What do you guys think about expensive tires vs cheap

[neubauerjoseph]

So I had some Sumoito brand Geo Tours on my 2014 VW Jetta TDI. So wanted to ask what do you guys think about the cheap no name brand tires vs good brands such as Michelin or Pirelli, Bridgestone. (Brand such as those)

so what do you think?

here is my story;

I bought a 2014 VW Jetta TDI (CPO)

I had the Geo Tour tires it was not good. They did not grip well and the car didn't stop well, was sliding in the heavy rain. It was really making my wife afraid. so I got some Pirelli Strada AS tires from discount tires. They are much better.

[HalfPint]

There are only a few tire manufacturers. I rarely pay for top name brands, but usually the big names have 2nd or 3rd tier brands that are quite good for a much better price.

[aelfwyne]

You don't want cheese on your wheels.

However there are a few brands that offer tires in the $80 to $100 range that are decent. Nitto is one that comes to mind. They're not going to slay the autoX course, and they're not going to last 50,000 miles, but they handle decent for the street and have better grip than the Chinesium tires you get for less.

[Tedolph]

Just buy the OEM tires that came on the car. You are not going to get much cheaper than that, about $100.00 per tire and the performance is OK.

The stealership always seem to have the on sale, or you simply demand the sale price. They will sell them to you.

Tedolph

[Fiat500USA]

Personally, unless it is a beater 2nd or third car that never sees a highway and you just need 4 round tires I would stay with tires from established brands. Especially if loved ones are riding or driving in it. Life's too short for crappy tires. Literally. Places like Tire Rack or Discount Tire always have some kind of deal on tires. As was mentioned, the big names also own other brands, so you can get legitimate tires for less. Do the research before you buy.

[neubauerjoseph]

Yeah, I was driving on them. My wife was complaining that she did a 360 spin on the highway, while driving my car home from work. After that I knew it was time to get something better. She was very upset and in tears. I am happy that everthing turned out ok, and got much better set on. Like some of you said its well worth getting a good set from a well known brand. In this case they had a sell on the Pirelli Tires. One thing is for sure I am not buying a used car again without a good set of tires. It make the car drive like a totally different car. ITs much more fun to drive "little diesel"now.

[map]

I can relate to your wife's experience... very scary and glad she came out. 2 months before I retired, I was in the right lane on the freeway and a semi didn't see me... came into my lane, bumping the left rear bumper sideways. Fortunately it was 4 1/2 lanes wide, the road was damp and the semi hit his brakes, because I used all 4 & 1/2 lanes; went sideways in front of the truck, brushed dirt off the center barrier with the rear bumper (traveling backwards), and back across all the lanes, into the merge lane... one barrier to the other. And that was with good tires (Michelin X-Ice, 70% tread). I got off into the grass then sat there for 30 minutes to let the adrenaline clear... didn't bother going into work, just headed home.

Excellent choice on tires. As you say, a set of tires can completely transform a car.

[smark]

I always buy a good brand tire. You can find them on sale. I look for a Long lasting rating. You won’t find that on a performance tire. I prefer Michelin tires. The Continental tires that came with the car didn’t last even 30,000 miles. Safety comes before, being cheap.

[texanbrit]

The Michelin Pilot Sports last much better than most. It's worth the extra in my mind, they have grip levels that match anything but the extreme-performance tires especially in the wet. Plus they'll last for 2 or 3 tire cycles compared to the cheaper tires. If I factor in my time making extra trips to swap tires it's a false economy to run cheap tires.

[map]

Sometimes, tires last too long. I've run into that on 3 of my cars, buying long lasting tires. In the past, they got that extra mileage by using a very hard rubber; OK when new but lost traction as they aged.

I ran into that on the Sidekick, which came with Tiger Paws. Tire size was suited for mini-vans and heavy cars, but it was 60% their curb weight. Designed for 50K miles, they could last 80K (or more). The tires aged beyond safety long before the tread wore out. I went with Dunlop's high performance replacements. Rated at around 30K they could last 50K and was a major safety improvement. I didn't drive it aggressively, but it was nice to have the rear end stick on wet freeway ramps.

That's always the confusion I find in tires... guessing which tires I'll need 4 years from now.