Tires Q&A: Purchasing an off-brand tire?

Jan 15, 2010 11:36 AM

In our ongoing series of Q&A blog columns, we will highlight common and interesting questions posted to our Car forums, with answers from our automotive experts.

Question: I am thinking of buying “Winter Challenger” tires from a Chinese company--best prices for sure --[but] good quality? Not so sure. Any experience?

Answer: We test a wide variety of big-name tire brands, but obviously there are many, many associate and private brand tires that we can not possibly cover. Most of these are made by major tire companies and should be built to the same quality standards as manufacturer flagship brands. Also, major companies manufacturer tires all over the world, including China. Our recent performance testing shows that may of the major models manufactured in China scored well, placing in the top half of our Ratings chart.

Having said that, the question here is whether to purchase a winter tire called the Winter Challenger? We have not tested the tire and there is no clear user review information available from any of the popular online retailers. The Winter Challenger is manufactured under the Wanli brand name, which is manufactured by South China Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. Despite knowing very little of the tire model or the brand itself, my concern is that it does not seem to be widely distributed. So this is the question you have to ask yourself: Will the tire retailer selling the tire today be able back the brand in the future and will they have replacement stock should you need another tire after, say, a road hazard mishap?

Our advice is to consider the performance, value, and the availability of the tire model when considering a tire purchase.

—Gene Petersen