Car magazine highlights gulf between Chinese and European tire standards

ERJ staff report (LMH)

Hanover, Germany – German car magazine Autobild has carried out a comparison of tires produced in China with a European premiere tire to show that the handling properties of these tires trails behind those of European tires, according to Continental.

The experts at Autobild tested tires from prominent European, American and Asian manufacturers that were made in China for the domestic market and that are not approved for sale in the EU.

The 205/55 R 15-size tires were compared against the ContiPremiumContact 5 tire. The results highlight the differing standards between tires developed for the Chinese domestic market and tires developed with European guidelines in mind.

Continental said in a 29 July news release that the difference in stopping distances at a normal highway speed of 100 km per hour between the premium reference model and the worst performer in the wet was around 24 m. The outcome of the aquaplaning test was “similarly poor”, Conti reported. The worst of the tested tires started aquaplaning at 66 km/h, while the best-in-test continued to provide traction up to 78 km/h.

Autobild experts advise consumers to make sure that the tires they buy are approved for use in Europe, indicated by an e4 code on the sidewall, Conti reported. The testers said the best way to ensure this is to order direct online from specialist tire dealer or local car dealers.

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News release from Continental