More on Westlake tires

[travelinman]

I know the Westlake tire subject has been much discussed on this forum and I have read most everything. My new 303rls has the 225/75R15 Westlake tires that are rated for 2830 lbs at 80 PSI. On the face of it these should be a good tire and obviously I am not in a hurry to replace brand new tires. However, reading all of the negativity it is easy to get scared. I have researched this subject a lot and I just wonder how much is fact and how much is fear. I know that in 2007 the manufacturer of Westlake among other tires had a recall. At that time they were found to be not using "gum strips" in their tires. "gum strips" keep the belts from separating. It seems that since then, the term China bombs was started.

I don't want to rehash all the discussions about overloading, under inflating and all the other reasons a tire might fail. Any tire could fail under adverse conditions and for those who have had blowouts there is really no way to prove or disprove if they were abusing the tire. There must be tens of thousands of RV'ers using Westlake tires and I just wonder what percentage of those have had issues. I'll bet it's a small percentage.

I would be interested to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

[JCR GD]

That was the point of the "Westlake Tire Update" thread, to find facts. (Of course it went off the rails a few times but still some good info) VERY FEW actual reported incidents.

[PaulandApril]

As long as you A: do not over-load. B: do not go over 65 mph you will fine about a 95 % success rate with them. If you want to go 75 mph you can spend the extra money on good years This is my personal opinion or 2 cents from reading all the post and google searches on these tires.

[RickTulsa]

I agree that in 2007 that there was a substantial recall. However these were all "LT" tires. See https://www.torklaw.com/accident-law...telluride-yks/.

I didn't find anything on trailer tires, however I may have missed that.

[travelinman]

I agree that in 2007 that there was a substantial recall. However these were all "LT" tires. See https://www.torklaw.com/accident-law...telluride-yks/.

I didn't find anything on trailer tires, however I may have missed that.

You are correct. The only recall was on LT tires. I did not make that clear in my original post. But that goes back to my point that these tires may have gotton a bad rap based in that recall. Just sayin.

[LCBoyer]

I ran mine about 7,500 miles with no problems. I upgraded to a 14 ply tire so I'd have a littl margin of safety

[Cate&Rob]

As long as you A: do not over-load. B: do not go over 65 mph you will fine about a 95 % success rate with them. If you want to go 75 mph you can spend the extra money on good years This is my personal opinion or 2 cents from reading all the post and google searches on these tires.

I agree with PaulandApril . . . these are important points.

I have 10,000 miles on my OEM E 225/75R15 Westlake tires running at 80 PSI.
The 303RLS is a relatively light trailer and I seldom run over 60 and never over 65.

I doubt that I will go a 3rd season on the OEM tires although they are wearing evenly and have 75% tread left.
But,I also don't think I will break the bank with crazy expensive new tires.

Rob

[Mrhavasu]

Chinese tires have a bad rap for a reason. Its not just because they are Chinese, its history. The best tires are not made in china. Period. Do we need the best? That is up to you and what you expect of them.

[RickTulsa]

Just remember there was a time Firestone, Goodyear, BRidgestone, Michelin, Pirelli, Continetal all had their issues, but they fixed their issues. The reason the Chinese have a bad rap is because they are competition more then that they have issues.

China is where Japan was in the 60's and 70's, now look at Japan. People's perception is anything Japanese is usually quality stuff.

[Mrhavasu]

Just remember there was a time Firestone, Goodyear, BRidgestone, Michelin, Pirelli, Continetal all had their issues, but they fixed their issues. The reason the Chinese have a bad rap is because they are competition more then that they have issues.

China is where Japan was in the 60's and 70's, now look at Japan. People's perception is anything Japanese is usually quality stuff.

Here we go again, do you have stock in Chinese tire companies? Whats with you? Do you even own a GD toy hauler?