Abandoned by American tire makers...

Need some advice / moral support.

Nothing against Korea, I just try to buy USA when I can. Especially going on a '48 Plymouth...

Simply can't afford Coker / Diamondback etc.

Was pricing Cooper Trendsetters 205/75-14 for the front of my project. Want thin whites. Ready to pay $80-$100 each for USA tires. That size are "in the computer" as blackwall only. F#%k.

AND discontinued anyway.

Local tire shops have nothing, can get nothing, look at me like I'm nuts. All discontinued in traditional US brands. I understand why, but it sucks.

Kid behind the DT chain counter says "But I've got that size in Hankooks right now, whitewall, in stock, $50 a tire."

I'd give my money (as I have) to the local Mexican used tire place, ALWAYS gotten great tires and killer cash deals, but this car's going daily-driver & cross-country once it's together. And $50 is good used-tire pricing on NEW.

So... here's where you come in.

Am I a douchebag for thinking of buying new Korean tires or an idiot for not getting 2 brand new warranteed thin whites in the size I want for a hundred bucks??

REMEMBER, I can't do Coker etc... that's out. That's "no tires."

So D-bag or idiot... you call it. Fire when ready.

~Frustrated in Austin.

 

Buy the Hankooks and move on. Save the worrying and analysis for something that really matters. Life is too short to sweat little stuff like this.

 

I appreciate that rockfish, I know that in my head...

 

Hankook is owned by Michelin. And Coker does not mean USA.

 

I have been a Cooper man on all my cars (except snows) But Trendsetters are the lowest in the Cooper brand anyway...Even if they were WW I wouldn't use them on a riding mower. Go with the Hankooks

 

Korea is a nation of hard workers and a US ally. Go with the Hankooks.

 

Nothign wrong with buying a foreign made tire ( unless its double coin ( china slidemasters))

hancook makes a decent tires for the money . and they do have a plant in the U.S. we can thank the EPA for chasing most of the tire plants out of the country with there bullshit air quality rules

 

Im sure we have all faced this problem in this screwed up modern world. Don't sweat it. Do what makes sense for safety first.

 

I just ordered Hankooks for my truck - like you, for the price and the look I wanted.

 

Your car will get over it.

 

Helping tremendously, I do appreciate the thoughts & info!!! It's just frustrating as f$#k that even just at 44 I'll never be able to go in and get a set of Goodyears or Firestones for any of my rides again. Don't even get me started on my '60s N50 fixation; I missed that boat completely...

 

idiot. i am an optimist but not in the world we live in american this and american that doesnt always mean that much anymore. get the hankooks. i have had a set for years and i have been happy with them.

 

No Hancook is not owned by Michelin although there is some shared technology between the two entirely different initiates.

And although there are several distribution centers in America the tire are made overseas.

I have a friend that is in upper management with Michelin and he says he hears this quit ofter.HRP

 

As someone who grew up in Pittsburgh in the 1970s with respiratory problems I disagree with this statement. There were days I couldn't go outside and I remember the sulfurous stink in the air and the tv news reporting the "air pollution index" so I'm glad the EPA has their "bullshit" air quality rules.

Besides there's still tire plants in the USA. Michelin alone has 18 plants in North America. Tire manufacturers sell their tires in the global marketplace so it doesn't matter much whose tires you buy as long as you're getting the best ones for your needs at the best price.

 

The American working in the US based warehouse will appreciate you supporting his job no matter where the tires were manufactured.

 

I have had both Hankooks and Cooper Trendsetters on my old rides... Not a problem... Don't sweat the small things, hell no will see what they are when rolling along anyway. have you given the thought of going to 15" rim also ?? my 62 Mercury Monterey , 62 Pontiac Bonneville Safari...both ahd 14" rims... always thought they looks small... went to 15" my 2 cents... good luck

 

Look, you have to realize it's a big world. Read your first post:

1) I'm too cheap to pay for American made tires
2) I want an American made tire at a foreign made price

I'll make you a deal. You round up a couple thousand of your American friends and relatives who are willing to give up their houses, Suburbans with Nav systems, cable TV subscription, season baseball tickets, and Friday night dinners at Chili's. We'll start our own tire company, the "All-American Tire company" and we'll start selling cheap-ass tires to guys like you. Because without you and your friends, it'll never happen.

 

I know I read it somewhere, but wiki says you ae right. Sorry to mislead.

 

That is why I bought Michelin Defenders for my daily barge.
And they were a lot more than $100 each.

 

If it makes you feel better about buying Korean, Cooper Tire was recently purchased by a company from India called Apollo Tyres so there isn't even a guarantee that they would be made here in the USA.


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Been running Hankooks for a long time, and I can't say I've ever had a better tire. Just bought a pair for the front of my Falcon gasser.

 

As much a I say buy American I don't even think about tires. That fact said I have had some SUPER CHEAP tires (Kuhmo?) on cars before and they've lasted years. The Diamond Backs I have on my '47 (WWW) are Federal (Taiwan) SUV tires and they wear and look great.

 

I think that is kind of goes with people worrying about having matching brand tire on the front and rear of their car, especially blackwalls. at a show I admire a car for a while and move on. I don't care what tires you are running. only important to those into winning a trophy or into pure restorations.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, but I almost bought Hankook truck tires at Discount Tire that were Made in USA, about 3 yrs ago. For $50 more I got Goodyears. Hankooks aren't all Korean, either, I had a Saturn that came with Chinese Hankooks. (they were shit).

 

Look, you have to realize it's a big world. Read your first post:

1) I'm too cheap to pay for American made tires
2) I want an American made tire at a foreign made price

Poor comprehension skills. I cannot AFFORD what are left of American tires in my sizes, they're all boutique $175+. I DO NOT want American tires at foreign prices. Had YOU read my first post, you would see I was ready to pay twice as much for a USA tire - there aren't any.

Leave it to someone from Houston to call me cheap for not paying two hundred bucks a tire, and being some kind of traitor for considering the alternative when there's no middle ground left. I suppose I can't afford the big dollar stuff because I'm just not trying hard enough either, right?

I'll make you a deal. You round up a couple thousand of your American friends and relatives who are willing to give up their houses, Suburbans with Nav systems, cable TV subscription, season baseball tickets, and Friday night dinners at Chili's. We'll start our own tire company, the "All-American Tire company" and we'll start selling cheap-ass tires to guys like you. Because without you and your friends, it'll never happen.

And I'll make you a deal - you don't lump me in with the "guys like you" that just want cheap-ass products and I won't lump you in with a$$holes who go off half-cocked into discussions they completely miss the point of.

To the rest of you - thanks for your insight & perspectives. I feel better now.

 

Albuq, thanks for that - it's good to know. In my case, I wish getting Goodyears for $50 more was an option.

15" rims are a thought, but I have what to me are the coolest mags in the world for the front of the 48 and they happen to be 14"ers.

But I'll need 14s for the 62 & 67 Valiants too... upgraded from 13s!

 

I'm not trying to be a douche here (but I may come across that way) but, if you're dropping good money on building your car over time, is there a reason why you won't spend a little more time saving for what you want? What's the rush, now?

 

hankook. can't they at least rename the ones for the U.S. market?

 

Not douchey at all, Kustom. It's a low buck build I want to get driving. I want to do the driving stuff first and drive it. Also, I have to be realistic between what I can afford and getting it going vs. what I might "want" that may keep it yard art. $175 tires are like crate motors to me - a great thought but I've got to spread those buckaroonians around a little. What I want is the middle ground that's been washed away from under my feet... something between cheap-ass and boutique. That's all I want. I don't especially want a $50 tire and I don't want to HAVE to buy a $100 tire for $200. More than any of this, I WANT my car running, driving & safe. That's what this thread has helped me clarify, because it is important to me where my money goes - I vote every day with every dollar for something - however realistically I only have so many.

Thanks for your post! Kool Falcon, by the way. That color rocks on that car with those long sculpted lines.

 

Hankook is a reliable safe tire. They come stock on some US assembled GM vehicles. I have their studded winter tires on my truck and 4runner. They have an avg wear life and ride nice. I also have had 0 tire defect returns, sure road hazard stuff but no tire failures on all the tires I've sold as a service writer.


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