r12 tires... nankangs?

[woodyvw16v]

so ive worn out my 145/70r12 yokohamas (after just over 20k miles) i think they should have lasted longer, but considering the shape my steering system was in for quite some time (i.e. shot... bad everything basically) and the fact that i drive the poor little car pretty hard i can really blame the yoko's for their premature failure.

the 145's are just too narrow methinks and i'd like a wider tire. was planning on saving till spring and finding some 13" alloys that are less flexy than the steelies but these guys are not going to last the winter, and i dont like going sideways (accidentally at least )

that being said. i have found 165/70r12 yokohama y372's and nankang cx668's in 165/70 and 155/80 versions.

are the nankangs any good? has anyone here used them? specs look the same as the yoko's 400-440 treadwear etc etc. but if you check the links you will notice the prices are pretty spread out.

search showed alot of 13"/14" stuff, ill get to that eventually but for now i just need something with some meat on it. if the nankangs arent skate wheel hard then id like to save the money, but if they're crap tires i wont be saving anything. any advice is appreciated

[Bert]

Quality tires in 12 inch seem to be an anomaly. Virtually everyone has stopped making them for north American markets. If you can get your hands on a late 90s set of Geo Metro (Pontiac Firefly/Suzuki Swift) wheels the selection of 13s at least then is quite a bit better.

[woodyvw16v]

i plan on getting 13's in the nearish future, but will be keeping the 12's as backups, and using them till at least springtime.

im just trying to see if nankangs are worth anything. ill probably just go with them since they are the cheapest. as long as they arent plastic hard when the temps start going down like some other cheap tires ive had were

[zoom zoom]

I've never had the tires myself, but I've heard that if you google "nankang blowout" you won't want to buy them.

[MasterTec]

I have the yoko 165/70R12's personally and they are great tires! It's been about 12000 miles and they still have tons of tread. They're also quiet and wearing evenly... but then again my suspension is tight and aligned.

But yeah... 12" tires used to be available all over the place for $20-30 each.. now they're hard to find and cost at least twice that. I think when these wear out I'll be looking for 13" wheels...

[woodyvw16v]

so, i just did a little googling. it looks like most of the really bad reviews/opinions for nankangs were more about their "sport" tires in larger sizes... things like premature wear, bursting, complete lack of wet/cold grip, and noise were all voiced as concerns for the ns-1's, and from the results i saw, were all dated between 2008 and 2010.

initial results at least show the cx668 being at least acceptable, some people really like them. but i without any idea of these peoples auto background its hard to validate their opinions.

hears a link to one of the review sites i found:

http://www.mavistire.com/ProductCart...+Radial&m=1290

[Oren09]

I bought a set of the Nankangs in 165/70 last week.
I haven't mounted them yet, as I'm squeezing the last bit of life out of my current tires. I wanted to have them ready to go in case my old, worn tires gave me trouble, and also wanted plenty of time to get them on for Madness.

The tires seem to be decently made and appear to have a good tread pattern.

My current tires are Kumho PowerStars. I don't like them. They have acceptable dry grip, but horrid wear. They are warrantied at 40,000 miles and at I'm right at 30,000 now and they are nearly done. They were at the wear bars about 5,000 miles ago.

[88FestivaLX]

I've had the Nankangs on my car since the first of the year. No problems at all. I've put about 8000 miles on them. They are quiet, smooth and have worn perfectly. They don't even look like they've been used.

[woodyvw16v]

i almost feel like i should just get two of each and see how they match up, but i hate having mismatched tires.

most likely my wear issues have been caused by the combination of my previous steering woes/alignment/and driving style. and my current grip issues are from the wear and width.

im thinking ill be going with the cheapest ones (nankang 155/80's) just to have actual tread through the winter, i do already tend to feel out grip conditions throughout my drive and adjust as needed (with mostly success, though there have been a few close calls) and then in the spring ill find some 13's and put some three seasons on them

but nothings happened yet so that plan could easily change

[Oren09]

After driving on the Nankangs for 6 months, I have an update.
They ride good and have decent traction- better than the Kumho Power Stars.
However, they have terrible tread life. I've driven about 16,000 miles and they are already pretty worn. The front tires are at the wear bars and the rears are very close. I have rotated them about every 7,000 miles, the last time being about 1,500 miles ago.

[DriverOne]

Re: r12 tires... nankangs?

Oren, my wife's car has Yokohama Y372's. By far the best 12" tire.

[FestYboy]

Oren, what's your alignmment and tire pressure look like!?! that IS horrible wear...

[Oren09]

The alignment was done before and after I had the tires mounted.
I keep my tire pressure around 40PSI. The centers are worn a tiny barely noticeable bit more than the edges. They don't appear to have any feathering or signs of bad/misaligned suspension.
My control arms are less than a year old as are the tie rod ends. Shocks and springs act normal aside from some rear end creaking on cold days.

[blkfordsedan]

The best 12" tires I've ever had were Kelly Springfield tires I bought at K-mart about 20 years ago. I had them on my 79 Fiesta and I got 80k miles out of them with regular rotation. Unfortunately, they are not available anymore. The 12" set I have now are Hercules. They're OK, but wearing pretty fast as well.

[Banana Bonanza]

I've owned my Festy for some years now. Found even the crappiest new 13 inch tire will outlast any 12 inch. Watch out the latest trick is to make the casings thinner and thinner, especially on low end tires. Last time on tires for me, cost less to buy 13's plus junkyard Mazda 323 steel rims than to special order 12's. 12s were ok back when they were $20 each, they didnt have to last more than 20k at that price. But to charge $80 for a 12 that still doesnt last over 20k is really pushing the greed thing.