Dog-brand tire experience

[railer]

I need some new rubber for the back of MY DAEWOO. I have a couple General G-max on now, and they worked OK but I wasn't too impressed with the mileage that I got out of them.

This is not a track care, nor a race car, nor will it be doing anything besides hauling my arse down for ice cream in the summer time. However I don't particularly want to be walking home either.

Replacement tires go for between 100 and 500 online, so I'm wondering what the difference is?

Anyone have experience with some of these lower end tires, i.e. Nankang, or just stay away from those, and why?

Thanks

 

[Midwayman]

You picked the wrong wheels for cheap tires. Sheesh. The yokohama s.drive is only a bit more than the general and is a known good brand. I just got some on the front of my C350 and they've been good so far. I wouldn't drive the no-names myself.

 

[michal1980]

lets cheap out on the only part of the car that is actually in contact with the road... that sounds smart.

 

[Spicedaddy]

Cheap chinese tires suck. Sidewalls are too soft.

Tirerack has Yokohama S-Drive, Hankook V12 or Bridgestone RE760 for 200$ each...

 

[kitatech]

Look for "pull-offs" on ebay or local used tire shops....I got FIVE such 17" Hankook Ventus V4 ES tires delivered and installed for $375.

 

[Jimzz]

How many miles did you get out of the G-Max? Those should last as long if not longer than any of the tires you listed.

 

[96Firebird]

I've had good luck with my Nitto NT555s, but they are $191/ea for that size.

 

[phucheneh]

If you have 275/30/20's on your car and want to pay $100 a tire, stop driving. Ugh. Pony up the $200-250 a piece for a proper set or admit that you make very bad buying decisions when it comes to car parts [and sell the wheels].

What's worse, you're looking at doing a staggered, directional tire setup. Jimzz, I agree that the Generals he mentioned should hold up fairly well, as far as tread depth is concerned...but sitting in the same position, they will be obnoxiously loud and rough, if not entirely ruined, within 10-15k.

I would go with one of two options: either use an asymmetric (has an 'inside' and an 'outside,' but not directional) tire with your staggered setup, or put 245/35/20's all the way around (slightly taller than the 275/30 and nearly a perfect match to stock diameter). The latter, of course, assumes that you have four identical wheels. No idea if that is the case.

Either of those options will save you money, however. And the car will ride more quietly. And handle better. There really are NO drawbacks, other than 'it costs more money right now.' Try and see it from the perspective of 'I could pay $100 for a tire that will perform poorly, be unbearably noisy after 5-10k, and absolutely HAVE to be replaced by 15-20k'...versus 'I could pay $200 for a much better tire that will perform better, be quieter, and be less prone to vibration problems (from being out of round from the factory), AND if I rotate regularly, it could last me 30-40k.' ...I mean, come one, how is the latter option not a steal in comparison?

 

[iamwiz82]

I think you should have gone for a Camry.

 

[NutBucket]

I think you should have gone for a used Camry.

Fixed. You cheap out on tires yet are willing to put up with fuel bill?

 

[railer]

You picked the wrong wheels for cheap tires. Sheesh. The yokohama s.drive is only a bit more than the general and is a known good brand. I just got some on the front of my C350 and they've been good so far. I wouldn't drive the no-names myself.

Nah, these size tires are not bad at all. Cheaper than the 19's that I almost went with. Thanks for the Yokohama tip.

lets cheap out on the only part of the car that is actually in contact with the road... that sounds smart.

Thanks for the facts and data. You don't sound smart.

Cheap chinese tires suck. Sidewalls are too soft.

Tirerack has Yokohama S-Drive, Hankook V12 or Bridgestone RE760 for 200$ each...

Yep. Probably a smarter move to go with something like that.

How many miles did you get out of the G-Max? Those should last as long if not longer than any of the tires you listed.

Uh, not many. Maybe 12k? But I admittedly was driving like a tard for half of those, so my bad.

I've had good luck with my Nitto NT555s, but they are $191/ea for that size.

Well, that probably is the better option.

If you have 275/30/20's on your car and want to pay $100 a tire, stop driving. Ugh. Pony up the $200-250 a piece for a proper set or admit that you make very bad buying decisions when it comes to car parts [and sell the wheels].

What's worse, you're looking at doing a staggered, directional tire setup. Jimzz, I agree that the Generals he mentioned should hold up fairly well, as far as tread depth is concerned...but sitting in the same position, they will be obnoxiously loud and rough, if not entirely ruined, within 10-15k.

I would go with one of two options: either use an asymmetric (has an 'inside' and an 'outside,' but not directional) tire with your staggered setup, or put 245/35/20's all the way around (slightly taller than the 275/30 and nearly a perfect match to stock diameter).

I "want" the tires to be free, or $20. What I'll settle for is the best tire that I can get for the money. Again, these 20" tires are not really any more money than the 19's that I was looking at when I bought the wheels. And the Camaro wheels look great on the car. My Generals are directional, and while I didn't really care about that at the time of purchase, my driving habits probably will steer me away from purchasing directional tires again, so the asymmetric tires are a good idea.
Now if only I could find some good asymmetric tires for $100....hmm......

 

[michal1980]

Thanks for the facts and data. You don't sound smart.

says the guy presenting zero facts asking about how cheap he can go on tires.

generally you get what you pay for.

tirerack has hundreds of tires, many tested and reviewed. not going to do free work for you.

 

[NutBucket]

lets cheap out on the only part of the car that is actually in contact with the road... that sounds smart.

This. I refuse to put cheap tires on my cars. I would never buy Chinese tires, even for a Geo Metro.

 

[railer]

says the guy presenting zero facts asking about how cheap he can go on tires.

ROFL. Every fact that I'm interested in is right in the OP! The next time you're too stupid to provide a pertinent or factual response to a thread, take your IQ of 80 and move your ding-dong ass down the line. There is no need for you to chime in with your 2 cents on a topic that you know nothing about.

 

[Fenixgoon]

tires are your car's connection to the ground. they are literally what keeps your car in place. they are probably the last thing you want to cheap out on.

a decent set of kumho's or equivalent is like $600. just look them (and competing tires) up on tirerack.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Hankook, kumho, and sumitomo are about as far down the tire hierarchy that I would go for your car.

Generals, michelin, dunlop, pirelli are probably better choices.

Honestly you sound like someone who bought a performance vehicle but don't want to pay the premium for it. Speed costs money.

 

[Danimal1209]

Skip the Chinese tires. Reputable or known brands aren't that much more money and are easily worth the extra cash. I have Kumho asx's, their cheapest tire I believe, on my eclipse and have had no issues for 40k miles. They still have another 10k+ to go.

 

[Meghan54]

Here you go....cheap tires:

http://www.tires-easy.com/cgi-bin/r...eugart=PKW&search_tool=standard&sort_by=preis

 

[Ferzerp]

The answer is always pilot super sports and then a dedicated winter set as well if you don't have two vehicles.

 

[kevman]

lets cheap out on the only part of the car that is actually in contact with the road... that sounds smart.

Exactly.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

lets cheap out on the only part of the car that is actually in contact with the road... that sounds smart.

So much of this. OP you need to heed this advice rather than poke fun at everyone telling you not to cheap out on tires. You whine about not wanting to walk home, well, how about your car is in a ditch and wife is in an ambulance? Walking home would be a pretty good scenario.

I can't believe the OP would buy a g8 that gets 13mpg on a good day then talk about putting cheapo tires on it.

Sell the 400hp RWD car and buy yourself something you can afford to maintain properly.

The answer is always pilot super sports and then a dedicated winter set as well if you don't have two vehicles.

FWIW I have the pilot sports a/s 3's and love them. They're 95% of a super sport in the dry and much better in the cold/wet. Snow isn't an issue for me.

 

[kitatech]

Read on another forum...posted without comment:
An owner asks:
".....when cruising at around 40MPH and just holding that speed the car will start to vibrate intermittently. Not just the steering wheel or anything, it's felt throughout the car. I also notice that the RPMs fluctuate slightly, just a notch up and down as the vibrations come and go. Any advice or help is appreciated, I love this car and would like it to run well for years to come. Got rid of a jellopy and I don't want this one to have trouble."

and two days later after getting some reasonable advice, the owner posts this:

"The tires on this car are in pretty bad shape, I have been putting off getting new ones looking for a good deal. Once I get the new ones I'll get an alignment and balance too, the car pulls to the right as well."

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

The answer is always pilot super sports and then a dedicated winter set as well if you don't have two vehicles.

How do you know my setup?!?
245/45/17 Pilot SS + 215/55/17 Xi2

 

[railer]

So much of this. OP you need to heed this advice rather than poke fun at everyone telling you not to cheap out on tires. You whine about not wanting to walk home, well, how about your car is in a ditch and wife is in an ambulance? Walking home would be a pretty good scenario.

I can't believe the OP would buy a g8 that gets 13mpg on a good day then talk about putting cheapo tires on it.

Sell the 400hp RWD car and buy yourself something you can afford to maintain properly.

I did misjudge the number of stupid people that would chime in on this topic, so thanks for pointing that out. There were only a couple of you, but stupid goes a long way. Most everyone was helpful and I do appreciate their responses. I edited my OP down to hopefully discourage any more irrelevant responses. The next time I'm curious about tires I'll find a dedicated car forum. This is how a similar topic goes when grownups are involved. Notice how productive and mature this conversation is compared to ATG?
http://forums.nicoclub.com/are-winrun-tires-any-good-t549677.html

 

[phucheneh]

I did misjudge the number of stupid people that would chime in on this topic, so thanks for pointing that out. There were only a couple of you, but stupid goes a long way. Most everyone was helpful and I do appreciate their responses. I edited my OP down to hopefully discourage any more irrelevant responses. The next time I'm curious about tires I'll find a dedicated car forum. This is how a similar topic goes when grownups are involved. Notice how productive and mature this conversation is compared to ATG?
http://forums.nicoclub.com/are-winrun-tires-any-good-t549677.html

Um, that thread basically seems to offer the same responses: no, those tires are not a good decision.

A few seem to offer that they are 'good for the money,' but given their cost, that is essentially a vote for 'they didn't come apart while driving.'

You drive a car that was, what, 28-30k+ new? You put 20" wheels on it?

You're a joke if you put Nankang, Nexen, or the like on that car. Even worse if you go for the total unknowns below those brands.

Be offended all you want. Doesn't change how illogical you're being. I don't think you ever did reply to my questioning Re: 'why is it a problem to spend 2x the money on a much better tire that will last twice as long?'