CHINESE TYRES vs BRAND NAME

[Lucas_R]

Hold on....are we saying Kinforest are not a good tyre

While I cant justify the cost vs performance ratio of the top performance tyres (eg Michelin Pilot 4 etc) I always get a well known brand and always choose the tyre based on reviews such as the Tyrereviews.uk tests. These tyres do 85-90% of the performance of the top brands at around 60% of the cost, and lets be honest, when driving around the city and suburbs all day, you are likely to never know the difference.

Here is a new test with a whole bunch of tyres, from no-name cheapies, through to the top tiers. And tested in a somewhat relevant car for this forum.

Im currently running the Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3's on my GTI and have had the Falken Azensis FK510 on my previous car. Very happy with both tyres for their price, but obviously there are better tyres out there. Interestingly the new Bridgestone Potenza Sport is performing really well.

The BEST Performance Tires for your Car in 2021 - Tested and Rated - YouTube

[Sonny_J]

I just wanted to share my experience with Chinese tires. I've ran the top tires from the top brands like Conti DSW, Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3, Bridgestone Potenza re980as to name a few.
First off, it doesn't matter who the manufacturer is - ALL tires are a tradeoff, meaning if you want to get 80k km out a set, than you can't expect it to have racing slick performance at the same time, vice versa, and so on.
Simply put, there is not a manufacturer so far, that can offer everything at the same time. It just doesn't exist, or we would all be using the exact same tire. Firestone tires literally killed hundreds of people in the 90's but people either forget or aren't aware. Fast forward to today, and Chinese tires are being labelled as trash or junk, and early on, probably a fair label, but things have changed. In reality they are "budget" tires, so to expect that a $100 tire is going to offer the same benefits and performance as a $250 tire is a bit naive. I have been buying Chinese tires for about 4-5 years, for myself as well as the wife's car, and have been surprised have well they perform, and how long they last for the price. The Bridgestone re80s were the best tires in the rain I have ever had, but they didn't last long, and were pretty noisy. Is it worth it for me to go with the Sailun Inspire, get a bit less wet traction, but have a long wearing, comfortable tire for almost half the price? Yes, but that's me, you've gotta figure out what you want yourself, and there are good alternatives nowadays.

[amunra]

RECAP.

I am now on goodyear assy 5s (all around the car) as the assy 3s received very poor reviews... Actually couldnt get Kf550 at the time as they were out of stock so i went for the assy5s for a few hundred more $ for 4x.

There is a 'Feel' difference between the assy 5's and kf550... the kf550 being a little bit squishy on the sidewall but all in all pretty good tyre for the 30,000 - 40,000km's i used them ... they werent as 'nice' or 'firm / sporty' to ride on for the first few thousand KM like the goodyears are when fresh but does not reduce the driving 'experience' by much and felt like they performed well in spirited driving and wet conditions too... DISCLAIMER ' i do not recommended spirited driving in wet conditions '.

As for all you internet dads , internet officers , vw master techs & rubber afficionados on this thread..

My car is still alive and so am I.

[Shadow_Rusty]

Firstly, Thank you VERY much for starting this thread, it has been great to see your experience mirror mine

Now, I've run the KF550's on 4 different cars...
Volvo S60 AWD 2.5T 17"
Ford Focus FWD 2.0 16"
VW Tiguan AWD 2.0T 18"
VW Eos FWD 2.0T (Stage 1) 18"

They have been a consistent performer, and I've been impressed with their overall performance, even if they are slightly better on AWD vehicles.

The Eos is the only car that I felt that the tyre was actually under performing, so, I switched them for Pilot Sport 3's, and found them almost identical at nearly double the price.
I've now switched the Eos to Neuton NT512's, as the KF550's were out of stock, and they are definitely better than both the KF550 and PS3's.

And yes, all 4 cars are still on the road, and haven't been anywhere near a ditch...

THANKS AGAIN
Michael

[amunra]

Firstly, Thank you VERY much for starting this thread, it has been great to see your experience mirror mine

Now, I've run the KF550's on 4 different cars...
Volvo S60 AWD 2.5T 17"
Ford Focus FWD 2.0 16"
VW Tiguan AWD 2.0T 18"
VW Eos FWD 2.0T (Stage 1) 18"

They have been a consistent performer, and I've been impressed with their overall performance, even if they are slightly better on AWD vehicles.

The Eos is the only car that I felt that the tyre was actually under performing, so, I switched them for Pilot Sport 3's, and found them almost identical at nearly double the price.
I've now switched the Eos to Neuton NT512's, as the KF550's were out of stock, and they are definitely better than both the KF550 and PS3's.

And yes, all 4 cars are still on the road, and haven't been anywhere near a ditch...

THANKS AGAIN
Michael

No worries brother Michael,

I knew when I was starting this thread it would be something different to the usual on here and would be of interest to many and could be somewhat insightful.. It has been pretty funny reading all the expert opinions because they've driven a car for a few years and talking their " expert hypothesis" on rubber, funnily enough had a great experience with the KF550s and could not fault them at all.. and am sort of regretting not getting another set over spending the extra on GOODYEAR F1 ASY 5 I recently purchased. Am waiting for a response from GOODYEAR Australia in regards to the quality of these tyres before I start posting up my experience with them but I will let you all know it is sub-par for the money wanted as opposed to the money payed for kf550, for 2x the money you do not necessarily get 2x the performance and what seems like extremely poor quality too which was mocked by many on here towards the chinese tyres.

Thanks again for your response and support Michael

[amunra]

After speaking to a somewhat condescending a-hole from GoodyearAustralia yesterday and then again today about the quality of the their ****ty over priced tyres and getting an extremely poor, smug and somewhat rude interaction from him (laughing about a near fatal accident and their product failing) and how 5 different things were my fault for it basically exploding on me and me having done nothing wrong except look after them and make sure they are properly inflated at all times.

I spoke to fair trading already and they were in shock about the situation and said thank god im alive and the fitter said the same... but not GOODYEAR.. just smart arse remarks and laughter|


I was driving 1 1/2 weeks ago and 1 of them fell apart on me on the freeway.. was in good condition no existing punctures or post deterioration puncture to the tread or existing sidewall damage.. less than 1 year old and maybe 4,000kms were on the front and then moved to the back for 10 - 12,000 kms. it basically collapsed on me going 100+kmph on the M5 in the middle of nowhere at 10pm at night..


After speaking on the phone to this bloke after emailing them ( clearly he didnt want to speak through email only mobile phone call obviously so it cant be recorded) and listening to a bunch of bull**** for 20 minutes how it was 5 different causes which clearly werent the case... he finally got to how there could be an issue with the product if there is a rubbery / crumbly residue in the tyre which could have been the cause which i told him there was alot and suspected that was the issue when i first looked at it... he said he probably knows what it is and let him get back to me next day.. to which i had to email him again at 2pm to which he rang me AGAIN and after looking at the photos i sent him he told me its my clear as day that its my fault and the reason is I drove on a poorly pressurised tyre for "SOooooooo Long".. his words.. .. when it was actually properly pressurised and has not given me any issues whatsoever since purchase.. not once zero zip nada.. and basically collapsed out of nowhere i didnt even hear or feel hitting anything with my rear tyre and it fishied me off the road in approx 2 min from dash pressure light going (ive had many instances where the dash pressure light will go and the station pump only gives a few PSI off the set mark).. What could it have been to make it lose pressure so quickly if it wasnt punctured ?? POOR CONSTRUCTION OR RUBBER PERHAPS HMM? After he mentioned it last night and talking for a good few minutes about it... Today He refused to acknowledge the crumbly / rubbery consistancy which potentially shows weakness in the construct or deterioration and probably opened up a hole big enough somewhere.. collapsed my tyre deteriorated quickly and even come off my rim completely and tore off my inner wheel well wall apart and suspension plastic covering.

This guy even proceeded to argue with me that it couldnt possibly be the tyre because their "sales volumes have been increasing over the last few years" and i argued with him that my ****ing tyre exploded mid driving , has absolutely nothing to do with their sales volumes but seems hes more concerned about sales than safety of customers.. he hung up on me and proceeded to play the nice guy on email 20 minutes later after giving fair trading a ring.


And all the people on this forum telling me that my KF550s were going to fall apart they lasted me nearly 50,000kms and didnt give me any trouble.. . this was a relatively new and still good condition GOODYEAR EAGLE F1 ASSYMETRIC 5 and nearly killed me doing over 100+kmph.

If it only nearly kills you once a year.. its a good year

[amunra]

after getting the run around from these goodyear guys i have been chasing up fitter and importer TEMPETYRES (tempe) for an explanation and warranty and the best they can do for me is a $20 discount on purchasing a new tyre as the guy was arguing with me that tyres "dont just explode sitting there" after explaining to him many times it happened at over 100kmph+ on a freeway. no damage or puncture to the tread... and not Just Sitting There.

Its all pretty humorous listening to the people on this forum 'warning' me off cheaper priced good quality tyres that i had no problem with in all conditions and driving use and when you purchase a supposed "good brand name" tyres they are the ones that nearly kill you and all related parties shirking responsibility and putting blame back onto the customer.

I will be purchasing kinforest tyres again and not purchasing anything from tempe tyres again let alone goodyear which judging from reviews of their assy3 tyres was terrible and have taken a step backwards in quality and are purely Sales Volume driven now.. Tempe Tyres Tempe have supplied these tyres, installed them, rotated them and did a dodgy wheel allignment which needed correcting.. and they want more of my money to amend their mistake because they infact do not warrant their tyres.. they only warrant them on 1 condition which is were the laminate on the tread will come undone but not on the sidewall deterioration or the "cord' explanation the guy was trying to give me where they bend and straighten if underinflated which they werent. they simply came apart somewhere on the side and deflated within a few minutes until i was off the road.

Shame on GOODYEAR, GOODYEAR AUSTRALIA and TEMPETYRES.. no regard for customer safety or loyalty to their business

[neesonl602]

If you really have to then Kinforest KF550 is the better one.
With tyres
Price
Grip
Life
Pick two.