CHINESE TYRES vs BRAND NAME

[amunra]

We have some ****ty tyres on our mk3, they are also really low profile (215/40/17) and they are surprisingly comfortable too.

However they are downright dangerous in the wet.

Name and Shame

[The_Hawk]

I dont see why an insurance company would "wipe you' for having an accident on tyres you bought from a legitimate store.

Yeh maybe if you were driving on BALD tyres at the time of that accident or were imported from china directly by urself and werent compliant through a legitimate seller and installer.

Car manufacturers list a minimum load and speed rating you must adhere to when putting tyres on your car. You can go higher, but you're not supposed to go lower.

Here is a decent explanataion:
https://www.bobjane.com.au/info/load...-speed-symbol/

I've heard people talk about putting lower rated tyres on their car because "they never go that fast" (lower speed rating) or because they "never tow anything" (lower load rating). This is pretty much in the same category as the size of the rims on your car. There are legal restrictions on what you can use which people regularly ignore. Theoretically insurance companies could claim that the incorrect tyres were fitting making the car not roadworthy... sure they are supposed to only have an issue if it was a contributing factor and sure you could fight them on it and win... but it's easy enough to avoid at least that bit of the fight.

[VW Convert]

and most of the time i drive sensibly ..

Not all of the 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.

and i dont see why an insurance company would "wipe you' for having an accident on tyres you bought from a legitimate store.
Yeh maybe if you were driving on BALD tyres at the time of that accident or were imported from china directly by urself and werent compliant through a legitimate seller and installer.

I think you missed the point sambb was making, regardless of tread depth etc. if the tyres are below the speed and load rating of the OEM tyres, your car is unroadworthy. One of the clauses in your insurance policy would be that the car must be roadworthy and if not you are potentially open to having a claim rejected.

I'm not suggesting these tyres are below either the appropriate speed or load ratings, just pointing out the fact that sambb's point is valid.

[amunra]

Not all of the time?





I think you missed the point sambb was making,

I'm not suggesting these tyres are below either the appropriate speed or load ratings, just pointing out the fact that sambb's point is valid.

i got his point.. just dont think the scare mongering applied to me so it wasnt really relevant in my case but yeh... if you put tyres on your car that are defective or not up to code then yeh they can do that..

just like they can void insurance or warranties for other things that may void it that you still may choose to do.

[sambb]

no you won't get wiped for buying pop up brand chinese tyres even if they are from a legitimate store, that's not what I said. You may be though if they don't carry the same speed and load rating as the oem tyres and you stuff up badly. That's just how insurance companies can work if you're unlucky i'm afraid. I'm not saying that because you have a Golf R that you drive it like a P plater, I'm saying that with that much power/handling on tap the speeds with which you'll leave the road if you happen to are fast ones. If the tyres you have on there now match or exceed the speed and load ratings of the oem's tyres then all is fluffy, non issue. I was just saying you need to be mindful of that, because if a tyre of a given size was to be down on speed or load rating I'd hazard a guess it'd be the cheapest of the cheap tyres that you are talking about. All those numbers on the side wall have to match up not just the eg 205/50/15 set of numbers. I myself have run tyres that may just be shy of the load or speed rating (all top brands though) because sometimes availability will dictate that (a wide variety of tyres are becoming rarer in 16's). All I'm saying is you're in a Golf R - ever been sideways in it yet? Cos things can go wrong when you're 'testing' in the wet as you've already described, and if its going to go wrong it's more likely do so on cheap rubber - that is just a fact. And if someones property or body gets hurt in the process they can if they choose wipe you.

[sambb]

I'm not scare mongering believe me. I'm just saying that if you are going to tyre test, make sure that what you have on the car is legal/road worthy, because stuff happens is all and you wouldn't want to be left open if it did.

[amunra]

All I'm saying is you're in a Golf R - ever been sideways in it yet?

ahah nah.. . . i know how to drive. but we can compare the ratings against another tyre when i get the car back. wont be for a while though

[Tobes_WIR35]

I'm not an expert in tyres but I am an electrical engineer and I see on a daily basis the lengths that Chinese manufacturers will go to to falsify test certificates, compliance reports and test data for electrical equipment, so there is no way on God's green earth that I will put their tyres on my car.

I will put nothing but the best tyres and brake components on my car. It's risk management/self preservation.

I'll probably also add that lots of good products are manufactured in China, but generally it is by companies who are not Chinese. Generally they are European, Australian, American or Japanese companies who are simply taking advantage of the low manufacturing costs in China.

[amunra]

time to get this thread back to life and continue with the review.


_________



since ive had the car back from the mechanic i have nothing really significant / different to report in terms of the tyres performance. in the warm sunny conditions we've had in sydney they've been good. definately comfortable over bumpier / poor roads , they are also consistent with how they feel at all times. and in sections of road that i will drive a few times ( to and from gym or shops ) they feel the same and kind of predictable.. which i suppose is a good thing. did i mention they are also comfortable.. looking forward to seeing how they perform in the wet

___________


another week of driving and they are still feeling the same.. doesnt really matter if its cooler / cold or warm outside they generally feel and perform the same at all times. handling and traction in the dry is good... feels a bit rubbery when turning in but maybe 1/4 through the turn it feels like its locked in and gripping well as exiting the turn or corner.


not overly or noisy at all..

no traction loss... just a couple of times over a high speed hump or a hole in the ground which was pretty common with both GOODYEAR F1 A2 and BRIDGESTONE. however it was common for it to happen with the BRIDGESTONES while on the road with casual driving and not just speed humps...


also the noise levels are good so far.


I am approaching the 750 - 1000km with these tyres so they will be starting to wear in properly now.


let the fun , begin !

[amunra]

WET WEATHER UPDATE -

today we finally had a fair bit of rain through the morning till mid arvo and got to give the tyres a good everyday testing in the greasy conditions.

gave it a few squirts from N - 1 - 2 - 3 in an industrial back alley with no traction loss except a 0.5sec traction loss light when i found a puddle to start the wheels from.

also gave it a few off the lights of normal driving while medium drizzle was present and no loss of traction light or wheelspins.

so far pretty impressed with how these are handling in both conditions at approx 1,500km on them.