Friday, 7 June 2013

Are my GT Radial Champiro Tyres safe for UK roads?

This is a story about my personal experience with GT Radial Champiro Tyres (GT Radial 225 45 R17 Champiro HPX to be exact), purchased and used in the UK. Clearly I am not saying they are all like this or suffer from the same 'problem', just relaying my experience to help fellow motorists make an informed decision.

I chose the tyres based on the decent reviews here http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/GT-Radial/Champiro-HPX.htm - purchased them online and had them fitted locally onto our main family car.

All was well until ...my car went in for its MOT, and it failed due to the condition of the rear tyres. Surprising as the tyre tread looked OK (i would say 50% worn at most), as did the outside sidewalls, however when the wheels were removed it was clear to see (on both tyres) a deep crack all the way round the perimeter of the inner sidewall.
GT Radial Champiro Crack dangerous?


The MOT station advised that this was dangerous.

I have contacted both the manufacturer and the distributor with these images, their response were:

From the distributor - none... My emails to the distributor have all bounced back or received no reply (micheldevergroup.co.uk)
 
From the manufacturer - "Please send the tyres back through the dealer whom you purchased them off. Until I have physically inspected the tyres I cannot make any comments on whether the condition is purely cosmetic or it was structural".
Alistair Brown
, Technical Sales Manager
(GITI TIRE - the manufacturer)

Sadly I am not in the habit of keeping used 17" tyres to send back to the manufacturer, and the tyre fitter that supplied the new tyres did not stock the GT Radial brand (and I didnt know about sending them back at that point in time), so that's the end of that!

So what do you think fellow motorist? 

Are these cracks around both of my GT Radial Champiro tyres purely cosmetic (and therefore not an MOT fail), or a structural issue that might cause safety issues?

Would you put these onto your family car?






Update...
Whilst as helpful as possible, the representative from the manufacturer of these GT Radial Champiro tyres with splits around the entire inner sidewall can do nothing without physically inspecting the tyre (and that is no longer possible), so there ends my story. My images do not help.

If you are thinking of purchasing some GT Radial Tyres for use in the UK, and like paying for new tyres when the tread is perfectly fine then I can heartily recommend these from personal experience.

Have you had a problem with your GT Radial Champiro Tyres? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

14 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. I got the same experience. After 4 months from the date of purchase, it hit the side of the street at 30 mph and the side wall of the tire was torn and became useless. Was purchased from Firestone without disaster warranty. The selling agent assured me that it is a good cheap long lasting tire. Don't trust them. I will never buy GT Radial brand anymore.

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Its interesting to read here on similar woes shared by motorists which will certainly go a long way in helping me to avoid such hoax brands as Champiro. I bought a champiro last year to replace a tyre burst from a Yokohama which was imported with my car in 2011.

    Now, a few months latter there is a menacing tear/crack on said Champiro, one very akin to the photo posted above. In summary, the 3 remaining (average grade) Yokohamas have outlived Champiro, whose search is not yielding listing among top manufacturers who have withstood a test of time.

    CHAMPIRO IS FAKE!! A TIME BOMB IF YOU ARE USING THIS BRAND.

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  5. Very helpful article indeed. I only buy high quality bridgestone tyres in UK They are affordable and have best quality.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for use information. We provide branded part worn tyres in London.

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  9. I have experienced the same issue with GT Radial Sport Active 205/45R16 (Date Code 4916), with 2 fitted to the rear of my car. No significant knocks and have not ever been run flat. Inside sidewall splitting and 50% tread left on both, evenly worn, although 3.5 years old by the time I failed MOT and had to have them changed. However, it was 1.5 years since previous MOT this time around because of COVID.... so splitting could have potentially occurred at anytime from 2 years old which I consider to be premature failure.

    Purchased from a UK Skoda Franchise run by Jardine Motors at the time who have said, point blank, they are "unable to support".

    Finding it hard to contact Giti Tyres other than a contact form on the website...... no answer in almost a week.

    Oh, am I still have the defective tyres.....

    If anyone has a UK contact for them, please let me know.

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  10. I did find this which indicates it is, potentially, a common issue with GT Radial Tyres....

    https://www.gtradial-us.com/discover-gt-radial/tire-recall/

    The date code on mine is close to the date codes covered by that recall, albeit for a subset of the Champiro range.

    ReplyDelete
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