Does Nexen make a good tire?

[zCypher]

Went looking for summer tires today, was told the Nexan 5000 is decent (walmart sells a set of 4, tax in/installed for $400), went to canadian tire and they sell a uniroyal for the same price, but i'm not sure about that brand either.

I've heard people were satisfied with their Potenzas, but I think those are a bit more expensive? I checked for Potenzas at costco but there were several different ones and the guy didn't seem too sure of himself.

anyone have experience with nexan 5000? or a potenza tire?

recommend anything different? I want a real summer tire- but is there a reason I should consider all season instead?

I don't mind spending a bit more if it's worth it but would like to keep it under $600 for sure. size is 185/60/14.

what do you think?

 

[thescreensavers]

Nexen = Cheap Chinese tires, hell no dont get them, Tires are very important saftey item, I would not get some cheap garbage. Potenzas differ from model to model , go to tire rack and look up tires and read the reviews.

Check out the Hankook ventus V12 they are great summer tires

as well as

Falken 452
General Exclaim ..
Sumitomo HRT III

don't expect over 25k miles out of these tires though.

Edit: did not see your tire size, yea hmm

I see General Altimax HP comes in your tire size, they are great tires though not summer tire.

 

[zCypher]

Ah, point taken. Didn't realize that about Nexen.

What about the Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS? http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...4RE960PP&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

Falken seems to offer a couple different ones, but all they really say about it is that it's good in the rain.

 

[jlee]

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/searchTiresBySize.do?sw=false&cs=185&ar=65&rd=14

You should be able to do it for less than $300. You could get Michelin Hydroedge tires with a 90k rating for $400 + mount/balance..I can't imagine they're very sticky, though.

 

[zCypher]

I'm seeing pretty good reviews of the BF Goodrich Traction T/A, do you think that compares to Bridgestone Potenza?

 

[zCypher]

There's a $60 MIR on the Traction T/A's, too. heh.

Since I'm in Canaduh, it's going to cost $160 more :/

What's funny, is that's still cheaper than what costco is charging here for the same tire.

Read some good reviews for the Falken Azenis RT-615K too. Damn tires. In the past, I have put slightly larger tires (ie, 195 instead of 185), is that a horrible idea?

 

[TruePaige]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=185/&ratio=60&diameter=14&x=83&y=7

Great deal on the Sumitomos. For twice as much the Dunlop's have some great reviews.

If you go with the Sumitomos you can get four tires for $204. Since you said you just want a decent tire, I think they are good.

 

[MJinZ]

Nexen = Cheap Chinese tires, hell no dont get them, Tires are very important saftey item, I would not get some cheap garbage. Potenzas differ from model to model , go to tire rack and look up tires and read the reviews.

Check out the Hankook ventus V12 they are great summer tires

as well as

Falken 452
General Exclaim ..
Sumitomo HRT III

don't expect over 25k miles out of these tires though.

Edit: did not see your tire size, yea hmm

I see General Altimax HP comes in your tire size, they are great tires though not summer tire.

I wouldn't trust Korean tires either. Japanese Yokohama/Bridgestone or French Michelins. Then others like Pirelli, Conti, Goodyear/Dunlop.

 

[zCypher]

bridgestone potenza re960as 185/60/14, $457 shipped
Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec $595.77 shipped
Falken Azenis RT-615K $658 shipped

I'm having a hard time. I know it's probably best to stick to the proper size, 185/60/14. either way, it seems that it will work out cheaper to order my tires online and have them installed wherever, rather than buy them here.

 

[BassBomb]

where in canada?

 

[Gillbot]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=185/&ratio=60&diameter=14&x=83&y=7

Great deal on the Sumitomos. For twice as much the Dunlop's have some great reviews.

If you go with the Sumitomos you can get four tires for $204. Since you said you just want a decent tire, I think they are good.

I had a set of Sumitomos myself, I'll NEVER use them again. They were garbage.

 

[thomsbrain]

Nexen are crap. Had a pair on the front of the S2000 when I got it from the dealer. Grip levels were so poor that I replaced them even though they had more than half their life left. Not only were overall grip levels low, but they were squirrelly and unpredictable. You couldn't get them to take a "set" in the corner.

Many local tire shops will price-match against Tire Rack, and they will often install the tires for less than Tire Rack's recommended installers, which usually charge at least $100 just to mount 4 tires. So your total expenses may be less with a local shop and it's less hassle, too. YMMV.

If you want high-grip summer tires, be aware that tread-life will be very poor compared to other tires you've driven. It's easy to go through a set in less than 10,000 miles with the "best" tires. Make your own decision about how much you're willing to pay in exchange for performance. A less aggressive tire may not only cost less initially but last twice as long, too. Those Dunlop Star Specs have excellent performance but will wear out very quickly. You can actually feel with your finger how much more sticky they are compared to a regular tire. It's a pay to play thing if you want grip.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

I absolutely love my Potenza RE960ASes

 

[zCypher]

Thanks for all the great replies.

WhoBeDaPlaya- what's your ride and what size potenza? Any more detail you can provide about them?

 

[amdhunter]

lol, I hate Nexens also. I bought 4 of them for my Galant back in the day. 225/40/17's and they blew on the smallest potholes.

Best tires I've ever owned were my Dunlop Sport A1's. Whenever I blow the Bridgestones I have on my car now, they are going to get replaced by Dunlop tires.

 

[zCypher]

I'm glad I didn't jump on Nexan, seems that might have been a potential mistake.

I'm in Montreal, BassBomb.

 

[996GT2]

If your tire size is 185/60/14, then I'm guessing you have a Corolla or something along those lines? Basically, something that doesn't have any sporting intentions, right?

In that case, I'm not sure why you would want to get a high-grip summer tire for it...are you really going to drive it hard enough to the point where you'd need the extra traction offered by sticky summer tires? And if you really did need extra traction, why not just upgrade to wider, lower profile tires in the first place?

Moreover, why would you want to pay 2 or 3x as much as a good all-season tire and then get half the treadwear life (or less)?

 

[zCypher]

I just want to buy a good tire, I started by looking at Nexan N5000. I read some good reviews about it, but a lot of people here seem not to like that tire.

I continued to do more research and looked into tires suggested by others. I've read good things about the Potenza, and nobody seems to have anything bad to say about that one. I think it's a reasonable tire to consider?

Maybe the Dunlop would be overkill, but I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting a really good tire just the same. I've driven enough crappy tires in the past, don't want to repeat that.

 

[lavaheadache]

Big fan of Falken tires. I have had a few pairs before and liked them. Ziex ze 502's on m my RX-7, loved em. Ziex ze 502's on my supercharged GTi vr6, loved em. Ziex ze 512's on the a4, love em.

 

[BassBomb]

I'm glad I didn't jump on Nexan, seems that might have been a potential mistake.

I'm in Montreal, BassBomb.

I don't know about the USA area near MTL... but what I do is ship stuff to Niagara Falls USA and drive over to pick it up (I am near Toronto). This to avoid brokerage fees from UPS/USPS and such

 

[alkemyst]

Nexen were recommended by tons of dealers when I made calls locally...they must have an incredible markup as I was looking for Eagle F1's or PS2's.

They are crap designed to give those that have no budget tires to go with their wheels. Many wheel/tire packages here feature Nexen's even on the better makes of wheels.

 

[KDKPSJ]

Umm... Nexen = Korean, and as you know Hankook = Korean.

At least in Korea, Nexen is known to make quality tires that are on par with ones from Hankook and Kumho. So, if you believe Hankook makes good tire, you should also believe Nexen to make good tire and give a try, especially since you thought Nexen is Chinese. Majority of Nexen tires are manufactured in Korea.

Nexen = Cheap Chinese tires, hell no dont get them, Tires are very important saftey item, I would not get some cheap garbage. Potenzas differ from model to model , go to tire rack and look up tires and read the reviews.

Check out the Hankook ventus V12 they are great summer tires

as well as

Falken 452
General Exclaim ..
Sumitomo HRT III

don't expect over 25k miles out of these tires though.

Edit: did not see your tire size, yea hmm

I see General Altimax HP comes in your tire size, they are great tires though not summer tire.

 

[zCypher]

Thanks for your input, everydae it's much appreciated

 

[KDKPSJ]

NP, zCypher. While Nexen's reputation is not top tier, you shouldn't just assume the quality based on the country of origin --- especially when you have wrong info.

A little more comment on mark up. Nexen is trying to become top 10 tire manufacturers by volume in the world, so no wonder if they provide lots of discount/mark up to tire reseller/retailer to push their tires. It's just like Hyundai has been giving out tremendous cashback for years. Does this mean Hyundai cars are still crap like they did 10 years ago? I don't think so.

 

[thescreensavers]

Umm... Nexen = Korean, and as you know Hankook = Korean.

At least in Korea, Nexen is known to make quality tires that are on par with ones from Hankook and Kumho. So, if you believe Hankook makes good tire, you should also believe Nexen to make good tire and give a try, especially since you thought Nexen is Chinese. Majority of Nexen tires are manufactured in Korea.

ah ok, I did not know that, Everyone in RL kept stating it as Chinese and never looked it up. you are right. But they still dont have a good reputation.