Tire test drive.....

[daves87rs]

My neighbor just picked up tires for his Focus. I got to take it for for a test drive, since he know I was a car guy.


The tire suprised me a bit...GT Radial Maxtors (I think). He picked them up cheap...they were 25 bucks cheaper than any other tire he was loooking at. 620/80k tread lfe.


Anyways, back to the drive. I've driven his car before, and had to say-I was impressed by the tires. He had tiger paws on it before... It was nice...quite a sporty tire....good grip (at least for this car). Rides quiet at highway speeds too.


Not bad for a cheap tire. If I didn't already have my heart set on a set of TAs for my car, I might have considered these, as they seem like a pretty good tire for small cars....

 

[tomcat27]

I'm thinkin they're GT Radial Maxtours. many "private label" tires are decent enough - though rarely top notch. did you happen to notice the country of mfr? there's quite a few tires from China creeping in here.... some of the Hankook's for instance.

 

[rshunter]

Originally Posted By: tomcat27
I'm thinkin they're GT Radial Maxtours. many "private label" tires are decent enough - though rarely top notch. did you happen to notice the country of mfr? there's quite a few tires from China creeping in here.... some of the Hankook's for instance.


GT isn't a private label tire brand. GT and IRC are the brands of PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk, an Indonesian-based integrated tire manufacturer which Michelin owns a 10% stake in.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: rshunter
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
I'm thinkin they're GT Radial Maxtours. many "private label" tires are decent enough - though rarely top notch. did you happen to notice the country of mfr? there's quite a few tires from China creeping in here.... some of the Hankook's for instance.


GT isn't a private label tire brand. GT and IRC are the brands of PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk, an Indonesian-based integrated tire manufacturer which Michelin owns a 10% stake in.



Makes me wonder if they could become Michelin's low end tire...

 

[rshunter]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: rshunter
GT isn't a private label tire brand. GT and IRC are the brands of PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk, an Indonesian-based integrated tire manufacturer which Michelin owns a 10% stake in.



Makes me wonder if they could become Michelin's low end tire...

At least in the US commercial truck tire business, they act like they don't even know each other. I think Michelin is afraid that their image may be smudged if the average uninformed consumer found out about the relationship.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: rshunter
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: rshunter
GT isn't a private label tire brand. GT and IRC are the brands of PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk, an Indonesian-based integrated tire manufacturer which Michelin owns a 10% stake in.



Makes me wonder if they could become Michelin's low end tire...

At least in the US commercial truck tire business, they act like they don't even know each other. I think Michelin is afraid that their image may be smudged if the average uninformed consumer found out about the relationship.




Well, maybe not....but, it could explain why the GTs preformed as well as they did. I'm thinking that Michelin is helping them out quite a bit...

 

[rshunter]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: rshunter
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: rshunter
GT isn't a private label tire brand. GT and IRC are the brands of PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk, an Indonesian-based integrated tire manufacturer which Michelin owns a 10% stake in.

Makes me wonder if they could become Michelin's low end tire...

At least in the US commercial truck tire business, they act like they don't even know each other. I think Michelin is afraid that their image may be smudged if the average uninformed consumer found out about the relationship.

Well, maybe not....but, it could explain why the GTs preformed as well as they did. I'm thinking that Michelin is helping them out quite a bit...

I wouldn't be a bit surprised. PT is the largest manufacturer in the Southeast Asia market. That's any awfully big customer base to profit from, even at a 10% piece of the pie. Anything they can do to help make PT an ever more dominant force makes their cut all the better.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: rshunter
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: rshunter
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: rshunter
GT isn't a private label tire brand. GT and IRC are the brands of PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk, an Indonesian-based integrated tire manufacturer which Michelin owns a 10% stake in.

Makes me wonder if they could become Michelin's low end tire...

At least in the US commercial truck tire business, they act like they don't even know each other. I think Michelin is afraid that their image may be smudged if the average uninformed consumer found out about the relationship.

Well, maybe not....but, it could explain why the GTs preformed as well as they did. I'm thinking that Michelin is helping them out quite a bit...

I wouldn't be a bit surprised. PT is the largest manufacturer in the Southeast Asia market. That's any awfully big customer base to profit from, even at a 10% piece of the pie. Anything they can do to help make PT an ever more dominant force makes their cut all the better.




True. And it might make the GTs a good value...could be interesting....

 

[GMBoy]

You would notice an improvement riding on the rims w/o tires compared to those Tiger Paws. They have to be the worst tires I've ever encountered. First time I had them they came on my 1984 Seville and they were the puncture sealant version. Then a friend had them on an S10. These tires will squeal at any turn over 10mph it would seem.

 

[BearZDefect]

Tiger Paws are only good for Donkey Carts?

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
Tiger Paws are only good for Donkey Carts?

Exactly. I may have been a little too harsh, but really, these are bad tires. I am glad the person who replaced them with another brand did and noticed what a better tire can do for a car or truck. GM used to put Tiger Paws on just about everything in the 80's and it was really just for gas mileage reasons - which they do well. But you give up grip and handling (which is safety in my eyes).

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
You would notice an improvement riding on the rims w/o tires compared to those Tiger Paws. They have to be the worst tires I've ever encountered. First time I had them they came on my 1984 Seville and they were the puncture sealant version. Then a friend had them on an S10. These tires will squeal at any turn over 10mph it would seem.



Eh, the tiger paws are not that bad. They are a softer tire...so it depends on what it is on. A co worker has them on his Vue, and they ride just fine.


As far as the ride, they remind me of my Sumis....which cost more....

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Originally Posted By: BearZDefect
Tiger Paws are only good for Donkey Carts?

Exactly. I may have been a little too harsh, but really, these are bad tires. I am glad the person who replaced them with another brand did and noticed what a better tire can do for a car or truck. GM used to put Tiger Paws on just about everything in the 80's and it was really just for gas mileage reasons - which they do well. But you give up grip and handling (which is safety in my eyes).



Well, they are owned by everyone's favorite tire company......

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs

The tire suprised me a bit...GT Radial Maxtors (I think). He picked them up cheap...they were 25 bucks cheaper than any other tire he was loooking at. 620/80k tread lfe.


Wow, next time it might be GT Radial Seagate or GT Radial Western Digital.

 

[pzev]

lol, I use Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's on my focus. I guess handling is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Originally Posted By: daves87rs

The tire suprised me a bit...GT Radial Maxtors (I think). He picked them up cheap...they were 25 bucks cheaper than any other tire he was loooking at. 620/80k tread lfe.


Wow, next time it might be GT Radial Seagate or GT Radial Western Digital.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: pzev
lol, I use Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's on my focus. I guess handling is in the eye of the beholder.


Depends on what you use it for....