tire brands you will/wont buy again?

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Nexen "roadstone". A previous car had a couple of Woosung all seasons installed, and one developed a bubble on the sidewall. After buying the winter tires, I looked on the internet, and learned that Woosung changed their name to Nexen after going bankrupt.

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It's all they had, one winter. The tread wasn't moulded on straight, so they wobble slightly all the time, and they have to be rotated every 2000 km to keep the car on track.
 
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Fuzions work well and are dirt cheap.



I was plesantly surprised by the ZRis (just a little loud). They turned out to be everything the Falken 512s were not.
 
I won't buy Michelin Pilot tires again. They were my 2nd set for my 2001 Solara, and they wore out at 25k miles.

So I decided to go back to a new set Bridgestones (which originally came with the car). The original tires went 40k before wearing out. So far, so good.


GL
 
Best Tires:
Goodyear Eagle Aquatreads
Goodyear GT-HR (didn't like at first, felt soft, but were fine after 500 miles)
Goodyear Eagle HP
Bridgestone Blizzak (WS-15, MZ-02, WS-50)
Michelin Rainforce

So So Tires:
Goodyear Eagle LS (poor wet traction after a couple of years)
Goodyear Eagle GA (nothing special for sure but not bad)
Bridgeston Blizzak DM-Z3 (sloppy handling when not snowing, worse than other winter tires I've had, great in the snow/ice)
Bridgestone Potenza RE950 (getting loud too soon, great otherwise)


The worse tires:
Yokohama AVS dB (they got loud fast)
 
The good: (present)Pirelli PZero Nero - These have been great on snow & ice & wet or dry , (past)Cooper Discoverer Bridgestone and an ancient set of Firestone Town and Country M&S (think 1978!!)

The bad : Goodyear RSA ,Eagles GT ,LS & GA - Continental
 
The best for me: Michelin. Currently have Harmonys. Have been driving on them since the 1970s except for OEM tires and my falling for tirerack reviews and tests. Tried Goodyear Assurance Comfortred, Yoko Avid Touring and some Dunlops of about 10 years ago. They were "just as good as Michelin".
I will never stray from Michelin again. You just can't beat the vibrationless magic carpet ride they provide.
 
I dunno the model of Falkens. 115s or something. I don't buy summer tires, but heard a few problems on AudiWorld. There is a good tire forum there if interested.
 
Good:
-Nitto Neo Gen--Great in all conditions. Used for daily driving, autox, and drag. Owned 2 sets in 215/45-17 on a lowered ZX3 Focus.
-Goodyear Wrangler RT2 (Military OZ)--Great off road; bias ply is scary on road. SUPER CHEAP prices on these at military auctions. Owned 1 set in 36x12.50-16.5 on a lifted 1978 F250.

Bad:
BFG G Force Sport--Track the road waaaay too much. Good in all other areas, but won't buy again. Owned 1 set in 245/55-16 rear; switched from 245/55-16 to 225/45-16 front to help with tracking issues, but still tracked a little on a 1993 Camaro 305.

VERY BAD:
Hankook DynaPro A/T--Stay away from these tires, short of having to sell your first born child. These tires are AWFUL!!! They are HORRIBLE in ALL conditions. Rain, mud, grass, gravel, snow...you name it, they s**k in it.
 
"Dont buy anything that says Goodyear on it..."

I have some Goodyear Silent Armor Wranglers on my 3/4 ton pickup, and so far they've been excellent tires. Surprisingly quiet for an A/T tire, more quiet than the Michelin LTX A/S highway tires that they replaced. The Michelins were marginal even as a highway tire, but the usual tradeoff is that they will probably have better tire life than the Goodyears. The Goodyears get very good reviews at places like Tirerack, with a few complaints about poor tire life on some bigger trucks, but they're one of the few regular tires that also have a severe snow rating.

Gotta look at a specific model of tire when praising or complaining. I really like the Michelin Harmonys on the sedan, but would probably have been unhappy with the Hydroedge.
 
Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S is an excellent all-around tire, period. I will buy another set for my wife's wagon despite the cost. For high performance applications the Bridgestone RE 750 (and the Firestone Wide Oval clone) is a good choice at a decent price.

Yokohama Avid is a mediocre tire at best. Toward the end of their lifespan, I couldn't stand 'em. Just past the halfway mark on treadwear, they started becoming noisy and just plain scary in the wet. I replaced them with Michelin XGTs. Much better.
 
Almost all tire manufacturers make good tires and bad tires. With that said I will generalize my experience anyway.

Good:
Falken (Great tire for the money)
BFG (They are smooth riding and seem to last)
Bridgestone (RE050 were great on the GLI!)

Bad:
Dunlop (poor wear rate)
Goodyear (poor wear rate)

Very Bad:
Firestone (loud and just an over all #@$%! built tire)

I will NEVER use Firestone again. So there you have my very unscientific results.
 
FWIW:

MAST = Michelin Americas Small Tires, which includes Michelin, BFG and Uniroyal.

Continental owns General.

Bridgestone owns Firestone and Dayton.

There are lots of others... be careful about generalizing about specific brands, because nowadays many of the same tires with different tread designs (and sidewall graphics) are sold as different brands. You might be condemning a Firestone, but then go buy a Bridgestone that is constructed identically, except for sidewall graphics and tread design.

The tire business has changed radically over the last 10 years, and it continues to evolve quickly. What was a lousy brand a few years ago, could very well be excellent now.

There are now hard and fast rules, as far as tire brands go.

ALL tire companies make el cheapo, mid-grade and premium tires... the secret is to find a tire built on a premium "green" (carcass) for mid-grade or lower prices.
 
I love Yokohama and will buy them, also BFGoodrich are good.

I don't like Goodyear because their quality control is pitiful, and Michelin because they cost way too much!
 
Does Nokian make a bad tire? I don't think so. I've used their WR, RSI, and just bought a set of the i3's. Next summer I plan on a set of NRZ tires for my Saab to replace the Avon M500's I use now. The Continental TS810 performance snow is on my short list for future purchases too.

The only time I ever really regretted a tire purchase was in buying cheap all-seasons. That's just always a recipe for disaster, regardless of the brand.
 
Will buy again:

Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S - Minimal road noise, good ride comfort, and very little noise when pushed to the limit. Definitely buy again, worth the money.

Won't buy again:

Michelin Pilot MXM4 - Mediocre OEM tires. I dodge potholes, but small chunks would peel off from the tread over time and the tires squeal when pushed.

Federal Formoza FD1 - #@$%! poor steel-belted radials. This is my first experience with steel-belted radials, and it may even be my last, or at least with this brand in general. I didn't get my tires balanced yet but it has very noticeable wheel hop and also struggles for grip when starting from a stop when cold. I can peel out easily in these tires.
 
I have had some really bad experiences with Continental tires. One threw a section of tread for no obvious reason. Continental replaced it at an "adjusted" price, but still that was worrisome. Later I bought some Conti Extreme Contacts and it was the first set of tires I've had which seemed to need balancing at least twice per year, once only 3,000 miles after installation. Really strange. I replaced those with some Bridgestones at Costco and the balance problems went completely away, so it wasn't the car or the way we were driving it. No more Contis for me.
 
X2 on the Continentals...my parents had a set on their brand new LeSabre and they were perpetually out of balance. I don't know how much money they spent getting them balanced, just to have them start vibrating 1000 miles later. They just switched them out for some Goodyears. Not a good feeling to throw away what appears to be a brand new set of tires.

On the other side of the coin, I love Kumho. They stuck like glue on my Mazda 3 but didn't wear like they were soft.
 
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