Has anyone here had any experience with Hercules tires? I think they are made in Korea.
well, now I read that they're owned by Cooper, but I'm still not sure where they're manufactured. Online reviews I've read so far are mixed to negative.
Here is a comment I noticed:Hercules was founded in 1950 and essentially sold rebadged Cooper tires. This arrangement until 2004 and they now exclusively source their tires from a 3rd party Chinese manufacturer and not Cooper.
Doral is owned by Treadways Corporation which is a subsidiary of Sumitomo. Most of the Sumitomo (including Dunlop) and Doral tires in North America are actually produced by Goodyear in US plants.
They are both basically dirt cheap tires and the only reason to look at them is that you want dirt cheap tires and don't really care about anything else. I have only anecdotal experience with these brands, but I would personally pick Doral given that it is a subbrand of a major company and not a tiny private brand selling God knows what imported from China. I do have experience with tire brands like Hercules, such as Pegasus which is another China off-label import and they are very poor performing tires.
A good source of tire reviews is Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels (http://www.tirerack.com). We just replaced the tires on our RAV4 and used their reviews to make our decision. Everyone outsources so our top rated Bridgestones were actually made in Mexico. See the reviews for SUVs/Crossover at http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=CSTAS
Pierce
good to know, Pierce. I'm looking for economical, not cheap!
There are a lot of Asian tires that have unfamiliar names but get good reviews on trucking forums. You can frequently get a set of 6 295/75-22.5 for under $2000 without compromising safety or durability. Korea does make excellent tires (and TVs, appliances, cars, etc). Just have to do your homework. Lesser known brands may not have a dealership network to take care of problems down the road.
Pierce
Here is an ad for $1500/set of six tires in Los Angeles: NEW Smartway Certified Semi - TRUCK TIRES (New) 22.5 / 24.5 / 11R (http://sacramento.craigslist.org/pts/4906613673.html)
Pierce
Hercules tires have a decent name in the medium/heavy tire. Lots of lesser known tire brands out there in the 295 75 22.5's, not so much in 275 80 R 22.5. I have Ohtsu's on mine ( load range H) on mine for 2 years no problem so far. A friend of mine put 10 Sampsons on his Monaco Dynasty last year, no problem and he runs with a heavy foot and loaded.