HeadBanger
MR staff member
funny thing is, my Wanlis were used for 20k (as far as i know, maybe more) before i got them. i've used them all summer, and have put about 25k total since i've had them, and there's still tons of tread. the compound isn't even that bad so i don't know what you're talking aboutThey are not even close.
On the knockoffs, the sidewalls are paper thin, the compound is rock hard, nowhere near as many sipes, and the sipes on the center rib are straight cut instead of zig zag pattern, so even less lateral performance. The Altimax knock offs (Wanli, Sunny) offer significantly poorer performance than the Altimax, and I've seen them wear out much quicker than the General (even though the compound is harder...)
Look closely and you'll see the difference:
General
Sunny and Wanli
@mig0s: i got them from a friend. he was selling is cavalier to a buddy for a derby, and at the time i had no name (like legit, no brand on the tire) winters that were done. so i traded my tires, gave him 5 bucks for his good tires and his Z24 wheels. and now i have a decent set of wheels and tires on my sunfire.
all that being said. i'm currently shopping for some good tires because my life is worth more than chinese tires. however, if you're stuck, no money to spare really, it's better than bald summers. in my opinion what it comes down to is where you drive, how you drive, and how much you drive. i live in the country where often roads aren't even plowed and i don't really have issues with my wanlis. so you city folk with your nicely plowed roads shouldn't have much of an issue.
also, how do you define a cheap tire? is motomaster considered cheap? is it because it's a chinese tire that it's automatically cheap? is it the price that makes them automatically bad? i'd love to know