MK6 Wheel / Rim / Tyre Thread

[chorrylan]

I shipped 4 x 18 inch Goodyear F1 asymmetrics and the eibach prosystem for my mk6 gti from tire rack.... Came to about $1600 AUD plus around $300 in customs etc.
Somehow got the shipping for $250 for the wheels and suspension kit, which is bloody heavy.

am I missing something obvious or woudl you have saved (at least) $50 by buying it and getting it shipped as two separate orders (upt to $250 extra shipping but saving $300 on customs?)

[Corey_R]

am I missing something obvious or woudl you have saved (at least) $50 by buying it and getting it shipped as two separate orders (upt to $250 extra shipping but saving $300 on customs?)

Shipping in two separate orders does not necessarily work...
If they notice that you've split the orders, not only will they still charge you for GST etc, but they'll probably increase the customs handling fees!
You'd have to separate the order over a week or so - and even then, cross your fingers

[nat225]

Shipping in two separate orders does not necessarily work...
If they notice that you've split the orders, not only will they still charge you for GST etc, but they'll probably increase the customs handling fees!
You'd have to separate the order over a week or so - and even then, cross your fingers

ship one order to office address and ship another one to wife's name at home address or sister's address... i wonder if this would work :p

[dave_r]

Oh - and how can it take 8 days for 4 tyres to come from the US, when I was told my tyres weren't in stock and it would be at least 5 weeks before they came from melbourne? Not the fault of the tyre place - once again, they get the blame for something beyond their control.

Great point, I've been waiting nearly 5 weeks to get a single ****ing 17" conti replacement for the polo after an unrepairable puncture. How hard is it for these monkeys to get a tyre that is fitted to how many cars from VW let alone other makes?

[Brian]

My mate waited 10 weeks for a full set of 17 inch conti sport 3 for his Renault Sport 225. Lucky he had plenty of tread left on the old ones.
Why would you bother when there are so many better or equivalent tires out there for much less dollars and readily available?
Having driven the car hard, I would back the Khumos on my Golf against them for half the money.

[nat225]

i'm sure there are good reasons why Merc cars tend to have Continental and Bridgestone tyres instead of Kumho.

But, it's good to have Korean tyres for 'bang for your bucks' buy.

[Footguy]

Yeah, that was the original intention, but as the shipping was so cheap together it worked out to about the same in the end, plus saved me going through the trouble of sending the "parcels" to different addresses...

Plus i can claim some of the taxes through my business...

[MIRSAD]

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 is here:

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 is here - tyre reviews, the online tyre guide

[Brian]

i'm sure there are good reasons why Merc cars tend to have Continental and Bridgestone tyres instead of Kumho.

But, it's good to have Korean tyres for 'bang for your bucks' buy.

Probably the same reasons why Mercs are taxis in Europe. No excessive duties, markups from wholesalers and retailers and import duties in Oz. Thats why Tirerack is so appealing!
As for country of origin, your Contis can come from many places including Germany, (which I'm sure you'd like to think thats where they're from), Romania, Turkey, Mexico and Slovakia without going into too much searching.
Your Brigestones , however come from all over the world: viz
Bridgestone's global locations

Bridgestone has major manufacturing plants in many countries around the world. As of 2007, Bridgestone has 57 tyre plants, 98 diversified product plants, and 4 major technical centers globally. Some of the major plants are located in:
EUROPE AMERICAS ASIA/OCEANIA MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA
Italy North America Japan Iran
Hungary Argentina Australia (closing by April 2010)
Poland Brazil New Zealand (closed December 2009) South Africa
Spain Costa Rica China Liberia (raw materials)
France Mexico India
Belgium Venezuela Indonesia
Turkey Canada South Korea
United States Taiwan
Thailand
Malaysia
Bangladesh

So your snide innuendo re the quality of anything (be it tires) coming from Korea is quite mute my friend. I'd even suggest that a fair bit of the electronics in the European cars is sourced in Asia. Go figure your "European quality"

Brian

[Ideo]

But the simple fact is that with limited exceptions (Kumho KU36 and ummm) Korean tyres offer decent performance. But not earth shattering by any means.

Good bargain buy, but then tyres are the one thing I refuse to skimp on. Who knows what an extra 8m in braking distance will mean when you really need it...