CHINESE TYRES vs BRAND NAME

[amunra]

These tyres do interest me, but I am yet to locate any comparison testing for something as essential as wet stopping distance.
Other Chinese tyres I have seen in testing typically tend to show markedly longer stopping distances in the wet. Granted these may be poorer quality than the Kinforest, but When it comes to the crunch (emergency stopping) I would like to see some figures.

Seat of your pants 'feeling' doesn't quite cut it for me yet.

If anyone can find comparitive testing I'd love to see it.

close to 16,000 kms now.

tyres are wearing well and driving fine in both dry and wet and all speeds..

had to do some high speed braking and maneuvering to avoid a couple of tyres in the middle of my lane at 120km/ph and they took the sharp braking while maneuvering pretty well i was impressed. (this was in the dry)

mind you this is on a golf R so im basing all this on 4WD.. not sure howd they be on a FWD with some extra power..

also i can put the foot to the floor in the wet from a standing start in race mode and the wheels dont spin at all which was pretty common with the bridgestones that came from the dealer..... so right now im putting them on close par with the goodyear assy 2 which i had 2 sets of...

whether they would perform the same in measured testing im not sure (id like to see this done also) but they are performing well enough for me that they could be a couple of hundred $ more for the set and still be worthwhile...

im definately going to be buying another set of these when the time comes for new ones..

[boykid]

thanks amunra

amunra. thanks for the thread you started. just bought a set of kf550 for my kluger awd. they meet the required load and speed rating on the manual. like you, i have done some research and this cheapy came out with good reviews. so far so good with these tyres but im still looking for detailed reviews on how they handle in the wet and i stumbled upon your thread.

i have bad experience with cheap tyres. i had bobjanes that slipped on dry roads on a lancer. i had china no name tyres that were noisy and slipped on wet roads on a mazda2. they were so dangerous that i got them replaced the following pay day.

The thing is I cant afford expensive low profile tyres but i dont want to compromise safety. So i asked tyre shops the brand of cheap tyres they sell. three came out. achilles, delmax and kinforest. no reviews can be found on delmax tyres. achilles have wire separation issues. and yes found possitive reviews on the kinforest kf550. the feedback is that they have good grip on dry roads, okay for wet, and comfortable on the ride.

I have them for 6 days now. manufactured 2018, the fresh tyre smell fills my garage. So far they feel the same if not better than the bridgestones d400 they replaced. but they are a bit quieter and yes they feel a bit rubbery in the parking lot. I have no experience with them in the wet. but seeing your feedback gives me confidence in them. I drive like a grandma so i wont do any sporty maneuvers with them. also, they are heaps quiter than the maxxis tyres i have on my crv.

sorry guys, i have no vw cars really. i just wanted to thank amunra for sharing his experience. this is the only forum that i found where someone actually owned these tyres giving a periodic feedback.

[amunra]

amunra. thanks for the thread you started.

my pleasure buddy.

im glad that this thread served its purpose in helping at-least 1 person looking to install a reasonable quality tyre on a budget like I had to at the time.

so far my kf550 have done 25,000+ kms and are still going strong after rotating them at around 15,000km...

there is no significant wear, unusual warping or splitting..and are holding up ALOT better than i first thought... my original intention was to get at-least 20,000 kms out of them and id be happy but so far they've exceeded my expectations on all levels....

they handle and stop surprisingly well in the wet considering i have them on a golf r and i have had 0 issues so far except trying to track down another set !!!!!!

on a side note.. i feel they may have become over time, a little bit noisier than the previous sets of goodyear assy 2's i had but its nothing major and they are also quite comfortable to cruise in and also at higher speeds on the freeway where i have to commute long distances.

i am also yet to experience any traction loss from a standing start (wet or dry) which was a common occurrence with the bridgestones that originally came with the car... even the guy at the tyre shop said they were in extremely good condition for any tyre when he rotated them and said i might have stumbled upon a hidden gem.




so to all the people mocking and ridiculing me and this thread.... your ignorant and somewhat hostile comments and theories have been debunked .

thanks to anyone who read this with interest i hope more people found it useful.

happy and safe driving to all.

[Kachingg]

Thanks amunra because of this thread i have got some winrun tyres for the wifes car and they work very well i drove it in the wet and grip was fine (only a 1.4 tsi) at $95 a tyre for 225/40/18 was a steal even if they wear a bit quicker than the $200+ tyres still well worth it
Will definitely be getting a set for the alltrack when my hankooks wear out see how they handle a bit more power only $105 each for 235/35/19 cheapest i can get hankooks for is about 240ish so the current set look to last 40k ish if the winruns last 30k will still be way ahead
Thanks again mate

[amunra]

Thanks amunra because of this thread i have got some winrun tyres for the wifes car and they work very well i drove it in the wet and grip was fine (only a 1.4 tsi) at $95 a tyre for 225/40/18 was a steal even if they wear a bit quicker than the $200+ tyres still well worth it
Will definitely be getting a set for the alltrack when my hankooks wear out see how they handle a bit more power only $105 each for 235/35/19 cheapest i can get hankooks for is about 240ish so the current set look to last 40k ish if the winruns last 30k will still be way ahead
Thanks again mate

no worries kachhing i knew you were waiting for the verdict !

not entirely sure about WINRUN though but i know MAYRUN UHP are the same as KINFOREST UHP .. just different 'name'.


let everyone know how the WINRUN goes over time..

[sn809]

Well u obviously have some fans Amunra. lol

[amunra]

quick update.

the kf550s are still going !

[tigger73]

How many km?

And how are they handling the deluge?

[nat225]

without a third party independent testing facts and comparisons to at least 3 other tyre makes, i see this just an entirely subjective 'opinion'. which is ok, everyone's entitled to say whatever they want to say about how great is a budget tyre and how crap is a michelin ps4s

[amunra]

never said michelin were bad champ i think they are a great tyre.

as for these ones i've hit the 30,000km mark... they are holding up like any decent quality tyre would.. rotated them at approx 13 - 15k and obviously theres signs of wear but nothing significant, uneven or any sidewall deterioration... the compound is staying together pretty well.

gonna do another rotation soon and see if i can get another 15,000km out of them.

[tigger73]

I think this thread is about finding a tyre that is 80% as good as a set of PS4S for 1/4 the price.

If you're mainly doing commuting and don't want to send $1,000's on tyres every year then these sound are reasonable option. Of course they're not going to be as good as a tyres at the top end of the market but you're not paying top $ either.

[Dutch77]

Except 80% of something in the tyre world is a massive difference.

[amunra]

I think this thread is about finding a tyre that is 80% as good as a set of PS4S for 1/4 the price.

If you're mainly doing commuting and don't want to send $1,000's on tyres every year then these sound are reasonable option. Of course they're not going to be as good as a tyres at the top end of the market but you're not paying top $ either.

being driven on for long enough now i feel they are up to the task for everyday commuting and even perform well with spirited driving. ( basically no traction loss from stand still to go even in the wet... even with 30,000kms on them)

as for how they go on a FrontWD (gti / scriocco) combined with rain e.t.c im not sure as ive only used them on my own car but i cant imagine too many tyres doing too well on FWD in the rain when giving it a bit.

however. from my last 1 1/2 years driving on them when i started this thread... i can only say they have held up well... never put me in any dangerous or uncomfortable situations under high speed braking / maneuvers / wet conditions e.t.c e.t.c .... in summary they behave like good tyres.


please note this is just MY OPINION (which as a consumer, purchaser and user of this product on my own vehicle i feel is a valid one compared to those who have not used or have no point of experience or reference) .... i am not a professional race car driver or a professional tyre tester from a magazine as some of you may require... i am merely a humble joe from humble VW online community forum driving my humble golf r .......


also, it seems like all these kf550s are now sold out since i started this thread ... starting to regret putting all this up online !

[amunra]

hey everyone . update on the performance of the tyres..

starting to experience wheelspin in the wet when putting too much throttle from a turn / wheels turned.

30,000+kms on them and only now starting to lose integrity.

not alot of spin from a straight stand still though.. still going great in the dry.

make of it what you will !

thanks for reading.

[tigger73]

Good feedback.

Did you measure the tread depth? How much left on them?


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