Not aware of any "mainstream branded products" being made in China that are specifically destined for the EU market......I may be wrong but we check all countries of origin for all tyres we purchase from various suppliers and would reject any Chinese manufactured "branded" tyres.....they certainly dont come direct from UK arms of the tyre manufacturers, more likely the "grey market" that "hi-jacks" tyres destined for countries outside of the EU, S.Africa being a classic example, whereby the compounds are not suitable for EU climates...when they do appear they are significantly cheaper...and without warranty from the manufacturer !!
Autocar tyre test & tyres from China & Taiwan
Not aware of any "mainstream branded products" being made in China that are specifically destined for the EU market......I may be wrong but we check all countries of origin for all tyres we purchase from various suppliers and would reject any Chinese manufactured "branded" tyres.....they certainly dont come direct from UK arms of the tyre manufacturers, more likely the "grey market" that "hi-jacks" tyres destined for countries outside of the EU, S.Africa being a classic example, whereby the compounds are not suitable for EU climates...when they do appear they are significantly cheaper...and without warranty from the manufacturer !!
Fact remains pretty much consistantly true that the best tyres are amongst the most expensive, and the cheapest tyres are normally amongst the worst out there.
Of coures there are exceptions to the rule, but it's not a bad rule of thumb
Cheap tyres are normally made to a budget price, hence it's just not likely that they'll be made to the highest standards or from the best materials.
You pays your money and takes your choice.
Personally, I like Mercedes-Benz cars and premium brand, tried and tested tyres that I can trust
Will
Actually there is almost no truth in that statement.
My W124 came from the factory on 15" rubber, wouldn't take much if any bodywork to run it on 17" of the same profile (to exclude profile differences from the argument.
3.14 x 15 = 47.1
3.14 x 17 = 53.38
53.38 / 47.1 = 1.13r
so right away we can say as a rule of thumb there are 15% more tread inches in a 17" tyre than a 15"
Then we get economies of scale and volume production, make 50,000 of these and make 5,000,000 of these.
Then we get shipping and handling, 17" tyres are bigger and heavier than 15", so less in a container
Then we get non linear effects like you don't often get old mini sized boots on a vehicle expected to exceed 130 mph, and you don't often get 17" boots on a vehicle not capable of comfortably exceeding 150 mph
Then there is vehicle / axle / tyre load, bigger diameter tyres tend to be on bigger heavier cars....
All these factors and others besides contribute.
Lifelong bikers (waves) have on average forgotten more about rubber than most car drivers will ever know.
Maximum possible adhesion in the dry != best tyre BTW....
Ask a hayabusa riders running B45s what his BHP/sq" for rear tyre contact area is, and the difference in cost between a 130 mph rated tyre and an identical tyre rated for 200 mph
then of course there is rolling resistance / mpg, but that is another story.
======================
Unless you are biker clued about tyres, eg you have your own home compressor and airline, and you habitually check all tyres at the beginning and end of every journey, and at every stop, you may as well just go down to the tyre place and ask them to fit something "half decent" and get no more technical than that.
I put this comment in because every old biker can tell stories about the wrong type of brand new rubber on a powerful / heavy bike = a brand new 100 quid tyre worn out in 100 (yup, not a typo) miles...
Sp!ke
Administrator
I used to get about 1500 miles on the rear of my Bu... never heard of anyone getting much less than 800 including Frank the flying Dutchman (the fastest biker this side of the bonneville saltflats @ 265.4mph on a streetbike) and I've seen him light up his rear tyre changing up a gear at 240 mph. 
.... and Busa's run Bt56's (now BT15's), not 45's, both are flawed tyres anyway. Avon Azaro 1 ST (yep, sports tourer tyre) was the most favoured rear tyre on a Busa not the stickiest but the most predictive. You cant buy a cheap 190 profile tyre anyway so not entirely sure of the point you're trying to make GF.
..and as for the "Maximum possible adhesion in the dry != best tyre" comment, thats utter tosh - its only a best tyre the in the dry however you look at it. Hell we should all be using slicks with your crazy theory.
I'm running intermediate wets on my current bike and in winter these are the best tyres for tyre job (in the wet). Get ripped to shreds and slide all over the place in the dry though.
Hell what do you know about a bikes handling anyway, you're riding a 28 year old Jap custom with a chassis made of cheese and shod with skinny crossply tyres arent you?.
and fwiw, bog standard 1.3L Corsas often come standard with 17's now, so all things considered your talking flurble.
.... and Busa's run Bt56's (now BT15's), not 45's, both are flawed tyres anyway. Avon Azaro 1 ST (yep, sports tourer tyre) was the most favoured rear tyre on a Busa not the stickiest but the most predictive. You cant buy a cheap 190 profile tyre anyway so not entirely sure of the point you're trying to make GF.
..and as for the "Maximum possible adhesion in the dry != best tyre" comment, thats utter tosh - its only a best tyre the in the dry however you look at it. Hell we should all be using slicks with your crazy theory.
I'm running intermediate wets on my current bike and in winter these are the best tyres for tyre job (in the wet). Get ripped to shreds and slide all over the place in the dry though.
Hell what do you know about a bikes handling anyway, you're riding a 28 year old Jap custom with a chassis made of cheese and shod with skinny crossply tyres arent you?.
and fwiw, bog standard 1.3L Corsas often come standard with 17's now, so all things considered your talking flurble.
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rf065
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E-Tyres web site said much the same thing, only tyres sold are for EU market, no grey imports or other dubious tyres sold by them. I bought Goodyear F1 GSD3's from them, made in China with full warranty as they are backed by a reputable company.
Russ
Ermm, apples with apples and all that.
Aren't you drifting ever-so-slightly off topic there
If we're comparing car tyre qualities, then it would be prudent to use like for like sizes and applications, would it not?
If I'm buying 15" tyres for my car, I don't really care about motorbike tyres or 17" ones do I?
Cheap far-eastern tyres are generally inferior to the premium European brands, which are usually more expensive.
I think my rule of thumb is fair?
If you were offered Michelin for the same price as Ling-Longs or Wanli, what would you choose?
Will
WILDROVER
New Member
Have bought a couple of fast cars in the past with cheap tyres on them - Nissan Skyline R33 and a BMW 325i Sport.
Spent a week or so going unintentionally sideways in each case then changed the tyres for Goodyear Eagles.
These transformed the handling and overall safety of each car in both wet and dry conditions.
The Eagles (in their various forms) are probably the best tyres I have fitted to any car. Put them on a few others as well.
Spent a week or so going unintentionally sideways in each case then changed the tyres for Goodyear Eagles.
These transformed the handling and overall safety of each car in both wet and dry conditions.
The Eagles (in their various forms) are probably the best tyres I have fitted to any car. Put them on a few others as well.
!=
means not equal / doesn't equal
All pisstaking aside, I've had more than one "superbike" rides take mine out for a spin and come back with a huge grin and say "now I get it"...
Low weight, very low centre of gravity, 1000cc of torque = lots of fun.
"like being slung down the road on a tea tray" is a common sentiment.
www.tr1.de for more
one of sepp's
Russ.not sure who you mean by the reputable company...if you mean E-tyres, the warranty is not really their responsibility, they refer the tyre back to the manufacturer, as do all distributors and high street reatilers, and the manufacturers decide if a claim under warranty is justified, E-Tyres are just the distributor and act as the "middle-man" in warranty claims....same as buying a Sony TV from the High Street and having a fault,...they "send it to the manufacturer ON YOUR BEHALF"
This is were the issue with warranty for Chinese produced tyres can be problematic...the important point is, if Goodyear did not intend them for sale in the UK then they do not warrant them...and the claim is rejected...."E-marked" or not. I know it is difficult for the consumer to determine where the manufacturer wants his tyres to be sold, and some may say, it is their fault at the end of the day for not controlling the movement of their products, but any recourse would then have to be back the "point of sale" company...
Goodyear recently took several wholesalers to court for selling Dunlop SP200 tyres (readily available in the UK for umpteen years) in the UK, that were manufactured for the Australian market...they won the case and the tyres that the wholesalers still had in stock were ordered to be destroyed...make what you wish of that..
Batches of GSD3 Goodyear Eagles which came from an official Goodyear source in China were noticeably worse than the batches made in europe.
Many people on various different forums felt the difference and due to the batch numbers being on the tyre lots of people refused the chinese made ones.
Dave!
Many people on various different forums felt the difference and due to the batch numbers being on the tyre lots of people refused the chinese made ones.
Dave!
rf065
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As I understand it, if you buy a tyre from E-Tyres or a TV from a high street shop, your contract is with them & they are responsible for replacing or repairing the item within the warranty period. They can send the item back to the manufacturer, on their behalf, not yours, as you have no contract with the manufacturer, only the dealer.
As I said, E-Tyres publicise that all their tyres are E marked & are for the UK market. I have the Goodyears made in china on at the moment & they are better than than the previous Conti's & Bridgestones which were fitted.
(From E-Tyres Site "“e-marked” tyres tyres are the only tyres that are legal to use in the UK.")
Russ
I bought a pair of goodyear nct5 a couple of years ago and noticed they were made in China. I got in contact with Goodyear and they confirmed that they did make tyres there and that they are made to the same std as in Europe. Never seen another pair of branded tyres made in China though.
Personally I would not take a chance on anything less than a well known European brand - the total saving for 4 tyres is about £200 at the max (unless you have some monster tyres) and this in the overall scheme of things is like a little tiny pimple on your er um you know where I mean.
As someone said on here you gets what you pays for (mostly).
duncanh
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Goodyear NCT5 - made in China
I bought a set of Goodyear NCT5 tyres from Micheldever Tyres in Dec 2006.
They were made in China. I checked that they were E marked, which they were. They seemed no different from any other tyres, did the usual 20K miles before wearing out.
I have had three more sets of tyres since then, Goodyear and Pirelli, made in an assortment of places, put not China.
I bought a set of Goodyear NCT5 tyres from Micheldever Tyres in Dec 2006.
They were made in China. I checked that they were E marked, which they were. They seemed no different from any other tyres, did the usual 20K miles before wearing out.
I have had three more sets of tyres since then, Goodyear and Pirelli, made in an assortment of places, put not China.
