the larger the company, the larger the R&D budget, the more advanced the technology, and ultimately the better the tires.Based on understanding these complexities, are three key principles in purchasing and comparing tires: This is no easy task, as the commonly used chemical stabilizer 6PPD will hopefully will be phased out once it was discovered that it causes catastrophic wildlife and environmental damage ( graphene has been suggested as an alternative, but research is ongoing). As tires are expected to last longer, companies must also find ways to stabilize rubber over time, as rubber naturally hardens and deteriorates when exposed to sunlight and air in what is called vulcanization and oxidation, respectively. Years ago an 80,000 mile warranty would be unheard of, or seeing an all-season with a 3-snow-peak rating (aka all-weather) or a tire as quiet as Bridgestone's QuietTrack, or a tire made from soybean oil versus petroleum oil, all possible because of research and technology. In reality, the modern tire is packed with research and technology, needing to be comfortable, performant, durable, versatile, and now environment-friendly. So on the surface, tires seem like a stable, non-changing, non-technology commoditized product, and if we believe this, we would just get whatever's on sale or whatever the service department pushes on us, and that pretty much sums up the average consumer. They also have not changed much in appearance over the years, nor will they until non-pneumatic tires finally reach market. This might not seem so based on appearance, since they all pretty much look the same and the primary substance in all tires is rubber. The long version, as explained in the next few paragraphs, explains why.įirst, it's important to understand that tires are a research-heavy, technology-driven product. The short version is this: going with the big brands and their latest models (Michelin, Bridgestone, Continental, and Goodyear) will increase the chances of being more satisfied than with other brands. Sure, new-tire measurements and ratings have some value, but most of us Toyota owners would agree that mid to long term performance is more important, and as mentions, high-end tires 'perform excellently even when the tread is worn down… in contrast to many cheap all-season tires that have a significant drop-off in performance as the tread wears down.” This has been verified in several well-publicized tests, including this one from Autobild where only Michelin and Goodyear made the cut after the tread wore down. Why not look up TireRack ratings and call it a day? Simply put, they are not accurate, I've outlined the reasons below. It’s a good place to check out before you go out tire shopping.A question I often see is 'which tires do people recommend?', the purpose of this post is to help someone make an informed decision about all-season tires. The reviews come from a mixture of TireRack’s own experts and user reviews. When you visit TireRack’s reviews, you can enter the make, year, and model of your car to get personalized recommendations for the tires you need. The latter requires a subscription to read reviews, but TireRack is free. In most cases, The Wirecutter found that TireRack’s reviews were pretty comparable to the independent review agency Consumer Reports. TireRack’s main site is designed to sell tires, however as product review site The Wirecutter points out, their rating and reviews sections is pretty robust.

TireRack helps by rating and reviewing tires for cars and trucks. If you have some time for some forethought, however, finding the best quality can save you in the long run.

In a bad situation, you’re probably getting tires based on whatever’s cheapest when yours go bad.

Best tire comparison website