My uncle is in a tyre recycling company. His catch phrase would always be nobody knows tyre quality better than him, just because he sees where they have failed. His favorite brand is Michelin, just because of consistency,his least favorite is Continental, due to strange fails that occur most often with them. Pirelli he says, has tops and flops. He also says there are bad tyres amongst almost all brands, cheap and expensive. His take on Chinese tyres is if they can be sold in the US or EU they have to meet very strict safety, environmental and performance tests before they are even allowed to end up on the shelves. I can see comments here claiming double or triple brake distances with Chinese tyres, well, look up ANY real reputable tests and you may see a few percent deviation, but that'll be it, higher deviations would lead to fails in US and EU safety tests already.

I learned this lesson about 10 yrs ago. I replaced a set of TOYO (Japan) tires with the "same" tire, as I'd been happy with the product. I didn't ask my local tire man about MFR location, assuming it was still Japan. Some weeks/months later, I discovered they were actually produced in China (right there on the sidewall, but I had not looked). No horror stories, but it did seem these needed replacement earlier than the previous set. I avoid Chinese products whenever possible for multiple reasons.

I bought Russian tires for my Yukon. Best tires I ever had. Ice, snow and rain, they were great.

I bought a set of Michelin a few years back. Two of them wore out quickly and the threads were showing on the sidewalls. The other two had plenty of tread left and the sidewalls were fine. Before this the only tires I saw sidewalls like that were over 20 years old being used as planters. I was curious and looked them over close. The two good ones said made in Israel and the two junk were made in Korea. all the same size ,model and sold as set. Now I always ask where they were made and look closely before leaving the dealer.

I’ve had Michelin tires blow out and also leak from the tread seams when it was brand new. They are much better in terms of handling, comfort, ride, noise, etc in comparison to other brands. The Michelin’s I’ve owned were made in America. Any tire brand regardless of quality can all have its problems

About to buy my 2nd set of Chinese tires. Sentury Touring. Lasts about 40k. Its been great. No issues any weather or light snow.

You are 100% right. I used to buy only big brands' tires such as Michelin Defender until 5 yrs ago. 3 of 4 Michelin on my car (installed at Sam's) exploded from the sidewalls. It forced me to get new tires (from smaller companies) on my trips. I am very satisfied with these non-top brands' tires after 3 - 5 yrs' use.

Great video and very well explained. I had 2 sets of Diamond Back tires ($59 per tyre) on my 1990 Holden Nova and both sets did fine and had no issues but, they did wear quickly but as i said no problems did the job fine. I now have Bridgestone Ecopia ($70 each) and they are much quieter longer lasting and have a better feel on the road and they are made in Vietnam. I like the old syle Bridestone Supercat tyres they were very good made in Australia. New model Supercats are now made in Indonesia. Step daughter had a Goodride 18 inch Chinese tyre fitted to her VE Calais as she was selling the car and it did the job fine for 6 months before the car sold. So i'm in agreement with Jack on this video that a cheap or a Chinese tyre is not necessarily a bad thing. A lot of people get sucked into marketing hype and pay big money for big brand race track capable tyres just to do 50 to 80 km an hour to work and back on public roads. Especially now days in 2023 you can buy what you think is a good brand name tyre, but when you check on the side wall where it is made you might be shocked. Remember when Mercedes was made to the finest engineering standards in the world in Germany? What about Mercedes made in SsangYong Korea but still wears the Mercedes badge. Same with tyres. Anyway great video and great advice thanks for posting cheers

Purchased a set of Coopers that were made in China, was their top line high performance tire at the time. They have been excellent!

I have Kenda tires on my ram, 1500 pick up truck, and on my wife’s Honda CRV. The main difference you notice right away is, they ride so soft. They are H speed rated all season. I also had a set of Kenda tires on my last pick up truck, a GMC canyon, 4 x 4. That transformed the ride in the truck from truck like, to Cadillacs like. The tires made by Kenda for cars and trucks are made in Indonesia. Indonesia has just been recognized as making electric guitars of quality equal to those made in the United States or better. I also have Kenda tire’s on my yamaha royal star venture, 850 pounds. These tires have A high heavy weight motorcycle load rating. They spin true in my truing stand balance stand, they did not take much weight to get them, balanced, and the tread and the carcass spin. True, I can let go of the handlebars and there’s no wiggle or osolation in the handlebars, which I have had with other tires from avon & metzler.. The Metzler’s do not last nearly as long as these Kenda tire’s appear to be lasting so far. And at almost half the price of Michelin’s/Dunlops/Metzler‘s.. I don’t need tires with a V, Z, U or W speed rating, because I rarely go over 75 miles an hour ever. H rating is high enough.(115 mph) The two things I like the most about Kenda tire is the low price, and the ride improvement.. The tires I bought for my wife’s SUV were rated for SUV and light truck duty. The trucks I put on my ram 1500 pick up, we’re rated for truck duty. All of these tires run quiet on the highway also I recently found out that Kenda has A design facility in Ohio, USA

I use Westlake tires they’re good for the price and haven’t blown on me

I needed a tire on a weekend and the only one they had on hand was a Chinese tire called "IRON MAN" the tread was awesome so I had them order 3 more for me. It turned out that they performed better then the expensive name brand tires I replaced and was getting flats with and really wasn't that happy with. I put on a lot of miles in my work and so far am on my 3rd set of 'IRON MAN" SUV tires and about to get my 4th set. Last time I got them I told them that is what I wanted and to get them for me. The ware and traction of these tires has been great, one set got traded in but the ones I have had through their service life have been great. Besides being a lot less money I have been so happy with the service I have been getting out of these and will never buy a name brand tire again. I guess I was just lucky to end up with that tire by chance and then gave them a try

One point you didn't touch upon is it does matter where tires are made to some (many?) people as I will always support domestically made/grown products because of jobs. If a country is unwilling to buy its own products how will the economy support its people? I think decades of declining industries in the USA have lead to many hardships.

When I take my sports car to the track, I'm glad I have Michelin tires made in France on it. I have never seen a good review about a Chinese tire in the max high performance category. Maybe they're OK for daily driving, but I don't know. Consumer Reports don"t rate them high on their list.

There are many brands, they must all be certified and meet your countries specifications. Buy from someone recommended that you trust and ensure they advise which brands are good. If they have been selling them for years and stand by them then I think they are ok. I took a punt as the price was under 50% they are made in China, they are quiet (more than the original high end tires). They feel and are wearing well after 6 months.... I know others who have purchased tires made in China which are Chinese brands and they are happy also. Again use a reputable tire shop is key.

Why would I buy overpriced american-made tires from a disgusting local shop owner when I can get them for 50% cheaper and they last longer? Some of the worst tires I have ever used were American made.

I used Chinese Firestone tyres on Toyota truck for more than 2 years which were less than half of the Dunlop tyres. Replaced Dunlop with Firestone and they worked flawlessly in the scorching hear of the Arabian Gulf.

I have a 31 yr old diesel 4wd and cannot afford high-end main-brand all-terrain tyres in the 285/75r16 size I use costing around $500 each here in Australia for BFG, Bridgestone, etc., so I've opted for iLink 'Terramax' AT tyres to replace an old set of Cooper's. Cost per tyre is about $250. They are good quality and I do very little off-road driving. I don't expect to get the same km's from them (the coopers got me almost 100 k km's) for the price-point.

I'll settle on a private label tire from Big-O... if u research the DOT manufacture code there's a good chance it was made by Goodyear, Firestone, Michelin etc.

Your advice is right on. I had bad experience with a number of lower cost Chinese made products. The Chinese can make excellent quality, but the price will be expensive. Personally, I only buy well known US, or Canadian, or European brand products. There are also some good quality tires coming from South Korea.

Very valuable information, appreciate that

Just purchased a set of Royal Black Royal Winters ..They have decent reviews online so I am giving them a go .... First time trying tires from Gina !! 😀

I have a habit of poking my thumb nail into tyres to see how hard the rubber is (I'm a speedway racer from way back). The harder the rubber the less grip, but the softer the rubber the faster it will wear out. Most Chinese tyres are as hard as plastic, and when I used to fit tyres I found the the cheap brands used to take a large amount of lead weight to balance them and also the cheaper tyres seem to lose a lot of air between pressure checks. The Bridgestone Potenza's on my WRX are mildly expencive but man do I love them (and my life) and the pressures are never down when i check them. Not long after I got the car a couple of years ago anonther car locked up and went sideways in front of me, I WAS going to hit him, jumped on the brakes and pushed pretty hard, ABS didn't kick in so I pushed harder and harder, still no ABS, the tyres gripped so well that I stopped before hitting him. So just that one case I saved paying $500 insurance excess. And yes I was following too close. The old story, you get what you pay for.

Great video...ill just add that the Chinese have a wall that's been around for thousands of years and can be seen from the international space station with the naked eye .... LoL 1 last point...1 KZfaqr pointed out that all tire manufacturers have to meet safety standards set by US regulators to sell their tires in the USA...cheers!!

I am now on Arroyo Grand Sport A/S on my BMW 330i. They are private brand tires through American Tire Depot or parent company and Z rated. They are made in Taiwan. I am skeptical as they are new to me. Reviews show pretty good, but the real world review was the store manager and few of his coworkers/ friends have them and use them for canyon runs on Lexus, Acura, and Mercedes. The reason I went with a cheaper (not necessarily lesser quality) tire was I hate the noise and rigidity of the Bridgestone run flats that came stock. I'm not running RFs any longer as they are not worth the extra $400 per set cost IMHO. The money saved will be used to purchase a spare tire kit from Modern Spare, which pays for itself in one set of tires. I already have roadside services. I should have these Arroyos for a couple years...then, unless they are actually garbage, buy another or swap back to bigger name brands like Continental, Bridgestone, Michelin, Pirelli, or BF Goodrich but still not RUN FLATS. I'm still learning trust on this new set to see how well they grip around corners. They are very quiet compared to stock though....love that already.

Thanks for a very informative video. I did find that the second camera angle was quite annoying though!

I have Sailun TerraMax AT tires on my Ram 1500 4x4 and it handles well on packed and loose snow and on ice.

I'll stick with my Goodyears, manufactured in Oklahoma. 40-50K still fantastic as always.

After 30 years in the car business, I find Michelin's are the best wet and dry tyre. I can feel the difference between a cheap tyre and a decent brand on a good car. Also, you might not think you need a high performance tyre until that unexpected road situation where it could make all the difference. If you're going budget I'd try Toyo's or Falkens. Probably won't last as long but obviously cost less. Frequently see part worn cheap tyres going out of shape making a wheel bearing like drone. Unfortunately, I have to buy tyres 3-4 month with my work.

It matters a lot to our economy.

A big thing I've noticed with Chinese tyres is after the tread is half worn, performance deteriorates significantly. You can argue that it's a given with any tyre, but the key difference in my experience is cheap tyres dont maintain near as much 'bite' in comparison to a more prestigious brand. When you can get a 90kw 4 cylinder BMW out sideways on tyres with 5+ mm of tread, you KNOW your tyres aren't all that great...! 😬

Having worked in China, I can attest to the fact that Quality Assurance and Quality Control cannot be trusted, with material substitution and other falsification’s prevalent in many industries. You get what you pay for.

I used to be a firm believer in Dunlop and Hankook, but I recently decided to give "value priced" tires a try because I'm working on an older vehicle that's got dry rotted rubber and I genuinely don't need the guarantee that comes along with name brand tires. I ordered a pair of "Premiorri Solazo" 205/55R16's and a pair of "Accelera Phi-R" in 225/50ZR16. The overall quality is on point, I don't see any visual flaws and material quality is solid. I used to buy a lot of 'B-temp' rated tires years ago cuz they'd shred with an awesome smoke show but I don't think these Chinese tires are going to fall apart the same way even if I wanted them to haha

I will never trust tires made in China. Thanks for the info. Now I will have to make sure the tires are not made in China, no matter what brand they are.

Most RV'S specifically trailers are built with Chinese tires. They are known in the industry as" May Pop's or China Bombs". When they fail they don't simply lose air they explode. The thin side walls balloon out and shatter sending large slapping chunks of rubber damaging the trailer. They are either not speed rates or rated for speed less than posted American highways.

i have hi fly light truck tyres they are very slippery in the wet. One of the local tyre shops has stopped selling them because of so many complaints

If you value your life and your family pop for the decent tires.

The only good thing about chynese tyres is it makes the major brands price lower. If they had no cheap competition ,tyres would be a lot more expensive.

I have Roadx and Auto Grip Chinese tyres on my two cars, they were dirt cheap but I have no complaints at all, they are fine.

One thing I found is their warranties aren’t worth the paper they are written on unless you drive much more than average. All these large milage warranties only apply for the first year or so.

I have Autogreen tyres and I am very happy with them they are made in china and get decent reviews greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

Great video and totally agree.

For a cheap car running to the shops, any tire will do, but for maximum performance, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S is the gold standard. They are expensive but worth every penny, if you want the best. I have used cheap Chinese winter tires tires on different cars with no problem, but you can't corner fast with them.

I’ve tried few of cheap affordable tires from China. Grips were pretty good. Wears out pretty quickly tho. Also tried few from Korea brands. Grips similar with Chinese brand. Durability way surpasses Chinese brands. Ran over 100,000km with one of Korean brand tires and still looks new treads on it

I have just bought my second set of chinese tyres. With the first set, I never had any safety problems, it handled the corners really good, and on rainy days, the grip was the same as on the dry. It is true that they wear out quickly, but you can just buy another set of the tyres which will still be more affordable than buying one set of big brand tires.

very good point.

RVers are well aware of the term CHINABOMB. If you’re not a believer go ahead and trust your 100k rig to a set of 39.00 tires.

I drive sailun atrezzo elite 205/60 r15 when they are at their low temperature and when they are not heated(not to their working temperature) they are not that good but when they get to their temperature they are unbelievable good for driving, I have driven another tires so much more expensive and i never got that result... and another interesting fact , my tires are better on wet compared to dry in my opinion hahah.

There is a big difference between tires made in china by Chinese companies and sold by Chinese companies and tires made in china by Chinese companies for major non Chinese brands. At least you are getting a tire sold by a major brand that has quality controls and inspections to insure a good product. A Chinese manufacturer/seller can sell you low quality products that you have no recourse when they prematurely fail

Years ago I had some cheap chinese tires that were on the car when I bought it new. The rims were very expensive (approx. 4000 euro) and the tires were the cheapest in Germany for the dimensions (160-200 euro for the full set). I never understood what the former owner took to get this crappy combination, but they were horrible in the wet. Roundabouts needed to be taken very slowly in the rain and it was just a crappy experience. Thats not to say there are no good chinese tires out there. I believe china nowadays can produce all the quality you want. But it doesn't need to be that way. For me, I rather spend 200 euros more for a set of known high quality tires since labour costs for mounting in Germany is around 150 euros. So, its not 200 to 400 comparison but rather 350 to 550 all in. And if they last 50% longer (which is definately possible) then they dont cost anything more for a consistent and good performance.

Thank you!

Thailand is the worlds second largest producer of rubber and all the major tire makers have headquarters and factories in Thailand. I bought Americus truck tires for my ford 250, they are great!

"Tyre Reviews" and "Consumer Reports" are the only tire reviews I trust in my 70 years of daily driving and tracking. Michelin, Continental, and Yokohama max performance tires have never failed me.

Is there a market for very high end, high priced product vs low end, low priced at local Walmart?

Com'on Jack ... if I see "Made in China" in tires, then I have to "further" research into that tire. If I see something else, I don't have to. It does matter a lot

I have a set of Michelin tires on my older F250, i love them they are like new but about to age out at 10 yrs, good 50% on them but the age thing. Will replace with the same through Costco. As long as not made in china.

While I agree with what Jack said, I find it suspicious that he quoted industry leaders without naming them and cited "TireNews". I can't find any reference to such a news source.

Very interesting video. Thank you. RS. Canada

Royal Black. Made in china. 25 000kms in and so far so good.

Buying cheap tires is a losing proposition with mathematical certainty

Delinte tires seem to be good, but Blackhawk has a better warranty. Which one should I choose??????

In over 45 years of driving. I purchase Michelin tires 4 times & once it came on my then new 87 Lincoln Towncar so is 5. all 5 times I has puncture sidewalls somehow or another. but I have no issues w/ other brands. Michelin price their products on a premium level. I promise myself don't ever buy Michelin. just from my experience.

Chinese tires do not last ...period. They work well for awhile then dry rot or come apart after a few years. It seems to me the rubber deteriorates much faster than tires made in USA. Best results have been with Michelins. Generals and Cooper have been pretty fair as well.

Very good. Over the pasted 10 years or so. I bought high end tires. Very disappointed. Need some soon. Good chance i will buy least expensive ones to try out.

Whats a bit of a let down is when a well known brand shifts the manufacture to China and then laterally hides the fact. I had some Pirrelli tires for one of my motorcycles and simply bought that brand and model again when the time came because I liked them. However when I did get them fitted I curiously looked for the place of manufacture just to confirm they were still a W German made item. I was a bit shocked and disgusted when I saw where it was in very small print "Made in PRC". They went from being made in W Germany to China in less than a few years, not confidence inspiring to me in any shape or form given China's dodgy quality manufacturing.

I’ve bought Chinese tires for years. They’re fine. Had expensive tires made in America, Japan , Korea and China. All were fine.

The fact is on every tire there is a "Made In" on one side of the tire. Sometimes it is a code defining the plant of manufacture. I got stuck recently on trailer tires I bought from Carlise, their ad had posted Made in the USA but when the tires got het they said Made in China. I was very upset but of course out of time and had to run them. Being a retired Union Member I try real hard to buy American Made because the quality is always better and it also helps support the workers in out country. Michellin and Continental, the 2 German manufactures have the most US Tire Plants. If you are buying tires off a rack you can be sure your tires are from made here. If you order tires you may not know till they come in.

Yeah... Apple quality that Apple can't or won't repair.....😅

Mine are from a India manufacturer in Mexico.

From my experience "Chinese tyres" (Chinese brands off tyres) are actually not that bad it's just that they don't last very long and the sidewalls are rubbish. I've also noticed lately that they been coping some of the thread pattern of some icon tyres so I just that a good they just need to work on better compounds that's all All in all it depends on you if you know your not running lots of highway or riding many curbs maybe you could give it a try

I have good luck with Forceum Henna tires made in Indonesia! 215/65/16 only 89.00! Ive tried all name American brands, and they have worn out fast!!!

Makes sense to me and I buy these tires and pay half price But Costco has a fab deal Just want good tires for my xi but had these good priced tires on my Subaru outback and good ones I can buy two sets of these ones or pay once for the brand name that look a bit cooler Cheers

A good point, every person can make something good regardless of where they live, its just a matter of what raw materials are use, Rubber or Rubber mixed with Bamboo and or Chewing Gum.

I have been using Nankang tyres,on my kei sports car,and Kei truck,and found them perfectly acceptable,both for wear and roadholding.I am in the UK.

If you are reading this, don’t buy Chinese tread separator tires. The Chinese can copy the shape of a tire but they seem incapable of engineering quality materials.

The sample is sent to and the standard is agreed. What gets sent in bulk is nothing like the sample.

Your right it's the company behind the brand I will buy any tire made by the gita tire group.

China can manufacture to the absolute highest standards, that’s why a lot of the electrical and switch gear on some of Europe’s luxury cars are made there. I was told that when a company goes to China to get something made one of the first questions the Chinese manufacturer will ask is “ how much do you want to pay” and they will manufacture to that price. I have since had this confirmed and it’s easy to see in the market place. You can go to somewhere like Harbor Freight and pick up several different screwdrivers all made in China, the cheapest isn’t worth the packaging it’s in and the most expensive will be beautifully made and last a lifetime. You’re not going to go to the Dollar store and buy high quality. If something you buy is made in China and it’s garbage then blame the importer or retailer because they’re the one that specified it. Too many companies these days are no longer interested in quality and buy the cheaper product. Some cheap tool companies don’t care about high tool failure rates and returns because they’re selling enough to cover those and still make a profit.

US and Europe need to completely decouple from China. Why support a hostile country? We should trade only with allies, not adversaries.

Great information

Great point… Company sets standards. China will manufacturer to any quality as required.

Another factor I’ve seen from China tires is they tend to be more difficult to balance or take more weights to balance out. I’m not 100% sold on big manufacturers producing tires in China they are just as good quality as made in Japan, USA, France, Spain or even Korea. They may say they have the QC in China and say it’s the same as anywhere but not true. China is all about pumping out as much product as humanly possible regardless of QC issues.

I had Continental tires made in USA and Germany.

Apollo from India make great truck tyres.

I used to think chinese products are made low quality, my brother bought some budget friendly chinese tires for fun at the track and they actually grab the road pretty good for what it costs (no scientific measurements just using my butt measuring G force). If you want to be cheap and pay low prices you get low quality. 10 years ago I always had quality issues shopping on ebay aftermarket parts made in china because I was a poor college student shopping for lower than low prices. Now things like knock off small engine parts and headlights began to fit nice and snug and I think some has to do with the advancement in technology that is allowing them to produce tighter tolerances, most of it has to do with how cheap the customers are. If customer supports cheap then china makes cheap like me 10 years ago.

Most Tire Retailers in Ireland will not sell Chinese Tires

I remember when 60 Minutes did an expose on Chinese manufacturers for US delivery. Undercover stuff. They had no quality control discipline and made all in-process decisions based on short term profit/loss. So out of date adhesives were retained beyond their expiration date for example. Industrial ovens had no periodic temperature calibration. No one was monitoring them to ensure minimal compliance with any standards. And the stuff sent to the US was junk. We all have heard about poisoned baby food, dog food, toothpaste etc. I wouldn't have a Chinese tire if they paid me. I buy from or at least research tire buys from Tire Rack where their Specifications page lists the country of manufacture. I try to buy US or Canadian but actually Mexican tires are pretty good because they're firmly monitored by the US home companies. Would be okay with EU tires but few are available anymore. I've had to change my trailers to Light Truck tires because I found no...ZERO...adequate ST tires. Even my US made Goodyear Endurance turned out to be short-lived junk which had early tread delamination and failures. Have had no problems since I changed to US made LT tires except it's difficult to find high enough load ratings. But not impossible.

Is the length of time a company has been producing tyres an indication of quality? Like a Chinese tyre manufacturer founded 50 years ago and is still producing tyres?

It's not "made in China" that's the problem. It's designed in China. If your tires are from a well established brand, they're pretty much going to be decent tires no matter where they are produced. But tires by some Chinese company are a completely different thing. While the Chinese are completely capable of designing a decent tire, that's not always what they are trying to do. They have a history making sub-par products and selling them cheap. So I have no doubt a Chinese made Michelin is a good tire. It's the previously unknown Chinese brands I am wary of. Some of them might be good, but some of them definitely are bad. Out of the the leading brands, I can remember only ever once having seen "made in China". They were Michelin, original tires on a Chinese made Honda. Makes sense. Also, it's not a secret. It says on the tires where they are made...

You could replace 'tire" with any part or product and have an equally true video. There are very few cars built today that have no Chinese parts and most of those cars are good quality for the price.

the local tyre place is flogging "Viking" tyres made by Continental, has anyone every heard of them?

Over the past 25 years, I've used Chinese tires branded as Hercules, Merit, Boto, Kapsen, Kinforest and I-Link. I've been 100% satisfied with them. Driving responsibly with the "worst tires on the market" is 1,000x better than driving like an utter lunatic with the "best tires on the market". Ultimately, the safety of a vehicle is most dependent on the loose nut behind the wheel. If the driver is an idiot, the "Best tires in the world" won't be good enough. If the driver isn't an idiot, the "Worst tires in the world" will be more than good enough. That's not to say the Chinese brands are the worst in the world, it's just to say that if you're a good and safe driver, ANY modern tire will be just fine from a safety standpoint. Also remember, just like anything else, you're paying X amount of dollars/pounds/euros, etc. just to have a big brand name on you're tire. For example, you can easily pay an extra $50 just to have the word "Michelin", "Pirelli", "Bridgestone" or "Yokohama" on your tires.

With your logic, the new chinese phone is supposed to be just like apple but, in reality they are old chips and phoney cameras.

Every time I buy tires I specifically look for made in USA because that's someone's job.

Sailun brand is from China they wore out in bumps. Car drives like crap now vibrates on highway speeds. Never again for me.

If you're going for a cheap Chinese brand tire, I'll only recommend Wanli. It's like the Xiaomi version of the tire industry.

Makes sense.

I buy big-name or mid-range brands… NOT the unknown budget brands

15 years ago I put a set of Goodyear F1 eagles on my car and they were made in West Germany, brilliant. Bought exactly the same tyre when I changed them for a new set, they didn't preform nearly as well and I was so disappointed, checked where they were made. China. Never bought them again, terrible.

I'll put my trust in Michelin, and not Pang-Pang.