When you need affordable tires, Blackhawk is a brand to keep in mind.
Website: www.blackhawktireusa.com
Shopping for new, affordable, all-season tires (most likely at a Mavis Tire) and you’ll come across Blackhawk Tires, a brand you’ve probably never heard of before.
Like all tire shoppers, you’ll probably wonder if they’re any good despite the affordable pricing.
Here’s everything you need to know about Blackhawk tires and why they’re a good buy when you can’t justify spending that much more on those so-called premium brands.
About Blackhawk tires
A quick google reveals Blackhawk tires are owned by Sailun Tires, a Chinese tire conglomerate (merged with Jinyu tires) that started making their own tire products back in 2002.
Blakhawk Tires trademark information confirms this.
The Sailun group also owns RoadX, Rovelo, and Maxam tires.
I wrote up a blogpost about Sailun tires back in 2018 and was mostly impressed with what I found. Although I concluded I wouldn’t recommend Sailuns if you owned anything sporty or premium, commenters (actual purchasers) quickly pointed out otherwise (this bodes well for Blackhawk.)
Sailun has tire factories in China and Vietnam.
From my research (looking at many used Blackhawk tires on eBay,) Blackhawk tire are made in Vietnam.
Using Blackhawk tires seller locator, it looks like Blackhawks are mostly found in the Southeastern part of the United States with a high concentration of Blackhawk tires sold in the Atlanta, Georgia area.
Since this blog post’s been up, a commenter pointed out that Discount Tire/America’s Tire also carries Blackhawks, so you may find Blackhawks on the West Coast, too.
Blackhawk tires strengths
- Affordable
- Good reviews
- Good warranty
Blackhawk has a simple tire lineup.
- Street-H H11 – All-Season Touring
- Street-H- HU01- UHP All-Season
- Street-H HU02- UHP performance radial (asymmetrical)
- Hiscend- HT01- Performance CUV/SUV
- Hiscend HA11- Premium All Terrain
Based on how many reviews the H11s and HT01s received, I think those two tires comprise a fair representation of what Blackhawk tires offer.
The biggest strength Blackhawks offer is the amount of value for the price.
Take, for example, a 205 65 15 all-season, a tire commonly found on a small car (Toyota Corolla.)
Options from so-called premium brands like Yokohama, Bridgestone, and Michelin run between $120-160.
Blackhawk’s All-Season Touring H11s cost $61 per tire (on Mavis.)
Yes, for the price of these Blackhawks, you can get yourself a full replacement set.
Based on dozens of reviews, the general consensus for Blackhawks is purchasers are overall satisfied and surprised with how well they perform.
“These tires have encountered relatively little wear, even after a cross-country drive from Massachusetts to Arizona,” says a review on Aug 8, 2021) “They handle several types of paved road surface very well, including in wet summer conditions.“
“I was surprised by how quiet these tires are, says another review on the H11s on Aug 8, 2021 “They are a bit stout than the Michelins they replaced but not far behind in comfort.”
Most of the reviews for the H11 off Mavis read a lot like the one above.
“With about 500 miles on the tires so far, I a pleased with our purchase,” says a review for their HT01s on May 10, 2022. “I was able to notice an immediate difference in noise reduction and ride comfort when we drove out of the parking lot. Very please so far with tread wear and traction.”
Unlike some entry level tire brands, Blackhawk also has a decent limited mileage tire warranty (details linked here.) The mileage intervals are not as long as some of those other aforementioned premium brands, but it’s better than nothing.
Blackhawk tire weaknesses
Honestly, I’m grasping at straws here.
The limited mileage warranties for some of the tires could be longer, but having any warranty on a “budget tire” is a plus.
Seeing how good these tires are, I wish they had stores that sold them here on the West Coast, but that’s not much of a demerit on the tires themselves.
I swear, Blackhawk tires has not paid me to write this review!
From what I’ve read, there aren’t, as far as I’m aware, any noteworthy weaknesses worth typing out.
As more reviews come out, Blackhawk tire purchasers hit their respective snow and rainy seasons, and possible weaknesses become apparent, I’ll update this blog post accordingly.
Relevant videos
Conclusion
Despite the new name, it’s clear Blackhawk has a homerun lineup of entry level all-season and performance tires for the tire shopper on a budget.
Obviously, whatever R&D Sailun Tires has developed over the past twenty years, it’s trickled down into their smaller brands, and the reviews reflect that.
Based on the dozens of reviews I’ve read, I have no problem recommending Blackhawk tires.
Blackhawk tires delivers so much value for the money, it almost feels like a secret you want to keep for yourself.
But seriously, have little reservations buying Blackhawk tires, they’re one of the good ones.
Sources:
www.simpletire.com/brands/blackhawk-tires
www.mavistire.com/tire-reviews/blackhawk/streethhh11
www.mavistire.com/tire-reviews/blackhawk/hiscendhht01/
www.swaggermagazine.com – An uncanny combination of value and performance
Blackhawk tires are sold by Discount Tire Centers which DOES have West Coast locations, and quite many at that. I just came upon this brand for the first time seeing what DTC offers by way of tires as I’ve been a very long time (20 years) customer of America’s Tire.