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[Omni]

Hey Everyone,

I recently purchased a set of 162 18" rims to use on my E90 in the summer. I kept my 16s with Bridgestone Turanza All-season RFTs for the winter.

When I got the 162s, they has Potenzas on them with 25% or so of life left.

I noticed a loud, harsh ride with the runflats, and an unacceptable amount of travel on uneven roads. All of the things that people complain about...I didn't plan on keeping the tires due to the tread life, anyway.

I started shopping for replacement tires. I knew I wanted a non-run flat tire, and I was all set to choose between Falken, Goodyear or Pirelli.

I'm normally NOT ONE TO CHEAP OUT ON TIRES.

However...

I had just finished upgrading several things on my car, and was in the dog house money-wise with the wifey.

So I started to consider lower-cost alternatives.

And I stumbled across Sunny SN3800 made by Wanli Tire of China.

I read several reviews and one comprehensive write up from a non-biased 3rd party. They seemed like solid tires.

Anyway, I decided to buy these tires in 225/40/18 and 255/35/18 to replace the Potenzas.

I paid $60 each. (Yes, a little embarrassed).

I paid Belle Tire $150 to mount and balance. So $390 all said and done.


Here's the point of my thread:

I've had the tires on for several weeks now and I am MORE THAN IMPRESSED. They vastly improve ride quality and comfort from the RFTs. They stick to dry roads beautifully and turn on a dime. In extreme wet conditions, they cut through the water without flinching. I even deliberately drove though a few deep areas of water run-off and had no hydroplaning.

There is one negative that I need to mention. They hum when slowing down between the speed of 40 and 20mph. But there is very little road noise when cruising and no apparent hum when accelerating from a stop.

I'm sure the tread won't last nearly as long as RFTs or even other premium brands, but at the moment, I'm glad I purchased them and saved a TON of money.

Soooo.... I'll let you all know if I end up in a ditch.

Let the flaming begin!

[deep_2783]

Hi,

I am also planning to go for sunny tires. I have same size of tires on my 335i. I just want to know how are the tires performing now?

[Irish Driver]

I just registered here to express my opinion. I have an '04 Audi A6 3.0tdi Quattro. When I bought it (new) it had Michelin Pilot tyres fitted. I subsequently replaced these with another set of Michelins, and then switched to Pirelli P7s. I usually only buy European cars and tyres as I like to support our own local brands, but when my last set of P7s wore out, I was quoted €280 for two new ones. This is about $386.

In the current economic climate I asked around some buddies of mine in the trade and they told me to look at economy brand tyres called "sunny." I had never heard of these, but the price for two Sunny SN 3800s was €110 fitted (for two) so I went ahead.

I can only say that since they were fitted I have been very impressed. The grip and ride quality is superb, and the performance is on a par with the Pirelli P7s. I was driving from Cork to Dublin last week and hit 225 kph (about 140 mph) on the motorway, with no problem from the tyres.

So in my opinion, I have made a good choice. Maybe competition like this will encourage our home brands like Michelin, Continental, and Pirelli to reduce their prices, but for now I am happy I switched.

By the way, I have an Audi now, but in the past I have had three BMW E30s, which I was very happy with. I hope you guys in the US don't mind an Audi driver posting on your forum, but I just saw the post about Sunny Tyres and wanted to give some feedback.

[Omni]

Thanks for the feedback. The tires are still performing wonderfully.

[amcink]

Hello
I'm considering these. Are they still performing good or better? Money is thight right now

[Omni]

They are excellent tires.

[chancejat]

My experience with sunnys on my old RX8 was great dry performance, wet driving was sub-par and road noise was a little loud but for dry summer days the tire was great.

[cstavaru]

Are you aware of the Brilliance BS6 (chinese luxury sedan) crash tests in Germany ? They didn't even get 1 star at EuroNCAP testing.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/22/b...-anything-but/

Why would their tires be safer ?

Safety is the reason why you shouldn't buy Chinese tires unless you run at a maximum speed of 50mph...

You would be nuts to expose your family to a product made in China with chinese design and quality assurance.