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| Do you long for 'yesteryear' when TIRES were simpler and less chaotic? Enter LAUFEN ! (Page 1/2) |
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rinselberg
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OCT 22, 03:31 AM
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'Chaos Theory'
One of the main reasons why Laufenn is operating is due to the fact that labor is much cheaper in Indonesia. Compared to the ‘parent’ company Hankook, Laufenn, it must be said, is offering a simpler, less chaotic type of tire. These two things add up to save you some money, as they both will drastically drive down the cost of your set of tires. Anytime you see cheaper labor, you should also see a price that goes down as a result. . . .
'Laufenn' is derived from 'laúfen'--German for 'to run'
Despite the fact that Laufenn doesn’t sound like much of a player in the tire game, it actually has ties to a huge company that is in a good spot in the market. That company is one you know of: Hankook. Launched in late 2014, Laufenn is an off shoot of Hankook, designed to be a brand that is all about keeping things relatively simple while still providing drivers with a sense of both style and performance at the same time. . . .
'Take Five'
You might look at Laufenn offerings and be a little bit disappointed to see that they only have five models or so. Overall, they do not have a ton of options, seemingly, but we find beauty in this. It can help reduce the costs you pay for the tires, and it also means that they can commit more time and effort to making the ones they do make better than before, rather than always coming up with something new. . . .
I'm not here to promote the Laufenn brand of tires. It's just that I find this recent (2021) review from "one" Scott Henderson on a website called "Tire Insights" oddly poetic, for a column about tires. And surprisingly long. It registers 8 minutes of reading time on Read-o-Meter.
I just copied and pasted some of the review, at the very top, here.
The back story is that I need new tires for my 1988 Fiero GT. I have the factory wheels and am holding to the original sized tires. Fronts, 205/60R15. Rears, 215/60R15.
After searching online, I was drawn to tires in these sizes from Laurenn, which is a brand I'd never been aware of. It's a fairly new brand, as the tire game goes. I ran them by (so to speak) my tires guru, who will be installing them for me, and he thought they would be a good choice. "Good value for the money." So I ordered them online from tirebuyer to be shipped to my installer.
Laurenn G FIT AS. They are speed rated "H" and UTQG 500AA. My adviser (guru, installer) suggested I stay away from tires with longer tread life ratings like UTQG 600, 700, or 800. He thinks I will like the road handling more and will not be ill served by not being able to run the tires for as many road miles. Considering that I don't put a lot of miles on my FIero, year in and year out. It's not my daily driver.
I ran on Goodyear Eagle GT tires for just over 17,000 miles and ran them down to "slicks." I really should have replaced them some time (and road miles) before. They were speed rated "Z" and UTQG 440AA. Can't get those anymore.
I was just curious what I might find online, about the Laufenn brand. It's almost tempting to see what this Scott Henderson at "Tire Insights" has to say about Goodyear, or Michelin, or BFGoodrich. Who knows(?) what other colorful writing and esoteric insights remain to be discovered by a newly minted Scott Henderson "enthusiast."
I hadn't shopped tires that recently, before this. It seems like there's been a veritable explosion of tire brands, since the last time that I needed a set. So many brands now that I have never seen or heard of, before.
Remarkable.[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 10-22-2021).]
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steve308
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OCT 22, 08:24 AM
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Imported third world tire quality has always been at best a crap shoot. I've run a couple of sets (on a number of vehicles) that have the belts seperate, were impossible to balance because they were not round and had one tire tear when being mounted. I've also had some that have been overall outstanding. One other issue is that if you need to replace a damaged tire a year from now the chances are pretty good it won't be available. These same issues can be had with 'domestic ' lines but are less of a factor. Buyer beware and be careful.
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theogre
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OCT 22, 11:14 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by rinselberg:
Anytime you see cheaper labor, you should also see a price that goes down as a result. . . |
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Wrong. Just look at Nike and Many Others including most "designer brand" anything, Apple iCrap, and many others made in China and far worse Sweat Shops around the world that Still emulate the Triangle Shirtwaist fire every few years by burning down or simple collapsing a building w/ people in them. Or made by Uyghurs and other slaves. Or "cheap" labor that live as slaves in company own housing and jump off of Foxcon Buildings to escape.
Yet all of them get Top $ for the product the worker made. Nike shoes cost near nothing to make and ship to US but get 100 to Many Hundreds of $. "Best" Apple iPhone cost very little to make and ship but wants and gets stupid "fan boys" to pay $800 $1000 or even more.
Cheap Tires are just that no matter where they are made and cheap labor is often only a start of cutting corners.
Worse, China and other Cheap Tires often have Bogus DOT "Approval" and other marks. US Customs Stopped some of China Knockoff Tires w/ No or Bogus DOT marks but many still get thru.
Laufenn is likely a "pilot project"/test for Hankook to move even cheaper manufacturing that Already use China and Hungary... Indonesia and rest have little pollution and other labor rules... Likely a name to drop when have problems like NHTSA ordering a Recall for whatever reason to hope most buyers doesn't know is a Hankook brand.
Currently Many companies are moving the Communist Vietnam etc because US and other trade problems and CCP and Xi Jinping is now a big problem that's bankrupting more and more Chinese companies too and can't even keep the lights on in many areas too.
The rest of that "review" is worthless at best. Stinks of paid "reviews" by most "influencers."------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)
The Ogre's Fiero Cave
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cvxjet
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OCT 22, 11:25 AM
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I just wanted to chime in here; I have spent a lot of time researching tires- especially in my youth. I have a lot of basically useless info rattling around in my head......Anyway, I just checked and General Tires makes the Altimax RT43 tire in the original front size of 205/60-15 but not the 215/60 for the rear; However, they do make the next size up which is 225/60-15...This will work for the rear- it is only 1/2 Inch larger in diameter.....And on my Fiero I am running 222/55-16 on the rear...The slightly larger diameter means that my 88 Getrag 5 speed/ 88 speedo sensor read right on the button (Production speedos USUALLY read OVER what you are actually doing, speed-wise)
The Altimax RT43 is a good passenger car tire- and will actually far out-perform the Goodyear tires the Fiero was sold with new back in the 80s....I have been running Generals of various types for most of my driving history (1977-now)[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 10-22-2021).]
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RWDPLZ
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OCT 22, 12:01 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by steve308:
Imported third world tire quality has always been at best a crap shoot. |
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The problem is, good brand tires are ALSO frequently a crap shoot. Companies just release a design into the wild and let customers beta test them. Historically I've always relied on customer reviews, but now companies have gotten into the review manipulation market, making it that much more difficult.
Only tire available in the original size for my 84 Fiero SE are piece of crap Radial T/A's. I bought a set of 15" GT wheels I need to get refinished, but even then it's slim pickings.
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fierosound
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OCT 22, 12:22 PM
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Patrick
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OCT 22, 01:03 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by rinselberg:
I'm not here to promote the Laufenn brand of tires. It's just that I find this recent (2021) review from "one" Scott Henderson on a website called "Tire Insights" oddly poetic, for a column about tires. And surprisingly long. It registers 8 minutes of reading time on Read-o-Meter.
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Don't know if I'm convinced to buy a set of Laufenn tires or not... but I do enjoy the style of your posts. 
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hyperv6
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OCT 22, 08:51 PM
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Here is the truth on tires. I live in Akron and had multi generations that worked in the tire industry. I still friends in the industry and have buddies that are tire engineers.
Where a tire is made means little for the most.
To understand tires you need to think of them the tire brands and models like cars. Many think tires are just round black things but the truth is many are very advanced high tech products today.
The newer and more expensive models from the larger companies have the most up to date construction, compounds and tread designs. Many of these tires now carry up to three different tread compounds across the tread. These models are not usually cheap and are often designed for specific jobs.
Now as they age the prices come down and they can be very cheap but by then they are also outdated.
Now the smaller companies that have lesser model lines are built and designed for price. Like a value model car it may run but it may not be the best you could buy.
The larger companies also own a number of other companies. Even more than one can make tires under the same name in different parts of the world.
The bottom line often like with many things you get what you pay for.
OE tires are often cheap models as car companies are not wanting to pay much for them. But there are applications where they may pay more for specific tires for traction or mileage needs. Often they also have to meet drive by sound regulations too that can limit performance.
At time you can find a gem tire in the small companies but it is less than common. You also can get crap tires from the top companies but often they are cheap or they may be a poor design.
Tires are high tech in design and make up but they are still hand made of many materials. They are x rayed at most companies once built to check build quality and hand inspected.
The best thing to do is to keep with a well known company. Use reviews at Tire Rack to see how they work.
As for this tire being a part of Hankook is not a great thing. They are more a value tire and just don’t have the tech staffs like the larger company. Here in town I have a number of tech centers and Hankook is one. Their facility here is just a small building vs very large facilities of the other brands.
There are many more details but never assume with any and do your research.m
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David Hambleton
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OCT 22, 09:29 PM
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IMHO, consumers are not the winners in the proliferation of tire sizes and ratings of the last couple of decades.
Since the four little patches of rubber contact are the connection to the road, I've never understood why some people would buy the cheapest tires they could find.
I always bought Michelins, but it's been a long time since they made sizes for Fieros, lol!
The last Fiero tires I bought were for my Formula. I ordered from Costco online, which listed Bridgstone Ecopia available in 205/60R15 91H and 215/60R15 94T.
I didn't care about the different speed ratings, but after installing the rears, the Costco tire shop couldn't put the fronts on the car because the installer noticed the different ratings.
I had to take the car home and bring the front wheels back loose for the tires to be mounted. 
The 225/60 R14 on my '84 SE need replacing; BF Goodrich Radial TA seems to be the only option, just like the last two sets I bought. 
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hyperv6
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OCT 22, 10:18 PM
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The rating issues are more about lawyers. Tire shops are in fear something should happen and they lose it all.
This is one reason so many companies dumped white walls and white letters. These tires suffer heat issues in the sidewall as while rubber is not structural.
Years ago cars were basic and most could not clear 100 mph easily. Also lawyers only went to court for honorable things.
Today cars are much more able. I had a fwd 4 cylinder that could do 160 mph if I was crazy enough. It was built to handle and the tires were an important part.
Today we are in the perfect storm of technology and legal wars.
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