So here’s a story: My grandson is in town, funny how they all come back to Grandma’s house. Anyway, he is in town for some surfing contests. I thought since he lived in Saint Croix, USVI, all this surfing would be down there or in Hawaii or Tahiiti, but somehow the allure of the frigid cold NE Atlantic draws these guys to New York. I don’t live near the ocean, I am on that other side, the sound side. So any surfing is now going to require additional miles on my Honda that has already accumulated 217,000 from the “hockey” they played in the past. OK. So I go to my mechanic and ask "do you think these tires will get me around, like to Montuck and Jersey Shore etc. roughly 200 miles a competition (ugh), He assures me I have plenty of rubber. So the day before the jaunt to Montuck, I take the Q ,oh and did I mention his friend from Saint John, Tommy? , I take them for a practice in Rockaway Beach, yes from Sandy fame. They practice for a couple of hours and then they get the brilliant idea, lets go to Long Beach,try that out. On our way back to Whitestone, North Shore, while on the Southern State Parkway, I blow a front passenger side tire. It is late in the afternoon. I am told by the State Trooper I can’t call AAA, it is a State Highway, so I shell out $75.00 for a tow truck to come and put my donut tire on. I then drive to my local station (now it is 5PM) and I am told the tire is no good. I ask for a new tire, of course it is Saturday, 5PM and they don’t have my size. They sell me a “good” used tire, assuring me it is good for two three years. Skeptical yet needy I go for it $50.00 and I am off. I drive to my place, about five blocks and park. For some uneasy reason, around 9PM I think “let me go check on the tire”. You guessed, flat as a pancake. Ugh. Now I have to involve my husband who up to this point was oblivious of the entire ordeal. Double ugh. I call AAA and they promptly come over and put the donut back on the passenger side. AAA gives me the name of a 24 hour tire place just two miles from my home. I drive there. It is the third world. Ok, they are friendly and take a look at the “good” tire, and inform me it cannot be repaired. So I say ok, I will buy two new tires. You guessed, they don;t have my size in any brand I recognize. It is now midnight, I have to get these kids on the road to Montuck in three hours…so they sell me LINGLONG Cross Winds??? Of course when I come back home I have to explain to my husband that yes I got two new tires and yes I bought an unrecognizable brand. Chinese brand. I drove to Montuck and back roughly 200 miles. Now the big question, am I safe with these Ling Long tires or should I seriously consider buying two or maybe even four new brand name tires. IT LOOKS LIKE THE SURFER IS HERE THE SUMMER OR UNTIL THE HONDA DIES.
- I have no knowledge of Linglong tires
- I have no trust in Chinese tires
- I’d buy something else, is there a Sams or Costco near you? These can’t be that odd of a size - what year? What size?
That’s me…
Let me be clear, I’m talking about Chinese branded tires. Many name brand companies make tires there, and all over the world. I don’t worry about country of origin for, say, Michelins.
Here’s an article, mentions Ling Long in particular, not in a positive way:
nbcnews.com/id/32899266/ns/business-autos/t/chinese-tires-its-buyer-beware/
Definately a Chinese tire for what its worth. Probably what you paid for them. Some are ok some are bad just like lead in kids toys-they really aren’t too concerned sometimes. At any rate, look at the tire for the DOT code. The first four letters and numbers after “DOT” identifies the manufacturer and plant that they came from. That would be helpful to know. I bought a set of third tier tires for a car that I just wanted another year out of. Never did figure out where they came from but turned out to be a good tire. Quiet, good in snow, and performed just fine.
A few comments…
Your strong, athletic grandson (and his friend) were in the car, but were unable (or unwilling) to change a tire for you? Shame on them.
Adult life skills include tasks like changing tires, so if they don’t know how to do a simple task like this, it is time for them to learn, rather than forcing an elderly woman to spend $75 for something that they should have been well able to do for you.
Ling Long tires?
You couldn’t pay me to put poor-quality junk tires like that on my car. As texases’ article points out, the quality of your tires are a major safety factor, and tire quality is not something that you should compromise on if you want to avoid accidents.
And, I can’t close without mentioning that the place at the tip of Long Island is Montauk, not Montuk.
;-))
Now, please replace those tires with a brand that will not endanger you, your passengers, and the folks with whom you share the road!
Sounds to me like the schmucks at the tire shop took advantage of her and saw an opportunity to unlead some tires they’ve not been able to get rid of.
I agree, dump them, and get some decent rubber.
The name alone of those tires would make me a bit nervous.
Linglong is bad enough and to call them Crosswinds on top of that… 
If these surfers are of adult age then they really should have their own car on their own dime instead of beating your car into the pavement.
It’s too bad you can’t adapt your Honda to sidemounts like the cars of the 1930s and use the Linglong Crosswinds as spare tires. The link that texases sent is particularly disturbing. If the only disadvantage to the Linglong Crosswinds was poor treadlife, then they might be o.k. However, when stopping distance and handling are affected, then I would replace the tires. Our son lives on a tight budget, but when he had to buy tires, he bought Michelin tires because safety is of utmost importance to him.
Ling Long = Long braking distance
While I do prefer good quality tires, at this point the new tires the OP purchased are basically a generic, unknown brand. The tires might be fine. Since she has AAA so I’d just go with them and see how it works out. If they are balanced OK and the car is running down the road smoothly I’d just take the kids to surf and worry about other things. I’ve had junky brand name tires, and some decent generic tires over the years. The tires are on the car now and the OP might as well just sit tight and hope for the best.
If the car were mine and I were going to keep the tires in place there is one thing I would do for sure.
On a rainy day I’d head out to a deserted road and do a little gentle testing to see what kind of traction those tires have on wet pavement.
About a dozen years ago I had a set of Kellys on one of my cars and with wet pavement any drive involved both hands on the wheel, white knuckles, lowered speed, and a lot of wishful thinking; a.k.a. praying.
Ah, there they are: DOT Mfg code: 0U Company Name: SHANDONG LINGLONG TYRE CO., LTD. City: ZHAOYUAN CITY State: SHANDONG Country: CHINA
Not the only Shandong company making tires but most are in the Shandong state. At least you know where to complain to.
Amazing some folks are so cheap they continue to drive on tires they admit are horrible?
My experience with cheap tires was years ago with Korean made “Marshall” brand tires. They did not fail but the rubber was of varying hardness around the circumference and they were impossible to balance. Since they did not fail, there was no warranty and the dealer would not take them back. I simply threw them away (recycled) and bought Michelins and have been happy ever since.
Because of their extremely long tread life, Michelins actually pay for themselves in cost per mile.
“Because of their extremely long tread life, Michelins actually pay for themselves in cost per mile.”
+1
Michelins may be somewhat more expensive to purchase, but when you factor in a tread life that is almost always far longer than the competition’s tires, Michelins wind up being no more expensive, and may, in fact, be cheaper for the long haul.
Michelins may be somewhat more expensive to purchase, but when you factor in a tread life that is almost always far longer than the competition's tires
Maybe for car tires…but not truck tires…at least not the ones I purchase. I’ve been purchasing Cooper tires for about 20 years now. They are about 50% CHEAPER then the comparable Michelin tire…and the Micheline tire only goes about 10k more miles. The cost per mile is a LOT cheaper with the Coopers. My current coopers (AT3’s) are BETTER then any Michelin tire I ever owned.
Mike–You may want to rethink that preference for Coopers in the future, depending on what the company’s new owners do with the brand:
@VDCdriver - Thanks for that info. HOPEFULLY Cooper won’t change. If they do…there are other companies out there. It’s not like I have stock in them.
I wouldn’t waste these new tires if they drove well, or well enough, and stopped well or well enough. Name and origin are not enough to make me throw away good $$ already spent.
Ship them to me and I will use them.
How old are these surfer boys?