Chinese Tyres

[260ebenz]

I see Bob Jane T-Marts are advertising 195 15" Michelin tyres for $119 each would they be made in France or China and what would the quality of the tyres be like?

Cheers.

[BenzBoy]

Originally Posted by 260ebenz

I see Bob Jane T-Marts are advertising 195 15" Michelin tyres for $119 each would they be made in France or China and what would the quality of the tyres be like?

Cheers.

Maybe ask them? I doubt if Michelin allows rubbish to bear their name so wherever they are made they will be OK.
I see they don't stock 235/70/15 or 6.00-6/50 x 20" so I can't get excited by BJs....
Regards,
Benz-Boy

[260ebenz]

Details of the Michelin 195 $119 tyres.

Will contact Bob Jane and ask them if the Michelin tyres are French or Chinese made.

I do not need new tyres but I just saw the ad on telly and was impressed by the price of the Michelin tyres.

Cheers.



Energy XM1+
VEHICLE/ TYRE CATEGORY
Passenger Tyre

FEATURES & BENEFITS
The Michelin Energy XM1+ contains innovative Energy Green X Silica compounds which reduce the amount of energy requied to push your car, saving fuel and the environment by reducing your cars emissions.

The Energy XM1+ delivers smooth, confident control at all speeds. With the second generation of Stress Equilibrium Construction (SECII) technology, a revolutionary network of internal wirings, ensures tyre stability. Flexible sidewalls provide vertical cushioning, ensuring premium comfort over all road surfaces.

Michelin Energy XM1+. Experience safety and control, whatever the weather.

SIZES
14", 15", 16"

(display all diameters)

[Styria]

Hi BenzBoy, there are Michelins, and there are Michelins. There are cheap versions, and some not so cheap. There was a series coded XM (I think) and they were made in Thailand. I understand they weren't particularly good, nor did they last particularly well. Again, one simply does not know what's right, and what not so.

A guy I spoke to just yesterday turned up in a 4cylinder 2.7 liter Toyota HiLux which somewhat surprised me as I had previously seen him driving the V6 version of the Hi Lux, manufactured in Thailand - I am sure you know the hugely overgrown model, invariably twin cab with a smallish ute tray. Enquiring as to why he was driving the earlier model, and not the V6, he ventured the opinion that he just didn't like the Thai version. 'Well, why not" I asked, and "what was wrong it" ? "Well, I did not like it - I think it was just rubbish, nowhere near as good as the 4 cylinder", presumably made in, what, Japan ? I thought his observation was interesting. Regards Styria

N.B. Well, I hadn't seen the tail end of the previous post. There you go - practice vs. advert blurb.

[260ebenz]

Styria I wonder if the Michelin Energy XM1+ are made in Thailand?

I have contacted Bob Jane will wait for a response I asked them if Michelin tyres are made in France or China.

Cheers.

[abl567]

Well I can weigh in on both of the last posts, having direct experience in both situations
First the XM1+, I put a set on Six 3 days before the 2008 downunder rally and they have performed very well, good grip wet and dry, low noise levels, but...10,000 miles and they are almost down to the wear marks.
I must add they have done a track day at Oran Park (Thanks Michel) which was a very abrasive circuit and I produce the odd black line or two when the mood takes me.
And yes they are made in Thailand.
That said I have them on both the W202's my folks drive, a C180 and a C240 and they are lasting well, but a W202 does not wiegh nearly 2 tonne or have the torque of a M100.
Regarding the Hilux observation, I recently sold my 6 year old petrol (3.4 V6 4WD Dual Cab) on accountants orders and have taken delivery of a new Turbo Deisel Dual cab and the new one is miles ahead in refinement, road holding, comfort, convience and driving enjoyment, time will tell on the reliability side, I never spent a cent on the old one other than normal services.
And 820kms from 6.7l of deisel speaks volumes.
To use the old disclaimer...My 2 cents

[Styria]

Hi abl567, I think he was mainly referring to the engine itself, although his remarks seemed to cover the whole car...again, you can only quote what others have said "in their opinion". I mean, I have seen your latest acquisition, but could not have been more impressed by its appearance and layout of cabin controls and comforts. Regards Styria

[SEL_69L]

The Chinese are like what the Japanese were 30 to 40 years ago, when they had the flexibility to make anything to customer's requirements. The Japs were good at what I would call 'product engineering', with products engineered to a price, where they would make an article to the quality specified by the customer. If you wanted cheap, that is what you got, and conversely for expensive. The japs don't do that anymore, because like Australian and American companies they exported most of their manufacturing jobs th China, because anything could be made much more cheaply there. Particularly in Australia, and mostly in America too, export manufacturing industry is either dead or nearly so. With education in China since the Cultural Revolution there has been very heavy emphasis on mathematics science and engineering. This is the sort of educational revolution that Japan went through after the end of WW2. Now, as expected, it is showing up in Chinese commercial engineering capabilities. This explains why Daimler Benz is confident enough to set up the manufacture of E Class cars in China.

[BenzBoy]

On Friday I had my Continental fitted to the ML.
Colect car from work, fit new tyre to wheel, wrap auxilliary spare in bright yellow Continental bag (reusable to store the 2nd spare in the boot), rotate tyres, align, wash car and return car to work at exactly the time specified. Excellent door to door service. $300. I call that value for money and not a Chinese tyre in sight.... By the way, I now have 60,000 kms on the Continentals and there is plenty of tread left.
Regards,
And an unsatisfactory story: rear gas struts on tailgate were sagging. Local Benz Independent advised having the travelling repair man re-gas them but when I collected the ML they had been replaced by an unknown brand as it was the same price as regassing the originals. All good? No: I have recovered from the concussion I received when I first opened the hatch and the hatch flew up in an uncontrolled manner. I have yet to recover from the banging my head on the tailgate which now sits 5" lower than before.
Moral of the story? Pay peanuts and you buy crap. And guess where the replacement struts were made......................
Regards,
Benz-Boy

Benz-Boy

[Styria]

Hi BenzBoy, I read the good and the bad of your story. The $300.00 pick me up, wash me and drop me off job - is that the price for the purchase of one tyre ? I thought you were going to buy two Continentals.

The tailgate struts - are you indicating that the replacements were Chinese made ? ...and how can the tailgate sit, what is it, five inches (centimeters ?) lower ? If you could just clarify that for me.

I have also decided, and am about to pick up and have two new 2.35.40.18 Nankangs fitted to the two new rims I have bought. I had another look at the old units that I had to remove on account of uneven wear - after about two years, they still had about 4 mms of wear left - round about that, so they did last quite well. Regards Styria

[BenzBoy]

Originally Posted by Styria

Hi BenzBoy, I read the good and the bad of your story. The $300.00 pick me up, wash me and drop me off job - is that the price for the purchase of one tyre ? I thought you were going to buy two Continentals.

The tailgate struts - are you indicating that the replacements were Chinese made ? ...and how can the tailgate sit, what is it, five inches (centimeters ?) lower ? If you could just clarify that for me.

I have also decided, and am about to pick up and have two new 2.35.40.18 Nankangs fitted to the two new rims I have bought. I had another look at the old units that I had to remove on account of uneven wear - after about two years, they still had about 4 mms of wear left - round about that, so they did last quite well. Regards Styria

1. One tyre.

2. The replacement struts do not have sufficient stroke to allow the rear hatch to reach full height!!

Regards,
Benz-Boy

[Styria]

Silly me ! I just couldn't work out how the tail gate could be five millimeters lower in the CLOSED position. As they say, there is one born every day - perhaps it had been my turn. Regards Styria - well, it's five inches. Wow !

[John S]

I had one of those gas strut replacement mobile vans come to our house and replace the struts in my wife’s little shopping trolley (failed just out of warrenty). He could have resealed and regassed the existing struts or replaced them, and as there were two different quality replacement struts to choose from we replaced with the top quality.

The replacements are noticeably stronger than we remember the originals, (but the originals may have been loosing strength over an extended period) but they are also smoother in operation.

As as this point it looks like we may have been lucky?

[BenzBoy]

And the finale to the story: the MB Independent replaced the Chinese struts with original equipment ones at his own expense this week. As a result the tailgate goes to its full height again - without causing concussion...
Regards,
Benz-Boy

[alabbasi]

I bought a set of michelins in 2009 for my 81 500slc and they began to dry rot within 3 months. I took them back to where I bought them and they refused to believe that they sold these tires to me because the dot date on the tires was 2006. I had the receipt with the serial numbers and they quickly began to back track and say that it's acceptable to have a little cracking on the sidewall.

I was having none of it so i made them order me another set of 205/70/14's. When they arrived, I saw that the dot stamp was also 2006 so I questioned them on it. The manager said that he also saw that but when he called the warehouse, they told him that Michilen makes so few tires in that size because they hardly sell them and that they'll need to clear existing inventory before they get more.

Needless to say, i would not expect a 3 year old tire in daily use to have dry rot let alone a brand new one so I got a refund and went to my neighbor who sells Chinese tires. He hooked me up with a set of Nexxen's for 1/3 or the price. They're quite, grip well and have no signs of dry rot in the last year.

I used to buy brand names all the time. The Michelin's on my 500SLC dry rotted. The Continentals on my 6.9 were completely rubbish and the car would go arse backwards at the first drop of rain.

I've had very good luck with Goodyear. The fact that I have had quality issues with brand name tires, and the fact that I have bought almost 30 cars in the last 4 years (most of which are 'projects'); It's getting harder and harder for me to justify dropping $600 on a set of brand name tires when I can spend $280 on Chinese tires of the same size.

I've had no problems with any of the brands that I have bought so far and while i'm sure that they are not state of the art, I don't think anyone has state of the art tires in the sizes that i look for anyway.