CHINESE TYRES vs BRAND NAME

[The_Hawk]

$95 per tyre installed

Thanks for that, it allows people to compare to the price of their tyre of choice!

Even if they only lasted half as long and wore quickly or went hard you're still miles in front.

[amunra]

so far driving around on the ****ty sydney roads they feel great ( sydney city driver will know what im talking about)... they definately are comfortable.. i can feel where maybe theyre a bit more rubbery / less responsive than the good years at super slow / car park speeds ( 5 - 15 km/ph) but boy are they comfortable on the low profile tyre which was my main concern.. there was no feeling worse than feeling the edge of ur rims in a ditch or pot hole especially those small but deeps ones you cant see..

also once you pick up the speed they are quiet enough probably about the same as the goodyear and they handle surprisingly well.

i was so confident that i gave my brother the keys and told him to do his best around some corners... even he said they handle well and he had confidence going around the same sharp bend on the 5th go.

Unfortunately the cars gone in for some panel work from an old accident so will be without it for the next 4 - 6 weeks so i wont be able to keep you guys updated till then..... but for the first few days of driving my impression are they arent just an OK cheap tyre.. they actually feel and behave like a good tyre... now whether they last the test of time.


you may also understand why i chose to only spend $380 for tyres instead of $1300 knowing i was going to be without my car for up to 6 weeks.

[Kachingg]

Wow 380 a set and they are the same size as mine
Colour me interested will want to know how wear ect goes but as hawk said 1/4 price hard to go wrong even if it wears quicker than the $400 tyres

[The_Hawk]

even if it wears quicker than the $400 tyres

Agreed, but only if they perform as well for that period of time.

[gldgti]

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 ??

I was thinking of the Kumho exapmple... but you know the KU31 isnt really a cheap tyre. I was quoted $233/corner in 245/45/18 recently. I bought Continental MC5 for $187/corner instead, and IMO the contis are better.

[gldgti]

so far driving around on the ****ty sydney roads they feel great ( sydney city driver will know what im talking about)... they definately are comfortable.. i can feel where maybe theyre a bit more rubbery / less responsive than the good years at super slow / car park speeds ( 5 - 15 km/ph) but boy are they comfortable on the low profile tyre which was my main concern.. there was no feeling worse than feeling the edge of ur rims in a ditch or pot hole especially those small but deeps ones you cant see..


also once you pick up the speed they are quiet enough probably about the same as the goodyear and they handle surprisingly well.

i was so confident that i gave my brother the keys and told him to do his best around some corners... even he said they handle well and he had confidence going around the same sharp bend on the 5th go.

Unfortunately the cars gone in for some panel work from an old accident so will be without it for the next 4 - 6 weeks so i wont be able to keep you guys updated till then..... but for the first few days of driving my impression are they arent just an OK cheap tyre.. they actually feel and behave like a good tyre... now whether they last the test of time.


you may also understand why i chose to only spend $380 for tyres instead of $1300 knowing i was going to be without my car for up to 6 weeks.

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.

(The tyres were on the car when we bought it and since we rarely even drive the car at the moment, Im taking my time painting a replacement set of rims before re-tyring)

[gldgti]

so far driving around on the ****ty sydney roads they feel great ( sydney city driver will know what im talking about)... they definately are comfortable.. i can feel where maybe theyre a bit more rubbery / less responsive than the good years at super slow / car park speeds ( 5 - 15 km/ph) but boy are they comfortable on the low profile tyre which was my main concern.. there was no feeling worse than feeling the edge of ur rims in a ditch or pot hole especially those small but deeps ones you cant see..


also once you pick up the speed they are quiet enough probably about the same as the goodyear and they handle surprisingly well.

i was so confident that i gave my brother the keys and told him to do his best around some corners... even he said they handle well and he had confidence going around the same sharp bend on the 5th go.

Unfortunately the cars gone in for some panel work from an old accident so will be without it for the next 4 - 6 weeks so i wont be able to keep you guys updated till then..... but for the first few days of driving my impression are they arent just an OK cheap tyre.. they actually feel and behave like a good tyre... now whether they last the test of time.


you may also understand why i chose to only spend $380 for tyres instead of $1300 knowing i was going to be without my car for up to 6 weeks.

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.

(The tyres were on the car when we bought it and since we rarely even drive the car at the moment, Im taking my time painting a replacement set of rims before re-tyring)

[feenix74]

The HiFly HF201 (185/60 R14) tires on my Vento were put on by my brother's mechanic for the ferry trip back from Melbourne (the two front tires were balded and age expired when I purchased the car and I asked my brother's mechanic to get me a couple of cheap tires). They were fine around town in Melbourne in the dry, good feel and comfortable but as soon as I got onto the highway I realised that their sidewall reinforcement were very soft and the handling was a bit dicey especially on sweeping corners in hilly sections.

I am still working on getting the car roadworthy so have not experienced them in the wet but their performance on the highway sort of indicates it would probably be pretty scary. Subsequently I have fitted two Kumho to replace the time expired rear tires, put the Kumhos on the front and swapped the HiFlys to the rear and the handling is much better even around town in the dry. When I get the Vento roadworthy I will get another two Kumhos to replace the HiFlys.

[amunra]

kumho sounds like the goto mid-priced tyre.. was considering them or NITTO but couldnt justify parting with the extra $500 for the moment to not use my car for 6 weeks.

as for the highway driving on these KINFOREST .. i went on the m5 a couple of times at 100 km/h.. they felt pretty stable.. mind you it was a dry clear day .. i wanted to make sure they could handle the speed and danger factor on a clear day before trying in the wet

[amunra]

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.

yes the golf r is a fast car but it isnt as fast as you're making it out to be especially when its driven like any other car.. coupled with its haldex4wd its extremely stable on the road 100% times under general driving conditions and 99% in the wet or under MY hard driving compared to what you might go through with a camry (FWD) and most of the time i drive sensibly and at the speed limit ..

owning a golf R does not automatically make you drive 50KM/H above the speed limit at all times

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.