I have run on everything from Pirelli, to Toyo, to Nitto, to Goodyear, etc. etc. Now I run Nankang. It's in the same league as Suny and Nexan. Basically, they're "The little guys" over there (Japan). They have the same quailty & Ride, and in some cases, they are made by the manufacturers of the name brands. I can't remember right now, but one of the little guys is owned by one of the big guys and they actually are the same tire. We typically don't see them over here, because very few people import them, which is likely due to people not trusting a "name". I can't say that I have analyzed and compared the compounds, but from my experience, a Nankang performs just as well as the most expensive (comparable) tire I've had the pleasure of riding on. This is exactly why I decided to educate myself on the tire itself. If you know what you're looking for in a tire, it doesn't matter who makes it. All that matters are the specs, and the price. Know what performance you want out of it. Tread ratings: Speed, Milage, Performace. Then get the cheapest thing that fits your needs. My 2cents
Thanks Chip for this. Never really messed with tires much before. But now that im needing some, im kind of lost. I dont really want to spend 1k for 20" tires. To much to me. Ive heard of nankang before. To me i think just like you say some are scared of off brand names, not me, tire is a tire long as it does what i want it to. Just looking for a all around good tire, wet/dry and road noise minimal. Im liking the toyo tire tread. lol. But on tire rack i dont see many choices of tire brands. I need some pretty soon, so i dont have to much time to research them. Even though i should. Thanks on to looking some more