Chinese Michelin LTX clones

[OVERKILL]

Guy at work has a 90's Chevy 1500 that he put tires on recently. The truck had LTX's on it before and I saw he had new tires. They looked like LTX's but the wording sure didn't match.

Went up for a closer look.

LTX tread pattern.

But they aren't Michelin and are proudly made in China. Lovely.

I asked him how much he paid for them and I almost threw up. $800 for the set. I paid $1000 for the LTX's on the Expedition that now have 90,000Km on them..... I told him for $200.00 more he could have purchased USA-made Michelin tires that weren't junk. He agreed. His mechanic had put them on, he didn't know what they were at the time and wasn't keen on them once he found out. He didn't know that they were so close in price to the tires that were on it before.

Tragic.

I bet the mechanic makes a hefty margin on them though....

 

[mongo161]

That's just great news! Now another knock-off counterfeit in the form of automotive tires. I thought the "Rolex" watches and designer handbags on Canal Street, NYC ended the ring of thieves.

Now tires.....most likely other automotive parts with a large mark-up. What a safety problem this will be......

 

[mrsilv04]

So, what brand/model was the tire? Something along the lines of a Nankang?

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
So, what brand/model was the tire? Something along the lines of a Nankang?


No, one I'd never heard of. I'll have to take a look at 'em tomorrow if I can, as the name doesn't spring to mind at the moment.

 

[L_Sludger]

Micherin RTX?

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: L_Sludger
Micherin RTX?



LMAO!!!

 

[Rand]

pegasus? triangle? triad, primewell
doral(some)

 

[OVERKILL]

Thanks Rand, that led me to find another shameless knock-off:

NEXEN Roadian HT-LTR:

And the Concours Radial A/S:

 

[randomhero439]

My friend had a summer tire by Sunny on his Lexus. They were knock-offs of Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3.

 

[Falcon_LS]

Chinese tires are really making their way into the market, and what gets on my nerves is the fact that the quality stuff is largely becoming unavailable. People are not willing to pay for proper tires, and they're just not imported anymore. These cheap knockoffs are probably the reason why there are so many blowouts on the road.

 

[The_Jeff]

^ Tire stores love to stock the chinese stuff then when you want a brand name you have to order them. Do it through the store or do it online: both takes time, one charges tax.

 

[bigjl]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
So, what brand/model was the tire? Something along the lines of a Nankang?


Nankang are Korean and are actually not bad.

Had a set of the NS2's on my Legacy and they wore and gripped better than the OE Bridgestones.

I am all for hating on dodgy Chinese tyres, but lets try to keep it correct.


A good example of a dodgy Chinese tyre would be the famous LingLong brand.

Once had a puncture on a Merc Sprinter Ambulance and the contracted fitter came out and put on a lingLong, the service had a contract at the time for GooDYear only tyres

I noticed something fishy when I first pulled away.

Though it may be pressure so went back to station to check.

Noticed this abomination and requested a Duty Officer to come and sort it.

One investigation the service was billed for a GoodYear!

And the tyre fitting company was "asked" to come and fit a proper tyre ASAP.

 

[bigjl]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Thanks Rand, that led me to find another shameless knock-off:

NEXEN Roadian HT-LTR:

And the Concours Radial A/S:

Nexen are another company that is Korean rather than Chinese.

And not that far off the quality of the likes of Hankook etc.

In fact Nexen has been around for so many years in the UK and got such a decent reputation they have brought out their own budget brand.

Roadstone.

The Nexen Roadian is now the Roadstone Roadian.

It is getting more difficult to spot the real nasty Chinese rubbish as people are getting them imported with their choice of name, think along the lines of not using LingLong but use AmericanIron instead.

Just like the FujiToyo oil filters the Chinese have learned non Chinese sounding names sell better.

For examples of dodgy Chinese tyres have a look on Alibaba.

I have noticed that over the last few years in the UK, or London at least, that Chinese brands are being replaced with much better Korean ones.

How many on here would have bought Kumho or Hankook ten years ago?

Or have I misunderstood and the Concours is the knock off?

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: bigjl
How many on here would have bought Kumho or Hankook ten years ago?

I did! The Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 was a popular budget performance tire in Subaru circles a decade ago. I liked them but they were dangerous when it started getting cold and wet which negated a big reason for having an AWD Subaru in the first place.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL


I bet the mechanic makes a hefty margin on them though....

That' mechanic won't admit to selling them when the owner has problems with them six months from now and needs warranty work on his tires.

 

[dparm]

The big-name Korean tires are usually fine. They're priced competitively. I've had Kumho (Ecsta SPT) and Hankook (Ventus R-S3), both got the job done.

After seeing the tests on the ones like Sunny and Wanli, there is no way I would ever put this on any car. I don't consider Nexen to be much better.

 

[bigjl]

Another tyre maker that used to be ridiculed in the UK when they first came out was Toyo.

I was an early adopter of the T1S which was really grippy in wet or dry, was a little noisey due to the aggressive tread pattern and they didn't last as long as others.

But they were very popular with the boy racer fraternity in the mid ninties.

At the time Japanese tyres had the reputation of being plastic tyres that lasted ages but had zero grip, especially in the wet.

This was around the time importing Japanese market vehicles into the UK became big business and people discovered first hand how bad Japanese market tyres were.

Times have certainly changed for the tyres that the Japanese makers produce outside Japan, but run of the mill Japanese market tyres are still not up to driving outside of Japan.

I however think the Chinese mind set is not the same as the Japanese and the Chinese have no issue with selling dangerous tat to foreign customers.

Ever seen a Chinese car be crash tested to Euro NCAP standards!


Ah, Wanli, I knew that is another of the first Chinese tyres to come to the UK market.

Thankfully though Chinese tyres are a good way to spot a vehicle that has been owned by somebody that thinks with his pocket at all times.

A good thing to check when buying at auction.

Unmatched set of bing bongs run away.

Matched set of bing bongs, treat with extreme caution.

Matched set of Michelin or similar, time to consider bidding.

Kept me from making expensive mistakes at car auctions for many a year!

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: bigjl
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Thanks Rand, that led me to find another shameless knock-off:

NEXEN Roadian HT-LTR:

And the Concours Radial A/S:

Nexen are another company that is Korean rather than Chinese.

And not that far off the quality of the likes of Hankook etc.

In fact Nexen has been around for so many years in the UK and got such a decent reputation they have brought out their own budget brand.

Roadstone.

The Nexen Roadian is now the Roadstone Roadian.

It is getting more difficult to spot the real nasty Chinese rubbish as people are getting them imported with their choice of name, think along the lines of not using LingLong but use AmericanIron instead.

Just like the FujiToyo oil filters the Chinese have learned non Chinese sounding names sell better.

For examples of dodgy Chinese tyres have a look on Alibaba.

I have noticed that over the last few years in the UK, or London at least, that Chinese brands are being replaced with much better Korean ones.

How many on here would have bought Kumho or Hankook ten years ago?

Or have I misunderstood and the Concours is the knock off?


They are both knock-offs, as they are both clones of the Michelin LTX M/S (and the Roadian is a clone of the LTX M/S 2).

Just because NEXEN isn't Chinese doesn't excuse them from ripping off Michelin

 

[bigjl]

I remember the remould market in the UK used to always use tread patterns of obsolete high end tyres.

There is an Eastern European brand called Sava which is I believe owned by Good Year.

They make tyres that are cheap but reasonable for those operating on a budget. But the tread patterns are similar to many other older high end tyres.

I don't have a problem if the technology (tread pattern and compound) has been sold or is part of a partnership arrangement.

But I think a lot of these Chinese tyres are just out and out copies with poor materials just to get foreign currency into the Chinese economy.

And the Chinese are very cavalier when it comes to safety and copyright.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Michelin probably sold the old LTX mplds to the Chinese...or they make it themselves!