Tyre Guru Question???
 

I need a couple of front tyres for my Sportage and asked my local tyre company for a recommend. I had Hankook tyres (original fitment) on the back so asked if they were better than the Chinese tyres. He said that Hankooks are now also made in China, so I did a Google when I got back and found this:-
"What tires are made in China?

Several top global brands such as Michelin (two production plants), Bridgestone (six plants), Goodyear (two plants), Continental (two plants), Pirelli (two plants), Yokohama (three plants), Hankook (four plants), and Kumho (three plants) are present in China through their manufacturing units."

I had a front blowout once, on an almost new tyre, fitted to a transit van ( Scared the doo out of me at the time!). It was a Chinese manufacturer and I swore that I would not fit Chinese to my vehicles. Any suggestions for a "reliable" tyre company, or am I just being too cynical about Chinese tyres and have they improved?:shrug:
Mike

I have a set of Uniroyal Rainsport 5's on my ZT, I have nothing but praise for them, I think they are made in Belgium but the parent company is now Continental so maybe they are made elsewhere.

Great tyres in the wet and not too noisy, my ZT isn't exactly brimming with sound insulation, so I don't even notice them.

I wanted tyres that weren't going to easily slide in the wet and these fit the bill perfectly.


Brought mine from Camskill Tyres online

The main differentiator is whether the manufacturer is Chinese or a longstanding brand with the technology to produce good tyres. Where the tyre is physically produced is less relevant - it is the technology and the associated IPR that matter as well as the manufacturer's business ethics.

There's nothing inherently "wrong" with Chinese (or indeed any country's) stuff. The Chinese are possibly the best copy cats in the World.

It's the perspective that is interesting. Certain countries have a reputation for quality and other have a reputation for junk.

The issue is the QA from the parent/ordering company. I was recently reading a thread about battery chargers. It seems that CTEK - who have a rep for quality stuff - are made in China. But CTEK Sweden keep a very tight reign on the quality checks that are made.

How many folks would laugh their socks off at buying a Rover yet we know that properly cared for they can be extremely reliable and cover moon mileages. Conversely, there's tat items for them out there that barely last as long as it takes to fit them.

Would I rather buy a car manufactured in Japan or Italy? Having owned both I can say with absolute certainty that it wouldn't be Italy if I wanted it to be reliable but would be Italy if I wanted it to be "stylish."

Back to the tyre question I don't think there are any car tyre manufacturing plants in the UK any more. Happy to be wrong ;).

:wot:
I agree with Andy here.
This sort of thing is nothing new. "Made in Hong Kong" was associated with Christmas cracker gifts, then there was scepticism about anything from Japan or Taiwan. It's funny how Japanese cars and home audio/video equipment are now generally regarded as the most reliable money can buy.

So to answer the OP's question, don't be deterred just because the tyres you like are made in China. :D

Simon

New tyres should be fitted to the rear so swop the wheels about.
All I can reference is motorcycle tyres, Yokohama were to be avoided.
Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Continental, Pirelli all good makes, no issues with any of them.
As said the manufacture is important, perhaps more so then location

macafee2

Have to agree with that, think they were teflon coated, made wet weather riding "interesting"!

Avons are still made in the UK as far as I'm aware. Always fitted them to my more sporting Longbridge drives as well as the Mundaneo before she expired. Never had an issue with them. Just waiting for the opportune moment to fit a set to the Zed as the current Landsails have plenty of tread left.

A number of tyre manufacturers produce tyres in the UK:

Michelin have major factories in Dundee and Ballymena
Pirelli produce tyres at their head office in Burton upon Trent
Bridgestone produce tyres in Carlisle
Avon, manufacture in Melksham
Goodyear / Dunlop produce certain specialist tyres in Castle Bromwich

Courtesy of google.

I don't normally join in posts like this, but I have used all sorts of tyres over the years (I'm quite old)
I've bought tyres that cost the earth (Sierra Cosworth) and tyres that didn't (Morris Minor)
I've now had my 75 - 52 Tourer Diesel 160 - for 7 years. I have changed the tyres twice in that period.
My requirements are noise volume and grip in the wet.
When I researched this (extensively) I discovered that certain budget tyres beat branded tyres by a mile. The last time I took my car in for a tyre change it was driven by unusual wear. Nothing that would fail an MOT, but tracking was way out.
I last changed my tyres abot 7k ago and they are still almost perfect.
No matter how hard I drive my car I have full confidence in tyre grip. I don't know by how much a 190 out performs a Diesel 160 but, I would guess not enough to worry about tyres.
I genuinely cannot see the need to shod a car with tyres that almost meet the value of the car, when the car does not perform at that level.
I have bought my tyres via Asda tyres and thoroughly recommend.
Apologies for droning on
Geoff