.

 

[Toasty]

The old Prius needs new shoes within a year - I’m looking at Falken, Yokohama, General and maybe Hankook or Kumho - Michelin is getting rid of 15” sizes. But, the mom and pops and increasingly America’s Tire are pushing Chinesium tires as a budget buy or when a tier 1/2 brand isn’t available. They aren’t my first pick and I’ve heard of two stories involving LingLongs. I know Milestar is the better of the Chinesium, truckers seem to like Doublecoin. I see a lot of Chinesium - especially on older luxury cars, newer cars and fleet trucks. Are they really that bad besides shorter life and poorer wet traction?

The old Prius needs new shoes within a year.

The only Chinese tires I've ever bought are some roll-about tires for a car in my shop. These tires are only required to hold air and allow me to push the car around the shop as needed. They cost $127 for all four, including mounting without balancing or installation on the vehicle, and they will never see a public roadway. I cannot trust them to be safe. I don't care if the company that makes them contracts with Michelin, Goodyear, Pirelli, or any other first world company. When these companies put tires under their own name their brand only means one thing: cheap. It doesn't mean advanced design, it doesn't mean long-lasting, it doesn't mean top quality materials. It means it was built to a price point. And they can only really guarantee it will be cheap. I need a bit more than that when it comes to my property, my safety and the safety of my passengers, and the safety of innocent people who share the road with me.

I forgot about the one Chinese trailer tire I use as a spare. The thinking there was different than other vehicles. If a decent tire blew out already and it did not crash the vehicle, then even if the spare doesn't make it until I can arrange a replacement for the regular tire, it's not much of a risk. I store this tire inside the trailer so it's not exposed to sunlight. If the tire isn't especially resistant in it its material makeup from UV rays or heat from the road, being inside the trailer protects it from all that. And being a spare makes it easier to inspect before a long tow. Trailer tires must be a price-sensitive market because I found it tough to find a U.S.-made trailer tire for my application.

 

[chris719]

Communism is that bad though. Wouldn't buy them even if they were best.

China is to communism as Starbucks pink drinks are to coffee.

I'd buy them if they were good, but they still aren't good. Maybe if I had a drift car and I was going through tires like mad.

 

[k1xv]

I don't know. Reputations often exceed reality. French and Italian cars always had a reputation for unreliability. The first time I went to Europe, I expected to see broken down cars everywhere. They weren't. If all Chinese tires were terrible, wouldn't cars in China all be running off the road, getting blow outs, etc.?

I suppose there are some bad Chinese tires, and others that are fine. The problem is, in the USA, we don't know which ones are better, and which are stinkers. I guess I might trust one sold by Tire Rack, but not one sold at Joe's Tire Shop.

 

[CKN]

I don't know. Reputations often exceed reality. French and Italian cars always had a reputation for unreliability. The first time I went to Europe, I expected to see broken down cars everywhere. They weren't. If all Chinese tires were terrible, wouldn't cars in China all be running off the road, getting blow outs, etc.?

I suppose there are some bad Chinese tires, and others that are fine. The problem is, in the USA, we don't know which ones are better, and which are stinkers. I guess I might trust one sold by Tire Rack, but not one sold at Joe's Tire Shop.

Many Chinese pickup trucks in South American Countries. Generally - the roads are terrible and I didn't see one broken down at the side of the road. In addition I saw a Chery Chinese made small sedan on display in an upscale mall in Mexico. Fit and finish, interior materials were at least on par with Hyundai and Kia.

I get it-some on here don't like Chinese (government) and what they stand for. But to knock some of their products-is sheer ignorance or worse. As someone said in this thread-making tires anymore is not rocket science.

Even Michelin has a tire plant in China-and those tires are shipped all over the world.

 

[paulo57509]

I have Republic of China (Taiwan) tires (Milestar) on the Highlander, South Korean tires (GeoTour) on the LS430.

They're too new to make any subjective evaluation about them, other than road noise. The Milestar tires are pretty noisy. The GeoTour tires are very quiet. Moreso than the Continental ControlContacts that were on the LS400.

 

[LDB]

I've never understood having an A-list car and putting D-list tires on it.

 

[AZjeff]

If price wasn’t an issue would you still buy these tires?

 

[JRay’07]

If price wasn’t an issue would you still buy these tires?

Who could resist a brand with a name like Land Spider? Someone could mount these tires onto your wheels while you were sleeping and you probably wouldn't notice it.

 

[CKN]

I've never understood having an A-list car and putting D-list tires on it.

The car (Lexus) is 22 years old. I mean it doesn't act like it did when it was new. AT 10,000 miles a year it has over 200,000 miles on it.

 

[nomas]

A decade working in the tire industry.

You can't get much more ambiguous than that .

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

You can't get much more ambiguous than that .

What exactly do you want? Someone to say that junk tires (regardless of where they are from) are fine? People are going to buy whatever they want to buy. You just won't see them on my cars.

If there was a car offered on the market for 1/2 the price of a typical car but it didn't pass crash testing, would the general population buy it? It's essentially the same thing as garbage tires. I bet a lot of people would actually buy it.

 

[Dave P.]

I also base my tire purchase on how the car is driven. If I spend a good amount of time at 70mph on the highway, good tires. If I drive 5 minutes to work at 25mph, I can spend less.

 

[factorytuned2012]

Anyone can produce a bad tire my intentions would believe it’s not done on purpose. Doesn’t mean the tires are less expensive or a cheaper tire it’s made with inferior materials the cost of labor also plays part of lower costs and possible lack of quality control. Many of these Asian plants have the best state of the art manufacturing equipment.

 

[nomas]

What exactly do you want? Someone to say that junk tires (regardless of where they are from) are fine? People are going to buy whatever they want to buy. You just won't see them on my cars.

If there was a car offered on the market for 1/2 the price of a typical car but it didn't pass crash testing, would the general population buy it? It's essentially the same thing as garbage tires. I bet a lot of people would actually buy it.

They're junk tires because YOU say they are ? Show me some proof . You obviously have zero actual experience with Chinese manufactured tires but you KNOW that all of them are junk . Newsflash . I have a set on a vehicle going on two years with no complaints .

 

[LDB]

Are all Chinese tires junk? Couldn't say either way. Are all Chinese tires Communist and shouldn't receive a penny? Absolutely. YMMV

 

[nomas]

You can buy American made tires that come from a factory where all of the computers and other electronics are probably made in China . It's complicated ....

 

[krzyss]

Thailand is the largest importer of tires into the US.

That kind of “importer” is called “exporter”.

Krzyś