Warning: Long post ahead
The regulars on this forum know that I usually take an overkill approach to maintenance and repairs (and tires in particular), so this decision was one that was very different than the norm for me.
My dad has a 92 Toyota Previa. It is a 20-year old van with lots of life left in the powertrain, but the interior/exterior condition are lacking. Therefore, it is unclear how long it will be kept.
While in the process of trying to diagnose a brake problem, I noticed that the L/F tire had a long cut between the sidewall and the outer shoulder. These tires were 8.5 year old Michelin X-Radials with 83,000 miles on them which also had lots of sidewall cracking. I have been trying to convince him to replace these tires for quite some time; and since there was a cut in the sidewall, I finally sold him on it today.
The van requires 215/65-15, H-rated. He wanted the tires to have lifetime rotation and balancing, as this is a big deal to him. Plus he wanted the tires today, which is interesting since he was in no hurry to get them before.
And did I tell you it was already 2:45PM?
The selection in the 215/65-15 size is limited. My first thought was a Michelin, but the new Defender is not available in this size until Sept. The next choices were either the Sumitomo HTR A/S P01, but no one carried them locally.
So, it was down to either the General Altimax RT, Pirelli P4 Four Seasons or Kumho Solus KR21. It was convenient that TireRack happened to test these three tires in 2007, and ranked the Generals best, followed by the Pirelli and Kumho. CR on the other hand, ranked the Pirellis first, followed by the Kumho and Generals. So, it appears that there was consensus between the two different sources that the Pirelli will be a solid performer.
The Pirelli was about $10/tire more than the Kumho, and since the differences may not be noticeable on this application, my dad wanted to go with the Kumho since there were cheaper. The guy at America's Tire said the Kumhos were $433 OTD, but said the Pirellis were a much better tire for $30 more.
I told him that I was fully committed towards building a strong relationship with America's Tire, and told him to reference my purchase history (5 sets since Sept 2011) and to show some flexibility with pricing. He immediately came back with saying that he could sell me a set of the Pirellis for the price of the Kumhos. I discussed it with my dad who was fine with it, but I called him back and got it down to $420 out the door or $79/tire + install and tax. Sold.
As an initial review, these Pirellis handle surprisingly well for a T-rated tire, standard touring class tire. It is too early to tell on traction, but the car seems to stop noticeably better than before. The ride is definitely a bit on the taut side though. I will update this thread as the tires accumulate more miles. Oh, and they are now Made in China, hence the reason for the thread title.
Overall, I am fairly satisfied with the tires considering their dirt-cheap price and especially happy with America's Tire for accommodating me at a moment's notice. I hope these tires continue to perform well, as it is almost too good to be true for a tire that is so cheap (I'm used to $120/tire for 15").
Does anyone else have experience with Pirelli P4 Four Seasons?
The regulars on this forum know that I usually take an overkill approach to maintenance and repairs (and tires in particular), so this decision was one that was very different than the norm for me.
My dad has a 92 Toyota Previa. It is a 20-year old van with lots of life left in the powertrain, but the interior/exterior condition are lacking. Therefore, it is unclear how long it will be kept.
While in the process of trying to diagnose a brake problem, I noticed that the L/F tire had a long cut between the sidewall and the outer shoulder. These tires were 8.5 year old Michelin X-Radials with 83,000 miles on them which also had lots of sidewall cracking. I have been trying to convince him to replace these tires for quite some time; and since there was a cut in the sidewall, I finally sold him on it today.
The van requires 215/65-15, H-rated. He wanted the tires to have lifetime rotation and balancing, as this is a big deal to him. Plus he wanted the tires today, which is interesting since he was in no hurry to get them before.
The selection in the 215/65-15 size is limited. My first thought was a Michelin, but the new Defender is not available in this size until Sept. The next choices were either the Sumitomo HTR A/S P01, but no one carried them locally.
So, it was down to either the General Altimax RT, Pirelli P4 Four Seasons or Kumho Solus KR21. It was convenient that TireRack happened to test these three tires in 2007, and ranked the Generals best, followed by the Pirelli and Kumho. CR on the other hand, ranked the Pirellis first, followed by the Kumho and Generals. So, it appears that there was consensus between the two different sources that the Pirelli will be a solid performer.
The Pirelli was about $10/tire more than the Kumho, and since the differences may not be noticeable on this application, my dad wanted to go with the Kumho since there were cheaper. The guy at America's Tire said the Kumhos were $433 OTD, but said the Pirellis were a much better tire for $30 more.
I told him that I was fully committed towards building a strong relationship with America's Tire, and told him to reference my purchase history (5 sets since Sept 2011) and to show some flexibility with pricing. He immediately came back with saying that he could sell me a set of the Pirellis for the price of the Kumhos. I discussed it with my dad who was fine with it, but I called him back and got it down to $420 out the door or $79/tire + install and tax. Sold.
As an initial review, these Pirellis handle surprisingly well for a T-rated tire, standard touring class tire. It is too early to tell on traction, but the car seems to stop noticeably better than before. The ride is definitely a bit on the taut side though. I will update this thread as the tires accumulate more miles. Oh, and they are now Made in China, hence the reason for the thread title.
Overall, I am fairly satisfied with the tires considering their dirt-cheap price and especially happy with America's Tire for accommodating me at a moment's notice. I hope these tires continue to perform well, as it is almost too good to be true for a tire that is so cheap (I'm used to $120/tire for 15").
Does anyone else have experience with Pirelli P4 Four Seasons?