Are tires in the U.S. tested by some government body before they're legally allowed to be sold and used in the U.S? I'm wondering whether I should change my tires. I bought a "Certified Used" Honda from a dealership and they stated they had replaced with four new tires at the time I purchased them. Of course they were four of the cheapest tires they could find which I didn't mind at the time. According to the sidewall they're M+S with A traction rating so performance "seems" decent but that says nothing about whether the tread will separate. The sidewall says they were made 1612 which is week 16 of 2012 considering I bought the car around September of 2012 the tires seem fresh. Not much wear on them either, I can see half of Lincoln's nose on the penny test.

The brand is not well known. It's a Chinese brand made in China as opposed to something like a U.S. brand made in China. The company is called Rotalla.

Rotalla-About Us

"reasearh and development." Yeah.

Optimistically I would like to say it's relatively easy to make a stable basic tire and these Chinese companies have at least that ability, we're not talking Bridgestone level of engineering here. The sidewall states the plies are 1 polyester, 2 steel, 2 nylon and it's a steel-belted radial. I commute to work 15 miles on a highway where at least one miles consists of a bridge that has bumps due to ongoing construction work. Aside from the bridge I'm going roughly 70mph to and from work 5 days a week. If these tires were to fail on me I'm assuming the result would not be pretty.

Should I risk it? Should I drop these and go for Bridgestone? Because these are fresh, not worn as much I'm tempted to keep them but not at the cost of my ride and my life.

 

Rated A for traction and fresh manufacture date - they sound good to me.
Construction details you provided make tire sound very stout.
Since it's an unknown brand I'd check them for wear every 3 months as I run the heck out of them...

 

I'm pretty sure all tires sold in the US have to meet certain minimum specs. The fact that it has an "A" traction rating - even if it's a cheap tire - probably means that it will drive OK but wear out quickly. What's the temp rating? If it's "B" or better then don't worry about tread separation unless you often cruise for long periods >100mph.

A quick look at Consumer Reports all-season tire ratings show no Rotalla tires tested. The top ten rated are made of up French (Michelin & Uniroyal), Japanese (Bridgestone, Firestone, Dayton, Falken, & Fuzion), Italian (Pirelli), German (Continental), and US-based (Goodyear & Cooper) companies, although in the last few years the Koreans (Hankook & Kumho) have been catching up.

I'd drive them 'till they wear out, which will probably be pretty soon.

 

Yes, all tires have to meet DOT safety stuff. But we have become accustomed to getting tires that far exceed the "minimum" safety standards.

I don't think they'll blow up, or separate, or stuff like that. Just keep watching them. Cheaper probably means that they are ... well ... cheaper.

Lifespan is probably not as good. Maybe they get strange as they wear, so you might get annoyed at their behavior before they are even worn out.

Just guessing here, but how they tolerate things like potholes is probably "cheaper" too.

 

When I bought my Accord last year it came with some pretty cheap no-name brand of tires and the car drove horribly (possibly why the original owner dumped the car). Between the constant vibrations and pulsing of the steering wheel at pretty much any speed above five miles per hour, and the sloppy handling, I strongly suspected one or more tires had a slipped belt. When I finally got around to replacing them the car rode as smoothly as could be, the vibrations and pulsing completely stopped, and the handling became much more predictable.

 

Thanks for the responses guys! I checked the temperature rating is an A as well.

I do feel vibrations through the steering wheel. What I mean is just laying my hands on the steering wheel I can feel a hum through it that feels like I'm picking up everything on the ground. I don't have shimmying or anything like that. It's just annoying. I feel the vibrations through the gas and brake pedal too.

Every single bump will shake the car hard and the interior will make slight noises. It's a little annoying. I mean EVERY bump. It's probably more the state of the roads than the tires. The roads here are awful due to potholes and their botched repairs and sinkholes all over the place. Construction on the bridge has nice smooth fresh asphalt and when I ride over that I feel almost nothing through the wheel and the car.

I guess they're just stiffer or something?

 

So I went out and checked my new tires' listed construction and
yours have 1 additional nylon belt over what mine have.

maybe try reducing air pressure, you haven't said what psi you're running,
but I'd guess it's mostly the tire construction.

 

There's subtle differences between the various possibilities here. Maybe you can tell which feels closer to what you actually feel. Remember none of us can feel it firsthand.

If it were high-pressure or a stiff construction, then you'd feel the features of the surface of the road. Those features aren't very regular, and it would change a lot depending on the type of road surface.

Humming to me sounds like you're describing a regular frequency, & that's probably tread design. You feel the features of the tread against the ground. It's more of a regular sound. It's pitch changes with the car's speed, & it's there even on a very smooth road.

Belt problems seem more like out-of-balance wheels; it happens once each time the tire goes around. But at real low speeds, a balance problem can go away while a belt problem can feel like someone pulling the steering wheel back & forth, once each time the wheel rolls around.

I assume you're talking about the 2009? I've heard people who are accustomed to softer cars, saying the Accord's suspension is stiff and transmits sounds & vibrations from the road more clearly than the {whatever make} they were driving before.

ps... What's the tire size?