Fake branded tyres

[anonymous-user]

I was browsing fleabay, as one does, and stumbled on a tastelessly modified scabby old XK8. One of the pics caught my eye, it's of one of the tyres that purports to be a Pirelli P7 Assimetrico but it really does not look right to me at all. See below:



The lettering doesn't look at all right, would I be right in saying that this is a cheap knock off? If so this is something to watch out for.

[r11co]

dme123 said:

I was browsing fleabay, as one does, and stumbled on a tastelessly modified scabby old XK8. One of the pics caught my eye, it's of one of the tyres that purports to be a Pirelli P7 Assimetrico but it really does not look right to me at all.

That's because it is a P Zero Asimmetrico, and it looks bob on.



Thread title is going to make great click-bait, but you've jumped to the wrong conclusion there.

Edited by r11co on Friday 9th December 01:01

[Checkmate]

dme123 said:

See below:



The lettering doesn't look at all right, would I be right in saying that this is a cheap knock off? If so this is something to watch out for.

That's all fair and well, to be wary, but for the rest of us who aren't entirely familiar with said tyre, perhaps you could furnish us with an image of the sidewall of a "legit" one? I doubt I would know a real one from a fake, at a glance, so am interested to see how it is that one could spot a fake, if that is indeed the case.

[r11co]

Checkmate said:

how it is that one could spot a fake, if that is indeed the case.

The picture of the tyre on an XK is a genuine tyre, despite what the OP alleges. He was mistaken because he confused it with a completely different model of tyre with a similar sounding name. If you zoom the pic you can clearly see the "P Zero" and "Asimmetrico" in the same place and font as shown on the marketing picture.

The only other confusion might be that the Pirelli logo does not follow the curve of the tyre on the P Zero Asimmetrico as it does on other models. This is a feature of the tyre and also visible on this picture (although not as obvious as it is a lower profile.



Do not take his post as meaning that there are fakes around as he has presented no evidence to this effect.

Edited by r11co on Friday 9th December 01:41

[Checkmate]

r11co said:

Do not take his post as meaning that there are fakes around as he has presented no evidence to this effect.

Thanks for the above post. They do look largely the same in those pictures.
I should have added to my post above "If there is such a thing as a knockoff tyre with known branding".
I haven't heard of such a thing, but that's not to say that it might not happen. Forewarned is forearmed...

[anonymous-user]

r11co said:

The picture of the tyre on an XK is a genuine tyre, despite what the OP alleges. He was mistaken because he confused it with a completely different model of tyre with a similar sounding name. If you zoom the pic you can clearly see the "P Zero" and "Asimmetrico" in the same place and font as shown on the marketing picture.

The only other confusion might be that the Pirelli logo does not follow the curve of the tyre on the P Zero Asimmetrico as it does on other models. This is a feature of the tyre and also visible on this picture (although not as obvious as it is a lower profile.



Do not take his post as meaning that there are fakes around as he has presented no evidence to this effect.

Edited by r11co on Friday 9th December 01:41

Thank you, I think my confusion is because the branding and markings on this model don't look at all like it does on the various other Pirelli tyres I've bought. Usually the model name is not just stamped on the side in a typeface that looks like courier

[J4CKO]

Wouldnt they be called Pirelly or something if Chinese knock offs ?

My son bought soune trainers in Turkey for a laugh "Adasdas", even better than the real thing as had four stripes.

[Jimmy Recard]

J4CKO said:

Wouldnt they be called Pirelly or something if Chinese knock offs ?

My son bought soune trainers in Turkey for a laugh "Adasdas", even better than the real thing as had four stripes.

Pilerri?

[SteBrown91]

Pirelli are notorious for knocking out tyres made in old mould presses as they often have a very long model life compared to other manufacturers and they don't bother to update the moulds with the newer style branding. Case in point are p6000s they were in production from the mid 90s to few years ago

[boyse7en]

Checkmate said:

Thanks for the above post. They do look largely the same in those pictures.
I should have added to my post above "If there is such a thing as a knockoff tyre with known branding".
I haven't heard of such a thing, but that's not to say that it might not happen. Forewarned is forearmed...

The number of things that haven't happened but might is literally endless.
Since there is, at the moment, zero evidence of any "knock-off" or fake-branded tyres, I wouldn't worry about it in the slightest.

[xjay1337]

They don't generally copy the name but copy the sidewall design and tread.

Look at Accelera Alpha Phi and Conti Sport Contact 2s.....

[r11co]

xjay1337 said:

They don't generally copy the name but copy the sidewall design and tread.

Look at Accelera Alpha Phi and Conti Sport Contact 2s.....

There's a good reason for that. EP Tyres (who make Accelera) used to manufacture Continental branded tyres under license for the Indonesian market, so their own-brand products are a spin-off from that deal.

A bit like how the processor manufacturer AMD established themselves making processors for now arch-rival Intel.

[suneernoronha]

Hi,

Would be delighted if someone can share their thoughts on tyres. I recently bought a 2005 XK8 4.2 S. Currently, the tyres on the car are as follows:

a. Front Right: Brand: Triangle (255/35 ZR20 97W)
b. Front Left: Brand: Landsail (255/35 ZR20 97W)
c. Back Right: Brand: Accelera (285/30 ZR20 99Y XL)
d. Right: Brand: Accelera (285/30 ZR20 99Y XL)

I drive sensibly and intend to cover no more than 4000 miles annually, mostly motorway driving.

As you probably know, the above tyres are cheaper brands.

a. Is it ok to have different branded tyres on the vehicle as above, will it cause problems for the suspension and excessive wear and tear?
b. Would you strongly recommend spending some money and changing the tyres?
c. If I were to change all four, which brand would you recommend going for? (Looking for something which will offer a more comfortable and reliable ride)

Many thanks.

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

suneernoronha said:

Hi,

Would be delighted if someone can share their thoughts on tyres. I recently bought a 2005 XK8 4.2 S. Currently, the tyres on the car are as follows:

a. Front Right: Brand: Triangle (255/35 ZR20 97W)
b. Front Left: Brand: Landsail (255/35 ZR20 97W)
c. Back Right: Brand: Accelera (285/30 ZR20 99Y XL)
d. Right: Brand: Accelera (285/30 ZR20 99Y XL)

I drive sensibly and intend to cover no more than 4000 miles annually, mostly motorway driving.

As you probably know, the above tyres are cheaper brands.

a. Is it ok to have different branded tyres on the vehicle as above, will it cause problems for the suspension and excessive wear and tear?
b. Would you strongly recommend spending some money and changing the tyres?
c. If I were to change all four, which brand would you recommend going for? (Looking for something which will offer a more comfortable and reliable ride)

Many thanks.

A= Yes. No.
B= No - Wait till the fronts have worn out. Then put the rears on the front and the new tyres on the back. Ignore anyone who doesn't understand the concept of 'best tyres always on the rear'.
C= This could take a while!

[Herbs]

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

suneernoronha said:

Hi,

Would be delighted if someone can share their thoughts on tyres. I recently bought a 2005 XK8 4.2 S. Currently, the tyres on the car are as follows:

a. Front Right: Brand: Triangle (255/35 ZR20 97W)
b. Front Left: Brand: Landsail (255/35 ZR20 97W)
c. Back Right: Brand: Accelera (285/30 ZR20 99Y XL)
d. Right: Brand: Accelera (285/30 ZR20 99Y XL)

I drive sensibly and intend to cover no more than 4000 miles annually, mostly motorway driving.

As you probably know, the above tyres are cheaper brands.

a. Is it ok to have different branded tyres on the vehicle as above, will it cause problems for the suspension and excessive wear and tear?
b. Would you strongly recommend spending some money and changing the tyres?
c. If I were to change all four, which brand would you recommend going for? (Looking for something which will offer a more comfortable and reliable ride)

Many thanks.

A= Yes. No.
B= No - Wait till the fronts have worn out. Then put the rears on the front and the new tyres on the back. Ignore anyone who doesn't understand the concept of 'best tyres always on the rear'.
C= This could take a while!

how do plan to swap when they are different sizes?

OP, down to you. If you are driving like Miss Daisy then they will be fine. If you are driving a 4.2L in a spirited manner or in lots of wet weather then I would replace personally.

[Geekman]

I would change all 4 for premium brands - it'll transform the way the car drives. When I did the same on my old MR2 the difference was night and day and I wish I'd done it sooner. Even if you're a slow driver you may still need to swerve on a wet motorway / brake hard on a wet road and those tyres would be significantly worse in wet conditions than anything premium.

[xjay1337]

Geekman said:

I would change all 4 for premium brands - it'll transform the way the car drives. When I did the same on my old MR2 the difference was night and day and I wish I'd done it sooner. Even if you're a slow driver you may still need to swerve on a wet motorway / brake hard on a wet road and those tyres would be significantly worse in wet conditions than anything premium.

Exactly.

I wouldn't even buy a car with budgets. It indicates the owner is not interested and running the car on a budget.

[Lundqvist]

suneernoronha said:

Hi,

Would be delighted if someone can share their thoughts on tyres. I recently bought a 2005 XK8 4.2 S. Currently, the tyres on the car are as follows:

a. Front Right: Brand: Triangle (255/35 ZR20 97W)
b. Front Left: Brand: Landsail (255/35 ZR20 97W)
c. Back Right: Brand: Accelera (285/30 ZR20 99Y XL)
d. Right: Brand: Accelera (285/30 ZR20 99Y XL)

I drive sensibly and intend to cover no more than 4000 miles annually, mostly motorway driving.

As you probably know, the above tyres are cheaper brands.

a. Is it ok to have different branded tyres on the vehicle as above, will it cause problems for the suspension and excessive wear and tear?
b. Would you strongly recommend spending some money and changing the tyres?
c. If I were to change all four, which brand would you recommend going for? (Looking for something which will offer a more comfortable and reliable ride)

Many thanks.

If it were me and my money i'd be swapping the lot out for something at least midrange but all depends on your budget and what you want.
Per the chap above, advice is to rotate rears to the front and stick some decent new ones on the rear but that is no help to you as the XK8 has different front and rear sizes (as your post shows...).

Quick look on blackcircles - Falken FK453 is available which is probably a good cheapish option for comfort/grip balance but I have no idea how they would deal with something that heavy. Yoko do the Advan V105S which is good but getting a bit long in the tooth or theres the usual Conti SportContact and Micheln Pilot Sport options - both of which are fantastic but expect plenty of wear.

Don't look too much at brands on their own - a tyre from one brand can be extraordinary and another from the same company can be utter tosh.

Oh and those lovely 20's your car is on severely limit your options and ride quality and are a very expensive way to buy rubber - for me personally I'd be swapping those out for 18's.

[jon-]

I've not actually heard of fake tyres in the UK for a long long time.

I mean, why would anyone bother to fake a premium in the UK when we're the biggest purchaser of budget ste in Europe...

[redddraggon]

J4CKO said:

Wouldnt they be called Pirelly or something if Chinese knock offs ?

Pirelli are owned by the Chinese govt. Some how I don't think they'd knowingly allow counterfeiting of their own stuff.