Rev. Tom Wenndt said:
I am a member of Consumer Reports 'talking tires' board. This group answers
all areas of questions on tires, and occasionally chats with the CR techs
who are actually testing the tires whose ratings appear every Fall in their
magazine. Here are some summaries, based on some of the subjects raised in
this board.
++CR does have by far the most thorough tire tests out there, including
testing of treadwear and traction on snow and ice. Their results are
usually worth looking at, as are Tire Rack's.
But the way CR tests tires means that they only test one subset of tires a
year, and it is usually at least 4-5 years before that subset is re-tested.
As a result, many of the tires listed in their test results are now
discontinued, and some fairly new and exciting tires (the General Altimax
being but one of many examples) will now go months and even years before
test results are released on them. As an example, results on 'H' and
'V'-rated performance all-season tires that they tested were released just
over 18 months ago. But already, over half of the 'H'-rated tires have
either been discontinued or supplanted by a better tire from that brand.
There are already (at least) about a dozen tires in the major national
brands that should and would be in those test results. But it will be
almost 2 1/2 years before that sub-set and all their new tires have the
latest test results released again.
++Amongst dealers who sell the tires (whose priorities may be different than
ours, but who can't be ignored because they do sell them), the 'Toyo' brand
has been at the top of their satisfaction list for eight consecutive years,
an impressive achievement. Toyo has a VERY solid new tire for your car, the
Versado LX, and is about to introduce a new tire for trucks and SUV's soon.
Sadly, Toyo is not sold through any national chain, and (like General in
some places) can be hard to locate a retailer.
By the way, the Continental brand has finished dead last in that same survey
for more than a couple of years now. That should also get your attention.
++Consumer Reports has tested the Falken Ziex ZE-512 more than once, and has
placed it at or near the top of its rankings each time. The 512 though is
also being discontinued nationally, and will soon be sold only through the
afore-mentioned Discount Tire. In its place is the new Falken Ziex ZE-912.
It also looks to be very impressive at a good price. Our tire board was FAR
less impressed with the 512 than the CR engineers were, but the 912 has
seemed better so far. The 912 is also sold at Sears Auto.
++One of our rules is to never make generalizations on any one tire brand.
Be it Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear, Sumitomo, Cooper, B F Goodrich or
whomever, all of them sell tires that would be considered between good and
excellent and some that would be considered far less so. It is no different
than going to a tire store, and basing your whole feeling about that chain
on the one tire you bought there, especially if it was a cheap dud.
But I know that is what many people do A typical quote follows: "I ain't
buyin' tires no more from 'such-and-such place.' That one set was crap."
When what really happened was they made a poor (and usually cheap) choice.
Had they chosen a better tire, they would be raving about both the brand and
the store.
++Another rule jives with what has been said here: NEVER, EVER buy
second-rate crap for tires. Sadly, in these days of ultra-high gas prices,
I expect many more people to be running on onsafe tires for way too long,
and then when they do get different ones, buy that second-rate garbage,
simply because there isn't as much money left to buy tires.
All car owners must realize that you have to figure tires into the cost of
ownership of a car, just like oil changes, wiper blades, etc. The tire is
one of the most important safety features on a car, since that is where the
car you drive and the road you drive on actually meet. Scrimping on that is
no different than trying to scrimp on anything else. Maybe you can do it,
but there is a price.
++I apologize for any people that may work for car dealers on this board,
but on our CR board, at least in the year 2008, many of the worst
experiences on tires come from people who buy them from these car dealers.
It seems that far too many new car dealers are appallingly ignorant
concerning tires, be it brand or whatever. Way too many of them have no
idea what they are really selling. The CR board almost unanimously
recommends that you find a specialized tire dealer, either one in your
community, like a Firestone Complete Auto Care or similar, or something
on-line, but with knowledgeable people working with you. BTW, a place like
Tire Rack does impress us with their tire experts. That is one case where
you maybe do some research on-line, then talk to them on the phone before
you make a selection.
Sorry for the length, but tires are an important subject to me.
