Doral SD-A tires? Okay to use mismatched sets?

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92saturnsl2

92saturnsl2

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My new-to-me '04 Honda Odyssey came with mismatched tires. Fronts are a brand new set of Kelly Explorer Plus, which appear to be an economy tire with 40k treadwear warranty. They look of reasonable quality, performance seems to be good so far. Made in USA. The rears are a brand I've never heard of, made in China. Doral SD-A. Tire size on this vehicle is 225/60/16. http://www.vulcantire.com/tire_review/doral_sdla_t. These tires scream cheap in every way possible. The tread is an aggressive pattern, but is non-directional all-season type and seems to be wearing well. These tires have about 70% tread remaining, with a manufacture date of 2012. I've always replaced my tires in sets of four. I'm not sure what the drawbacks are of using a different tire on each axle. Are there any compromises in performance or treadlife in doing this? Not sure why the owner opted to replace them in pairs, but I wouldn't have done this, plus I would have spent a few bucks more on a brand/model with good reviews instead of the cheapest thing my tire dealer had to sell me. Anyone have experience with either of these tires? They are new enough that I would hate to toss them, but if there's better performance and/or ride comfort to be had by using better (or matching) tires, then I'd consider it. Right now my options seem to be: a) leave them alone and drive them until they wear out b) replace the rears with a new set of new Kelly Explorer Plus's (this would yield a matching set of all-new tires, but I would like to have confidence in the brand. Haven't been able to find much in the way of reviews on this tire) c) new set of tires, sell the used tires on Craigslist. I could probably get $50 per tire for the fronts, and $30 per tire for the rears if I were to sell them used. This means I'd likely spend $200+ (net) on a new set, so it would have to be justified. What do you all think? Input, suggestions, experiences, etc. would be greatly appreciated!
 
The fact that they were replaced in pairs and the fact that Chinese tires were used screams "cheap". Which explains both things.
 
Agree with Overkill; at this point IMO drive them unless they exhibit some bad qualities, then replace with 4 of your choice when it's time.
 
Originally Posted By: Kuato
Agree with Overkill; at this point IMO drive them unless they exhibit some bad qualities, then replace with 4 of your choice when it's time.
+1
 
First thing I would do is put the clearly better tires in the back where they belong. Next fall I'd budget for another pair of the Kelly's to replace the Doral's, unless you find them to be ok. Then you should be in good shape with a serviceable set of tires all around. There's nothing wrong with the Kelly tires from a safety standpoint, IMO.
 
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Leave them alone and run them until they're done and then buy four new tires of known quality. This thing is a decade old, so it's passed into beater status for many owners. My best guess is that the van was on four Dorals which were never rotated, so the fronts were done and were therefore replaced while the rears were still okay.
 
I had a set of Doral tires.They were sold by Big O tires.They have since changed the name to Aspen. They are made by Summoto(sp?)same company that makes Falken tires and others. The Dorals gave me good service and I would not change them just because of the unfamilar name.
 
Originally Posted By: marine65
I had a set of Doral tires.They were sold by Big O tires.They have since changed the name to Aspen. They are made by Summoto(sp?)same company that makes Falken tires and others. The Dorals gave me good service and I would not change them just because of the unfamilar name.
I recently put a set of the Aspen A/S touring on our Corolla they look the same as Doral made by Summoto, it's printed right on the tire. Mine came with a 50,000 warranty. I did some research on them and I think they are good tires at the price point, definitely better than the Bridgestone's that were on the car from the factory. Some name brand tires are junk and some no name tires are a good value. I would say don't get caught up in paying for a name.
 
Is the van used to carry kids, or just you? Put a value on that, one way or another. Personally, one reason I hang on to cars is so I can buy better than average tires with the car payment savings. There's nothing more pathetic than seeing an off lease BMW with Brand X tires on the "Ultimate Driving Machine".
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
The fact that they were replaced in pairs and the fact that Chinese tires were used screams "cheap". Which explains both things.
+1 Id run them untilyou get all the van's ills figured out, and if youre keeping it for the long run, then change to something good. If you sell it, then it has, ahem, some tires on it...
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
The fact that they were replaced in pairs and the fact that Chinese tires were used screams "cheap". Which explains both things.
Some drivers/owners were lazy in rotating their tires therefore 1 pair wear out faster than other pair, and when the faster wearing pair went down to 2/32" they replaced that pair only. I don't have any comment about Chinese tire(I don't buy them, personally), I don't like to call the previous owner was cheap because he/she may not like to spend big $ for a pair of tires that they are going to sell the van soon after replacement. As of now, probably just keep all the tires as they are and test drive on various roads and up to 65-70 MPH on highway, if they handle okay then keep them until replacement time. If not then buy a set of reasonable performance tire and put these on Craigslist.
 
IMHO-it's OK to run tires as they are. Then buy what you want when they wear out.
 
Originally Posted By: bepperb
First thing I would do is put the clearly better tires in the back where they belong. Next fall I'd budget for another pair of the Kelly's to replace the Doral's, unless you find them to be ok. Then you should be in good shape with a serviceable set of tires all around. There's nothing wrong with the Kelly tires from a safety standpoint, IMO.
I know Firestone shares your opinion, but, I , however, disagree. I would rather have a tire shred on a non-steering corner.
 
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