Discount tire "Good, Better, Best" rating system

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Mar 14, 2003
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Whenever l browse Discount tire l notice that they rate tires as "Good, Better, or Best". It seems as if Michelin, Pirelli, Continental, Bridgestone mostly go to the Best category while brands such as Kumho and General fall in the better category. The tires from the lesser known brands are usually in the "Good" category.
I believe l saw a Yokohama tire in the Better category, while the house Yokohama tire was in Best.
Does every tire get tested for how they are ranked? Do they go by cost or reputation of manufacturer? I've seen some tires rated Best that get trashed on BiTOG. Others rated as Better get rave reviews here.
What does everyone think of the Good-Better-Best rating system.

 
I paid $125 each for their touted "best" Yokohama YK740. They're ready to be replaced after just 35,000 miles. I paid the same price for Michelin MXV4s (no longer offered there) three years earlier and they lasted 50,000 miles - a new personal best. Since tire designs seem to change frequently I'm thinking nobody really knows up front which tires are going to work out best unless you just get the same thing every time (assuming you CAN get the same thing every time). I think I'm going to try some Toyos next time. They are rated as "better."
 
Trust, but verify.

Also, the same tire installed on different vehicles will result in all different kinds of wear and performance.

Speaking of Kumho; I've got a set of Ecsta PA51s from Discount Tire on my X3 and they are flawless. Best $600 I ever spent on 4 new tires.
 
I'll bet they use a simple mathematical formula that takes the tread wear (not standardized across brands), temperature, and traction ratings into account. Based upon the calculated result they are placed into those general categories. It's difficult for the end user to determine what's going to be best for their vehicle and driving conditions. I'll bet the Yokohamas may have lasted fewer miles because almost all my driving over the past 18 months has been local short-tripping. I put a mere 6,000 miles on the car during that time. Prior to that I was putting 15,000 miles a year on the car which were mostly highway mile.

Maybe they need a new "pandemic rating" for tires.
 
Like some/many "rating" systems, no doubt some subjectivity to it. Unless it's tied to a bigger promo discount, I don't pay much attention to it when purchasing. That said, seems like days of GBB rating for bigger promo discount at DT over.

If having a valid rating system important, research TR where tires are tested for the rating. Same for CR, however seems in my observation, lots of hate from some for them. Afaik, tires are actually tested at CR too.

So do your own research at TR and CR , ignore the GBB rating. Might not hurt to at least read comments about tires at DT/AT, though they shouldn't be taken as completely reliable.
 
DT sell a bazillion tires a year. Dont you think they crunch the numbers and know exactly what tire/s last longest with lowest quality failures. The best tire will last longer and have lowest defect/failure rates per dollar of cost. When they rate tires they are trying to guide you to the best numbers as part of the service they offer.
 
Do they care which lasts longer? Why would they?
Just because wear is your primary concern it does not mean that it is mine.

Beauty is in the eye of beholder, the tire ratings too.

Use CR test, TR tests (not opinions), try European tests for tires that are sold here.
Read opinions as last resort. Reading about summer tires that they are really bad in snow reflects poorly on writer of the opinion, not tires.

Krzyś
 
DT tire ratings:

"Good" = "Not really, unless you're getting rid of the car promptly"
"Better" = "OK/adequate"
"Best" = "What you'd put on your spouse's or child's car, if you can swing it."
 
It is likely for most people who can't tell a Michelin vs a MileStar, or Cooper vs Hankook, or Kumho vs a cheap prostitute in Vegas.

Sometimes people look at categories like "High performance All season" vs "Ultra high performance all season", they got scared and buy the "lesser" quality one despite the better one might be even better quality and they want the best.

Personally I only look at Tirerack's testing with wet stopping distance and noise / vibration rating. All the others can be pretty subjective.
 
It's complete nonsense and baseless. Ignore and do your own research or use tirerack's site where actual comprehensive testing of many categories are actually done.
 
Seems like a guide for the uneducated shopper so they know which ballpark a particular tire falls into…. Helpful for them, not so much as for us, since we tend to research things more and have a better general understanding of keeping our cars maintained properly.
 
My wife’s car goes through tires yearly. Their ratings actually change sometimes. I got 3 sets of the same tires over the years and when they would have the sale they qualified in the past as a best and later downgraded to better with a lesser rebate. Their good sales are a thing of the past so it pays to shop around now anyway and I haven’t monitored their selection so closely.
 
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