

| Subject: | Re: Hankook ra-08 copies |
| From: | Dennis Haynes |
| Date: | Sat, 7 May 2016 19:57:40 -0400 |
I believe the GoForm that Don referred to is a 205/70-14XL. Load index of 98. I don’t see these available anymore. For that size there are some available in the off brands. http://www.amazon.com/CONSTANCY-LY166-P205-70R14-PASSENGER/dp/B00XHV5MQ6?ie=UTF8&keywords=205%2F70-14%20tires&qid=1462664917&ref_=sr_1_21&sr=8-21 http://www.amazon.com/70R14-Lexani-LXM-101-Inch-Tires/dp/B013XE7NYU?ie=UTF8&keywords=205%2F70-14%20tires&qid=1462664978&ref_=sr_1_26&sr=8-26 http://www.amazon.com/70R14-DURO-DP3000-MILE-WARRANTY/dp/B01DFMD47K?ie=UTF8&keywords=205%2F70-14%20tires&qid=1462664978&ref_=sr_1_31&sr=8-31 http://www.amazon.com/Headway-HH201-All-Season-Radial-Tire/dp/B00W7SYN56?ie=UTF8&keywords=205%2F70-14%20tires&qid=1462665099&ref_=sr_1_42&sr=8-42 http://www.amazon.com/NEW-CAPITAL-SPORT-70R14-2057014/dp/B00ATVEC4U?ie=UTF8&keywords=205%2F70-14%20tires&qid=1462665175&ref_=sr_1_59&sr=8-59 This was the size and rating (actually 97 load index) VW supplied for all the alloy equipped and many steel wheel equipped vans beginning with the 87 model year. Dennis -----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Jon VonOhlsen Sent: Saturday, May 07, 2016 10:44 AM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: hankook ra-08 copies The GoForm G520 185 or 195r14 tire has a load index of 86(195) or 88(185), or a capacity of about 1250#. I'll stick with a real tire...unless there is some other version from Tires Easy. Jon On 5/7/2016 8:23 AM, Don Hanson wrote: > I, too, was skeptical when I bought a pair of these to make it home > from the desert one spring...being short of cash, though, I had no choice. > > They've surprised me by consistently performing just as well as the > higher priced tires they claim to have copied... Thanks to Ron for > taking the time to look up the back round info. > > > > > > On Sat, May 7, 2016 at 6:41 AM, The Bus Depot <vanagon@busdepot.com> wrote: > >>> what is the name and where can you >>> get the chinese copies of the hankook tires? >>> Go Form >> I looked into this claim after it was repeated here several times (by >> the same individual, I believe). I also spoke to Hankook about it. >> The GoForms come from a company called Qingdao Gloryred International >> Trade Company, whose advertising headline is trade publications is >> (not kidding) "Sell cheap tyre." Qingdao Gloryred has no affiliation whatsoever with Hankook. >> Hankook has not shared any technology with them or licensed any >> technology to them. Their claim of using "Hankook technology" is >> based solely on the fact that their technical engineer used to work >> for Hankook. Given that employees often change jobs, by that >> standard almost any company could claim a connection to any other >> company. It is not uncommon for off-brand Chinese companies to make >> false claims of affiliation with or endorsement by name brands in >> order to lend legitimacy to their products. For example there are >> several other off-brand Chinese companies that claim to use "Michelin >> technology" but have no actual connection with Michelin. Laws >> against false advertising are not the same in China. Interestingly, >> these companies don't make those claims in the U.S., where they would be forced to retract them immediately. >> >> Consumer Reports tested several off-brand Chinese tires (although not >> GoForms) a couple of years ago and found that they all performed at >> the absolute bottom of the pack for safety and for lifespan, even >> though some had copied the tread pattern of better known tires. They >> interviewed Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for >> Auto Safety, who explained this disparity by pointing out that “the >> composition of the tire is more important than the mold.” In other >> words you can make the tread look the same cosmetically, but if the >> rubber compound is different, it's a different tire. The tires they >> checked were also "iffy" in other ways, such as using counterfeit >> date codes on the sidewall. Consumer Reports - whose goal is to find >> bargains and "best buys" - concluded by advising its readers to stick >> with the name brands, which were actually better bargains in the long run even just based on treadwear alone. >> >> I have not tried the GoForm tire so I can't comment on it specifically. >> For all I know it may be a decent cheap tire on its own merits. But >> it has no more connection to a Hankook RA08 than any other cheap >> Chinese tires does, except perhaps skin-deep. >> >> Ron Salmon >> The Bus Depot, Inc. >> www.busdepot.com >>
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