China bombs still bombs if way under limits?

China bombs seem to be more hit and miss more than non-china made tires. Some folks have good luck and others have terrible luck.

As long as you make sure you have the proper air pressure at all times, don't run over curbs or rocks and place good supports under each tire when leveling you will increase your chance of having a good experience.

Specifically it is/was Towmax ST tires. I did a bit of unscientific research into postings on these and almost all blowouts involved 15" Towmax ST tires. A couple of 16", one 14", and no 13".

Does that mean that the Westlake's are fine? I dunno. But I haven't seen anyone complaining about them like the Towmax tires either.

When I had Towmax tires, I had less than 2,000 miles on them with three blow outs. I now have Westlake tires with 20,000+ miles and no blow outs.

Remember, you (generally) get what you pay for.
You can buy cheap Chinese "junk", you can buy really quality Chinese "things". Sometimes these are made in the same factory, just to different specs.
Example, some Harbor Freight wood lathes are built in the same factory that makes some PowerMatic/Jet wood lathes (Burt Group).
One is really cheap, the other, isn't.

Like any tire, inspect before every trip and at fuel stops, ensure your tire pressures are where they need to be.

I am running Goodride brand, never heard of them until I bought them, been on them for four years and so far the rubber on the side wall feels as virgin as when I bought them.

I will run them again next year and after that I will invest in a new set.

TucsonJim wrote:
When I had Towmax tires, I had less than 2,000 miles on them with three blow outs. I now have Westlake tires with 20,000+ miles and no blow outs.

I had 15,000 miles on the towmax on our trailer, replaced them with Maxxis because they were almost down to the wear limit. Never had any issues with them.

Actually, in over 40,000 miles towing I have yet to have a ST tire blowout. I have had two punctures I caught. One at a rest stop, the second via a warning from my TPM system, showing a slow leak on one tire. had a nail in it. I suspect in the second case the TPMS saved me from a blowout.

Guess I will give these a shot for a few trips. I have two long tows next year at about 1200-1400 miles each so am more worried about those.

My first failure I had no TPMS and never knew I blew a tire until somebody flagged me down on the highway. I never felt it or saw it in my mirrors. Second failure I had TPMS and all it told me was my tire blew up! That one wasnt a leak, it just happened and happened quick. Went from 67psi (was higher from driving) to 0psi with a warning beeping away. That was with 1-1/2 yr old Maxxis tires. First blowout was a Towmax in 14"

There is no such thing as a "China Bomb".

This is a fallacy put forth by those that do not understand the global manufacturing market, have never been to a high tech manufacturing plant in China (as I have),dont realize some of the best brands in the world are Mfg in China to exacting standards and continue to spread misinformation about China and it's people.

Maybe just because they are Chinese?

The Chinese are the highest paid and best educated and most literate of all of Asia's workforces except the for the Japanese.

My feeling is that those that continue to pound this drum have ulterior motives based in Cultural, Racial and political differences, NOT the quality of the manufacturing.

4X4Dodger wrote:
There is no such thing as a "China Bomb".

This is a fallacy put forth by those that do not understand the global manufacturing market, have never been to a high tech manufacturing plant in China (as I have),dont realize some of the best brands in the world are Mfg in China to exacting standards and continue to spread misinformation about China and it's people.

Maybe just because they are Chinese?

The Chinese are the highest paid and best educated and most literate of all of Asia's workforces except the for the Japanese.

My feeling is that those that continue to pound this drum have ulterior motives based in Cultural, Racial and political differences, NOT the quality of the manufacturing.

I bet if you did a poll on how many cheap OEM tires blew up vs. better tires you'd be surprised. It just so happens that near 100% of those are made in China. The name didnt invent itself. How about the massive recall that Westlake had a few years back which was a main worry of mine? Sure domestic tires have the same recalls but most seem much happier with better made tires vs. a generic. I bet a lot of the OEM brand tires are made side by side in the same place. I am sure many tires could have been or were abused and they would have blown up period but there are just as many that followed the rules to the letter and they still failed.

99% of sunglasses are all made by Luxotica based in Italy from $300 Oakley's to no-names. Doesnt mean the no-names are as well made as the high dollar stuff even taking away the marketing and hype built into them.

Do the Chinese make great stuff? Sure, 99% of the electronics we buy are from China from Apple to my cheap alarm clock.

BTW - I am Asian and proud of it so I have no bone to pick with them. If there is a tire made in China that gets fantastic reviews I'll buy it. All I know is when tires like the Goodyear Marathon went from Akron, OH to China people started having issues.

4X4Dodger wrote:
There is no such thing as a "China Bomb".

This is a fallacy put forth by those that do not understand the global manufacturing market, have never been to a high tech manufacturing plant in China (as I have),dont realize some of the best brands in the world are Mfg in China to exacting standards and continue to spread misinformation about China and it's people.

Maybe just because they are Chinese?

The Chinese are the highest paid and best educated and most literate of all of Asia's workforces except the for the Japanese.

My feeling is that those that continue to pound this drum have ulterior motives based in Cultural, Racial and political differences, NOT the quality of the manufacturing.

Oh bosh. Most of the tires labeled with the soubriquet "China Bombs" are the "E" range 16" ST tires. These seem to be very unreliable, and since there are basically no ST tires in that range that are made anywhere but China, the name has stuck.