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Any experience with Nankang N870 tires?

DoctorCheney223

Active member
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Location
Henderson, NV
First, I wish I could spend more hours here on SS chatting and reading but time is something that I have very little of. That being said, I have had some of my staff do some research here on the forums when they can't get a hold of our CWO who is a walking and talking TM.

One thing that our CWO has brought to my attention is that we need to stop using surplus/used military HMMWV tires. I have picked up quite a few sets of excellent/like new condition tires over the last six months but we've had no less than four blow-outs. Luckily all of our trucks have run-flats and it's his opinion that's what kept our heavy HMMWV from losing control. He has gone through the date codes on the tires and they are all six years-old at the newest and these even include the like-new tires (still have the nipples on the tread).

We currently have eight HMMWV's on the road and seven more that we are rehabbing. We use these trucks for picking up and dropping off customers at the casinos along the Las Vegas Strip. I need to start purchasing new tires and swapping out the used models as times goes on.

Has anybody used the Nankang N870 tires that are available from Sears and other vendors online? I have read reviews from customers who purchased them and they seem pleased with their purchases. It appears that Nankang manufactures tires for the Taiwan military HMMWV's and other military vehicles. The cost from Sears is $285 each which is more than half the cost of a new Goodyear MT/R tire.

I've attached a pic of the specs of the tire and our heaviest vehicle in the motor pool. It's and H1 that was previously used by an outdoor sightseeing tour company here in Vegas. I bought all five of his H1's (1997's) and need to start putting new tires all the way around. We have a total of three of the heavy trucks and the others will be modified as troop carriers.

Please let me know if you have any first-hand knowledge or experience with tires as they seem like a good alternative to the MT's an MT/R's and our vehicles don't go off road.

V/R
Ron M Cheney
 

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NDT

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
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Camp Wood/LC, TX
No idea about Nankang tires, but at least they are not chinese. Tell us about these blowouts. You're having blowouts in the few blocks between the strip and your facility?
 

Augi

Active member
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SF Bay Area
If you are having blow-outs due to age, you should be able to see the difference in the rubber of the tire. You'll either see the cracking from the dry rot, or the sun damaged tires have a certain sheen and smoothness to them where tires that aren't damaged are more matte. You can feel it by sliding along the sidewall with your palm. Your hand will slip on old tires and feel a bit more grippy on new ones. The pliability of the tire is also affected.

I had some MT's from the 90's that weren't that good, and I have some MT/R's from 2009 that are great. 6 years is not that old and the MT/R's are all much newer than the MT's are. Use MT/R's.

Augi
 
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The Nankang is the only 16.5 tire available in Australia to suite Hmmwv`s. I have had a few sets and would rate them as average so don`t expect huge mileage out of them. The biggest downfall is a thin sidewall and the best feature is that they are cheap so you get what you pay for.
 

DoctorCheney223

Active member
134
118
43
Location
Henderson, NV
Here in Clark County the tire shops will not handle mount/balance tires that are seven years or older. My concern is that I have use tires that are older than seven years and we have an accident involving a tire, I've opened myself up to the liability of using tires past the recommended limit for our area.

I will have to verify tire age with some of the resellers to make sure the dates are newer on the MT/R's.

V/R
Ron M Cheney

If you are having blow-outs due to age, you should be able to see the difference in the rubber of the tire. You'll either see the cracking from the dry rot, or the sun damaged tires have a certain sheen and smoothness to them where tires that aren't damaged are more matte. You can feel it by sliding along the sidewall with your palm. Your hand will slip on old tires and feel a bit more grippy on new ones. The pliability of the tire is also affected.

I had some MT's from the 90's that weren't that good, and I have some MT/R's from 2009 that are great. 6 years is not that old and the MT/R's are all much newer than the MT's are. Use MT/R's.

Augi
 

ClarkeF

Member
206
5
18
Location
Hestand, KY
Blow outs are most common when under-inflated. I have 10 year old MT/R's that are in fine shape - but I keep them properly inflated. What pressures are you running in your surplus tires?
 

DoctorCheney223

Active member
134
118
43
Location
Henderson, NV
I will find out what they keep them inflated at. All drivers perform their PMCS's daily and I will definitely check into that.

V/R
Ron M Cheney

Blow outs are most common when under-inflated. I have 10 year old MT/R's that are in fine shape - but I keep them properly inflated. What pressures are you running in your surplus tires?
 

ClarkeF

Member
206
5
18
Location
Hestand, KY
I run all tires at no less then 40psi...my mtr's are 10 years old as well.

40 Psi is a good pressure for MT/R's. It's the sidewall flex that kills the older tires.

Of course if you are off-roading and need more footprint it isn't a great choice - but I suspect that if you are doing desert tours then the trail probably isn't something that need good floatation...
 
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