Published on  September 16, 2014  Tire Business

Consumer  Reports finds some Chinese  tires ‘no bargain’

Consumer  Reports magazine said three Chinese brands it tested finished at the bottom of a  group of 20 all-weather

and  all-season tires for light duty pickups and SUVs.

YONKERS,  N.Y. (Sept. 16, 2014) — In its most recent tire test, C (CR) for the first time  included Chinese tire brands—

the Geostar  GS716, Pegasus Advanta SUV and Sunny SN3606—and reported that they “simply don’t  measure up to most of the well-known brands.”

According to  CR, the three Chinese brands finished at the bottom of a group of 20 all-weather  and all-season tires for light duty pickups and SUVs that it tested.  

A fourth  brand, from Aeolus, also was tested but not reported when CR couldn’t find a  ready supply of tires for consumers.

“This supply  issue seems to be a problem when buying ‘off brand’ tires,  

because you  don’t know whether the tires will be around for any length of time should you  need a replacement,” the consumer advocacy group said.

CR reported  that the Geostar GS716, a $114 tire in size 265/70R17, was the most well-rounded  of the three,

coming in at  18th in the test. It offers excellent dry braking, very good handling and an  average tread life, according to the magazine,

but  wet-stopping performance was average and winter performance—specifically snow  traction and stopping on ice—was only fair.

The cheaper  Sunny SN3606 ($89) and Pegasus Advanta SUV ($95) models came in 19th and 20th,  respectively.

Both tires  stopped reasonably well on pavement and offer impressive hydroplaning  resistance, CR said,

but they  offer poor snow traction, fair stopping ability on ice, stiff and noisy ride  characteristics and shorter than average tread life.

CR said that  while the Pegasus Advanta costs about half as much as a top-scoring tire like  the Michelin LTX M/S2,  the Michelin will last almost three times  longer.

“Factor in  the cost of buying two additional sets of tires, plus mounting and balancing,  and you could save hundreds of dollars,

not to  mention get a better all-weather performing tire, if you choose the Michelin,”  the magazine said.

CR noted  that these findings do not reflect tires manufactured in China by companies  based in other countries.

“Tires are a  global commodity, and many of the major brand names that Consumer Reports tests  are manufactured in China,” CR said.

“But those  tires are designed and manufactured to quality standards dictated by the  original manufacturers.

Chinese tire  brands don’t have that oversight, nor the marketing foresight to design products  well-suited to the specific requirements of the U.S.  consumer.”