Those “cheap tires” review

[Keith909man]

So awhile back, I made a post debating to try the cheapest tires I could find for the 21’ wheels these cheap tires worth it?

Nankang tires for set of 4 for $562 tax and shipping included.

Obviously there was a lot of concern from the Tesla motors community regarding these since no one has tried them yet and their price point. Well, I went ahead and pulled the trigger and thought why not? These tires met all the weight and speed requirements of any other high price tire except it didn’t come with the high price tag.

So after having them installed for little over 2000 miles now, I can do a proper review on them.

So right away after having them installed, I’ve noticed these are a softer ride then the famous Continentals I’ve had on prior. In fact, it was almost comparable to the 19’s ride Quality. Even when set to 42psi.
The tride on these are meatier with more groves then the continentals which makes performance in rain more ideal. These performan better and feel more confident in wet conditions. When I had Continentals installed, I would have to slow down around corners or curvy roads when wet by a lot because if I didn’t feel comfortable or It would feel like I would end up in the ditch. Well, with these cheap tires installed, the car just feels more pleated and confident in the rain to the point where I feel comfortable driving the same style and speed in wet conditions as if I was driving in dry conditions.

I haven’t had much time in warmer conditions with these because it’s been raining a lot here in Washington. But the dry days I do have, I do feel like the Continental performed a bit better in dryer warmer weather when it comes to performance. Even tho these cheap tires are labeled as performance tires, they feel and perform a lot more like a all season tire. As far as stopping goes. These do just fine from my experience. I’ve had a couple Panic stops with these and never had a “oh crap! not slowing down in time” moment.

Now the bad.
What I’ve noticed right away is that these tires consume more power from the vehicle. Its hard to prove that these are the reason why my car is now averaging 20-40 more Whl/mil.. but it’s a coincidence that right after I had these installed, I started to consume more power. This could be due to the tride patten causing more friction and drag. But I’m definitely using more power then the Continentals.

Inclusion,
For the price, the free road hazard, and 40k mile warranty, these I would recommend for a good budget tire for the 21’s. If you want the absolute best performance. These aren’t it. But if you have been on the look out for a all season, with good performance these will do great as a all season tire for your 21s. Yes, I would definitely buy again even with the higher consumption of power these pull.

I’ve provided a couple pics where you can see the tride patten and how much more beefy the tride is.

 

[GatorGuy]

Tires are literally the most important thing you buy for the car. They are a bigger safety feature than even your brakes.

Don't understand why you would want to try to save money there.

 

[freeewilly]

Thanks for your review, please keep us updated and wonder how long these tires can last compare with Continentals.

 

[demundus]

Tires are literally the most important thing you buy for the car. They are a bigger safety feature than even your brakes.

Don't understand why you would want to try to save money there.

Because sometimes you pay for a name, and it's nice to avoid that. I bought a pair of REALLY expensive tires 50k ago, and decided to try a cheaper pair this time around, and I miss the expensive pair. That said, they were both no-name brands, so I feel better about paying for the engineering... where the "similar" name brand tire was even MORE expensive than the no name expensive set.

 

[kev1n]

Tires are literally the most important thing you buy for the car. They are a bigger safety feature than even your brakes.

Don't understand why you would want to try to save money there.

did you even read his review?

just because you pay more for a tire doesnt mean its more "safe" than a less expensive tire.

 

[Takumi]

Nankang Rubber Tire - Wikipedia

Product quality
The corporation has Ford Motor Company's Q1 Certification and in 1994 obtained ISO-9001 certification.[3]

It manufactures tires for brands such as Geostar, Milestar, and Provato.

 

[Tech_Guy]

Tires directly effect your vehicles safety for you and others on the road. Don't cheap out.... By safe quality tires which have superior performance meaning shorter stopping distance to avoid the unpredictable aspect of driving, accidents, pedestrians, animals ETC... Every inch of stopping distance counts.


As you can see in the above video @ 3 minutes the cheap tire was still going 31 MPH and went 3 extra car lengths vs where the continental was fully stopped!!

How about a roll reversal if you cross the street and fail to see that car would you want him to be going 31 MPH when he hits you or 0 MPH? Remember the chance of survival with a 31 MPH vehicle impact is 27% for a pedestrian!!!

So should you buy a cheap tire, NO
Should you encourage others to buy a cheap tire NO
Does a cheap tire put everyone at risk YES

see the trend?

The cheap tires quality is NOT WORTH THE RISK no matter what cost or tire life...

 

[demundus]

So should you buy a cheap tire, NO
Should you encourage others to buy a cheap tire NO
Does a cheap tire put everyone at risk YES

see the trend?

Cheap <> Quality

Should you buy a low quality tire? NO
Does a low quality tired put everyone at risk? YES

...

 

[RayW]

"manufactures tires for brands such as Geostar, Milestar, and Provato" doesn't make me feel confident.

 

[mal_tsla]

did you even read his review?

just because you pay more for a tire doesnt mean its more "safe" than a less expensive tire.

But this isn't how tires are reviewed. They don't have adequate traction under braking just because "it felt fine to me." They must be measured. How many feet do they take to stop the car in dry and wet conditions? They don't have good traction around wet curves because "I felt confident" - they need to be measured. How do they do on a wet skid pad? Around a controlled track environment?

By all means, save money on better value tires than the top tier brands. But check the performance tests by someone who tests them in a scientific manner, so you understand what you're getting for your dollar.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

every one should be on RE71Rs in the summer - every ped will hear you coming too ...and get off of the 21" wheels (especially the Tesla hogs) if you care about performance

 

[Canuck]

As you can see in the above video @ 3 minutes the cheap tire was still going 31 MPH and went 3 extra car lengths vs where the continental was fully stopped!!

I never believe manufacturer's sales videos but let's assume that test was done by an independent testing company -- it still has nothing to do with the OP's tires since the tires in that test are not the ones the OP bought. And you can bet when "Continental Car Tyres" set out to make that sales video they picked the cheapest tires with the worst stopping distance. That's because they started out with a thesis and made the video to support it in order to sell their tires.

OP, if only you paid triple for your tires -- then all those saying they are cheap and lousy would be fine with them.

 

[kev1n]

But this isn't how tires are reviewed. They don't have adequate traction under braking just because "it felt fine to me." They must be measured. How many feet do they take to stop the car in dry and wet conditions? They don't have good traction around wet curves because "I felt confident" - they need to be measured. How do they do on a wet skid pad? Around a controlled track environment?

By all means, save money on better value tires than the top tier brands. But check the performance tests by someone who tests them in a scientific manner, so you understand what you're getting for your dollar.

i personally stay with mid tier tires but lets be realistic. who here is even going to track their Tesla? better yet, who even drives their car hard? most people's consumption on these boards are < 270wh/mi and im here sitting at 350+ and wondering are people even enjoying their cars.. there is no need for top the of line tires and looking at all these lab tests if all they do is drive on the streets and drive like grandma's

 

[mal_tsla]

It's all good to drive like a grandma, but when you need to stop to avoid a crash, you want Great (if not Best) stopping performance, and if you need to suddenly swerve to avoid a T-bone at an intersection, you want Great cornering traction (if not Best).

Testing tires on a track is how you compare their relative performance. I agree, you can accept less than the best. But, any glaring deficiencies will show up on those tests. Avoid models with glaring deficiencies. That's my point, use tests to compare tires, not gut feelings. Choose based on data.

 

[jaguar36]

These do just fine from my experience. I’ve had a couple Panic stops with these and never had a “oh crap! not slowing down in time” moment.

Subjective reviews of a tire's stopping performance are not very worthwhile. You could have stopped 10-20 feet longer than in a good tire and you'd never realize it. However 10-20 feet in a emergency situation could easily be the difference between an accident or stopping short. Cheap tires also may work fine in the dry, but have substantially longer stopping distances in the wet.

In addition you're comparing tires that were worn out to brand new tires, thats also not a fair comparison.

 

[LCR1]

Tires directly effect your vehicles safety for you and others on the road. Don't cheap out.... By safe quality tires which have superior performance meaning shorter stopping distance to avoid the unpredictable aspect of driving, accidents, pedestrians, animals ETC... Every inch of stopping distance counts.


As you can see in the above video @ 3 minutes the cheap tire was still going 31 MPH and went 3 extra car lengths vs where the continental was fully stopped!!

How about a roll reversal if you cross the street and fail to see that car would you want him to be going 31 MPH when he hits you or 0 MPH? Remember the chance of survival with a 31 MPH vehicle impact is 27% for a pedestrian!!!

So should you buy a cheap tire, NO
Should you encourage others to buy a cheap tire NO
Does a cheap tire put everyone at risk YES

see the trend?

The cheap tires quality is NOT WORTH THE RISK no matter what cost or tire life...

Well why are you even buying a Tesla? Don't you know that the Tesla stops in 118 feet from 60??? The Corvette stops in 90 feet that's a full 28 foot difference!!!!

Hell the BMW M3 and Caddilac CTS both stop a full 20 feet sooner than a Tesla!! How could you be so inconsiderate to pedestrians by driving a Tesla?!?!?

See how crazy that sounds? Get off your high horse about someones tire choice. How many times is someone involved in a wreck solely based on the stopping distance between two tires? divide that number by the total number of cars on the road. If you really want to do the best for stopping wrecks and saving lives, drive one ot the cars I mentioned.

 

[2cati]

I live in the suburbs however commute through a a big city 2 times a week. Each time it rains or it’s damp with the sudden stop and go traffic there are so many accidents. A few feet can only help .... personally why wouldn’t you get decent tires - there are so many options with the internet to get great tires at reasonable prices.

I reviewed my Teslafi log from one day last week to get timestamps and 2 of the times there was a sudden stop - someone rearended someone else.

 

[Hugh Mannity]

Looking for independent testing rings true for any product on the market. General rule of thumb seems to typically go for the product that sits between the mid to high end of each spectrum, but of course that is a generalisation.

Get yourself an online consumer reports subscription or other outfit you trust that routinely tests and verify independently product quality.

To stay on topic, I went with WRG3 for the MS. It suits the driving style of the wife and I and they have performed excellently in all conditions.

 

[Ludalicious]

You have to make sure that you always have good tires on the vehicle if you are on a budget these are definitely an option. Now that being said

I never understood why people put heavier rims on vehicles just for looks or tires that are not the same or better than what the vehicles came with. To each of their own though.

I once bought a set of cheap tires due to being in a bind and the other options were days away. The tire shop had to stack the weights just to balance them out. 2 tire shops later and still could feel a wobble in the steering. Changed back to stock and no issues. Allot of cheap tires and rims just won't ever balance out. Majority of the population would never notice. That's why garbage tires sell so well.

 

[LCR1]

I live in the suburbs however commute through a a big city 2 times a week. Each time it rains or it’s damp with the sudden stop and go traffic there are so many accidents. A few feet can only help .... personally why wouldn’t you get decent tires - there are so many options with the internet to get great tires at reasonable prices.

I reviewed my Teslafi log from one day last week to get timestamps and 2 of the times there was a sudden stop - someone rearended someone else.

And you stopped to investigate that the reason for the crash was a direct result of tire choice?