2012 SEMA - Tire Copy Cat Ripoffs

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
If there's one thing that I've really noticed at this year's SEMA show, it was the surprising amount of tires that looked strikingly similar to Toyo Open Country MT's and Nitto Trail Grappler MT's, but weren't. Some even went so far to have similar names like "Mud Gripper" and rather than list where they were made, would state that they were "Engineered in Japan". Here's just one sample of what I'm talking about...

At a glance, what tire would you say this is?
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Maybe it's just me but, I think it's kinda sad.
 

MTG

Caught the Bug
Imitation is the highest form of flattery. And I'm sure that makes them feel better about the lost revenue. :naw:
 

BlackKnight

Member
What does the quality of the clones look like? if they are crappy, then they are Crappy, else they may be an option for the wheeler that may have less than deep pockets. Ex. the wheel/tire combo I'm looking at will be about $550 per tire (and add $300 per rim)...
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
What does the quality of the clones look like? if they are crappy, then they are Crappy, else they may be an option for the wheeler that may have less than deep pockets. Ex. the wheel/tire combo I'm looking at will be about $550 per tire (and add $300 per rim)...

rubber compound, tire stucture, amount of plys and overall thickness all play a roll in making a tire what it is. while they look virtually identical, it'd be hard to compare something like "quality" just by looking at them.
 

highoctane

Caught the Bug
They need to copy the MT/R Kevlar. As low as the quality standards are on that tire, it would be hilarious for Goodyear to be one upped by a knock off from Japan, for a cheaper price, and maybe better quality.

But yes, I agree. It is sad that these fakes come out to ride the coat tails of the company that put in R&D, time, money, and hard work to design their products.
 

Halas

New member
BlackKnight said:
What does the quality of the clones look like? if they are crappy, then they are Crappy, else they may be an option for the wheeler that may have less than deep pockets. Ex. the wheel/tire combo I'm looking at will be about $550 per tire (and add $300 per rim)...

I saw these on eBay, they were just about the same price as the real deal.

At first I thought maybe toyo was making them for Fuel, I thought Fuel was a quality company due to the wheels that they have been putting out.

Maybe they are not a quality company, does anyone know if this is the same company that makes the Fuel Wheels?

The other brand that I saw was Durain (I think), they had a toyo mt tread and a Nittos trail side wall.....
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
The company is called Tri-Ace and they are in China. The do make these tires for Fuel and yes, there are ton of other copycat tires out there. Walking through the tire section at SEMA, it was almost hard to tell what you were looking at unless you were really paying attention.
 

Halas

New member
wayoflife said:
The company is called Tri-Ace and they are in China. The do make these tires for Fuel and yes, there are ton of other copycat tires out there. Walking through the tire section at SEMA, it was almost hard to tell what you were looking at unless you were really paying attention.

We're there any new tires that were worth a second look?
 

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
We're there any new tires that were worth a second look?

well, there was the redesigned toyo AT. basically the same thing only with larger voids and a more agressive looking sidewall. other than that, i didn't really see anything new per se - just a lot of copycat tires from china.
 

Halas

New member
wayoflife said:
well, there was the redesigned toyo AT. basically the same thing only with larger voids and a more agressive looking sidewall. other than that, i didn't really see anything new per se - just a lot of copycat tires from china.

The toyo's were what I have been looking at and they are pretty slick for AT's and at a great price.

For anyone looking at the knock offs trying to save a buck, you won't.
I have seen them around online and if you shop right you can get the real deal Nittos and toyo's for the same price.... If not better.
Not worth the chance or a surprise air bubble in a sidewall.
 
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