Support VWWC

Page 2 of 16 FirstFirst 123412 ... LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 158

Thread: CHINESE TYRES vs BRAND NAME

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
    Location
    belgrave victoria
    Posts
    913
    Users Country Flag

    Indeed i for 1 am interested in the long term result it will def be a long term result 5000k+ to really determine the outcome
    2017 Golf Alltrack 135tdi All options
    19 inch Brescia Wheels Golf R brakes front and rear
    Calipers painted Candy apple gold
    New rear sway bar and linkages

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Adelaide, SA
    Posts
    87
    Users Country Flag
    The only thing I can add is from the mouth of a mate who was a franchisee from one of the major tyre chains.

    I asked him about Chinese tyres a few years back and his comment was at the time they were fairly good value for money. Most of the factories were new and producing tyres that were close to their intended tolerance, so from a manufacturing perspective (one of the concerns a lot of people have about Chinese products) they were good.

    The unfortunate part of Chinese manufacture is their willingness to substitute (as Mattel (or Google it) about substituting lead based paint on toys). This means although the goods are well made and within tolerance the material used might be sub standard.

    So you get what you paid for (maybe a little more due to the good tolerances). Let the buyer beware. Did I/ Do I/ Will I buy Chinese tyres? No.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Central Coast, NSW
    Posts
    159
    Users Country Flag
    Keen to hear the outcome, mate. I for one am always glad to see small startup companies compete with the legacy brands, even if they're from China. Society's obsession with brand names and labels costs us extra in the long run, for sure.
    2017 - Golf R 7.5 - Blue - DSG - Proper Roof - DAP - Res' delete - Dynaudio delete
    2008 - Mazda 2 - (Maybe my first child scared me a bit) -1998 - Wrx (modded up to but not including forged pistons)
    1988 - Corolla TwinCam - (couldn't insure a 323 Turbo)
    1967 - Tonka Tip Truck - Red with 2 inch plastic rims and a massive sand scoop.


  4. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Kilsyth, VIC
    Posts
    6,284
    Users Country Flag
    How many dollars are these tyres actually costing? I know you've said 1/3 - 1/4, but what is that in actual dollars? This allows us to compare them more easily to other things that might be available. I'm running RE003's in 225/40/R18 which cost me $980 fitted (in september 2015).

    Having read one to two tyre reviews over the years as well as talking to people around the industry I've come to understand a few things.

    Reputable tyre tests are usually done in a reasonable fashion, but they also tend to source tyres directly from the manufacturers which means you're getting brand new fresh tyres which isn't always the case in your local shop (depending on how popular they are they could be older stock). This means that they will be performing as well as they ever will and will only get worse over time...

    In very broad terms tyres that grip better are softer and wear faster vs harder compounds which wear really well as the expense of grip. It's also worth noting that soft tyres tend to get harder as they age so you want something that maintains it's properties over it's useful life.

    For those reasons (and as someone has already said) even low KM cars should have their shoes replaced at regular intervals to ensure the tyres are still doing their jobs.

    Here is one example of some testing that's worth having a look at, it's last years test as I didn't see this years online yet.
    Best Performance Tyres Test 2016 | MOTOR Performance Tyre Reviews | MOTOR

    In any case it's interesting, there is about 20% in both wet and dry braking tests but it's less than 10% for the other tests. In real numbers that is 13.96m in the wet braking test vs 16.54m and 34.75m vs 41.75m in the dry tests.

    Here is another one:
    The best and worst tyres for your car

    This review includes at least a passing reference to an old tyre. It doesn't say what brand/model it is, but the summary was it was reasonable in the dry but sucked hard in the wet, presumably this is simply down to the amount of water able to be displaced by the depth of the tread (or lack there of).

    I'd love to see the same tests done to the same tyres in 24 months or 20,000km or something to get a real world story on age.

    Here is another article talking about older tyres and little about the science:
    How Old - and Dangerous - Are Your Tires?

    and another:
    The Science of Tire Aging


    Bottom line, normal people are unlikely to ever be able to test more than "seat of the pants". Those 10% differences in driving are unlikely to be really felt on the streets. Even the 20% difference in braking is only a couple of car lengths and aren't the sort of thing you tend to do in real life (except when it's probably more important that it all works... like in an emergency). It would be great to see this end of the market included in some of these more scientific tests.

    It would have been interesting if the OP has done a few dry brake tests on the old tyres then the same on the new ones at the same location... but then finding somewhere it's safe (and/or) legal to do that can be interesting too

    Again, for most people, most of the time anything round and black is probably OK as we tend to not drive to the limit or be put in situations where it matters too much.... but then it's sort of like insurance. You don't pay for it because you think you won't crash, you pay for it in case you do. Plenty of people choose to self-insure and come out in front, even after an accident... others hit a Porsche on the way to the shops.


    If it has an engine or heartbeat it's going to cost you. | Refer a Friend - AussieBroadband $50 Credit

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    nsw
    Posts
    3,211
    Users Country Flag
    I think the reaction of some people on here at what your doing come from the fact that the '10% of people' thing might apply to camry's etc but you're in a mk7 golf R doing some serious speeds in the blink of an eye, which kind of changes the risk/benefit relationship. A lot can go wrong fast and is more likely to with turd tyres. You can feel even premium brand tyres go off over time. There's also the simple fact that if you're under the load and speed ratings of the oem tyres and have a big one, the insurance company could wipe you.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Brissy
    Posts
    2,192
    Users Country Flag
    These tyres might be good, who knows.
    I remember when Kumho came on the scene, they were rubbished.
    Personally I got some with new wheels. I thought they would be crap. I got 50,000km on the 1st set and went on to own 3 sets in a row. After having many top brand tyres before them I was well placed to compare. They gripped as well as the expensive ones in the dry, not quite a good in the wet and lasted a lot longer, like 50,000km+ compared to 10-14,000km on Michelin & Pirelli.

    Over time the Ku31 became the go to value sport tyre, getting great reviews and recommendations by forum members everywhere.
    As for issues with safety, so long as they meet the speed & load ratings insurance etc should be fine.
    Remember just a few PSI on pressure can turn a top tyre into an unsafe tyre. So it is not just the brand that make things safe.

    If you save a bundle on them and they are good, that is great. If they suck you may have got what you paid for. No loss really.

    Some food for thought...
    Pirelli is a Chinese owned company, they make Bridgestone, Michelin, Continental and Goodyear.
    So are Chinese tyres safe ??
    Last edited by JustCruisn; 16-08-2017 at 09:22 PM. Reason: spwelling
    MK4 GTI - Sold
    MK5 Jetta Turbo - Sold
    MK5 Jetta 2.Slow - Until it dies.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    4,040
    Users Country Flag
    They'll own everything at some point.
    So to dismiss a 'brand' as Chinese and therefore crap is pretty naive.
    Look at how Volvo is performing under Geely. Chinese ownership means access to capital not poor quality.

    Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
    2011 Skoda Octavia vRS TDI DSG wagon|Revo Stage 1|Race Blue|Leather|Dynamic Xenons w 6000K|9w7 BT|THA475 Amp+active sub|Whiteline ALK|RVC|
    2009 R36 wagon|Biscay Blue|RVC|Tailgate|ECU and DSG tune|LED DRL/Indicators|3D colour cluster|Quad LED tail rings|Climatronics upgrade|Dynaudio retrofit|B7 RLine Flat Steering Wheel|3AA CCM|TPMS Direct|B7 Adaptive Cruise with Front Assist|Discover Media retrofit|PLA 2.0|Lane Assist|BCM retrofit|High Beam Assist|DQ500

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    1,194
    Quote Originally Posted by JustCruisn View Post
    Pirelli is a Chinese owned company, they make Bridgestone, Michelin, Continental and Goodyear.
    So are Chinese tyres safe ??
    You sure of that? I know the Chinese bought Pirelli a couple of years ago but I'm not sure they own the other brands you listed. Happy to stand corrected if you're sure of that.

    Cheers

    George
    06 Jetta 2.0TFSI Killed by a Lexus!
    09 Eos 2.0TSI DSG Loved this car but has now gone to a new home!!
    14 EOS 2.0 TSI has arrived!

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Location
    Canberra, ACT
    Posts
    489
    Users Country Flag
    Quote Originally Posted by JustCruisn View Post
    These tyres might be good, who knows.
    Some food for thought...
    Pirelli is a Chinese owned company, they make Bridgestone, Michelin, Continental and Goodyear.
    I believe that Pirelli is now owned by ChemChina but I thought that Bridgestone tires were made by Bridgestone Corporation (aka Kabushiki-gaisha Burijisuton) which I understand is a public company, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. I believe that some of the cheaper Bridgestone tires we get here in Australia are made in their Thailand factory. I also believe Michelin is a French publicly listed company, listed on the EuroNext, I assume that they make all their own tires. Continental a German publicly listed company on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, I assume that they make all their own tires. Goodyear is an American publicly listed company on the NASDAQ and I assume that they make all their own tires.

    Disclosure - My Caddy runs Michelin XM2s, my Golf Mk3 CL is running Bridgestone MY02s, my Vento GL is running a mix of Kumho and HiFly (chinese tires), and my wife's Golf Mk5 runs Bridgestone RE003 (235/45 R17).

    My wife and I like the RE003s, they seem to give good performance at a good price. Very good in the dry but can aquaplane a little bit in the wet, so need to back it off just a little bit in the wet. I just wish they had a bit more treadwear to them.
    1997 Golf CL, 2011 Caddy Life TDI, 2007 Golf TDI, 1996 Vento GL (red), 2008 Skoda Octavia TDI
    1996 Vento GL (white) - RIP

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Sydney, Australia.
    Posts
    433
    Users Country Flag Thread Starter

    Quote Originally Posted by The_Hawk View Post
    How many dollars are these tyres actually costing? I know you've said 1/3 - 1/4, but what is that in actual dollars? This allows us to compare them more easily to other things that might be available. I'm running RE003's in 225/40/R18 which cost me $980 fitted (in september 2015).

    Having read one to two tyre reviews over the years as well as talking to people around the industry I've come to understand a few things.

    Reputable tyre tests are usually done in a reasonable fashion, but they also tend to source tyres directly from the manufacturers which means you're getting brand new fresh tyres which isn't always the case in your local shop (depending on how popular they are they could be older stock). This means that they will be performing as well as they ever will and will only get worse over time...

    In very broad terms tyres that grip better are softer and wear faster vs harder compounds which wear really well as the expense of grip. It's also worth noting that soft tyres tend to get harder as they age so you want something that maintains it's properties over it's useful life.

    For those reasons (and as someone has already said) even low KM cars should have their shoes replaced at regular intervals to ensure the tyres are still doing their jobs.

    Here is one example of some testing that's worth having a look at, it's last years test as I didn't see this years online yet.
    Best Performance Tyres Test 2016 | MOTOR Performance Tyre Reviews | MOTOR

    In any case it's interesting, there is about 20% in both wet and dry braking tests but it's less than 10% for the other tests. In real numbers that is 13.96m in the wet braking test vs 16.54m and 34.75m vs 41.75m in the dry tests.

    Here is another one:
    The best and worst tyres for your car

    This review includes at least a passing reference to an old tyre. It doesn't say what brand/model it is, but the summary was it was reasonable in the dry but sucked hard in the wet, presumably this is simply down to the amount of water able to be displaced by the depth of the tread (or lack there of).

    I'd love to see the same tests done to the same tyres in 24 months or 20,000km or something to get a real world story on age.

    Here is another article talking about older tyres and little about the science:
    How Old - and Dangerous - Are Your Tires?

    and another:
    The Science of Tire Aging


    Bottom line, normal people are unlikely to ever be able to test more than "seat of the pants". Those 10% differences in driving are unlikely to be really felt on the streets. Even the 20% difference in braking is only a couple of car lengths and aren't the sort of thing you tend to do in real life (except when it's probably more important that it all works... like in an emergency). It would be great to see this end of the market included in some of these more scientific tests.

    It would have been interesting if the OP has done a few dry brake tests on the old tyres then the same on the new ones at the same location... but then finding somewhere it's safe (and/or) legal to do that can be interesting too

    Again, for most people, most of the time anything round and black is probably OK as we tend to not drive to the limit or be put in situations where it matters too much.... but then it's sort of like insurance. You don't pay for it because you think you won't crash, you pay for it in case you do. Plenty of people choose to self-insure and come out in front, even after an accident... others hit a Porsche on the way to the shops.

    $95 per tyre installed. compared to michellin or goodyear $300 - $400 tyre per installed depending on which model you go with

Page 2 of 16 FirstFirst 123412 ... LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
| |