Riken Raptor Z R

[nigel]

Today I was shiping a set of "RIKEN" Raptor Z R tyres to Nassau and have never seen or heard of them before. They have the same tread pattern as the Good Year GPs like on my 92'.
This set was the same size as the 16 in. fronts on my 92' and i'm wondering if anyone has ever heard or dealt with them?
I didn't look at the manifest so I don't know how much they cost so maybe someone can help me out.
They looked good enough to start this thread and make inquires as to their cost, traction, longevity, etc, etc...
Thanks for any info.

Cheers
nigel

 

[CarCrazed4Life]

I remember Honda Tuning did an promo on um:

http://www.hondatuningmagazine.com/store/htup_0509_new_honda_products/riken_raptor_zr_uhp_tire.html

 

[nigel]

Thanks CarCrazed4Life for the info.
For the rest, the attachment refered to says these tyres are a Michelin product and have 27 sizes. Maybe i'll try them next and report back.

Cheers
nigel

 

[Vega$ NSX]

When I was replacing the tires on my gf's Mazada 3, the shop recommended them. I was skeptical having never heard of them and was going to go with the more expensive Falkens. They guy told me to try them out and if I wasn't satisfied, I could bring them back for the Falkens. That was a pretty bold statement so I gave them a try. I took a spirited drive around the block and was pretty impressed. I couldn't test the wet side traction, but overall I was quite pleased with the tire's performance and the price was decent as well.

 

[MasterMason]

I have this set of tires on my 17/18 racing hart c2 but they were there already when I bought the car.. Ride is good and not loud at all. It's just embarassing when it's parked because the tires are a no-name brand... It's like wearing a higo boss suite with payless shoes..

But performance wise, I think they are worth the money... Not sure though how much they are but pretty sure they are cheap.

 

[nigel]

Per MasterMason, back when I was building motorcycle roadracers I used to tell the track record holding rider, "looks don't necessitate function".
Just because they aren't name brand, they are, acording to the Honda Tune report, made by Michelin, so that's a quality brand and if there is a price advantage over the Good Year G Ps I have installed now i'm going to give them a go.
I'm surprise I haven't seen anything here before about them as our tyres are getting harder to find in sizes that fit without mixing manufacturers.
As I said before the tread pattern looks just like the G Ps so i'll see.

Cheers
nigel

 

[CarCrazed4Life]

Thanks CarCrazed4Life for the info.
For the rest, the attachment refered to says these tyres are a Michelin product and have 27 sizes. Maybe i'll try them next and report back.

Cheers
nigel

They use a simlified/modified mold of the Michelin Pilot A/S and use a much cheaper non-silica based Tread Compound that is more on par with AVS ES100s Kumho SPTs, etc. Instead of Michelin being the best tire regardless of price, the Rikens are suppose to be the best value per performance.

I think the Riken has been out for a while, but after the US/France "hateration" Michelin never promoted the brand in fear of having it look like Michelin is just selling tires under a different alias.

If you look at Fuzion, its owned by Dunlop and has the same basic business concept.

Overall not a bad tire, but sometimes you can find some decent tires at decent prices without going into the "new names" that its not worth taking a chance on.