Tires & OCI's are Key- Is it Brand or Consistency?

[AmoryBlaine]

Just thought I would throw this out there - no doubt tires and oil changes are the most important maintenance jobs for a vehicle, but is it brand and type, or just plain consistency? Given that oil, filters, and tires have to meet certain government standards, at what point does brand matter? Certainly some brands are better than others, but at what point do we start getting diminishing returns? For example, will your vehicle really, in actuality, suffer if you use Supertech and Douglas products (even Fram), supposing we religiously maintain pressure, rotation, and proper OCI's? If the answer is no, then why bother with more expensive brands and makes? If yes, how do you really know?

My suspicion is, past mid-level products, returns start to decline.

 

[901Memphis]

I like mid range stuff too, but certain things are a better return on investment like oil filters where I use my Fram Ultra for more than one oil change making the procedure cheaper.



Tires are more complicated but cheap tires suck in every regard, they have worse grip and wear faster, so you can certainly do better by going with a mid range tire, unless you don't plan on owning the car for long, but a cheap tire could mean a collision instead of a skid

 

[bullwinkle]

You wouldn't suffer from the ST, but your back will suffer from the Douglas tires-the ones I had were like driving on rumble strips!

 

[danez_yoda]

Oil meeting the standards required by the engine mfg should be fine as long as its changed at the proper intervals. Even the dreaded paper fram is fine for a normal duty vehicle with a typical expectation of life (say 150k miles). Folks on here using high end oils and filters looking for 200k +. Miles or operate with high loads, steep hills, extreme cold, etc.

Dont forget the air filter. It keeps ann that dust and sand you see in your engine compartment from getting inside your combustion chamber. It doesn't need to be spectacular but tests have shown some of the "high performance filters actually lets more larger grit into the engine.


Tires, i error on the sde of caution. With many tires you only get one shot and they cant be returned. If you buy a set of unknown tires and it doesnt rain or get cold for a while, then you find out they are like rollerskates in anything but dry you are stuck. eat them or take your chance.

One tung to s consider with douglas and similar tires. The "for the money" you see in the reviews. That means they are overlooking some qualities that would be unacceptable in a Michelin due to the price.

That said i just got some 17" general rt43s for my sienna for $400 less than a set of michelins would have costs and i think they are an improvement in some areas. Slightly quieter, good wet grip, can take off from a wet stop without spinning the tires. Good handling and ride comfort.

This is a midlevel tire that fits the bill for perofrmance and cost. I keep waiting for a bad attribute to pop up but none so far (couple thousand miles).

 

[supton]

Seems taxi cabs rack up huge miles on cheap stuff. But once in a while one will come across a vehicle that is decades old and driven at the typical rate. IMO, it comes down to the desire to keep something going. Most give up before it truly has issues, either out of fear or boredom.

Have to agree on tires. I thought my Camry was a bit on the rough riding side, so I took out SenSens for Monroes. Which helped. But RT43's replacing Mastercraft Strategies "fixed" the issue. Subtle but apparent to me. As far as downsides on RT43 IMO they wear a bit fast, and snow traction only exists in the first half. Compared to Michelin I'd say Michelin had wet traction even when tread was more of a hint than not. But for the price... I can live with those compromises. Nokian enTyres likewise were good all around tires--but at likewise similar cost bump.

I had a Supertech filter on my other Camry, and when I removed it after 10k (which is factory rating for the car) I found the o ring had given up. IMO ST (at least for the Toyota 2.5L cannister filter) is not a 10k filter. The paper element may be but not the o-ring. I guess you could say I consider it low end now. Where Toyota dealers seem to compete on Amazon and Ebay on bulk filter prices I'm not sure there is a gain to saving a buck at Walmart on Supertech or Fram.

 

[BigD1]

Set of Douglas tires I just had installed on my Toyota truck are just fine. Ride good, not loud, Made in USA, and I got them for $267 out the door with lifetime balance and rotation.

 

[E150GT]

With oil filters almost anything will work. They could tear internally and you or your engine would never know. Just like when my sister drove for 5k miles with no air filter.
Tires are a bit different. There so many different brands and types. You could buy used tires and they get the job done for the most part. You might expect to be on the side of the road once or twice and perhaps damage to your car from a blowout but that's the price you pay for going cheap. For the most part they work. Cheaper tires tend to last fewer miles and make more noise. Even some don't keep their balance very long. It's up to you whether that matters to you. Everyone always says OEM tires don't last but I've had three new cars and if you get them rotated and keep the pressure up they tend to last longer. A buddy of mine bought the same car as me once and they had the same tires and his lasted 30k miles and mine lasted 50k
It all boils down to how much you can put up with things. I don't use the $8 wiper blades cause I can't stand streaks. After every tire service I bust out my fancy torque wrench and redo the torque on my wheels. I check my air pressure in my tires about every other week. I also check my oil. Even cheaper items can last longer if you just put a little maintenance in it.

 

[Indydriver]

You cannot lump the two together for obvious reasons.

This website has proven over and over that the most important characteristic of oil in your engine is that it appears on the crosshatch of your dipstick. Changing oil has virtually zero impact on your car's performance.

OTOH, putting the wrong tire on your car can create an immediate safety hazard. Is there a difference going 10% past the recommended OCI and the mileage warranty of your tire? I'd say so.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

I have never heard that before. Dirty oil, and loss of viscosity, has nearly zero negative impact? Where can I read further on this?

 

[AmoryBlaine]

So long as there is the appropriate level of tread, and pressure, could any safety hazard then be due to user error? Blowouts happen for sure, but that is with all brands, often due to improper maintenance and delayed tire changes.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: AmoryBlaine
I have never heard that before. Dirty oil, and loss of viscosity, has nearly zero negative impact? Where can I read further on this?

It frankly takes a lot more than just going beyond the standard OCI before something goes really bad. Sure it starts going south, but not as bad as the naysayers say it does. I've taken my car to a well-respected shop, but the one thing that bothers me is that they still recommend 3000 miles oil changes as the best investment for engine longevity.

Now the problems with bald tires or lack of tread are pretty obvious. On top of that, old tires harden. My ability to tell the difference between SuperTech 5W-30 and Mobil 1 5W-30 isn't there, but I can surely tell the difference between Michelin Pilot A/S 3 and Bridgestone Potenza RE92 tires. Tires are immediately noticeable with differences in traction, noise, and ride. Performance is easily measured in track numbers, stopping distance, etc. Maybe you might be able to extract a little bit more out of one motor oil, but the biggest performance gains come from using a thinner oil. One of the first uses of 0W-20 motor oil was for drag racing.

 

[nobb]

To this day I don't think there exists a study or controlled test that proves using a top of the line oil vs the cheapest one that meets spec has any practical affect on engine longevity. This is of course assuming all manufacturer guidelines for OCI and etc are followed.

You can compare paper specs all day, but for practical purposes, picking an oil that meets spec and changing it out timely is the most important factor.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: nobb
To this day I don't think there exists a study or controlled test that proves using a top of the line oil vs the cheapest one that meets spec has any practical affect on engine longevity. This is of course assuming all manufacturer guidelines for OCI and etc are followed.

You can compare paper specs all day, but for practical purposes, picking an oil that meets spec and changing it out timely is the most important factor.


Certainly the requirements for motor oil have changed over the years. The requirements of the latest spec are considerably higher than they were 20 years ago. There are also some specifications that require different performance such as greater oil longevity. There are definitely better oils for extreme conditions such as cold weather or extreme hot weather.

 

[eljefino]

If you have a bad tire or bent wheel it could send resonant disturbances up the line and wear out your wheel bearings and front end parts faster.

If your tire is much stickier than stock you might also run into issues... what the manufacturer expects from "a little toe in" will be magnified.

I like my 65 series tires.

The sidewall absorbs a lot, takes one for the team.

Oil, I wouldn't worry about, aside from cold pumping in the winter.