YONKERS, N.Y. (Sept. 16, 2014) — In its most recent tire test, C (CR) for the first time included Chinese tire brands—the Geostar GS716, Pegasus Advanta SUV and Sunny SN3606—and reported that they “simply don't measure up to most of the well-known brands.”
According to CR, the three Chinese brands finished at the bottom of a group of 20 all-weather and all-season tires for light duty pickups and SUVs that it tested. A fourth brand, from Aeolus, also was tested but not reported when CR couldn't find a ready supply of tires for consumers.
“This supply issue seems to be a problem when buying ‘off brand' tires, because you don't know whether the tires will be around for any length of time should you need a replacement,” the consumer advocacy group said.
CR reported that the Geostar GS716, a $114 tire in size 265/70R17, was the most well-rounded of the three, coming in at 18th in the test. It offers excellent dry braking, very good handling and an average tread life, according to the magazine, but wet-stopping performance was average and winter performance—specifically snow traction and stopping on ice—was only fair.
The cheaper Sunny SN3606 ($89) and Pegasus Advanta SUV ($95) models came in 19th and 20th, respectively. Both tires stopped reasonably well on pavement and offer impressive hydroplaning resistance, CR said, but they offer poor snow traction, fair stopping ability on ice, stiff and noisy ride characteristics and shorter than average tread life.