My 2005 S has a set of Nankang (Nankang Noble Sport NS-EO) tires on it - they were on it when purchased. I plan to replace them with a set of Pilots, but my questions is how rushed should I be to make the change? They have almost full tread left. I don't know much about Nankang except they aren't top tier, but how "low tier" are they?

Just trying to plan my upgrades and can't afford to do them all at once.

 

What is your driving style, or vehicle use? Daily driver? Weekend warrior?

If daily driver, and the tires don't handle terrible, I would run them until they get worn out a bit, then replace them. Looks like they have a treadwear rating of ~240-ish, so it shouldn't take too long to wear them out.

 

Fair question.

I don't have a daily driver - I am fortunate to have a Jeep, a Kona and my Mini and they share daily duty. When I drive the Mini it is always a "spirited" drive to work. I also drive it a lot on weekends and drive it hard, but no track type events.

I did finally manage to have a successful search on NAM and they don't seem to rate too poorly by most accounts.

 

What are the dot date codes on the tires ??


https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretec....jsp?techid=11




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I've found Korean brands to be perfectly acceptable. I run Crugens on my Mercedes SUV for the last few years and they've been great tires.

 

I've run Kuhmo's on multiple vehicles, and never had a complaint.

Funny, on the sidewall of my current Kuhmo PS31s it says "Engineered by Korea" - note, not "IN" Korea, but "BY" Korea!

 

These are actually Taiwanese but based on the reviews here and the fact a number of people use them on track, and the fact these are nearly new, I have decided to buy a Forge intercooler and run these for awhile

 

The Nankang tires are also part of the Yokohama "umbrella" of tires....

Curious on the date codes as that model of tire is no longer made.

I've had great luck with the Nankang... and rate them at least with the Kumho tires.... with the NS-25's as good or better than most on the market UHPAS tires in terms of traction and durability.



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I don't have Scooter here at work, but I'll look when I get home. I am curious as well.

 

Did you find the date codes??

 

I did... 2014. I am having Pilot Sports put on Thursday.

 

Yes, check the four digit date code on the tire sidewall. Check each one since they may have different dates. First two numbers are the week and last two the year of manufacture. Old tire rubber gets hard and hardly wears but is noisy and doesn't give much traction.

Tread depth is one measure of tire life but the date is an important factor. Tires last about 5-6 years usable.

Off brand tires are usually budget and aren't good, switching to Michelin will be much better in every way except your pocketbook.