Are you happy with your aftermarket CAR tires?

[BajaRon]

This is a companion question to my 'Kenda Issues' poll. I think that poll has been productive.

I wanted to keep this poll simple and not try to separate it into the various tires available. But you can give more details by posting if you like. Especially if you are not satisfied with a particular aftermarket car tire. I think that information might be appreciated by many.

Again, this poll is anonymous, so you need not be shy. The more responses, the better the data. I thank you for your participation.

Thanks and have a Great Day!

[Leaping1]

I have only replaced my rear tire with a car tire because of excessive thread wear in center section of the Kenda. But I know it does not make any sense but it to me handled and rode better after putting the Kuhmo tire on the rear. I have plans to replace the front Kendas because of some hopping in the sharp turns and that could be more suspension than tire but I will find out.
Leon

[PW2013STL]

Vredsteins are the best of all the car tires I have tried!
Fronts good for 50,000 miles
Rear is good for 30,000 miles
The best part is how well these grip the road - especially in the rain.

[WRCLVR]

i used the Continentals on the front of my 2019 RT L the kendas had about 10 oz of wieght on each ...my mechanic thought it was due to some slight out of round tires. Could be it did ride a bit lumpy..the new Contis took less than 1 oz each and the bike rides much smoother.

[Cobwebs]

Had trouble sourcing the correct size, freight bumped up the cost because of this but I was determined to find out if all the positives reported here and elsewhere were true.
Tyre store charged full price for fitting and not balancing (it was a rear) because I didn't purchase the tyre from them. Mucked me about for days citing too busy to get to it, are you getting the picture?
Got it mounted, turned right at the end of my driveway and promptly did a 180 degree turn, doh! It was covered in mold release. Yiiihaa! Spent the next half hour doing burnouts all over town clearing the crap off of it. Never encountered this much before.
Fast forward another 10,000 km's and it's 2/3 worn. Grip in the dry has been below par compared to the Kendas. I would never mount fronts of this equivalent compound they would just plow and freak out nanny.
If you're a sedate rider with miles of straight roads to conquer, a ready supplier that would fit them, you're not expecting any litigation should it go pear-shaped, are willing to exceed recommended service life limits if you do low mileage, accept that you are actually compromising the original setup that BRP provided, trust the views of others if you're not confident to make your own, then it would be fine. But if like me you have barely any long boring straights to speak of where you ride need utmost confidence in your setup and don't want any outside hassles just to go riding, give the cager rubber a miss.
Not happy.

[Navydad]

Rear Kenda was worn out at 5000 miles. Nothing but auto tires since. Handles better, rides better, longer tire life for less $$$. I know there are folks who like the Kenda, but I have never had good luck with a Kenda on any vehicle I have had them on. Bicycle, scooter, dirt bike, or Spyder. As I have said before; I wouldn't push a vehicle with a Kenda on it.

[DGoebel]

Replaced the Kenda's on my '13 RTL w Federal Formoza (front) and Gen'l Altimax and it was like a different machine, much better ride, put 29,000 miles on them before selling and the tread still looked new.
Replaced the Kenda's on my '18RTL in Jan '24 at 8,000 miles or so with Vredestein's all around, have had a couple 3 hr plus rides, and again, feels like a much better ride. Tomorrow will be my wife's first ride with me and we'll see if she even notices., But they do look better,
VredVsKenda.jpg

[Snoking1127]

Had trouble sourcing the correct size, freight bumped up the cost because of this but I was determined to find out if all the positives reported here and elsewhere were true.
Tyre store charged full price for fitting and not balancing (it was a rear) because I didn't purchase the tyre from them. Mucked me about for days citing too busy to get to it, are you getting the picture?
Got it mounted, turned right at the end of my driveway and promptly did a 180 degree turn, doh! It was covered in mold release. Yiiihaa! Spent the next half hour doing burnouts all over town clearing the crap off of it. Never encountered this much before.
Fast forward another 10,000 km's and it's 2/3 worn. Grip in the dry has been below par compared to the Kendas. I would never mount fronts of this equivalent compound they would just plow and freak out nanny.
If you're a sedate rider with miles of straight roads to conquer, a ready supplier that would fit them, you're not expecting any litigation should it go pear-shaped, are willing to exceed recommended service life limits if you do low mileage, accept that you are actually compromising the original setup that BRP provided, trust the views of others if you're not confident to make your own, then it would be fine. But if like me you have barely any long boring straights to speak of where you ride need utmost confidence in your setup and don't want any outside hassles just to go riding, give the cager rubber a miss.
Not happy.

Pray tell what brand/model tires are you referring to in this reply? In the other tire thread you appeared to be hitting for the right side to the plate, now you appear to be in batter box on the left side of the plate. Up here we call such a batter a switch hitter.

On edit: Who removed the rear wheel to install a new tire? I would not think a tire store would understand the complexities of re-installing and aligning the belt, much less being able to remove it.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Had trouble sourcing the correct size, freight bumped up the cost because of this but I was determined to find out if all the positives reported here and elsewhere were true.
Tyre store charged full price for fitting and not balancing (it was a rear) because I didn't purchase the tyre from them. Mucked me about for days citing too busy to get to it, are you getting the picture?
Got it mounted, turned right at the end of my driveway and promptly did a 180 degree turn, doh! It was covered in mold release. Yiiihaa! Spent the next half hour doing burnouts all over town clearing the crap off of it. Never encountered this much before.
Fast forward another 10,000 km's and it's 2/3 worn. Grip in the dry has been below par compared to the Kendas. I would never mount fronts of this equivalent compound they would just plow and freak out nanny.
If you're a sedate rider with miles of straight roads to conquer, a ready supplier that would fit them, you're not expecting any litigation should it go pear-shaped, are willing to exceed recommended service life limits if you do low mileage, accept that you are actually compromising the original setup that BRP provided, trust the views of others if you're not confident to make your own, then it would be fine. But if like me you have barely any long boring straights to speak of where you ride need utmost confidence in your setup and don't want any outside hassles just to go riding, give the cager rubber a miss.
Not happy.

"covered in mold release" I hope you've figured out that He is NOT your friend?! ..... What PSI were you using???? .... Others here have seriously Over-inflated the AUTO tire because they didn't follow my or Peter's advice on proper inflation for an Auto tire used on a Spyder ........ Also, I have NEVER seen a tire with "Mold Release" on it ...... Mike

[Cobwebs]

"covered in mold release" I hope you've figured out that He is NOT your friend?! ..... What PSI were you using???? .... Others here have seriously Over-inflated the AUTO tire because they didn't follow my or Peter's advice on proper inflation for an Auto tire used on a Spyder ........ Also, I have NEVER seen a tire with "Mold Release" on it ...... Mike

16psi Mike. The tyre needs warming up too, doesn't take long, but the first corner from my place (100 yards away), a nice sweeping banked thing, if you hit it too hard the rear end steps out, it's great fun but an uninitiated rider could be caught out. As the tyre has worn and aged it's lost its warm grip slightly as well.

I don't get to ride Wife's Kenda shod bike that often (she knows me better than that) but it's great for making tyre comparisons in real time versus memory bank, so that's how I've reached conclusions.

Pretty much all the Harleys new tyres I've had fitted had a semi glossy layer of sorts on them that takes a few miles to wear off, but this was an extreme example. Anything slightly over normal acceleration and it was loose. I presume it was release gunk, what else???

[Cobwebs]

Pray tell what brand/model tires are you referring to in this reply? In the other tire thread you appeared to be hitting for the right side to the plate, now you appear to be in batter box on the left side of the plate. Up here we call such a batter a switch hitter.

On edit: Who removed the rear wheel to install a new tire? I would not think a tire store would understand the complexities of re-installing and aligning the belt, much less being able to remove it.

Oi, don't you answer yesterdays pm
Pretty sure I covered my thoughts in other threads. If threads are misunderstood as illustrated by some of the answers by others, that's not my problem. Hence this new thread Ron has started.
At the time this is what everyone out here was fitting and recommending:
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=683f9...ci02MTEv&ntb=1

Main reasons being it was available, priced ok, and available in 225/50R15.
I removed and installed the wheel, tyre place tossed it in the corner, and then failed to notify me of lack of progress etc.
I've stuck with it because its downfalls don't bother me to the point of a 'dummy spit must remove immediately' scenario. No tyre is that bad bar a manufacturing defect that would be covered under warranty anyway. My history is drive anything (earthmoving), so adaptability is key in that game. I just spin the thing around for fun knowing the next choice will be better.
Just on the warranty thing, has anyone ever filled out the form described in the owners manual for tyre recalls when fitting replacement Kendas? Just noticed it for the first time today, apparently on road dealers have the forms??

[Snoking1127]

Oi, don't you answer yesterdays pm
Pretty sure I covered my thoughts in other threads. If threads are misunderstood as illustrated by some of the answers by others, that's not my problem. Hence this new thread Ron has started.
At the time this is what everyone out here was fitting and recommending:
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=683f9...ci02MTEv&ntb=1

Main reasons being it was available, priced ok, and available in 225/50R15.
I removed and installed the wheel, tyre place tossed it in the corner, and then failed to notify me of lack of progress etc.
I've stuck with it because its downfalls don't bother me to the point of a 'dummy spit must remove immediately' scenario. No tyre is that bad bar a manufacturing defect that would be covered under warranty anyway. My history is drive anything (earthmoving), so adaptability is key in that game. I just spin the thing around for fun knowing the next choice will be better.
Just on the warranty thing, has anyone ever filled out the form described in the owners manual for tyre recalls when fitting replacement Kendas? Just noticed it for the first time today, apparently on road dealers have the forms??

So you installed a tire that no one else seems to have tried, and it did not work out well? My Champagne one has the General Altimax and the Asphalt Grey one will most likely get the same. Slightly taller, so it corrected the speedo a bit. The Kenda has the speedo about 2 mph slow at 60 on GPS and the General has it about 1 mph slow at 60.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

So you installed a tire that no one else seems to have tried, and it did not work out well? My Champagne one has the General Altimax and the Asphalt Grey one will most likely get the same. Slightly taller, so it corrected the speedo a bit. The Kenda has the speedo about 2 mph slow at 60 on GPS and the General has it about 1 mph slow at 60.

.... I checked the Tire Rack site for info .... they sell only model for Nankang tires ...... What is the UTOQ # on the sidewall ...... Mike

[BajaRon]

Oi, don't you answer yesterdays pm
Pretty sure I covered my thoughts in other threads. If threads are misunderstood as illustrated by some of the answers by others, that's not my problem. Hence this new thread Ron has started.
At the time this is what everyone out here was fitting and recommending:
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=683f9...ci02MTEv&ntb=1

Main reasons being it was available, priced ok, and available in 225/50R15.
I removed and installed the wheel, tyre place tossed it in the corner, and then failed to notify me of lack of progress etc.
I've stuck with it because its downfalls don't bother me to the point of a 'dummy spit must remove immediately' scenario. No tyre is that bad bar a manufacturing defect that would be covered under warranty anyway. My history is drive anything (earthmoving), so adaptability is key in that game. I just spin the thing around for fun knowing the next choice will be better.
Just on the warranty thing, has anyone ever filled out the form described in the owners manual for tyre recalls when fitting replacement Kendas? Just noticed it for the first time today, apparently on road dealers have the forms??

I downloaded this data from https://www.tire-reviews.com/. I'm posting it because it matches up with our experience with the Vredestein and Altimax. We've never fitted a Nankang, nor do I know of a customer who has. So we have no experience with that tire and all I can offer is the research below.

Unfortunately, this test site did not test the newer Altimax RT45 which is an improved version of the RT43 shown below. For the most part, the RT43 is no longer available. I included the RT43 results as a lower performing indication of what you can expect from the current RT45.

I discount noise and snow traction figures as not really valuable information for our Spyders. Even the noisiest tire in this category isn't going to break through the noise we already generate when we operate our Spyder/Rykers. And that's true even if you haven't modified your exhaust.

If you find the screenshot to be difficult reading. I've added the text of the findings below.

We do a lot of research on tires. It can be somewhat difficult to get reliable Apples to Apples, head to head data. But piecing a number of reviews together, you can usually get an informed idea of what works best. We try to do the work so our customers don't have to. Not to mention that we want to have some assurance that what we recommend is going to do the job.

Again, I do not recommend just throwing a car tire that fits on your machine. There is simply too much riding on tire performance to leave the results to chance. I know there are those who believe that oil is oil and tires are tires. I can assure you that this has not been our experience. Most tires are pretty good in the dry. But even here, there can be significant differences. Differences become even more pronounced in the wet, tire to tire. That is an area where you need to pay attention. I know you may never ride in the rain. But sometimes it just happens. When it does, you want a good, wet tire on your ride.

Another area where I personally do not give a lot of weight is tire wear. You're going to get more mileage out of a car tire than OEM. Traction is more important to me than how long the tire lasts. When you need the traction, in that moment, I doubt you're going to be thinking about longevity.

Tires are changing all the time. Sometimes a 'New and Improved' product simply isn't. But in the case of the Altimax and the Vredestein, improvements are real in the newer versions. This is significant because the versions they replaced were quite respectable.

We don't have the resources to test a lot of tires. I'd love to have various tires fitted to similar Spyders and a track to test them on. But that isn't a realistic option for us. So, research has been our go to solution. I'm not into hype. I have no other loyalty to a product, oil, tires, etc., beyond performance and value. It's what we do for ourselves. Why would we do any different for our fellow riders?

I hope this helps.

Tire-Vred Quatrac.jpg

Vredestein Quatrac
The Vredestein Quatrac has improved handling across dry, wet and snow covered surfaces, 20% improvement in tread life and 10% improvement in aquaplaning resistance when compared to the predecessor Quatrac 5.
This tire replaced the Vredestein Quatrac 5.
Dry Grip 86%
Wet Grip 91%
Road Feedback 79%
Handling 86%
Wear 92%
Comfort 82%
Buy again 91%
Snow Grip 89%

Nankang XR611
The Nankang XR611 is a Touring Summer tire designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars.
Dry Grip 64%
Wet Grip 41%
Road Feedback 55%
Handling 54%
Wear 69%
Comfort 59%
Buy again 52%

General Altimax RT43
The General Altimax RT43 is a Premium Touring All Season tire designed to be fitted to Passenger Cars.
Dry Grip 81%
Wet Grip 78%
Road Feedback 71%
Handling 71%
Wear 79%
Comfort 72%
Buy again 62%
Snow Grip 65%

Note: There are, what I believe to be, even better tires out there. But they are not available in sizes useable on the Spyder or Ryker. Basically, they do not come in 15" wheel sizes. So, I did not include these.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

WOW talk about night & day ...... Thanks for this Ron ...... Some folks here have questioned that testing is done using Auto's .... and therefore it won't apply to Spyders ..... Well this is not true .... IF you use a PSI factored by the WEIGHT of the vehicle ( Spyder etc. ) .... A fairly accurate comparison can be made. Both Peter and I have been adamant about this factor. .... and so far according to the vast majority of members who use Auto tires bears this out. ..... Mike

[DriftersWay]

I put Vredsteins all around on mine. Wonderful difference. Only problem is
now my dealer won't inspect it. ASSWIPE

[Peter Aawen]

Those Nankangs are one of the few 'middle of the range' tires that we can get here in sizes that work on our Spyders, and they do have a reasonable following amongst those who don't like spending up big &/or are more prone to following the recommendations of whoever's selling them tires right now; but they do seem to work pretty well, without being exceptional, for many of those who choose to go that way for whatever reason. They certainly tested better than the Kendas, but not as good as some of the better known performance brands in the Sport/Touring range.

I think that at least part of why the Nankangs are working as well as reported for many Ozzie riders is because of their 'higher temperature' compound, meaning that once they do get up to temp (which takes a noticeably longer time than it does for many of the 'stickier' treads on some 'sport biased' tires ) they can provide reasonable traction & last pretty well for many riders here in Oz, certainly if the rider isn't pushing the limits of adhesion all the time!

But like all the longer wearing Continentals & others, you MUST warm them up properly first - 100 metres straight down the road to the first corner just won't do it!! On anything but the hottest of days &/or an almost melting asphalt surface, they'll take at least 30 minutes of riding reasonably carefully while mixing in some acceleration, braking, & (careful but not necessarily too gentle ) cornering both ways to even START to warm their tread up properly! They NEED to get up near that 4psi increase in pressure from their cold start pressure, or their tread will still be too cold to grip at its best! And it'll take longer than that to warm up properly on colder &/or wet days, especially if it's one of the larger sized tires that'll fit our Spyders, &/or if the tire's cold start pressure is too high to let it flex enough to generate much heat and get little if any air pressure increase!!


Ps: It's interesting to see how the responses of these two recent polls sorta complement each other - at least for those who WANT to see anything, or will admit that the results might be a tad revealing!

[pegasus1300]

Mike has been using the Nikken tire on the rear of his Spyder for a little time now. Has any testing been done on that tire as was done on the General Altimax vs Vredestiens vs Nankings?

[Snoking1127]

I have no problem with people using whatever tire they want. But when BRP or other riders say one should only use the Kenda tires that came OEM, I am going to say it is my trike and I will use whatever tire I want to use. Image buying a car or truck and the manufacture said you can only use Firestone or Goodyear, and you can not replace P tire with a LT tire. There is something insidious going on between BRP and Kenda, telling their dealers not to install anything but Kenda tires. Federal Trade Commission are you listening.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Mike has been using the Nikken tire on the rear of his Spyder for a little time now. Has any testing been done on that tire as was done on the General Altimax vs Vredestiens vs Nankings?

Just to clarify the tire is a " RIKEN " - Raptor HR 215/60-15..... as far as testing Tire Rack shows a rating of mostly excellent.... and on my RT at about 8000 mi. now I still love it ..... and it's about $50.00 less than an Altimax.... and $ 52.00 less than a Quatrac ...... Mike

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I put Vredsteins all around on mine. Wonderful difference. Only problem is
now my dealer won't inspect it. ASSWIPE

That's total BS .... here's why - BRP specifies that THEIR wheels REQUIRE tires with a " J " type wheel BEAD .... and Auto tires have a " J " type TIRE bead ....Two wheel Mtc's DON'T .... Mike

[greer]

I tried a Hankook Ventus VII on my Ryker 900 Sport and it seemed to cause an exaggeration of the "rear wheel wobble" sensation some of us have experienced in left hand turns. I'm shopping for a rear tire now and asked my dealer about the Kenda Kanine, hoping to stay within the BRP-approved parameters in case this left hand turn issue becomes a warranty or recall case. The service manager emailed BRP, here's a copy and paste of the BRP reply:

"BRP only supplies a specific Kendal tire and the calibrations for the VSS are done with that tire, any deviations of changes of tires can change the handling and characteristics behavior of the unit. We cannot stop customers from changing their tires. Changing the tires also changes the homologation of the unit and is no longer considered compliant with the model number homologations. Any possible accidents or incidents that might occur from a handling issue will come down to the person that changed the tires to non stock tires.
If the tires was changes to non stock tires we can not assist as we have no information about the tire behavior and handling characteristics.
Hope this will give you a better insight on the issue."

So there we have it. I do see the point of the BRP stance on tires to some extent, because my left turn wobble is much less apparent with the factory Kenda. My beef with the factory tire is the poor mileage, I don't want to be buying a tire halfway through a trip.

Sarah

[Darth 'Nid]

Vredestein Quatracs all the way around. Excellent tires terrific in the rain!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I tried a Hankook Ventus VII on my Ryker 900 Sport and it seemed to cause an exaggeration of the "rear wheel wobble" sensation some of us have experienced in left hand turns. I'm shopping for a rear tire now and asked my dealer about the Kenda Kanine, hoping to stay within the BRP-approved parameters in case this left hand turn issue becomes a warranty or recall case. The service manager emailed BRP, here's a copy and paste of the BRP reply:

"BRP only supplies a specific Kendal tire and the calibrations for the VSS are done with that tire, any deviations of changes of tires can change the handling and characteristics behavior of the unit. We cannot stop customers from changing their tires. Changing the tires also changes the homologation of the unit and is no longer considered compliant with the model number homologations. Any possible accidents or incidents that might occur from a handling issue will come down to the person that changed the tires to non stock tires.
If the tires was changes to non stock tires we can not assist as we have no information about the tire behavior and handling characteristics.
Hope this will give you a better insight on the issue."

So there we have it. I do see the point of the BRP stance on tires to some extent, because my left turn wobble is much less apparent with the factory Kenda. My beef with the factory tire is the poor mileage, I don't want to be buying a tire halfway through a trip.

Sarah

Hooey - Hooey - Hooey ....... Have you ever heard this line of BS from ANY Auto maker on the planet ..... JMHO ..... Mike

[BajaRon]

The wrong tire can give you issues. This is true for every vehicle ever made. BRP has a point. But to say their tire is the best possible option is definitely not true.