tyre sales

[maj. tom]

How does one determine whether a quality standard was followed for a tyre manufactured in China versus one that was not?

Which is why you should stick to reliable brand tires that would not have such questions and concerns.
The Department Of Transportation (DOT) code is required for all tires to be sold in USA, so at least that's a standard to look for. These USA standards by law are stated here: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveEC ... .5.393_175

[carluva]

I am not too sure that is a valid check but it certainly is a good metric. DOT markings will only be on tyres for the US market, so if a tyre was brought bin from the US and this marking is there well great.

But, isn't it logical to assume that the same tyre sold in the US can be sold elsewhere without the DOT marking and be just as good quality? In that case, the DOT marking is not an indicator of quality.

[carluva]

So for example. I just looked at a few tyres in the parking lot.

My tyres are Goodyear wrangler SUV bought from Massy ACL. The marking is "DOT" followed by 8 letters but no date marking. This tyre is made in Brazil. I know there is a date marking as this in on the inside wall of the tyre. Mind you, this is a tyre not made for US market as this is not listed on Goodyear's North American site, but it is listed on their South American/Latin American site (when I checked two years ago that is).

Another tyre is a Bridgestone Potenza, this has all the DOT markings and the "DOT" lettering.

A new model Sentra has Bridgestone Ecopia and all the DOT markings but no "DOT".

Which is the best one?

In this context, a DOT marking may be inconsequential. But I do agree with your sentiment that one should stick to reputable brands as the quality standards are more likely to be the same, despite country of origin or manufacture.

[maj. tom]

All countries use DOT code and standards set by the USA for tires. Tyres sold in UK has DOT code. Germany and France has DOT code. Japan tires have a DOT code. If a tire does not have a DOT code, then it does not meet the minimum requirements compliance NHTSA in USA. Why would you use such a tire without a DOT code? If a tire is not good enough to be sold in the USA which meets those standards, why you putting it on your car for? You want to die?

The DOT code also tell you at what plant the tire was manufactured.

Examples of codes for different factories:
A5 - TC Dębica S.A. factory in Debica,
B5 - Michelin factory in Olsztyn - former Stomil Olsztyn S.A,
J3 - Matador AS factory, Puchov, Slovakia,
HW - Barum factory, Otrokovice, Czech Republic,
8C - French Firestone factory - France S.A.,

Here is the complete list:

http://www.tiresafetygroup.com/tire-dot ... lant-code/

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration mandates that every tire manufacturer register with the U.S. government prior to selling tires in the United States. The tire manufacturer is then assigned a tire plant code that forms the first two digits of the DOT code. For our guide on locating a tire’s DOT code, click here. Click on the arrows below to re-sort the table by other columns.

See if you can interpret this then:

Manufactured at MATADOR RUBBER S.R.O. J3 PUCHOV SLOVAKIA
42nd week of 2008

GOODYEAR CANADA, INC. 4B NAPANEE ONTARIO CANADA
29th week of 2010

Here are a lot more details on these codes than I care to know about: https://www.utires.com/articles/buying- ... bers-mean/

[carluva]

Ok. I didn't know all tyres use the DOT code. I thought it was only those destined for the US...

... So what you have said seems to make complete sense and I agree. Oddly enough, I was always aware of the DOT code and ensure that all the tyres i use have the same. It was taken for granted that this was the norm so really I agree, if there is no DOT marking, why buy and use?

[kamakazi]

To answer your question about Chinese tyres: user reviews

Recognisable brands are a good place to start, but this is no guarantee that it will perform how you like.
That is why user reviews are important. If you have similar requirements and a similar vehicle to another driver, find out what he/she is using, does it work for them, where does it fall short etc. To add to that if a driver requires less of a tyre than yourself and they are complaining about what they currently driving on stay far away. (The opposite is also a possibility that the driver requires from a tyre far more than you would ever demand... If it works for them, it can definitely work for me)

I know of at least one Bridgestone, sumitomo, michelin, kumho, Dunlop, nexen, roadstone, tyre that I will stay away from.

On the Chinese side of things; if any of them can produce a Motorsport tyre that gains any renown, I'm willing to give there road tyres a go (because this demonstrates that they have the tech and the know how)

Nankang make the AR-1 currently being used by Apex nurburgring taxis... Yeah I might consider their road tyres. Similarly for
Maxxis who make the victra rc-1, vr-1, treppador
Federal who make 595rs-r, 595rs-double r, fz-201 (one or two of the above are Taiwanese)

What is wrong with tyres made in China... As far as I am concerned once the brand can make a performance tyre that is recognized in that particular sport (in the case of maxxis, off road/rock crawling,mountain biking/cycling)...i will give there passenger car tyres a try.

Things in China are made to order, if you want it cheap they can do that but they also make quality if that is requested but it usually comes with a price premium. I am also observing that even though a company started off making cheap products, the quality offered can also improve

Maxxis is one of the few Chinese tyre brands I will purchase/recommend. I'm also observing the quality improvement in hifly (SUV tyres).

Now everyone's measure of a good tyre is different. The order of importance of some or all of the following will determine their purchase. Factors like longevity, grip, toughness, looks, price, suitability, brand recognition.

I generally want the most grip for the best price... Longevity takes a back seat unless my driving is mostly highway

How does one determine whether a quality standard was followed for a tyre manufactured in China versus one that was not?