Anyone have experience (good or bad) with Douglas tires? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Jeremy5848 · #1 06-11-2008, 03:24 PM

My 1987 300D-T (W124, OM603) came to me with "Douglas" tires, probably bought by the PO so that he could sell the car with new tires without spending a lot of money. The tires so far (a few thousand miles) have been OK. I'm always a little concerned about private-label stuff and wanted to know if anyone here could speak from experience.

The tires I have are "Douglas Touring M+S P195/65R15 89S." The size is what the owner's manual specifies (page 93) for this car; the load rating of 89 is a little light (1279 lbs or 580 kg) compared to the factory recommendation of 91 (1356 lbs or 615 kg); the speed rating S (112 mph) is well under the factory spec of "H" (130 mph). Since I don't plan to carry heavy loads or drive at high speed, this is not a matter of concern.

After doing a little research on the Internet, I have learned that "Douglas" is a private label made by Kelly Springfield (owned by Goodyear since 1935). My tires were made in the 31st week of 2002 in a Union City, Tennessee plant, according to the DOT code. My PO probably bought the tires from Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has been a retailer of Douglas tires since 1991 and uses them as an inexpensive alternative to its "General" tire line.

Any stories to share (good or bad)?

Jeremy

rs899 · #2 06-11-2008, 03:55 PM

They are OK(just OK) - I have them on my Rabbit pickup. I have had 2 blowouts ( at low speed) in 12 years. The sidewalls, IMO are very thin. I would be worried on an MB.

JimFreeh · #3 06-11-2008, 05:05 PM

Are you saying that Walmart installed tires recently that were five years old when they were installed?

Jim

Jeremy5848 · #4 06-11-2008, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimFreeh

Are you saying that Walmart installed tires recently that were five years old when they were installed?

Jim

Thanks for pointing that out. If the PO had the tires installed in late 2006, shortly before I bought the car, then yes, the tires were over 4 years old when they were installed. Wal-Mart does this because (a) they get a better price on old tires and (b) few people read sidewalls (especially if they are shopping only for price).

This brings up the question, do you ask to see the tires before the man puts them on your car? Does anyone? Next time, try saying "I don't like these tires -- they're already X years old -- get me something newer" and see how the man reacts.

That said, tires in a warehouse deteriorate at a much slower rate than tires on a car sitting out in the driveway. I don't see any sidewall cracking but will keep an eye on them. As long as I drive the car primarily around town they should be OK but I'll replace them soon.

barry123400 · #5 06-12-2008, 01:27 AM

Nice to know who kelly springfield is owned by. The worse tires I have had in the last few years were goodyear conquests. Sidewalls are weak and blew out on two tires. They were being used on a light car. They came on it in fact. I will never buy this brand after that experience.

rs899 · #6 06-12-2008, 06:33 AM

I'm sure they were only trying to "improve" things but the last set of "Douglas" tires I bought for my Rabbit were made in Chile.

JimFreeh · #7 06-12-2008, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeremy5848

That said, tires in a warehouse deteriorate at a much slower rate than tires on a car sitting out in the driveway. I don't see any sidewall cracking but will keep an eye on them. As long as I drive the car primarily around town they should be OK but I'll replace them soon.

The German TUV did a study a while back on virgin tires that were unused spares of various ages.
Their conclusion was that the tires still deteriorated and were not safe.

While I've got older tires on some of my little used cars, I still keep in mind the age when driving. Speed + distance = heat and can lead to failure.

In the case of my 64 Lincoln Continental convertible, a twice monthly run to the Dairy Queen for ice cream doesn't concern me much, even though I'm riding on a set of 17 year old tires. With about 1,500 miles on them.....

I have a completely different approach to the tires on my 560SEL. Even though the 560 only gets about 500 - 1,000 miles a year, I DO drive tend to drive that car fast and occasionally some distance.

Jim

Rmcfarland · #8 06-16-2008, 12:15 AM

I bought Douglas tires at Wal-Mart for my 240D 'cause I am in school, and they were cheap. Not too terrible, If you know what you are getting. But 40K miles, yeah right. Mine are at about 20K and probably 75-80% worn out.

Heavy car on small tires = fast wear, I guess. I need new shocks too.

compress ignite · #9 06-16-2008, 12:34 AM

One of the reasons the "H" rated tires are more expensive Is the extra thick
construction of the sidewalls.
(And the greater Heat ratings,Etc.)

Please be cognizant of this...Even at low speeds...In an Emergency situation
It's possible to "Blow Out" the sidewalls of under-rated tires,whilst turning and
Emergency Braking at the same time.

My Mercedes only means of contact with the road is through the tires.
With the "Pinball Game" that most modern roadways have become,even
using defensive driving,Without proper "Skins" I'm just another case of
"Pre-Mortician Bait" looking for a big pine tree to stop forward motion.

Irish,Scottish,German...Man I'm so cheap the panhandlers turn away as I
walk down the street.
But if I can't put Michelins (of the correct series) on the rims...I'm not
rolling!

JHZR2 · #10 06-16-2008, 01:12 PM

old tires are inherently less safe (to quantify this would likely be near-impossible). IIRCD, they were looking at putting a 6-year expiration date on tires, for the very reason of their degradation.

I'd be pretty unhappy, and would likely even complain to wal-mart, receipt in hand about this. A fellow on another forum I frequent did this with tire rack, because they sold an "older" set of Avon tires, and they offered 50% off any replacements he wanted.

I run dunlop sp sport A2 tires on my w123 cars. I think theyre great. Next time I may look at cooper CS4 tires though, as theyre getting really good reviews from what ive seen...

JMH

Jaysterl · #11 06-16-2008, 01:29 PM

I have Douglas chepo tires from walmart on my 88 Dakota PU, no problems but not what I would put on my MB. I'm running Yoko Avids touring
P205/65R15 on both my cars and really like the smooth ride. They sell them at Discount & Tire rack for a pretty good price/performance ratio.

Nate · #12 06-16-2008, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHZR2

I run dunlop sp sport A2 tires on my w123 cars. I think theyre great. Next time I may look at cooper CS4 tires though, as theyre getting really good reviews from what ive seen...

JMH

Cooper CS4 tires are very good... Douglas ANYTHING are crap. Cheap walmart crap that should be sent to a concrete plant and BURNED!!!

They're using an old school lug pattern, and rating their wear out warentty way up. Walmart will just say that the alignment's off, and since they dont do them, they cant give you replacement tires (even pro-rated...) They will NOT honor the wearout warentty unless you really raise hell and talk to management.

Very soft (cheap) tread, and very thin sidewals. Go to walmart, and feel the difference between their douglas tires, and michilens (or any other "real" tire brand)

I worked at farm and fleet, and would hear complaints about the tires being very "greasy" from customers who bought two at walmart, and had different tires on the frount... We'd put thoose crappy tires on the back, and some cooper lifeliners or uniroyal tigerpaw AWP 2's on there, and they'd be happy.

If you're looking for a good deal on tires, I really like the uniroyal tigerpaw AWP 2's that we sold... 70,000 mile wearout, and they were way cheaper then michilens...

Dont get me started on walmart's torquing policy either. In addition to using anti-seize on studs, they (in the name of speed) dont always "start" the lugs onto the studs, and strip them. They will NOT replace them, their official policy is "they were old, old studs break or get stripped"

Using them on an MB is horrible... Get a real set of tires on there asap, and pawn your junk on some used tires store that buys tires... Or at worse keep them around and remind yourself not to buy them...

~Nate