Goodyear gets woke, then gets pummeled

[K Frame]

The Michelins I had on my first Outback weren't particularly great, either.

They were fine on dry roads and, oddly enough, were quite good in snow, but wet roads? They were not good at all.

I replaced those with a set of Pep Boy tires (can't remember the specific brand) but they were also quite excellent.

[K Frame]

Factory tires are crap. Brand doesn't matter.

So, what do you buy, then?

Organic, artesinal tires hand made in a Fair Trade village in Honduras?

[WLJ]

So, what do you buy, then?

Organic, artesinal tires hand made in a Fair Trade village in Honduras?

I think he referring to the tires the car factories tend to install.
I had the same thought as you when I first read it too

[lee n. field]

Goodyear (Titan Tire, a subsidiary) has an actual tire factory in My Little City.  They bought out the factory a decade or two ago.   They make exclusively tractor and equipment tires.  I've done a little computer work for them, after their PC tech guy left/gotfired (I'm unclear on that).

You walk into the plant floor, and right next to the door they have a tire for something, that stands twice as tall as me.  I haven't asked about it.

[K Frame]

I think he referring to the tires the car factories tend to install.
I had the same thought as you when I first read it too

I know what he meant. I just couldn't pass it up...  

And, generally I agree that OEM tires are geared toward quiet, soft ride, especially in sedans, minivans, and wagons. I think it's a bit different, though, in SUVs and trucks, where the emphasis seems to be a bit more on tire capabilities to match the purpose of the vehicle.

Subaru seems to have moderately decent OEM tires, according to a friend of mine who's on his second new STI sport sedan. Outback and Forester owners I know who have bought new also say generally the OEM tires on those vehicles are fairly decent, but there are complaints. I came across one thread discussing Bridgestone Duelers where the OP quoted an OB owner who was basically claiming that the OEM Duelers turned the OB into a death machine...

[K Frame]

"You walk into the plant floor, and right next to the door they have a tire for something, that stands twice as tall as me.  I haven't asked about it."

If you're JamisJockey, that's a tricycle tire...

 
Goodyear makes a lot of tires for heavy duty earth moving equipment, so it's probably something like that.

[MechAg94]

The only thing I ever noticed about OEM tires is they were generally only 40,000 mile tires.  Enough to get you past the warranty period. 

I used to have a Ford F150 with the ecoboost turbocharged engine.  It has a lot of torque at low RPM.  I never made more than 75% of the rated tire life in that truck.  The last set of tires were BF Goodwrench tires that were rated for 80,000 miles.  They lasted at least past 60K which is where I was when I traded it in. 

I can only remember getting Goodyear tires once or twice.  They were okay, but others were just as good.

[K Frame]

Never had a set of Goodrich tires.

Last set I bought new was a set of Bridgestones for the second Outback I had. Castle Key and I were going into work in it on a snowy morning. I new the tires that were on it were getting sketchy, but we slid right through an intersection.

Later that morning he sent me a picture of the inside of one of the rear tires... Belts were showing. Next day I got the Bridgestones. They were decent tires in snow, but I got rid of the car about 16 months later so I'm not really sure how good they would have been.

[dogmush]

My experience with tires is that many folks buy the cheapest* they can find (or the cheapest of brand X that they like) and then are unhappy with the performance of bottom of the line products.  I've observed this with guns and Chinese electronics as well, FWIW.  This, I think, is a lot of the reason OEM tires aren't great.


*I also fail to understand how folks can look at a two ton machine, hurtling down the road at 80 MPH or more, kept in control by four contact patches that are 7 or 8 sqins at best, and think "Yep.  That's the spot I'm going to save some money on."

[WLJ]

*I also fail to understand how folks can look at a two ton machine, hurtling down the road at 80 MPH or more, kept in control by four contact patches that are 7 or 8 sqins at best, and think "Yep.  That's the spot I'm going to save some money on."

Or spent $3,000 on rims and who knows what on the stereo and then buy the cheapest brake pads they can find.

[Ben]

I think it's a bit different, though, in SUVs and trucks, where the emphasis seems to be a bit more on tire capabilities to match the purpose of the vehicle.

CAFE standards have ruined that, IMO. Unless you get a high end offroad package, most of the SUVs and trucks come with light highway tires. Even my 4Runner (TRAIL EDITION mind you) came with crappy Bridgestone all season highway tires. I mean, I guess they were okay on the highway, but I actually posted here about what they did to me when offroad in Death Valley a few years ago, after which I spent the dough on LT rated all terrain tires, even though I easily had 30K more miles on the OEM tires.

Same with my F150. It actually has really good Michelin tires... for the road. Since I've been on my place here, I've gotten three flats just on my gravel and rock roads around the farm. Tons of tread life left, but this month I'm putting LT all terrain tires on that too.

*I also fail to understand how folks can look at a two ton machine, hurtling down the road at 80 MPH or more, kept in control by four contact patches that are 7 or 8 sqins at best, and think "Yep.  That's the spot I'm going to save some money on."

This times one thousand. The way I look at it, about the only thing that can go wrong on my vehicles and kill me are the brakes catastrophically failing or the wheels/tires catastrophically failing. I will never skimp on tires, and also replace them well before they get sketchy.

[RoadKingLarry]

I used to see the same kind of idiocy with motorcycle tires.
People would buy the cheapest Chinese crap they could find and wonder why the tires wore out in months and had all the grip of greased owl *expletive deleted*it on even just damp pavement.
I always ran either Dunlop Touring Elites or a Conti tire that was similar. I'd go two rear tires to a front unless I picked something up and ruined a tire.

[gunsmith]

So, what do you buy, then?

Organic, artesinal tires hand made in a Fair Trade village in Honduras?

hmmmph!
you forgot grass fed and gluten free!

[zxcvbob]

Wife wanted Michelins when we had to replace the tires on the CR-V that she drives.  I put their Defender LTs on it  --it's still a P series tire, not really an LT, but it has treads on it like a truck tire.  Now she complains the car isn't has quiet as it used to be, and maybe trading it in isn't a bad idea    Gee, that started when we took off the soft squishy OEM tires that had no traction and wore out in 30k miles.  (I can't remember, but I think they were Continentals)

I have been totally impressed with the Nokian tires I put on my Focus a couple years ago.  Made by the Scandinavian cell phone company (actually, spun off from the cell phone company, that's why the N on the end)  In the winter they drive like a real snow tire but they do just fine in the summer too, wet or dry.  I'm not sure if they were made in Finland or Russia.  They were quiet at first, but starting to get a little noisy now depending on what the road surface is.  I would buy them again.

[MechAg94]

My experience with tires is that many folks buy the cheapest* they can find (or the cheapest of brand X that they like) and then are unhappy with the performance of bottom of the line products.  I've observed this with guns and Chinese electronics as well, FWIW.  This, I think, is a lot of the reason OEM tires aren't great.


*I also fail to understand how folks can look at a two ton machine, hurtling down the road at 80 MPH or more, kept in control by four contact patches that are 7 or 8 sqins at best, and think "Yep.  That's the spot I'm going to save some money on."

I agree on that.  Considering tires were $900 to $1100 a set the last few times, the price different between cheap and/or low mileage tires and the better and/or higher mileage tires is not a whole lot.  My current Tacoma is the first 4x4 I ever bought and I haven't had to get tires for it yet.

[Calumus]

I have been totally impressed with the Nokian tires I put on my Focus a couple years ago.  Made by the Scandinavian cell phone company (actually, spun off from the cell phone company, that's why the N on the end)  In the winter they drive like a real snow tire but they do just fine in the summer too, wet or dry.  I'm not sure if they were made in Finland or Russia.  They were quiet at first, but starting to get a little noisy now depending on what the road surface is.  I would buy them again.

I put a set of their tires on my VW R32 about a year ago. I only have about 5k on them so far; but I'm happy with them. I went with their high performance all seasons; but from everything I've heard and read, their snow tires are about the best on the market.

[Jim147]

When we were driving 150-300 miles a day I was running the high speed rated Hancock tires. 60-80k no problem. Speed limit then was 55 but we ran 70-80 up the hiway everyday. The SC2 would peg the 120 MPH speedo pretty easy.

Since my wife took a closer job after I got sick I can find good cheap tires that work for us. Personally knowing two people that own tire shops help. I'm not sue what retail is but I can get about any size 16-17" for about $100.

[bedlamite]

[JN01]

So, what do you buy, then?

Organic, artesinal tires hand made in a Fair Trade village in Honduras?

Another use for the amazing Flexseal line of products! 

[MechAg94]

Another use for the amazing Flexseal line of products! 

Did Myth Busters ever try to make a car tire out of duct tape?

[K Frame]

CAFE standards have ruined that, IMO. Unless you get a high end offroad package, most of the SUVs and trucks come with light highway tires. Even my 4Runner (TRAIL EDITION mind you) came with crappy Bridgestone all season highway tires. I mean, I guess they were okay on the highway, but I actually posted here about what they did to me when offroad in Death Valley a few years ago, after which I spent the dough on LT rated all terrain tires, even though I easily had 30K more miles on the OEM tires.

Same with my F150. It actually has really good Michelin tires... for the road. Since I've been on my place here, I've gotten three flats just on my gravel and rock roads around the farm. Tons of tread life left, but this month I'm putting LT all terrain tires on that too.


This times one thousand. The way I look at it, about the only thing that can go wrong on my vehicles and kill me are the brakes catastrophically failing or the wheels/tires catastrophically failing. I will never skimp on tires, and also replace them well before they get sketchy.

No manufacturer is going to put a set of aggressive high lug offroad tires on any "off road" vehicle because the chances of the buyer actually USING it for off roading are pretty damned slim.

Same with the pick up truck.

Even the tires you got 40 years ago, before CAFE became the overriding concern, were far more road tires than they were offroad tires. Now that pickups and offroad capable SUVs are more status symbols than actual work trucks, I suspect that most people would bitch mightily about the poor ride offered by those tires 40 years ago.

[WLJ]

[Perd Hapley]

https://www.unwoke.hr/