I just purchased a 2010 Nissan Maxima for a good price. The tires on the car are new, but are of a dubious brand, Linglong. Internet searches turn up very little about this brand other than an article stating that some tire of theirs had bad stopping distance, and the fact that they are based Shandong Province, China. I’m tempted to just get new tires (and possibly a set of snow tires as well, considering I live in MA), but I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with these particular tires. The car is new to me so it is difficult to judge things like stopping distance. I drove in rain yesterday and the tires didn’t seem to perform badly, though I certainly didn’t push them. Thoughts?
The report I read stated Linglong tires met required standards and did have slightly longer stopping distances. I might just get winter tires and hold off on new tires until spring. You have time to get more information about the Linglong tires by then.
I’d keep them on and just monitor them as I would any brand. If there’s no sign of problems, no bubbles, no anomalous wear, no leakage, use 'em up!
Asian car, Asian tires. So what?
Some of us just have enquiring minds. I just today put on four tires of a brand I’m unfamiliar with (Definities) and the first thing I did when I got home was looked for as much info as I could find on them… which was zip.
Maxima Car With Minima Tires.
How were they in a cross-wind?
CSA
I dunno, on a 2010, I might be inclined to just put new ones on that I trusted. Nothing like having a tire fly apart at 70 mph. I think they make a lot of the trailer tires for Harbor Freight.
I will say though that I needed white walls for my Riviera which were getting hard to find and wasn’t planning on having it too many more years so didn’t want to pay premium prices. So the Goodyear dealer sold me a set of no names. No idea where they were made or who made them but they were actually pretty good tires. They had good traction in snow and rain and were quiet on the highway. So I guess suit yourself. If they are a harder tire though, probably won’t be much good this winter.
I just today put on four tires of a brand I’m unfamiliar with (Definities)
TSM, why would you buy tires you know nothing about? Wouldn’t you stick with a brand you knew and liked?
I’d get a new set. Some Chinese brand tires have had safety issues. I bet some of the major brands make tires there, but they’ll apply higher standards.
... I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with these particular tires.
That would be: “No.”
The more I read about these tires, the less I like them. What little I can find about the brand is pretty much universally poor. Also, I tried to find the DOT code on the tire for more info and I might be missing it, but the only code I can find with DOT on it says “DOT YCMD LUHP”, which doesn’t seem to be valid. I wonder if maybe there is another code hidden on the other side of the tire or perhaps these are just such bad tires that they don’t have a valid DOT code…?
I have had good service from tires that weren’t major brands. Back in 1951, my dad bought a used 1949 Dodge. This was during the Korean conflict and for some reason a 7.10 x 15 tire was hard to get. The service station where he traded handled Goodyear, but couldn’t get the 7.10x 15 tire from the distributor. My dad was finally able to purchase two 7.10x 15 tires from a Western Auto store in its housebrand which was Davis DeLuxe. About a month later the service station was able to get a pair of 7.10 x 15 Goodyear original equipment tires, so my dad bought them and had four new tires on the car. The Western Auto tires outlasted the Goodyear by 10,000 miles. Years later, I bought a new 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass. It came with the infamous Firestone 721 radials. I had tread separation on two of the tires and could not get a satisfactory adjustment from Firestone, I went to. Quality Farm and Fleet and bought 4_Duralon brand tires (these tires were made by Dayton. The Duralon gave much better service than the Firestone and handled and braked just as well. On my 1965_Rambler I replaced the original equipment Goodyear tires when they wore out with Atlas tires from the Standard Oil station where I traded…These tires gave good service as did the Kelly-Springfield tires that I bought for the Ford Maverick that replaced the Rambler. My most recent experience with non name brand tires was with two Sumitoma brand tires I bought for my Chevrolet Uplander. . A friend of mine lost his job as music director at a church and had to take aa,job at National Tire and Battery. I needed a pair of tires and he was on commission so I bought the Sumitoma tires from him. They didn’t last as long as the original equipment Goodyear, but the handling and brakng was no different than the original Goodyear…I would run the Crosswind tires until they need to be replaced.
Part of the reason that I was kind of torn on getting new tires is because I was on the fence about getting winter tires in the first place. On one hand, I was thinking to get all season tires that perform well in the snow instead of getting a separate set of winter tires . That would certainly be the cheaper route. The alternative would be to get the snow tires and change with the Linglongs for the winter. I suppose I could also wait for it to snow and go try to do some quick turns in a parking lot somewhere to see how the traction is on these, but judging from the information I can find on these, it is very unlikely that they will perform acceptably in the snow. I don’t know… I’m overthinking it at this point I think and am going to sleep on it.
The DOT code could be on the inside, yeah. The tires I just got have “this side out” stamped on them because that’s the side with the code. If you don’t have a valid DOT code, I suspect they are not legal here.
My dad used to buy tires from the Gambles store back in the 50s. Seemed pretty good and who knows who made them, but think they were all US made back then. Of course with the old nylon tires it was an annual event just about.
The date code is four numbers. And it may very well be on the inside sidewall. The first 2 numbers are the week, the second 2 numbers are the year
Sumitomo is not an off brand, no name or housebrand. It’s a real brand name, and has been around for quite awhile. I probably wouldn’t pick them over Michelin, though
As far as those Linglong tires go . . . if they’re safe, I would just run them until they wear out. But if traction is an issue, get a second set of steel rims, and mount some good snow tires
Driving technique has a lot to do with light snow driving,in real deep snow you probaly going to get stuck anyway,so buy a set of chains or stay home till the roads are basically clear,all season is probaly your best bet.I have seen snowtires that didnt have a very aggresive tread at all,the best design,I ever ran across for wet snow was the “Pennsylvania Turnpike” tread design(worked real good in moderate wet snow,around here if its cold enough for powder,usually it doesnt snow much(our deeper snow events are usually "Gulf"related any “powder” events usually leave the balance on the west slopes.
there is a size molded on tire? But no load/speed rating? Like 88T?
If the no brand tires are performing OK I’d keep them. Put yourself at ease and get a set of Michelin X-ice winter tires.
If they are performing well, keep them on. If you live in an area with lots of snow, get a set of good winter tires and rims. My main issue with off brand tries is balance. Years ago I got a set of Marshall tires on my Caprice. They were Korean, and impossible to balance. I ended up throwing them away.
There is a load/speed rating on the tire… It is 100W. I’m going to try to see if I can look at the inside of the tire today to find a date code. On the outside of the tires there is definitely no date code.
Snow tires are so expensive… I work as a contractor (software) and can choose to work from home if the conditions out are too bad. I was thinking of using an all season tire with good light snow rating for light snow conditions and carrying tire chains in case I ever get caught in a blizzard. I’ve never used snow chains before though and am wondering what people’s thoughts are on them. I’ve only lived in New England for a few years and am still getting familiar with all the tricks to snow driving.
Thanks for all the replies!