Yes, I recall when they first started being made in China we got a few posts about Metzler being very strict on quality controls, etc, even if they were made in China. Several posters on this forum posted other experiences. One, was my friend Brick, who used to rave about the mileage of the original Tourances, getting over 10k miles on those and was disappointed that he only got about 4,000 on his latest. I told him about what I had read here about the Chinese Tourances and when he checked, sure enough his was a Chinese Tourance. He was really disappointed, as he has another set just like that in his garage.
I'll agree that the Battlewings are a very good tire at a very good price and have run many sets of them.
With regards to mileage, I had an unusual experience with rear Conti Trail Attacks (not the 2). I bought a set of the original TA 1's at a great price on line last winter, $119 delivered for a rear, a bit more for a front ,$126. I liked the initial ride and so ordered another rear at that price. Then on Black Friday, I found an ad for the same TA 1 rear for $79 delivered, so really jumped on that. I was really disappointed that I only got 3400 miles out of the first rear. I put the second one I had bought for $119 on and now have close to 6,000 miles on it and it is looking very good. Still have the same TA 1 front on and have a TA 2 ready to go when it wears out. So, one of my first TA 1's was an outlier, either the short mileage one or the one that is lasting a reasonable time. Neither made in China BTW.
I still have the $79 TA 1 rear to go, so I guess that will be the one that tells the tale.
