Rim Rating on Prospective 5r

masterdrago · October 9, 2017

We are looking at a Cedar Creek Champagne that has H-rated Westlake 17.5" tires. I've been unable to find much info on the Westlake tires other than china made. The GVWR is 18,000#. Can I switch the tires to the Goodyear G114 which is an H-rated 4,805# capacity @125psi 75mph tire. My question is: can the rim on this 5r handle the Goodyear tire?

Westlake tires.......... from The Reference.com

Westlake tires are not any good, according to CarsDirect. They are made in China by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company, a manufacturer that was forced to recall light-truck tires by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2007 due to safety concerns.

The recalled tires either lacked or had insufficient gum strips, which can cause the tread or belts to separate from the tires, resulting in a crash. Compass and YKS tires were also recalled, since they are also made by Hangzhou Zhongce. Chinese-made tires are cheap, but many experts in the automotive industry do not recommend them. Many of them do not meet industry standards and lack important safety and performance features.

Kirk W · October 9, 2017

You need to check to see what the ratings of the rims are. They have ratings that should be stamped into them.

BlueLghtning · October 9, 2017

As for the West Lake H rated tires you may want to see if those tires in that particular size and weight rating are getting the bad rap? I know the E rated West Lakes that were stock on many trailers for years were having issues and gave West Lake their bad name, but I've seen others that have started to come with the G rated tires have much better luck. It could be that the E rated tires we so marginal and at their limit they just had no capacity in reserve. I have no idea on the H rated ones, but perhaps they aren't as bad as the cheaper ones?

Also, not all China tires are bad. It really depends on if they are held to the higher standandards and good quality control, but the Sailun S637's have been very popular G rated tires many of us have gone to and are very happy with. You can't find a bad review on them. They are made in China, but definitely not the typical China Bombs. In fact I've been hearing more cases of issues with the G614's and the G114's laterly that's kind of surprising so no tires are immune from issues for sure.

As for your rims, I would think there's a pretty good chance they are rated for H tires since that is pretty common in the 17.5" rim size.

TXiceman · October 9, 2017

The rim will have the pressure or weight rating stamped on the back side of the mounting flange in most cases. It may be easier to look at the spare.

Ken

masterdrago · October 9, 2017

I agree with BlueLghtning that not all China tires are bad. I moved from China made Marathons to Maxxis on our boat trailer because of good reviews and the Marathons went from New Zealand to China and bad reviews. I'm not able to look at the rims now but, yes, the current tires on the Cedar Creek are H-rated West Lake that looks like a 62mph speed rating best I can find.