Automotive sacrilege, opinions on Wanli

[RMM]

I worked for a while selling used/discount tires. Sumitomo are OK, much better than Triangle or Wanli. I would not put Wanli or Triangle tires on my own vehicle. The rubber compound is not nearly as good as a good tire. I would buy a good set of used tires (that aren't too old) before doing that.

Save up until you can buy something better, as others here have noted it will be well worth it for your safety and the safety of others.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Every single cheap tire I have used has sucked in some way, usually to the point of being intolerable.

Every single expensive tire I have used has been good-to-excellent in all ways.

No exceptions. It's actually kind of weird.



I don't think it's weird at all. You're getting what you pay for.

 

[d00df00d]

Cheap tires I have owned:

1. Hankook Ventus K104. Short tread life, nothing special otherwise.

2. Toyo Proxes 4. Good wet and dry grip, weak in snow, bouncy ride quality.

3. Bridgestone Potenza G009. Good wet grip, really hard ride, useless below half tread depth, mediocre in all other ways.

4. Falken FK-452. Good wet grip. Poor directional stability. Regularly fell out of balance. Reinforced sidewall didn't provide good handling precision, but made ride quality and noise level literally intolerable (as in, I hated driving my car).

5. Kumho Ecsta SPT. Good dry grip, bouncy ride quality.

(1-3 were on my old '95 Nissan Maxima; 4 and 5 were on my '96 BMW M3)



Expensive tires I have owned:

1. Continental ContiExtremeContact. Particularly good in snow with no glaring weaknesses (for an all-season tire).

2. Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position. Grip in all conditions competitive with all of the above tires. Ride quality better than all of the above. Continued performing right down to the wear bars.

3. Continental ContiSportContact 3. Slightly soft. Plenty of wet and dry grip. Consistent performance down to the wear bars.

4. Michelin Pilot Sport 2. Take the best attributes of all of the above (except snow traction) and combine them. Then add more dry and wet grip, and better handling response. Utterly dominant.

5. Michelin Pilot Super Sport. Same as the Pilot Sport 2, but better.

6. Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25. Made me feel invulnerable in snow. Tolerable in non-winter conditions.

7. Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3. Like the Blizzaks above, but better in every respect.

(1 and 2 were on my old '95 Nissan Maxima; the rest were on my '96 BMW M3)

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Every single cheap tire I have used has sucked in some way, usually to the point of being intolerable.

Every single expensive tire I have used has been good-to-excellent in all ways.

No exceptions. It's actually kind of weird.



I don't think it's weird at all. You're getting what you pay for.

True. We fully expect that to be the trend. What seems weird to me is that I haven't had any exceptions. Shouldn't there have been the odd cheap tire that works, or the odd expensive tire that sucks?

Maybe I just haven't used enough tires yet....

 

[bigjl]

The difference in price between the Chinese tyres and tyres such as Kumho, Hankook or even some of the Nankang tyres is not much.

I have personal experience of the Nankang NS2 tyre, not a new model of tyre by any means, I had them on a '04 Legacy saloon in 215/45-17 and they were surprisingly good, wore well, good in the wet, quieter than the price would I dictate they should be.

Nexen also have a decent reputation in the UK these days to the extent they have their own budget brand called Roadstone.

Wanli are not even close to being one of the better Chinese brands, I would pay the extra few quid/bucks for piece of mind.

No point saving a little then to regret the purchase for the next 20/30k miles.

 

[threeputtpar]

Originally Posted By: asand1
Its been two years in the waiting. Two weeks would not make a difference. The tires getting replaced are 10yo weather checked wrecking yard tires with ply seperation. Much more dangerous than the Chinese tires going on.
I find it interesting that aside from one guy with a 7yo experience, no one else had any first hand info, but everyone had an opinion.


I once ran a set of Sonar tires (same Chinese junk, different name) on my A6 because I got them for FREE. I still took them off after 500 miles because I couldn't get the radio to go loud enough to drown out the rumbling of the tires on the highway. Is that a good enough experience for you?

 

[asand1]

Originally Posted By: threeputtpar

I once ran a set of Sonar tires (same Chinese junk, different name)

But you're assuming that they are "the same junk".
I would like to hear from someone who has actually ran Wanli tires in the last two years.

 

[asand1]

At any rate I ordered the tires yesterday at 11 AM. If they are not satisfactory I'll go back and pay the difference for better tires.

 

[metalboy]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Every single cheap tire I have used has sucked in some way, usually to the point of being intolerable.

Every single expensive tire I have used has been good-to-excellent in all ways.

No exceptions. It's actually kind of weird.


With the exception of the Falken RT-215, this has been my experience too.

The 215s weren't "cheap" per se, they were just extremely cheap for a max-effort performance street tire. They were terrible in the rain, though.



I miss those. I bet Falken lost their shirt on them.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Every single cheap tire I have used has sucked in some way, usually to the point of being intolerable.

Every single expensive tire I have used has been good-to-excellent in all ways.

No exceptions. It's actually kind of weird.



I don't think it's weird at all. You're getting what you pay for.


Exactly. As you cross into cars with real torque and cornering abilities you actually need a good tire. But a GREAT tire is even better!

I have never bought a cheaper tire that did not behave exactly as stated above, good up front and then rapid decline as they wear down. But many premium brands keep their dry performance all the way to bald.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: asand1
At any rate I ordered the tires yesterday at 11 AM. If they are not satisfactory I'll go back and pay the difference for better tires.


So your time is worth nothing? A couple hours of my time are worth the price difference between the Chinese junk and a good set of Michelin's.

There is a significant difference between something being inexpensive and something being a good value. An item can be priced low and still be a horrible value. A product can be priced only slightly more, but due to quality and performance, be an excellent value.

 

[nthach]

My car is relatively "old" but I still put good tires on it. This time, a set of Michelin Primacy MXV4s on a 23 year old Lexus LS400.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL


$79/tire. Set of 4 $316.00. Made in Japan or Thailand. Sumotimo Tires



Agreed...my Sumis have been fine....


With so many tires to choose from, I don't know why people still buy the poop...

The only "real cheapie" tire I'd ever buy would be a Kendra one, due to the fact A) Cooper helped them with their tires B) they make decent bike tires...

 

[asand1]

They felt great on the drive home to me, better than the old tires for sure. 60MPH with the old wheels and two tires in the back seat and 52lb in the trunk.
We have the flu going through the house. I will get a better pick from the side if I'm not sick this weekend.

 

[asand1]

They are Wanli S-1063 235/45ZR17.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: nthach
My car is relatively "old" but I still put good tires on it. This time, a set of Michelin Primacy MXV4s on a 23 year old Lexus LS400.


And since I was a little boy this has been an excellent way to upgrade an older car. A new set of shoes can make a HUGE difference!

 

[asand1]

 

[Rolla07]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: asand1
Its been two years in the waiting. Two weeks would not make a difference. The tires getting replaced are 10yo weather checked wrecking yard tires with ply seperation. Much more dangerous than the Chinese tires going on.
I find it interesting that aside from one guy with a 7yo experience, no one else had any first hand info, but everyone had an opinion.


My wife's 328i came with "Triangle" Chinese tires on it and they were like driving on plastic. Wet performance was SCARY and dry traction was pathetic.

Tires are the only point of contact between your vehicle and the road. The quality and performance of that contact IS something to be worried about.

The 10 year old weather checked "wrecking yard" tires certainly need to be replaced. But using that as some sort of strawman to justify the purchase of some cheap Chinese junk instead of some inexpensive brand-name tires is ridiculous.

Plug your tire size into tirerack and I bet you'd see a pile of brand-name tires that are plenty affordable for your application.


+1

I couldnt have said it any better. Go check reviews on Wanli tires. Dead last for traction and safety.
My bet is that you can get a cheap set of hankooks or a name brand tire for less than 20$ more per tire.
I see no issue in using the mustang rims.

I think the OP is trying not to spend a ton of money on changing the look. Rims that are on now look small.

 

[Rolla07]

Wheels look good!! Alot better than what you had on before!

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2010-European-Summer-Tyre-Test.htm

You will see why everyone is against cheap tires. I got the P7's, in part due to this.

 

[krzyss]

And they tested exact the same model you bought!

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Wanli/S1063.htm

16th: 2010 European Summer Tyre Test (225/45 r17) - 17 tested
45th: 2012 Autobild 50 Tyre Braking Test (225/45 R17)- 50 tested as sugegsted by title

Enjoy!

Krzys