The Westlake Radial RP18 is a budget summer touring tire with owner praise for price, comfort and often satisfactory wear. Noise and wet confidence are mixed, while its single independent test found weak grip and imprecise steering.
The quick answer
Owners say72%from 27 owner reviews64% would buy againRead the reviews
Built from every independent test result and vetted owner review we hold for this tire - the evidence is all further down the page. Data updated August 2026.
What do owners say about the Westlake Radial RP18?
Across 27 owner ratings the Westlake Radial RP18 averages 72%. Owners rate Dry Grip highest at 7.9 out of 10 and Comfort lowest at 6.8. 8 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles. 64% of owners score it 70% or better.
How comfortable and quiet are the Westlake Radial RP18?
Owners rate the Westlake Radial RP18 6.8 out of 10 for comfort and noise across 24 reviews.
How well do the Westlake Radial RP18 wear, according to owners?
Owners rate the Westlake Radial RP18 7.6 out of 10 for wear across 24 reviews. 8 of those reviews come from owners past 10,000 miles, and the typical review covers 4,000 miles.
Would owners buy the Westlake Radial RP18 again?
64% of owners say they would buy the Westlake Radial RP18 again, based on the 25 owner reviews that answered the question. 28% of them gave it the highest possible answer.
What do owners say about the Westlake Radial RP18's road noise?
Of the 23 owner reviews analyzed for the Westlake Radial RP18, 15 mention road noise: 6 praise it (quiet) and 9 criticise it (noisy). One owner wrote: "They are the noisiest tires I've ever had in my life". Read those reviews
More questions about the Westlake Radial RP18(2)
What do owners say about the Westlake Radial RP18's tread life?
Of the 23 owner reviews analyzed for the Westlake Radial RP18, 10 mention tread life: 8 praise it (long-lasting) and 2 criticise it (wears quickly). One owner wrote: "specially wear. They still look like new". Read those reviews
What do owners say about the Westlake Radial RP18's dry grip?
Of the 23 owner reviews analyzed for the Westlake Radial RP18, 9 mention dry grip: 8 praise it (strong dry grip) and 1 criticise it (limited dry grip). One owner wrote: "On a dry clean surface, I can launch my car with no difficulty or tire spin". Read those reviews
Questions and Answers for the Westlake Radial RP18
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Owners most often praise dry grip, comfort and value in the Westlake Radial RP18, with overall feedback averaging 65.8% across 25 reviews from 22 people. Fifteen reviews are positive, six neutral and four negative. About a third of comments criticise noise, though several find it quiet, while wet confidence also varies between drivers. Several mid-life accounts describe encouraging wear, but an end-of-life reviewer reports rapid wear, so no typical lifespan is established. The two repeat reviewers remain broadly positive at mid-life, though their scores ease slightly.
What owners mention most counted across 23 reviews
Tap one to read only the reviews that mention it.
Owner ratings averaged from 27 ratings
Owner score72%
Dry Grip79%
Wear76%
Road Feedback73%
Handling73%
Wet Grip70%
Comfort68%
Featured reviews
Most helpful 50%
“These are the tires that came on my car when I bought it used. They have roughly 5,000 miles and appear to be wearing fairly normally. They are super squishy and soft. This is good and bad causing a very smooth ride but...”
“The tires seem to grip and handle alright but they are the noisiest tires I've ever had in my life. I'm 62. I can't hear myself think. The tires have about 5,000 miles on them. They are so noisy I hate to have to drive...”
“Those are good tires. They don’t excell but perform as an average driver can expect in cities and highways at average speeds from 90 to 130 km/h. They are quite durable and resist to rough terrain without any problem.”
Those are good tires. They don’t excell but perform as an average driver can expect in cities and highways at average speeds from 90 to 130 km/h. They are quite durable and resist to rough terrain without any problem.
They are ok on wet or dry and surprisingly lasting.
Initial Impressions89% 20 miles
I agree with the comment saying that “cheap tire” is somewhat unfair because this word passes a perception of poor quality product. I’ve driven 20 thousand miles with my westlakes in all kinds of roads and terrain and they are quite good in any aspect, specially wear. They still look like new. Will buy again. Definitely.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
These are the tires that came on my car when I bought it used. They have roughly 5,000 miles and appear to be wearing fairly normally. They are super squishy and soft. This is good and bad causing a very smooth ride but little feedback through the steering wheel. On a dry clean surface, I can launch my car with no difficulty or tire spin. When the surface is wet or covered with leaves I can not leave a stop with more than 1/3 power. If I do these tires spin like they are on a hockey rink. with the weather in where I live this is a common problem that I run into pretty requirly. For this reason, I will not be buying these tires and plan on replacing them because I believe this problem will just get worse with time.
Which tires do you drive?
Researching the Westlake Radial RP18? Rate the tires you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
The tires seem to grip and handle alright but they are the noisiest tires I've ever had in my life. I'm 62. I can't hear myself think. The tires have about 5,000 miles on them. They are so noisy I hate to have to drive the car. LOUD!
I actually have RP38 on my Camry 2005. It is very affordable that's why I bought it. It is quite stiff and smells like a rubber ball of a basketball which I find is unusual. The dry performance is great while the wet performance is decent. The wear is also very good. My 2 complains are it is quite stiff unlike its competitors and is noisy. There is a humming sound at 40kph. Overall, I would still recommend this to thise who are looking for really cheap brand new tires.
I needed tires for my autoX competition car when I am not racing it. Primarily during winter months.
I purposely run a slight upsize to aid in ride comfort to help dull out the stiff suspension.
Price drove the decision. In all honesty I really like these tires for what they are. Surprisingly decent in the dry. Wet traction does suffer but as long as your mindful with your inputs its work able. I actually found myself driving around on these quite a bit this year chasing some tuning issues and I didnt want to cycle out the race tires.
Would absolutely consider again if I need another budget tire for a similar, non-primary driving situation.
Im surprised by the excellent cost/benefit of this tire. Very good treadwear (looks like new after 12,000 km) very comfortable ride, low noise. I drive my Toyota Corolla about 60% of the time on the road and 40% within cities and could not be happier. I do recommend this tire. Instead of being classified as cheap tires, they should be classified as low cost tires. This sounds much better and is more respectful for both the manufacture and the customers.
They say west lake is a “cheap tire” but the word “cheap” passes the wrong idea that these are low quality tires which they are not. After eight months driving a set of RP18’s through streets with lots of pot holes and poor or good quality asphalt, I’ve noticed that these are just typical touring tires, the same as Pirellis, Continentals and so on. They generate low noise level and after 10,600 km the treads look like new. I’m well impressed about their performance on dry and wet roadso. I had Dunlops, Michelins and Bridgestones installed in my cars before trying the Westlake and I everyone to stop criticizing this Westlake brand just because their tires are a Chinese brand. After all Chinese products are being criticized (pure nonsense) the same way as the Japanese products and cara were criticized when they arrived in western markets on early sixties and seventies. Now take a look on Japanese brands image and customer’s perception at the present time. Let’s wake up my friends!!!
Decided to try the RP18, and has been gotten by surprise. Although it is classified as a cheap tire -which usually means low quality- it performs the same as Continental, Goodyear and other famous brands. No way they produce excessive noise nor that wears fast, are not comfortable etc. It’s an excellent and reliable tire. What is the problem to be made in China? After all most of the computer and high tech stuffs like Apple and Lenovo computers are almost totally made with Chinese parts. My four Westlake RP 18 are performing very well after over 12,000 miles after replacing Continentals and still look brand new.
My driving style: mixed from fast to slow in several roads and mixed streets, some in farms full of potholes.
I only have less then 100miles on these. So far much nicer then the 10yo Falken 912s they replaced. These are a slight oversize for my car to help cope with the race spec suspension on my car which is set up for competitive autocross. The tires might see 1000miles a year. So I did not need anything special. Just something for the offseason and inbetween races. The car is not driven much beyond racing it, if I do its to work on it or the occasional cars and coffee. I might do some race stints far away next season so these will be my travel tires to avoid anything happening to the Falken 660s I race on.
So far the ride is most excellent. Like disturbingly good. And the grip is actually decent given the design criteria. The few times I purposely pushed the car in the wrong places to see what they would do resulted in fine dry grip and manners. No rain or snow yet. Steering inputs are smooth and direct. I run the tires at 28psi front, 26 rear...car weights 2100lbs. Fwd turbo. I do not hoon much on the street the car is numbered and stickered up so generally pretty average other then some WOT pulls when I am working on ECU tunes.
