Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

Rev. Tom Wenndt wrote:
> 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.

excellent post!

Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

"Robert Cohen" <robtcohen@msn.com> wrote in message
news:89514f40-dbde-4390-a166-20db968024c6@c65g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
> http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirebran.jsp
>
> These are mostly/many brands I'm not expereinced with.
>
> I'm thinking currently of Fuzion and Continental as the least
> expensive, but ya gets what ya pays for, I suppose, tho not always.
>
> Are there any sleepers in this list? (Low price/fine quality =
> sleeper)
>
> Terrifically bad pun intended: Some pricey brands imho are overly
> inflated.
>
> I won't mention one tho, hintt, it starts with "M" and speaks with
> ghostly appearing French accent
>
> Any body who has had a particularly good or particularly bad tire
> brand on his/her beloved hyundai heap deluxe, please clue moi, or
> forever have a slow leak that nobody can fix

My 2005 Accent came with tires by Kumho, When I traded it in two weeks ago
it had 35,000 miles on it and three of the original tires had been replaced.
No more Kumho for me. My Wife's car (2000 Mercury Grand Marquis) Came new
with a handling package and speed rated Goodyear's At 30,000 they ALL had
to be replaced, We replaced them with the M tires that you don't like and
they were still on the car 82,000 miles later when we got rid of the car. I
should mention that my wife drives like low flying aircraft, she is hard on
tires and cars in general. For me, I buy my tires at Wal-Mart or Sam's club,
Their road hazard warranty is unbeatable. One other thing, I am from the
city where Pep Boys originated, I would not let them even check my oil, let
alone align my car. I'll pay a few bucks more and let a competent front end
shop do the alignment. Just my opinion.

Jack Cassidy

Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

Jack Cassidy wrote:
> "Robert Cohen" <robtcohen@msn.com> wrote in message
> news:89514f40-dbde-4390-a166-20db968024c6@c65g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
>> http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirebran.jsp
>>
>> These are mostly/many brands I'm not expereinced with.
>>
>> I'm thinking currently of Fuzion and Continental as the least
>> expensive, but ya gets what ya pays for, I suppose, tho not always.
>>
>> Are there any sleepers in this list? (Low price/fine quality =
>> sleeper)
>>
>> Terrifically bad pun intended: Some pricey brands imho are overly
>> inflated.
>>
>> I won't mention one tho, hintt, it starts with "M" and speaks with
>> ghostly appearing French accent
>>
>> Any body who has had a particularly good or particularly bad tire
>> brand on his/her beloved hyundai heap deluxe, please clue moi, or
>> forever have a slow leak that nobody can fix
>
> My 2005 Accent came with tires by Kumho, When I traded it in two weeks ago
> it had 35,000 miles on it and three of the original tires had been replaced.
> No more Kumho for me. My Wife's car (2000 Mercury Grand Marquis) Came new
> with a handling package and speed rated Goodyear's At 30,000 they ALL had
> to be replaced, We replaced them with the M tires that you don't like and
> they were still on the car 82,000 miles later when we got rid of the car. I
> should mention that my wife drives like low flying aircraft, she is hard on
> tires and cars in general. For me, I buy my tires at Wal-Mart or Sam's club,
> Their road hazard warranty is unbeatable. One other thing, I am from the
> city where Pep Boys originated, I would not let them even check my oil, let
> alone align my car. I'll pay a few bucks more and let a competent front end
> shop do the alignment. Just my opinion.
>
> Jack Cassidy
>
>
while this is interesting information. What kuhmos were they, and what
goodyears? That's very important.
Michelin makes pretty expensive junk too.

Clay

--
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Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

"Crabman" <C@dud.net> wrote in message
news:48466fa5$0$4258$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> Jack Cassidy wrote:
>> "Robert Cohen" <robtcohen@msn.com> wrote in message
>> news:89514f40-dbde-4390-a166-20db968024c6@c65g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
>>> http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirebran.jsp
>>>
>>> These are mostly/many brands I'm not expereinced with.
>>>
>>> I'm thinking currently of Fuzion and Continental as the least
>>> expensive, but ya gets what ya pays for, I suppose, tho not always.
>>>
>>> Are there any sleepers in this list? (Low price/fine quality =
>>> sleeper)
>>>
>>> Terrifically bad pun intended: Some pricey brands imho are overly
>>> inflated.
>>>
>>> I won't mention one tho, hintt, it starts with "M" and speaks with
>>> ghostly appearing French accent
>>>
>>> Any body who has had a particularly good or particularly bad tire
>>> brand on his/her beloved hyundai heap deluxe, please clue moi, or
>>> forever have a slow leak that nobody can fix
>>
>> My 2005 Accent came with tires by Kumho, When I traded it in two weeks
>> ago it had 35,000 miles on it and three of the original tires had been
>> replaced. No more Kumho for me. My Wife's car (2000 Mercury Grand
>> Marquis) Came new with a handling package and speed rated Goodyear's At
>> 30,000 they ALL had to be replaced, We replaced them with the M tires
>> that you don't like and they were still on the car 82,000 miles later
>> when we got rid of the car. I should mention that my wife drives like low
>> flying aircraft, she is hard on tires and cars in general. For me, I buy
>> my tires at Wal-Mart or Sam's club, Their road hazard warranty is
>> unbeatable. One other thing, I am from the city where Pep Boys
>> originated, I would not let them even check my oil, let alone align my
>> car. I'll pay a few bucks more and let a competent front end shop do the
>> alignment. Just my opinion.
>>
>> Jack Cassidy
> while this is interesting information. What kuhmos were they, and what
> goodyears? That's very important.
> Michelin makes pretty expensive junk too.
>
> Clay

On the 2000 Grand Marquis they were Goodyear Eagles and the speed rating was
either S or T, I don't remember. On The 2005 Accent The Kumho's were
whatever came with the car, standard 13" wheels, and were expensive
considering the small size. Ironically, The new ride, a 2008 Suzuki Ferenza
also has Kumho tires but 15" wheels. I hope they do better than the ones on
the Accent, I had to replace the first one on that car at less than 2000
miles.
I realize that this is all antidotal and has nothing to do with service
other people get out of other brands.

Jack Cassidy

Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

"Jack Cassidy" <Jacapat2@tampabay.rr.com> wrote in message
> The new ride, a 2008 Suzuki Ferenza also has Kumho tires but 15" wheels.
> I hope they do better than the ones on the Accent, I had to replace the
> first one on that car at less than 2000 miles.
> I realize that this is all antidotal and has nothing to do with service
> other people get out of other brands.
>
> Jack Cassidy

Even if it is anecdotal, knowing the reason you replaced the tire at 2000
miles would be helpful. There is a huge difference if the tread separated
or you ran over a spike strip in a police chase.

Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

"Edwin Pawlowski" <esp@snet.net> wrote in message
news:4JO1k.832$L_.555@flpi150.ffdc.sbc.com...
>
> "Jack Cassidy" <Jacapat2@tampabay.rr.com> wrote in message
>> The new ride, a 2008 Suzuki Ferenza also has Kumho tires but 15" wheels.
>> I hope they do better than the ones on the Accent, I had to replace the
>> first one on that car at less than 2000 miles.
>> I realize that this is all antidotal and has nothing to do with service
>> other people get out of other brands.
>>
>> Jack Cassidy
>
> Even if it is anecdotal, knowing the reason you replaced the tire at 2000
> miles would be helpful. There is a huge difference if the tread separated
> or you ran over a spike strip in a police chase.

I have no clue, I am reasonably sure it wasn't a spike strip, I haven't run
from the cops in many a year. <G>
By the time I became aware the tire was flat it was destroyed, sudden
failure because of unknown reasons.
Had the same problem years ago with Goodyear Wranglers on an old Chevy
Pickup truck, They were as easy to cut as racing slicks. The Goodyear's on
my wife's Grand Marquis, all failed because of tread separation, Probably
just a bad batch of tires, But the local Goodyear dealer was unwilling to do
anything about it. On the other hand, I had a 30' travel trailer that came
with Goodyear Marathon trailer tires, In 40,000 of towing miles I never even
had a flat tire.

Jack Cassidy

Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

frijoli wrote:
> Robert Cohen wrote:
>
>> That's the kind of report I was hoping for.
>>
>> FALKEN is now for me.
>>
>
> How did you get Falken out of that report?
>
> Falken makes junk too, so does Kumho.
>
> The SPECIFIC tire he mentioned is a very good tire. It may not be for
> you though.
>
> What do you want from the tire?
>
> Did you look at the General I mentioned?

In all fairness, General makes some really crappy tires too, as do most
other brands. Perhaps the one's you recommended don't fall into that
category, but let's be even-handed here.

Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

Brian Nystrom wrote:
> frijoli wrote:
>> Robert Cohen wrote:
>>
>>> That's the kind of report I was hoping for.
>>>
>>> FALKEN is now for me.
>>>
>>
>> How did you get Falken out of that report?
>>
>> Falken makes junk too, so does Kumho.
>>
>> The SPECIFIC tire he mentioned is a very good tire. It may not be for
>> you though.
>>
>> What do you want from the tire?
>>
>> Did you look at the General I mentioned?
>
> In all fairness, General makes some really crappy tires too, as do most
> other brands. Perhaps the one's you recommended don't fall into that
> category, but let's be even-handed here.

Maybe you should read my posts. I picked a specific General, not General
tires.

Clay

Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

This morning four new Goodyear 70,000 mile Silvers were installed.

I worried too much about the buying the "buy 3 get 1 free" Pep Boys,
the latest Bridgestone/Firestone deal etal

They didn't have that Falken where i went

So, I ended up getting the above, and with balancing, warranty, aand
taxes and damage to my credit card for $404, which may or may not be
a good deal, but at least i won't be worrying about quality, unless i
read a "legit" or two horror anecdote , such as:

"Joe spent a hundred $ a tire & nevetheless had a tire separate (or
blowout) on the way to Atlantic City on that rather rough highway from
Philly." C'est la vie. C'est la morte.

More irrelevant trivia for irregardlesss fans: Wasn't it Goodyear whom
invented the air/pneumatic tire, or was it a "nobody," although
Goodyear won the patent dispute, or what?

Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

Robert Cohen wrote:
> This morning four new Goodyear 70,000 mile Silvers were installed.
>
> I worried too much about the buying the "buy 3 get 1 free" Pep Boys,
> the latest Bridgestone/Firestone deal etal
>
> They didn't have that Falken where i went
>
> So, I ended up getting the above, and with balancing, warranty, aand
> taxes and damage to my credit card for $404, which may or may not be
> a good deal, but at least i won't be worrying about quality, unless i
> read a "legit" or two horror anecdote , such as:
>
> "Joe spent a hundred $ a tire & nevetheless had a tire separate (or
> blowout) on the way to Atlantic City on that rather rough highway from
> Philly." C'est la vie. C'est la morte.
>
> More irrelevant trivia for irregardlesss fans: Wasn't it Goodyear whom
> invented the air/pneumatic tire, or was it a "nobody," although
> Goodyear won the patent dispute, or what?

I hope you enjoy them, and they wear long!
Clay

--
Warning: keyboard may cause involuntary vowel movement - Clay Ferriola


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Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

Jack Cassidy wrote:
> "Robert Cohen" <robtcohen@msn.com> wrote in message
> news:89514f40-dbde-4390-a166-20db968024c6@c65g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
>> http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirebran.jsp
>>
>> These are mostly/many brands I'm not expereinced with.
>>
>> I'm thinking currently of Fuzion and Continental as the least
>> expensive, but ya gets what ya pays for, I suppose, tho not always.
>>
>> Are there any sleepers in this list? (Low price/fine quality =
>> sleeper)
>>
>> Terrifically bad pun intended: Some pricey brands imho are overly
>> inflated.
>>
>> I won't mention one tho, hintt, it starts with "M" and speaks with
>> ghostly appearing French accent
>>
>> Any body who has had a particularly good or particularly bad tire
>> brand on his/her beloved hyundai heap deluxe, please clue moi, or
>> forever have a slow leak that nobody can fix
>
> My 2005 Accent came with tires by Kumho, When I traded it in two weeks ago
> it had 35,000 miles on it and three of the original tires had been replaced.
> No more Kumho for me. My Wife's car (2000 Mercury Grand Marquis) Came new
> with a handling package and speed rated Goodyear's At 30,000 they ALL had
> to be replaced, We replaced them with the M tires that you don't like and
> they were still on the car 82,000 miles later when we got rid of the car. I
> should mention that my wife drives like low flying aircraft, she is hard on
> tires and cars in general. For me, I buy my tires at Wal-Mart or Sam's club,
> Their road hazard warranty is unbeatable. One other thing, I am from the
> city where Pep Boys originated, I would not let them even check my oil, let
> alone align my car. I'll pay a few bucks more and let a competent front end
> shop do the alignment. Just my opinion.
>
> Jack Cassidy
>
>
Again, I have to knock Kumhos. My 2007 Tiburon SE came with the Solus
16's on it. I now have less than 30k on them and need a new set. I don't
drive like a maniac and most of the miles are highway, commuting 54
miles a day to and from work. You can bet Kumho's are not on my list for
replacements.

Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

re: kumhos

can you affirm that they weren't variably under or over inflated for
weeks/months and the vehicle is not substantively mis-aligned and/or
there isn't some kinduv of tire damaging anomaly?

what does the manufacturer claim as the expected mileage for these
tires when new?

i'm not expecting to get 70,000 miles from my new ones, because face
reality there are many potholes, other road hazards, and curbs to hit
ungently plus if ya get a slow leak, then you're ..uh....."skinned"

Re: Tire Brands: Good, Bad, Wretched
 

Robert Cohen wrote:
> re: kumhos
>
> can you affirm that they weren't variably under or over inflated for
> weeks/months and the vehicle is not substantively mis-aligned and/or
> there isn't some kinduv of tire damaging anomaly?
>
> what does the manufacturer claim as the expected mileage for these
> tires when new?
>
> i'm not expecting to get 70,000 miles from my new ones, because face
> reality there are many potholes, other road hazards, and curbs to hit
> ungently plus if ya get a slow leak, then you're ..uh....."skinned"
>
The car has TPMS so I'm notified when TP is 10% under. I do add a little
air. Recommended is 32 PSI. I ran 34 PSI. My '97 Tiburon averaged 50k on
a set of tires. Even the OEM Michelen's that came on the car ran 45k
before they began hydroplaning so badly you couldn't drive with high
relative humidity.