Why are OEM tires so bad?

CKN said:
SOME Dealerships may have competitive prices. The Toyota Dealer close currently by has a "buy three-get one free". But the price of the tires are marked up so much you are still better off going else where-even with the "free one".
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That is a program run by a company called Dealer Tire who handles tire distribution for multiple car lines. We use them for Mazda. Basically you have to sell 3 at regular price and the 4th for a dollar. Then the dealer has to submit the RO to Dealer Tire who reimburses the dealer the cost on the 4th tire. So if you did discount the other 3, the dealer literally net loses money.
 
CKN said:
SOME Dealerships may have competitive prices. The Toyota Dealer close currently by has a "buy three-get one free". But the price of the tires are marked up so much you are still better off going else where-even with the "free one"
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That's been my experience with all of those "buy 3 get 1 free' specials. Firestone, Sears, etc. They marked prices up and it ended up being a marketing gimmick. This is not something unique to your Toyota dealership.
 
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bdcardinal said:
At that point we are still losing money. Techs have to be paid double minimum wage in California if they supply their own tools, which in our county makes it around $32/hr. Our normal door rate is $210/hr so we are technically also losing out there.
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Not being argumentative.. just genuinely curious and wanting to understand from your experience.

So even in an extreme case like California where the tech is paid $32 /hour and the customer pays around $125+ for installation, how is the shop losing money? How many hours does it take to mount/balance tires?

Regarding normal shop rate of $210, surely the tire techs are not the same employees billing at this rate. Are your ASE certified mechanics over mounting tires? I thought that was more of an entry-level job. Anytime I've had dealerships put on tires, it was over in the quick-lube area.
 
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TheOilWizard said:
Not being argumentative.. just genuinely curious and wanting to understand from your experience.
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We charge $85 for the mount and balance in order to be somewhat competitive with the Big Brands and America's Tires of the world. Most tires are done by lube techs who are still paid double minimum because they have their own tools. It is more of a loss leader in order to upsell work that pays a normal rate. Plus customer loyalty in that they will return for rotates.

Selling tires is a lot of work that for the most part is done very well by tire shops. There is a lot of inventory to keep on hand which is a lot of the owner's money just sitting losing value. So often when we have decided to stock multiple sets of tires, people end up wanting what we don't have in stock. We would go from stocking all the OE tires and people wanted Chinesium. Then we would stock lower priced tires and we got only requests for Michelin.
 
TheOilWizard said:
That's been my experience with all of those "buy 3 get 1 free' specials. Firestone, Sears, etc. They marked prices up and it ended up being a marketing gimmick. This is not something unique to your Toyota dealership.
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I've generally found that to be the case as well. However, it is worth checking for the occasional exception to the rule.
However, the last set that I bought for the Mustang, I priced at a MOPAR dealer that was running a "Buy 3 get the fourth for a $1, sale."
I priced the Pirelli's that I put on it at $192. each. The best price that I found on them anywhere at the time was $188. each.
The MOPAR dealer quoted me 3 tires at $191., and the fourth at a $1. Best price I could get anywhere at the time.
However, for excrement and laughter, I got a second quote from another MOPAR dealer that was over $60. more OTD.
Come to find out that the dealer that I purchased the tires from ordered them from DTD.
 
I had Pirellis on my 2013 Mustang - they were pretty much toast at 30k, but I did a lot of doughnuts and burnouts.
I had Michelins on my first 2018 F150 - still drove fine when I replaced them at 35k - that was ONLY because I wanted a more aggressive tire.
I had Hankook A/T on my second 2018 F150 - they were squirrelly in the rain by 50k but didn't get really bad until 60k.


The Mustang forums at the time were full of people who did nothing but post over and over and over how terrible Pirelli P-Zero's were the "worst OE tire of all time, absolutely horrid" - I called malarky. Mine were just fine. And I drove it like I stole it, all of the time.

The F150 forums were full of these "Hankook factory tires are the worst tire of all time" - and again, I call malarky. I towed with mine, drove in snow with mine, did a lot of driving up what are basically old logging roads in mine. Zero problems.

Are there some cruddy tires that get installed at the factory? I have no doubt that there are. Is a good portion of the internet hate for factory tires just people yakking, I have no doubt that it is.
 
The FR710s that came on our Cruze have clocked probably close to 100k miles. I’m honestly shocked they have lasted that long. We do put in dedicated snows.
 
Our 2022 4Runner came with “Made in Japan” Dunlop AT’s. Supposedly they are the better tire that came on the Off-road Premium trim?

The last couple months they’ve gotten absolutely terrible.
 
I've always found the OEM fit tires to be pretty good. Every set I've had on the seven vehicles we've bought new over the past nearly forty years lasted at least 50-60K with the Michelin Energies on the HAH going 72K with plenty of life left in them.
These were tires from Michelin, Yokohama, Dunlap and Bridgestone.
I really don't get the rap on OEM tires based upon my experience with them.
 
fdcg27 said:
I've always found the OEM fit tires to be pretty good. Every set I've had on the seven vehicles we've bought new over the past nearly forty years lasted at least 50-60K with the Michelin Energies on the HAH going 72K with plenty of life left in them.
These were tires from Michelin, Yokohama, Dunlap and Bridgestone.
I really don't get the rap on OEM tires based upon my experience with them.
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Maybe it's a newer issue? I've owned Subaru, multiple Toyotas, Lexus, Acura, Honda, Volvo, Audi, Kia and other than the Volvo I don't remember OEM tires being an issue. As I said, the first set of replacement tires for the Tundra and RX 350 look to be going easily double the miles of the OEMs so it's not an alignment/driving habit issue. The OEM tires for all three of my vehicles appear to be "touring" tires and the tires brand new had shallow tread depth.
 
fdcg27 said:
I really don't get the rap on OEM tires based upon my experience with them.
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In my experience, the displeasure with the selection really is auto manufacturer specific. Some make choices that complement their product, others don't care as long as they are round, and last the warranty.
I've never really had any real beef with any of the OEM tires on any of the Hondas that I have had (all purchased new.)
All were Michelins, with the exception of the '12 Accord, which as you know, was Dunlop.
However, I'm going to reserve judgment on the OEM Bridgestones that are on our Pilot. Not feeling it for those at present.
I've had a bunch of new Fords. With exception of my Mustang (Pirellis) and one of the three new Rangers that I have owned (Michelin,) they really have had some horrendous tires on them.
I've had a couple of Chrysler products as well. One had a really good set of OEM tires (Goodyear Vector,) and the other had some really, really bad Goodyears on it (can't remember the model.)
 
Tdbo said:
In my experience, the displeasure with the selection really is auto manufacturer specific. Some make choices that complement their product, others don't care as long as they are round, and last the warranty.
I've never really had any real beef with any of the OEM tires on any of the Hondas that I have had (all purchased new.)
All were Michelins, with the exception of the '12 Accord, which as you know, was Dunlop.
However, I'm going to reserve judgment on the OEM Bridgestones that are on our Pilot. Not feeling it for those at present.
I've had a bunch of new Fords. With exception of my Mustang (Pirellis) and one of the three new Rangers that I have owned (Michelin,) they really have had some horrendous tires on them.
I've had a couple of Chrysler products as well. One had a really good set of OEM tires (Goodyear Vector,) and the other had some really, really bad Goodyears on it (can't remember the model.)
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Our lone Ford was a '97 Aerostar and it came on Michelins, the XWX IIRC and they were very good in all conditions.
I found their application of a fairly expensive tire on their lower line minivan a little surprising.
 
My friend's CR-V EX-L came with Hankook rubber, if I recall correctly. I didn't much like the steering; it was quite a let down as Hondas often have great steering for what they are.
I got a deal on a set of Continental Pure-Something. Dang tires transformed that CR-V. Seriously. If I were running Honda, I would use tires like this because I believe they would sell the car.

The Contis on our Model 3 are pretty good. I may use the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S if I still have the car. Dunno for sure. They sure work great on our TSX!
 
The worst, least suitable OEM tires were on my 1964 Corvette. It was capable of 130 mph plus, but came from the factory with two ply bias ply Firestone DeLuxe Champion whitewall tires. Same as they put on a Chevy Bel Air.

I replaced them with Pirelli radials.
 
Toyota installs some marginally safe tires IMO. Honda used to install decent tires.

It’s more of a CAFE/NVH thing. OTOH, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche have strict criteria for Star-Spec, MO & MOExtended and N-spec.
 
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