The China-Bomb debate Put to rest
Almost every week or more a thread appears with someone with a tire question. And just as predictably the China Bomb experts come out and start decrying all Chinese made tires. Then usually they re...
Forum Discussion
rbpru wrote:I will say right up front that I don't think that a tire made in China is necessarily bad because of it... But they do produce a awful lot of no name tires over there... My beef is with ST tires in general. Many of mine were made in the US, or Canada. The country of origin doesn't seem to matter in my experience..
I am still waiting to see official data on the failure rate per million of "P", "ST" and "LT". I suspect they are similar.
The reason LT are not widely advertised to use with TTs, is because STs, though not tested to the same robust requirements of an LT; are designed with stiffer side walls, lower rolling resistance and greater UV resistance.
None of these feature make for a good Light Truck tire hence the "trailer service" warning on STs. Nor do they rule out the use of LTs for trailer use if one so chooses.
In the end, as already stated, all of this is a moot point if the manufacturer is cutting corners on tire quality.
Buy what makes you happy, it is your money.
Now to address the quote. None of the special attributes that the ST tire industry touts has been verified in testing. NONE, NADA, ZILCH, ZERO.
In fact, many of the special features such as heavier but fewer cords in the sidewall, and a shallower tread for (supposedly)cooler running and lower rolling resistance actually make the tire CHEAPER to produce.... Of course saying this would not increase sales much, would it? So it boils down to spin, or marketing. Just because something is marketed as being better.... Doesn't make it so.
There are ways to make a superior ST tire. There are hi tech materials and construction methods that COULD be used... But none of them are available in sizes commonly used for TT service.
Try to find an ST tire with steel plys in the sidewall. Or any of the high tech materials such as Kevlar, Aramid etc... There aren't any.
And as for ST tires having stiffer sidewalls... Anyone believing that hasn't compared an unmounted ST tire to an LT. The LT is always heavier, up to twice as heavy. The entire LT tire feels much more substantial vs the ST tires feel of wimpiness.
The fact is that ST tires in general are just cheap tires. Good enough for the minimum performance required in TT service.
There is just not a good, better, best, option available.
In LT tires especially in 16" there are many price and quality points avaialable. Often from the same manufacturer.
And the LT tires ARE tested to a much higher standard by independant labs.
