Blacklion BH15 Tires ?

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Looking into new tires at some point on this new to me 2007 Honda Fit. The current tires have plenty of tread left, but I haven't heard of them before.

Apparently, they are a Chinese made tire called Blacklion.

http://www.blackliontires.com/tires/BH15.html

Size is 195/55r15

The sub-names for what I'm riding on are Landscape on 3 of the tires and the 4th is called Cilerro (being the 'newer' name). All 4 tires have the same tread pattern and similar tread depth remaining. (maybe old stock of Landscape or 1 was replaced already with a newer Cilerro)

Does anyone know much about this tire brand? They seem okay, but honestly I'm already looking ahead for a set of Cooper CS5 Ultra's or General RT43s.

Thanks!
 
I don't go with chinese tires, don't have confidence in them (yet).

Cheapest I can go with for my fit would be chinese-made nexen, goodyear or even douglas (still mostly made in US).

currently using korean made Hankook Optimo 4S with good satisfaction, although threadwear seems to be a bit poor, given it's all weather rating compound (Winter RAC rated also).

Q.
 
Look at the first two digits of the DOT code and tell us what they are. That's a plant code that tells you the plant that made them.

If it's a plant owned or co-owned by a majority company that could tell you a little about the possible quality.
 
Ah, I'll check out the DOT numbers and report back. Still new to these tires that came from the PO and they appear to be in decent shape / plenty of tread left. I may upload some pictures of the tread on these. I wonder where the PO bought these? Could be a cheap in-house tire used by CarMax (PO sold to them and I got car from a small used car lot CarMax sold vehicle to).
 
Would you buy any other safety-critical part for your car from a super-cheap no-name brand?
 
Well, the good news is that I didn't buy/install them and am looking to replace with Cooper CS5 Ultra's or General RT43s. I was just curious if ANYONE here had heard of them before or had any experience, but that can sometimes be likened to asking someone to sign their rep points away.
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edit - I had considered Michelin Premier but still over $500 for a set of 4 after rebate at Costco. I feel I can do better and get same performance / usable treadlife from the other options I'm looking at. I was happy with the X-Radials on my now stolen 92 Civic Hatch, but I don't want to pay more than $200 more just for Michelin. Boy those tires were so much cheaper just 3-4 years ago from the same Costco. Are 15s really that more expensive or have tires gone up in general? I got 4 X-Radials for under $300 on OE 13" wheels on my hatch.
 
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Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
Cheap tires = cheap performance and low-end safety......so why do it???


Not always. I had a set of expensive Michelins that = cheap performance and low-end safety.

You know, the LTX that "walks on water" around here. Except mine, which hydroplaned on water instead.
 
If you never drove long interstate distances, & never drove in snow or heavy rain, you'd be fine. Like my 75 year old mother-in-law with her 20+ year old Firestones, with dry rot cracks everywhere (I told her she needed new ones, but the car died first)! Otherwise, try to get something a LITTLE better!
 
I'd be inclined to go with the new Cooper CS5's as I currently have the RT43's on the Lexus in my signature.

The RT43's aren't loud per/say but, I can hear them and, they're on a quiet car. I would imagine that this sound coming through could be actual noise on another car! And, I am reading reviews about the RT43's...whub, whub, whub noise getting into the cabin.

Otherwise, I love the wonderful all weather(winter/snow/ice) capabilities and the great poor road imperfection absorption with very good ride/handling qualities & hydroplaning resistance...Good wet road traction & cornering as well!

But, the Cooper CS5's will be next on my list if reviews continue to stay positive!
 
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Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
Cheap tires = cheap performance and low-end safety......so why do it???


Not always. I had a set of expensive Michelins that = cheap performance and low-end safety.

You know, the LTX that "walks on water" around here. Except mine, which hydroplaned on water instead.


But you aren't bitter
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I was looking at my dad's LTX M/S2's yesterday actually on their Expedition. They are getting down there, have at least 60,000 miles on them now and I'm curious as to whether he'll run them through another New Brunswick winter (they had 8ft of snow in their yard this past year) again or replace them
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We've got another few years to wring out of ours as they are much newer.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Unfortunately, you won't find much love here for anything but Michelin.

Michelin bread and butter are nothing special, neither are cheaper Pirellis. They excel in a high end market. There are some really good tyres for normal cars from other manufacturers.
 
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Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
Cheap tires = cheap performance and low-end safety......so why do it???


I don't necessarily think all cheap tires are less safe than an expensive tire. The super super cheap stuff from China.. I would think so. The cheap GoodYears or Nexens or even Kuhmo I don't think they are at a higher risk or blowing up than a $500/tire michelin. The performance won't be there with cheap tires, I will definitely agree with that but that doesn't make them a less safe tire. If this is your actual thinking do you have a set of tires for each season? Or do you have a set of all seasons? Point being: Everybody makes a compromise at a certain price point. Maybe you buy a Michelin all season but you get a good amount of snow 2-3 months out of the year. It would be safer to have bought a second set for those months. But most people don't do that, even the people who preach that there is no price on safety don't. There is always a price and everybodys limit is different.

I guarantee there are certain stantards that keep them safe, the cheaper tires that is. I can't say anything about the dirt cheap China made stuff though.
 
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Originally Posted By: ccap41
Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
Cheap tires = cheap performance and low-end safety......so why do it???


I don't necessarily think all cheap tires are less safe than an expensive tire. The super super cheap stuff from China.. I would think so. The cheap GoodYears or Nexens or even Kuhmo I don't think they are at a higher risk or blowing up than a $500/tire michelin. The performance won't be there with cheap tires, I will definitely agree with that but that doesn't make them a less safe tire. If this is your actual thinking do you have a set of tires for each season? Or do you have a set of all seasons? Point being: Everybody makes a compromise at a certain price point. Maybe you buy a Michelin all season but you get a good amount of snow 2-3 months out of the year. It would be safer to have bought a second set for those months. But most people don't do that, even the people who preach that there is no price on safety don't. There is always a price and everybodys limit is different.

I guarantee there are certain stantards that keep them safe, the cheaper tires that is. I can't say anything about the dirt cheap China made stuff though.


On our cars we run dedicated summer rubber (Michelin Pilot Super Sport and Michelin Pilot A/S3's) and dedicated winters (used to run Blizzak's on the M5, it is now parked, the Charger has iPike's and I regret that purchase and should have gone with a Michelin).

On the Expedition, due to the excellent performance on ice and in snow the LTX M/S2's offer, we are able to run them year round.

Of course, in Ontario we have the option of using All-season tires year round, though a good chunk of the population doesn't. However, in Quebec, snow tires are mandatory and police enforced.
 
I guess I'm the only one here who have comments from a professional tires store on these Blacklion tires. There is a small tire chain here in Utah that carries these tires. They sell them when somebody comes in and wants the cheapest tire possible to pass inspection. So they recommend this tire.

They have had no issues and the guy said compared to all the other "offbarnd" tires out there, the Blacklion are actually pretty decent.
 
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: ccap41
Originally Posted By: stro_cruiser
Cheap tires = cheap performance and low-end safety......so why do it???


I don't necessarily think all cheap tires are less safe than an expensive tire. The super super cheap stuff from China.. I would think so. The cheap GoodYears or Nexens or even Kuhmo I don't think they are at a higher risk or blowing up than a $500/tire michelin. The performance won't be there with cheap tires, I will definitely agree with that but that doesn't make them a less safe tire. If this is your actual thinking do you have a set of tires for each season? Or do you have a set of all seasons? Point being: Everybody makes a compromise at a certain price point. Maybe you buy a Michelin all season but you get a good amount of snow 2-3 months out of the year. It would be safer to have bought a second set for those months. But most people don't do that, even the people who preach that there is no price on safety don't. There is always a price and everybodys limit is different.

I guarantee there are certain stantards that keep them safe, the cheaper tires that is. I can't say anything about the dirt cheap China made stuff though.


On our cars we run dedicated summer rubber (Michelin Pilot Super Sport and Michelin Pilot A/S3's) and dedicated winters (used to run Blizzak's on the M5, it is now parked, the Charger has iPike's and I regret that purchase and should have gone with a Michelin).

On the Expedition, due to the excellent performance on ice and in snow the LTX M/S2's offer, we are able to run them year round.

Of course, in Ontario we have the option of using All-season tires year round, though a good chunk of the population doesn't. However, in Quebec, snow tires are mandatory and police enforced.


I don't know if you are one of the people who say the cost of safety doesn't matter..but.. if you are then you sould never have an all season tire on anything. They aren't the stickiest in the summer and obviously not in the winter eiter. Your "excellent performance" on your truck tires means nothing when there is better and there's no price for being safe. It should have winter tires. Always better in the winter. Also the AS3 is an all season tire, not a dedicated summer tire.

FYI, I responded as if you were one of those people. Just so you know..
 
Originally Posted By: ccap41


I don't know if you are one of the people who say the cost of safety doesn't matter..but.. if you are then you sould never have an all season tire on anything. They aren't the stickiest in the summer and obviously not in the winter eiter. Your "excellent performance" on your truck tires means nothing when there is better and there's no price for being safe. It should have winter tires. Always better in the winter. Also the AS3 is an all season tire, not a dedicated summer tire.

FYI, I responded as if you were one of those people. Just so you know..


I don't go around saying it on here but I can identify with that ideology but with exceptions and within reason. For example, with regards to the LTX M/S2 (which are a mud and snow tire, hence the M/S designation). They are absolutely spectacular on ice; better on ice (different vehicles, but still) than the dedicated snow tires on the Charger. So I think of them as an exception to the rule.

The A/S3's are indeed branded as an "all season" tire but they are part of the Pilot lineup and are a UHP tire making them significantly stickier than some "dedicated" summer tires. I also, as noted, do not drive on them year round; they are not used as an "all season" tire, rather they serve summer-only duty.

Even among the defined categories we have overlap and qualifiers. Somebody running a "dedicated" summer tire that isn't even in the same ballpark as a PSS let alone the A/S3, but because they are running "summer" rubber, and run dedicated snows, do they get a pass here? What about the guy that runs less than spectacular snow tires?

I'm more concerned about the guy running around on bald cheap tires in the summer rather than whether they are all season, UHP....etc. Good tires with decent tread left is more important if we have some sudden rain.

Winter is a bit more grey. There are a few good (truck) tires that are excellent in snow with the A/S or M/S ratings. Car all season tires tend to be awful. This is also why IMHO many of the truck "all season" tires carry the snowflake designation making them an acceptable winter tire by Quebec standards.

It is an interesting topic though so thank you for continuing it
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If you don't need decent wet or winter traction, then almost anything will work. My car came with a set of Cooper Starfire china specials and they worked OK in the wet but now that they are down to 2/3 depth, they seem to have given up, like most cheap all seasons I've had. I'd never dream of running them in the winter though, I like my snowtires.
Buying new, for a car I'll keep for a while, its probably better to spend a bit more. If the extra $100-150 is a big deal, then roll on the cheap tires and pay attention in the rain. The driver is still the biggest factor on safety.
 
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