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

...and the winning brand was???

The big names have factories all over the world. If you chose a brand that manufactures in the UK, then you won't necessarily get a UK made tyre because not all sizes are made at all factories. The last Goodyears I bought were made in China, as are the Kumhos I have just bought.
I spent two weeks in China in 2006 visiting potential engineering suppliers. I visited factories that had been set up as low cost outposts by western companies, factories that were existing manufacturers purchased by western companies to become low cost outposts, and Chinese owned/branded factories. The differences between the first two types and the third were huge. So as much as I would like my tyres to be made in England, I stick to the decent brands and I'm not concerned if they are made in China.

Your information Atlan is from retailer Micheldever Tyres and is pitifully out of date.

Michelin closed its Dundee factory in 2020 and Ballymena two years before that.
Pirelli still has factories at Burton upon Trent and Carlisle amid rumours last year of closure. The company is owned by China National Chemical (ChemChina).
Bridgestone has no production in the UK.
Avon announced in 2018 that Melksham would manufacture only motorcycle and racing tyres.
Goodyear's Wolverhampton factory closed in 2015 and Fort Dunlop in Castle Bromwich in 2014. The site has been a retail, leisure and business centre for many years.

Simon

So what brand do you have?

At the moment I have national tyres budget brand auto green super sport chaser at each corner about £50 a go made in China (black round got groves in)no problems at all do every thing it says on the tin :}

Strange, my tyres never come in a tin. What does the tin say in your case? :}

If you are not sure just stick to the tyres that had fitted to the car when new. The manufacturers have a little more experience than most on which tyres to fit.:}
You can ask 10 different people and they can give you 10 different replies when it comes to tyres.

I'm close to replacing my tyres and currently on my second set of Goodyear Efficientgrip on 17" Meteors which are reasonably quiet and I get 20K which I think is ok.
I have just fitted a set of Marshal MU12's on my wife's Rover 25 which is the runabout and barely does 1k annually but I must say how impressed I am with them, very smooth and quiet compared with the mix of budget and original Dunlops before. I have not tested them in the wet and road holding isn't a priority.
Made in Birmingham apparently and owned by Kuhmo Tyres, so for sake of saving £13 a corner do I make a change???
I'd be interested to know what mileage others get from their tyres.

Thanks for this Tony. I looked up the Marshal brand which is owned by Korean firm Kumho. They do indeed "develop and manufacture" for the European market in Birmingham. :eek: Amazing!

Simon

I have Avon tires all round on mine, ALL need to be changed because they are cracked all over the place. There is plenty of tread on them, in fact the front pair are about 2 years old and have done about 12k miles.

All full of cracks! Never again will I buy Avon

I’ll 2nd that Mike. I’ve the same issue with Avon ZV7 I think. About 4 yr old, 6k but cracked all round.


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Well I like my Avons,,but I best go and check them...

[QUOTE=SD1too;2927446]Your information Atlan is from retailer Micheldever Tyres[QUOTE]
Not quite correct sd1too here actually
https://www.protyre.co.uk/tyre-brands

Atlan.

Hello Atlan,

If you scroll to the bottom of that page you will see this:
"Micheldever Tyre Services Ltd T/A Protyre"

T/A means "trading as" so my post is correct.

Simon

Sorted that for you no need to thank me. They may be part of the same group but it wasn't the site I got it from.

The myth that manufacturers select the best possible parts for the vehicles they build once again rears it's head. Most major Manufacturers don't select the best possible parts for the vehicles they build (even at the top of the range models). They select the cheapest parts they can get that will (when all together) allow the car to pass type approval and get satisfactory reviews. Sometimes that might mean putting a prestigious manufacturers tyres on the vehicle - but they'll be almost certainly produced down to a cost as OEM fitments. Tyres are especially one area where they'll squeeze the cost down as much as possible - after all they're only on until the first replacement. There's a joke that especially with american cars (and bikes) that the suspension, wheels, tyres, and in some cases even brakes are only fitted at the factory so the car or bike can be rolled out of the showroom when sold.