Are All Douglas Tires USA Made?

[SwampSurvivor]

I'm thinking of getting a new Douglas All season in 215/70-16 as a full size spare for the Subaru. It will live in the spare tire well its entire life, so I shouldn't have to worry about dryrot for a few years. Usually I just throw a winter tire in the spare tire well but I'm getting rid of these Hankook tires and getting proper Nokian for next winter.

The car's stock tires are 225/60-17, I run 215/70-16 for winters. The difference on paper is very small, in reality, on the car, they are the exact same height as far as I can tell - accuracy of a Harbor Freight tape measure.

Douglas is the cheapest tire I can get from anywhere in this size and I can pick it up from my local Walmart. If they are made in the USA, that's a plus. Shouldn't even need to balance.

The steel 17s are still pretty expensive to come by and I'm not having good luck finding one. Otherwise I'd go that route and buy 5 tires when the car is due.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Tell us again what " Made in USA" is going to do for you. Have a look at this Goodyear Wrangler Tire.

 

[ls973800]

Here is your tire size comparison for the two different size tires

 

[CARJ]

Why would you not balance the spare tire?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I'm not opposed to Chinese made tires or Russian made tires. In fact, I've had great luck with them! The only tires I've not had luck with were the Argentinian made winterforce that constantly had belt issues no matter how many I replaced and USA made Michelins that prematurely dryrotted.

My meaty snow tires have about the same diameter and circumference as the factory size. They're a little less than what the calculations put them at. The .3 inch difference is tolerable according to Subaru, though.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Tell us again what " Made in USA" is going to do for you. Have a look at this Goodyear Wrangler Tire.

Another reason I've given up on Goodyear.

I can't speak for Miller88, but I prefer to buy USA when possible. Not just for quality, which is sometimes exceeded by imported goods. Just because, jobs, economy, patriotism, and ecology. A tire shipped across the US has a lower carbon footprint than one shipped across the Pacific (and then across the US).

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I'm not a big fan of goodyear tires. They don't make anything that appeals to what I need and I've seen a ton of Duratrac tires rip the sidewall on trails.

 

[Snagglefoot]

By the way, Wiki says Douglas tires are made by Goodyear for Walmart.

 

[Voleak]

Originally Posted by ls973800
Here is your tire size comparison for the two different size tires

'

As seen here, the difference is .3 inches in diameter. I don't think this is a good idea on an AWD vehicle. All 215/70r16 tires I have seen are 27.9" tall, with the exception of the Cooper Discoverer AT3, AT3 4S, HTP, and Evolution HT all at 27.7" in diameter.

A closer diameter in a 16" size would be 225/65r16 at 27.5".

I know you mentioned that the spare will spend its entire life in the spare tire well, but what if you do have to use it. And what if you have to drive a long distance before you can get the original tire repaired or replaced? I think the 27.9" is to tall and can mess up the AWD system.

 

[The_Cams]

The Douglas tire is perfect for a spare. I ran 2 on the rear of a sedan years ago that I was trading in soon. Baseline Goodyear (Kelly plant). No complaints.

 

[csandste]

Been years since I've bought a Douglas. Think my Wally only General Exclaims are a better tire, but for your usage, you basically want it to hold air and get you to a tire repair place. Walmart ubiquity is a plus-- so I'd say you're making the right choice, US manufacture (which I think Kelly is) shouldn't count much.

Only argument for not doing so is the Exclaims are better tires IMO. If you bought a spare Exclaim, then three more if one of your primary tires got ripped and the others were almost ready for replacement you'd be ahead. Of course then you'd have to buy another spare.

I vote for your choice of Douglas. Cheap and available locally.

 

[BJD78]

My Mom ran Douglas tires for years with no issues in Fargo ND winters and the Wall Mart people told her that Douglas tires are made for Wal Mart by Kelly-Springfield which is part of Goodyear.That was about 5-6 years ago so noyt sure who makes them now. I reckon wal mart contracts with one of the big tire makers,like Gooodyear or Cooper or General etc. Good tires at a decent price.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Best way to tell is to go to a walmart, and look at the rack of tires they usually have inside. They will say where they're made on the sidewall. The tire code might start with "PJ" which means U.S.A. too.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Tell us again what " Made in USA" is going to do for you. Have a look at this Goodyear Wrangler Tire.
Your Wranglers made in China, interesting.
What makes some Jeep people upset is when they buy a $35k all-American Jeep Wrangler, put all-American Goodyear Wranglers (with Kevlar, nice) on them, and then discover the Jeep is owned by Italians, and the Goodyears are made in China. ...

 

[litesong]

Originally Posted by oil_film_movies

" Made in USA".... buy a $35k all-American Jeep Wrangler.....Goodyear Wranglers.... discover the Jeep is owned by Italians, and the Goodyears are made in China. ...
......b....b.....but, many Italians & Chinese speak with cowboy accents. All those spaghetti westerns...... & David Carradine Kung Fu tv series prove it.

 

[MNgopher]

Out of 75 different sizes and load rated versions of the Goodyear tire everyone is picking on, 9 of them may be made in a country besides the US or Canada. 6 with some Chinese production, others include Chile and Switzerland. You can lump them all in one basket, but that wouldn't be correct. The same tire on my truck is US made. Reality is they are competing globally, so none of this should be a surprise.

That being said, I've run tires from all over the place. USA, Canada, China, Korea, Japan, and when buying name brand stuff have not had an issue.

 

[supton]

I was thinking about getting a set and then did some reading. One link reminded me that cheapo sets of tires (not necessarily Douglas) can cost you over the long run in lower mpg. Not just short tire lifespan but also fuel costs.

Tossing that out there. For a spare tire, probably a moot point altogether.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

As long as it holds air and doen't blow out the first time I go to use it, that's all I need

 

[wlk]

Ran Douglas on 4 different cars for the past several years now. Cheap, USA made, very good traction- snow & rain and all were great tires. Highly recommend.

 

[JTK]

^ Agree. Douglas were great for the money they were on my Forester. I'd definitely buy them again.