Offbrand tires - worth it?

[big zeke]

My RAV will be needing tires soon, have seen some ads for brands I have never heard of before. Pricing seems good, in the range of 2/3 of name brand rubber (Michelin, BFG, Cooper) but will I be regretting the savings? Sizing is 225/65-17, currently it has Continentals on, seem to have lasted a long time (~75,000 km)

Seen some bad experiences with Chinese/offbrand tires on an RV, I'm sure they have improved but they were terrible.

[buckbrush]

Bought a set last year for one of my trucks that I don't use very often (5000km/year) The tires I got were 35's new for a set of four was $900.

Real aggressive mud tire. They worked good,still have tons of tread but after a year and 5000km are covered in small cracks and splits. They will need to be replaced soon.

That is the first and last set of cheap tires I will ever buy.

[tirebob]

It depends... There are a lot of variables that will determine whether or not they make a good choice for your specific needs and requirements, but in the simplest term speaking strictly to the quality of the tire, no... Cheap offshore chinese tires are not equal to premium tires. That said, based on the types of tires available for your type of vehicle, if your situations dictates keeping as many dollars in your pocket immediately, or if you are only going to have this vehicle for the short term, or it doesn't get used often and only for minor use, etc etc, they might be the right decision.

Now if you are thinking more long term, better ability and reliability, longer wear, greater range of temperature and use, etc, the extra costs of premium tires often end up getting spread out over a longer period of time resulting in the same or better for costs per km, all while providing a more satisfying driver experience.

Like I said... It depends.

If your budget dictates, you might keep and eye out for specials on premium tires. All the major manufacturers have some great top quality options and there is often at least one or two having a promo going on, so if you are not a specific brand guy who refuses to buy anything but "X" brand, there are usually some great deals to be had on something of the upper quality models.

[Big Grey Wolf]

KAL tire sold me cheap Chinese tires for my heavy haul water trailer. I went through 9 of the junk tires before I switched back to Goodyear, no problems now. Some of the KAL tires would not go 5000km before they would blow.

[RZR]

Usually the old addage “you get what you pay for”

[CaberTosser]

Tires are pretty much the last thing I would skimp on because bar none they’re the most important safety component on any vehicle. Nobody wants Sudanese-made brake pads, nobody should want bargain basement tires. It’s hard to realize savings when you’ve hit the ditch and damaged your suspension/ bodywork/ etc. The avoiding death part rates a high priority too, but other more common things like avoiding lost time from issues surrounding poor quality tires: separated belts, sidewall bulges leading to blowouts or simply inadequate traction (especially in winter). The costs of not only the lost time and having to hit a tire shop are one thing, but where on earth will you be when the things fail? Will it be just down the block from the tire shop or a few km down a goat path off of a gravel road out in the toolies?

[mindoutside]

Does anyone know about motomaster tires or the CT brand ones? I did bu some of those for an old honda civic I had as teenager but I got rid of the car after about 2 years. They seemed fine but I am looking for some light truck tires now as well.

[Grizzly Adams]

Don't know about Motomaster, but I have a few Princess Auto tires kicking around. Talk about Stink ?

Grizz

[CaberTosser]

Originally Posted by mindoutside

Does anyone know about motomaster tires or the CT brand ones? I did bu some of those for an old honda civic I had as teenager but I got rid of the car after about 2 years. They seemed fine but I am looking for some light truck tires now as well.

I was already guessing that CT used better known manufacturers to produce their store branded tires, your post made me actually look it up. I knew they had a Goodyear relationship because at least off road Goodyear branded tire is a CT exclusive, same with the Cooper AT/W’s which I have a set of.

Looks like Goodyear, Michelin, BFG and Cooper make tires for CT. On the truck tires I could probably guess which manufacturer made them based on tread pattern similarity to the name brand lines.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motomaster

[gloszz]

I have used Chinese and Taiwanese tires on my cars for a while. My friend who races in the Porsche GT3 cup ( Stefan Rzadzinski) has raced off brand tires. I have gone through a few sets of Chinese tires on my tracked BMW and Porsche and love them. I get them cheaper since my dad has a dealer account which always makes life easier. The brands I like are Delinte, General, Kumho and Uniroyal. Make sure to research the tires online as many countries use them as they may not be popular here.

[RBI]

Originally Posted by mindoutside

Does anyone know about motomaster tires or the CT brand ones? I did bu some of those for an old honda civic I had as teenager but I got rid of the car after about 2 years. They seemed fine but I am looking for some light truck tires now as well.

I've had probably 8-10 sets over the last 35 years , on everything from little cars , mini vans , pick-up trucks and an E-150 cargo van and never had a bad thing to say about any of them .

That being said , I don't think I ever but more than about 40K on any of them, before selling the vehicle they were on .

It's like TireBob says ...depends on what you expect out of them .

I've also had brand name tires like BF G's, Generals, Michelins, Goodyears, Toyo's and they were all good too

Except for a set of Goodyear Alures ( I'm sure that's the wrong name, but was something like that ) that came on a brand new "89" Sundance .

They were showing major ware at about 35K .

On the other hand , A set of Michelin Ice tires , that I put on a 96 Caravan ,( and again on another newer Caravan), I was very impressed with .

Again like TireBob says ...depends on the situation .

In this case, it was a vehicle that I expected to own for a while , and more importantly , It was the family vehicle...wife driving with our two young children.

So my experience with the CanTire tires has been good , for what I used/needed them for .

Given the same need for them( budget and not expecting to need them more than a couple years out of them) I would have no problem buying them again.

They may do well( or well enough ? ) for more KMs or years , I don't know , But , too once again , quote TB , the brand name tires are likely the best way to go , over the long term .

Hope this helps

[Selkirk]

.
I never skimp on tires ... NEVER !!!

Your life is riding on them!

Selkirk

[James Henry]

I have always been a BFG guy and then saw the Kijiji ad's for Chinese Tires. I did my research on them, they are sold all over Europe with Russia being one of their biggest consumers. China uses more oil in their tires than North American producers and are less prone to dry rot and cracking. I had Brand name tires on my motorhome that cracked long before they wore out.
The Chinese tires are actually rated high in Europe, so are you really skimping?
Do your research, people give Wranglers horrible ratings on this site. My truck Tires are over a year old and are great off road, in the rain and snow. I just put a set of Chinese tires on my car, and are quieter on the highway than the Firestone's the car came with. My warranty is 1 year or 50,000kms on them, and with the use of snow tires, they will last a long time.

Strange how North American tire dealers bad mouth them, and because they're made in 'merica, they gotta be good.

Just my 2C, do your research

[ETOWNCANUCK]

Offbrand condoms-worth it?

[James Henry]

With all the machines in bar and truckstop bathrooms, apparently someone thinks off brand are worthwhile

[Jucebox]

Depends on the situation. Ive been in a bunch of used cars and have consequently got to try a bunch of cheaper tires. Some I honestly dont mind at all, Hancook make a decent winter tire, Kuhmo I enjoyed as well. That said, when it comes to price, the end tag was never really that different. Unless you go quite cheap, then I wouldnt go there. Theyre your contact to the pavement, unwise to have them as the weakest link.

[sns2]

Phone Tirebob who chimed in on this thread. He is an AO sponsor and by EVERY account, a great guy. He will do right by you, and if you are not in Calgary will direct you to a place closer to you. His contact info is in his post.

[SlightlyDistracting]

Out of every part on a car, your 4 tires are the only parts that touch the ground. Perhaps the most important part on a car. I neverrrr cheap out on tires. I buy premium, and knock on wood, but spending a bit more on tires means I am never the guy on the side of the road.
Its astonishing working in Auto Body. I would say a majority of vehicles getting collision repairs all have garbage bald tires. Coincidence?
We sometimes wish we had the power to deem vehicles unsafe until tire issues are addressed.
As for the cheap Hong Yang crap, they are just that. Stay away from them
I run higher end Bridgestone on everything I own. I have absolutely zero complaints

[gloszz]

Originally Posted by SlightlyDistracting

Out of every part on a car, your 4 tires are the only parts that touch the ground. Perhaps the most important part on a car. I neverrrr cheap out on tires. I buy premium, and knock on wood, but spending a bit more on tires means I am never the guy on the side of the road.
Its astonishing working in Auto Body. I would say a majority of vehicles getting collision repairs all have garbage bald tires. Coincidence?
We sometimes wish we had the power to deem vehicles unsafe until tire issues are addressed.
As for the cheap Hong Yang crap, they are just that. Stay away from them
I run higher end Bridgestone on everything I own. I have absolutely zero complaints

Bridgestone made Run Flats for BMW and they were the worst possible tires those cars could have. Loud, heavy and just an overall bad tire. To be honest I have Michellin Sport Cups and after one season they cracked, and those are not cheap tires by any means. I do not mind getting tires that many people use for Euro and JDM cars that literally use them on the track and do not fail, and those are the Asian ones everyone loves to hate.

[tirebob]

Quite a few good points and quite a bit of misinformation happening in this thread...

All tires have their place just as even something absolutely premium could be the wrong product for what is required. Even major label brands have tires that are mediocre and some that are fabulous. Not every tire made in China is bad either, but again it always comes down to the application of the product.

Think of it like this... Chevy makes an Aveo as well as a 1500 pick up as well as a Corvette. They are all made by Chev but they sure as heck do not do the same job. All three will drive you to Toronto and back just fine, but if you need to pull a 28 foot travel trailer, two of them are useless. If you want to autocross on the weekend, two are still useless, but it is a different two. If you are a student on a budget and fuel economy is a priority, two are useless again but again a different two. Just because they are all Chevs does not mean they are equal.

By the same token, if you work in the middle of the patch and you have a choice between two vehicles and you can only have one, but your choice is a Ford F150 or a Porsche 911 Turbo, we all know which one is higher end, but the higher end one is absolutely useless for your job so the lesser brand makes more sense.

Too many people are hung up on "good" or "bad" instead of being concerned with what is actually important, and what is imporatant is "appropriate". Just because one guy didn't like something does not mean it isn't still what is appropriate for you.

Someone mentioned Michelin Cups as an example. They are considered extremely high end and he experienced cracking in a year. Well the are extremely high end, but by nature they are an extremely sensitive specialty compound with a very small range of use so cracking is not uncommon, but if you learn the tire inside and out and use it appropriately within it's small range of design it will work amazingly, but for most people it will end up being disappointing.

I mean no knock on anyone when I say this, but there are far to many variables and constantly changing technology in the tire world for any one individual who uses tires in day to day life to really be able to assess the needs of his neighbor and current products. Absolutely you can speak of your personal experiences with a specific product you have used, but without seeing the experiences of hundreds and thousands of individuals on a regular basis and compiling that info to make well rounded observations and recommendations, you should try to be a little less authoritative about statement of fact vs interjecting opinions based on your specific experiences in their limited range of use.

[liar]

Originally Posted by ETOWNCANUCK

Offbrand condoms-worth it?

if your only going to use them a little bit .....

but seriously , i put the cheapest tires i could find on a truck i hardly use . traction wasnt great , hit the ditch one day . did $1200 damage to the truck . i had saved a few hundred bucks on the tires.

so , are off brand tires worth it ? NO