Wanli S1063 Reviews - Page 5

I bought these Wanli tyres after seeing a weekend offer on Tyre Shopper which almost seemed too good to be true (£63 per tyre fully fitted - madness!). Like most people, I looked up reviews on them before clicking on the 'buy' button and was initially apprehensive because I'd never heard of Wanli and tha the reviews that I was reading weren't exactly stellar, with words like 'ditch finder' being mentioned frequently and of them apparently being 'dangerous' in the wet.

Since the offer was so good, I decided to bite the bullet and buy them. Got them fitted a few days and I have to say that I'm actually impressed! Going from the (fairly worn) Avon ZZ5's that were fitted before, the difference is noticeable; the traction levels right from pulling away to braking are massively increased - they're managing to deal with the torque from my Audi's remapped (190bhp-ish) engine impressively without a hint of wheelspin - even in the wet. When brand new (like all tyres) they felt quite slippy but that's to be expected though. The car is cornering nicely now after the tyres have bedded in a bit too. I've read a few complaints about increased road noise with the Wanli's fitted, but I honestly haven't noticed any difference to my previous tyres. I can't rate them on progressiveness or wear yet as I've never been one to drive like Lewis Hamilton around corners and haven't had them fitted long enough to vouch for how well they wear.

This begs the question 'Why are they getting such bad reviews?'. I've got a theory that people are slating these before even trying them or are driving like nutters with them fitted. Naturally, these are BUDGET tyres, so you can't complain about them not performing like tyres twice their price - although I very much doubt that the average driver will notice much of a difference. No tyre performs amazingly well in wet weather - that's a fact. If you go around a tight bend at 50mph and are surprised when you end up in a tree and blame it on your tyres people have every right to point and snigger.

If I continue to be as happy with these tyres as I am at the moment I can definitely see me buying them again.

You're probably reading these reviews because you are unsure about the quality of these tyres for the price,given they are made in China. I did too. Well I suppose it depends on what you are expecting from a tyre: if it's brand image that is of concern to you then some buyers may want to look elsewhere. My assumption is that all tyres must meet a minimum standard to be sold here in the UK, so they all do the job intended but perform differently under varying road and weather conditions, coupled with the level of driving experience the person driving has and how hard they push the vehicle when cornering. I have just replaced four old tyres with the same again; the Wanli S1063. Why? Well, yes, the price was good but also because the previous set covered 34,500 miles. I am no expert but that tells me that they are not a soft compound tyre and so the down side is a bit more road noise and a reduction in grip in wet conditions. Overall,I would say that if you are a careful, considerate driver who drives normally (not races around)and takes a little extra care in the wet, then you should not be disappointed. If you drive hard and expect more feedback from a tyre then you may want to look at the upper end of the market. With these, value for money you will get, perhaps street cred you won't. As they say you pays your money and... Hope this helps.

I recently replaced a set of manufacturer-issued Michelins on my '09 Insignia with 1063 WANLIs.
The 225/17/55 is a tall tyre and I have had the sidewalls collapse on the front during an avoidance maneuver on the motorway. Quite frightening as car became really unstable for a second.
This tyre proved very hard to balance correctly and needed a few visits to get right. Still not sure it's right.
I noticed straight away that the car seems to bounce along at normal urban speeds and has a certain wobble or roughness at highway speeds, so much so that I have an appointment at Grimshawes in Bury to try a new set of wheels to isolate any one wheel causing an issue and then drilling down to see if a tyre is to blame.
These problems appeared with these tyres and I am not a fussy guy, they just feel odd.
Snow grip is amazing, by the way, but that makes me think that a certain softness for snow-grip is what gives these tall tyres, in my instance, this rubbery, bouncy, wobbly feel.

Have both of my front tyres wrapped in these.

A great dry tyre with plenty of grip and responsiveness throughout acceleration and also during rapid cornering. Tyres also give great feedback, but are somewhat more noisy than premium brand tyres, as may be expected.

The compound in these is quite hard, hence the slightly elevated road noise and after 20,000 miles, the thread shows little signs of wear.
These tyres give good braking and give great predictability if the wheels happen to lock up under heavy braking.

As a wet tyre, they're not very impressive. While they're not dangerous in the wet, I've experienced these tyres spin in the wet when attempting to feed >170bhp through them in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear. Cornering in the wet while reasonable is by no means confidence inspiring. These tyres will tend to squirm if the car is pushed slightly, but for an economy brand, they're very good and you get more than you pay for.

For anyone who is going to get tyres put on fresh;
1. Check that your tyre pressure is correct shortly after having tyres put on. These are a reasonable wet tyre, so be sensible and make sure that the tyre pressure is correct to ensure their proper performance.
2. As with any tyre; break them in gently, get to know their characteristics and nature in different conditions.

Overall, these are an economy tyre which are excellent value for money.
I initially got one of these as the tyre centre had no other brand in stock.
I was not impressed upon hearing "Wanli" but shortly after I gladly replaced the opposite tyre with another of these and there was a noticeable improvement in grip from the cheap (and quite rubbish) Hero Milanza tyre which the previous owner had mounted.

Recommend; yes!