I bought some cheap tires because they had:
- Traction Rating A
- Temperature Rating A
- Treadware Rating 550


All three of those ratings are false. Or the company lab is run by senseless goof-offs.

As far as traction goes, I can't grip the road worth shit whether it's wet or dry.
On Saturday I tried to make a U-Turn in the rain. Instead of the car turning it just flew straight across the road while the tires were squealing. Pressing the brakes was no help, I didn't have traction anyway. I had to do some Tokyo Droft type shit to recover . Same night I was trying to climb a hill in the neighborhood, couldn't seem to do it without spinning the tires. And stopped and retried 3 times. On the 4th time just for laughs I let the clutch out with 0 throttle, and the tires still spun while the car was rolling downhill. I had to back up and run the stop sign. Also If I rev the car above 3k rpm and drop the clutch they will spin when dry.

As far as treadwear goes, I already have chunks taken out of all 4 tires.
Now I can see why chunks would be missing out of the front, because they spin sometimes. But the rear??? They don't hold much weight and the only hell they take is turning!

I can't say anything as far as the temperature rating, but I would have to say it could be a lie also.
The tires have held up at 120mph, but I'll never trust them to do it again.



I really just wanted to make this thread to further prove that you get what you pay for. Do not buy cheap tires. Spend the extra money to get something name brand. Something that will be SAFE and RELIABLE.

Wow, that sucks. What brand are they? Are they old?

They are Westlake tires. (Never heard of them? Me neither!)

I put them on in February when I got my new wheels. They have less than 1000 miles on them.

A 550 TW rating tire is basically a hockey puck. It's not designed for grip, it's designed for long life.

Canadian_CD9A said:

A 550 TW rating tire is basically a hockey puck. It's not designed for grip, it's designed for long life.

Click to expand...

Well they're wearing out quickly too. Looks like they failed in general at making a decent set of tires.

Some of that could be caused by a bad alignment or worn bushings. Grip and tire life will be reduced if you have a pigeon toe condition, for example.

We went with the cheapest tires (General) on my wifes altima since it had 90k on it at the time and wasn't sure how long we'd have that car. 100k later (now 190k), it's due for tires again. We got good use out of them but they have no grip when it's wet especially now. If you want good grip, you have to pay to play.

I bought a set of Achilles 122s ($35 each!) just to have something to park the Autozam on over winter and boy is Achilles an apt name for those things. Dry grip really isn't that bad but the first hint of moisture and the tires act like they're made of soap. I have never in my life experienced tires so completely dangerous on the street! They serve their purpose just fine and it is a little fun to sometimes take the AZ-1 to an autocross on the winter tires, but I couldn't recommend against them more to anyone who wants actual road tires in a climate that could potentially receive precipitation. Unfortunately the choices for 155R13 is a bit limited...

Full disclosure: Direzza ZIIIs are my summer tire on all of my cars.

Tires are the only thing keeping the car on the road. It's something you should never go cheap on.

BLACK'98DSM said:

They are Westlake tires. (Never heard of them? Me neither!)

I put them on in February when I got my new wheels. They have less than 1000 miles on them.

Click to expand...

here's your answer ...now we know why ...Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company manufactures Westlake's tires at their state of the art manufacturing plant in China. The tires are sold under the Westlake Tires banner throughout the United States and Canada.

I bought a cheap set of hankook concept 2s for my dd (325i). I paid 60 a tire for them and they have been awesome. Decent tires for cheap are out there. I stay away for brands I've never heard of.

I knew they wouldn't be too good when I bought them. I just didn't expect everything advertised to be lies.