Need help from experts on here - Primewell PS890

[jsean]

The General RT43s on my ‘05 Corolla have worn to about 4/32nd after approximately 55k miles.

I was on the lookout for tires and Walmart had the sale on the Primewells at $45 ea so I bit the bullet. Corolla is run on Blizzaks November to Mar/Apr. So these tires would be for when tires are for temps over 45-50F.

Here are pictures of the new tires (img 5070, 5071 and 5074), used tires at 6/32nd (img 5076, 5077 and 5078) and used tires at 5/32nd which is where I usually change the tires out (img 5080 and 5081).

What is the take on these tires being good in wet weather with the way the treads wear out? Do they look decent for water evacuation?

Thanks!

 

[daves87rs]

FRom friends who have had them, they are good on dry, but so so on wet.

 

[TeeCee]

Same tire as the Dextero Dtr1 our walmarts keep in stock, Giti tire is who makes them. Have a big plant somewhere in South Carolina. They all balance well and last longer than the Douglas Walmart used to sell in my area.

 

[jsean]

. Mods please delete

 

[jsean]

Same tire as the Dextero Dtr1 our walmarts keep in stock, Giti tire is who makes them. Have a big plant somewhere in South Carolina. They all balance well and last longer than the Douglas Walmart used to sell in my area.

I didn’t realize the similarly with the DTR1 till you posted it. The local Walmart here never honored the rollbacks that was on the Walmart website so I never ran the Dextero or the old Douglas’ when they went on sale before.
These are made in Indonesia.

 

[jsean]

Seems like there are no major concerns with the tread pattern or anything obvious after they’re worn down, based on others experience that would make them a huge concern for running them as 3 seasons?

 

[CharBaby]

As long as you have the Blizzak's for the winter, you'll be just fine.
I know that any tire that is black & round will be just fine on a sunny day in July. But my concern is, when it's not!

I am noticing in myself that, I am spending money on items that I used to try to save money on, tires being one of them.
I like a nice tires that can get us through anything that we'll encounter including winter tire changeover. Torrential down pours of rain to the worst winter driving, I want the right tire for the worst weather that we'll encounter.

 

[jsean]

I got them installed today - initial 20 miles drive impression is that they are much much quieter. It’s probably a reflection of how loud the RT43s get at 4/32nd instead of how good these tires are. They balanced out nicely and seem to ride smoothly over ruts and expansion joints.

I learnt that WM charges you $28/tire for their basic if tires are purchased elsewhere install instead of the $15/tire. Their road hazard warranty plan would’ve required me buying a replacement tire off their website, ship to the local WM and they’d take care of the warranty stuff.

I was able to see the new Douglas A/S tires in store. Interested tread pattern I think - don’t see any squiggly sipes, but has tons of the diagonal cuts. Anyone here use them?

 

[Thebigm]

I got them installed today - initial 20 miles drive impression is that they are much much quieter. It’s probably a reflection of how loud the RT43s get at 4/32nd instead of how good these tires are. They balanced out nicely and seem to ride smoothly over ruts and expansion joints.

I learnt that WM charges you $28/tire for their basic if tires are purchased elsewhere install instead of the $15/tire. Their road hazard warranty plan would’ve required me buying a replacement tire off their website, ship to the local WM and they’d take care of the warranty stuff.

I was able to see the new Douglas A/S tires in store. Interested tread pattern I think - don’t see any squiggly sipes, but has tons of the diagonal cuts. Anyone here use them?

Looks very similar to a Kelly tire

 

[ProbeGT]

What is the country of manufacture? I didn't have much luck with Primewell tires. I think the model was 830. The rubber got really hard after a few years, wet traction became horrendous. Eventually had a blowout on a hot summer day. Mine were made in China. I now buy based on country of origin, not brand, due to balancing issues with anything made in China or Brazil. Interesting to hear you're happy with how they balanced.

 

[CKN]

I got them installed today - initial 20 miles drive impression is that they are much much quieter. It’s probably a reflection of how loud the RT43s get at 4/32nd instead of how good these tires are. They balanced out nicely and seem to ride smoothly over ruts and expansion joints.

I learnt that WM charges you $28/tire for their basic if tires are purchased elsewhere install instead of the $15/tire. Their road hazard warranty plan would’ve required me buying a replacement tire off their website, ship to the local WM and they’d take care of the warranty stuff.

I was able to see the new Douglas A/S tires in store. Interested tread pattern I think - don’t see any squiggly sipes, but has tons of the diagonal cuts. Anyone here use them?

Had RT43s. They get very loud as they need replacement.

 

[jsean]

What is the country of manufacture? I didn't have much luck with Primewell tires. I think the model was 830. The rubber got really hard after a few years, wet traction became horrendous. Eventually had a blowout on a hot summer day. Mine were made in China. I now buy based on country of origin, not brand, due to balancing issues with anything made in China or Brazil. Interesting to hear you're happy with how they balanced.

View attachment 184022

Yikes! I had Valeras about 10 years ago and they were alright in the rain when new. I only put about 7-8k on them before I sold the vehicle.

These 890s certainly balanced well. They are made in Indonesia. I drove them in heavy rain over the weekend - I took a somewhat shart left hander going about 30-35mph. The tires slipped but caught traction momentarily. They did fine afterwards driving on the freeway and back country roads afterwards. So I’m still unsure how they’ll do in the wet. Maybe they need to go through their break in?

 

[jsean]

Had RT43s. They get very loud as they need replacement.

That was my experience too - the RT43s got obnoxiously loud where driving long distances got weary. Doesn’t help that this Gen Corolla while supremely reliable weren’t well insulated to begin with imo

 

[mr_boring]

You buy a cheap tire, you get a cheap tire. We obsess over tier 1 gas, engine oil, and other fluids but when it comes to tires it's all about the "look I found this GREAT tire that costs 10$! Will it be as good as a Michelin Defender and get me 100k in the rain?" I understand that sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do, and I've had to buy cheap tires once. I promised myself that if I ever had to buy cheap tires again that I'd buy 2 at least meduim quality ones and save up a few months then buy 2 more matching medium quality ones - which means that I promised myself 'no more sorry as can be tires'. Or keep shopping until I found an at least decent tire on sale somewhere.

Just mho - the sipes on that tire aren't worth 2 cents, and will disappoint you on a wet road. I couldn't get a good shot of the new tires, but they look about as middling as these. Sipes circled.

This is an exceptional example of siping on a good wet traction tire.

People will run a set of tires to death and ANY new tire you put on is going to feel like a massive upgrade immediately. 6 months later they are like, man, why are my new tires so cruddy all of a sudden?

 

[Elroy the Brave]

I've been running these for about a month now. Seem to perform well enough. A decent budget tire---priced very competitively on Walmart.com

I recommend them so far.

 

[jsean]

I've been running these for about a month now. Seem to perform well enough. A decent budget tire---priced very competitively on Walmart.com

I recommend them so far.

Same here. I’ve driven them about 800 miles out of which about 300 were in the rain. They are decent and will get the job done for now. I’ll probably not keep them on past 6/32 assuming I keep the car until then. But as a cheap tire, they’ve done very well thus far and are quiet.

 

[camrydriver111]

When you go with cheap Chinese tires the main thing you sacrafice is wet braking and handling. You can get up to 20% difference in wet braking distance.

In the dry there isn't as big difference between premium vs mid range vs budget tires.

Noise wise some of the ultra cheap tires are actually quieter than premium tires. Noisy tires suck but its not necessarily reflective of tire grip performance and quality.

A lot of people are nostalgic about made in USA products but they forget how much they used to cost. Yes, objectively that made in USA item may have been better quality but it likely costed 1 week of wages vs 1 day of wages. China has improved the lives of millions of Americans by providing good quality products at a low price.