This monthly magazine conducted a brands survey of its readers.Tire dealer's opinions and perceptions! Across the models
Product Quality: from 1st down--- Michelin, Toyo, Bridgestone, Sumitomo, Pirelli
10 tire brands in between
Lowest rank Quality: Dead Last -Uniroyal, Mastercraft, Continental, Dunlop, Kumho, Goodyear [in ascending order from bottom]
Profitibility of brand: Sumitomo, Toyo, Hankook, Kumho, Cooper, Dayton, Mastercraft, Pirelli...........Michelin wasn't even mentioned as the high costs makes it a less than profitable line in most stores.
Product Innovation: 1st place Toyo, then Michelin, Bridgestone, BF Goodrich, Goodyear, Cooper, Firestone, Kelly, Dunlop, Pirelli, Yokohoma, Hankook, Kumho, Sumitomo, bring up the rear Uniroyal
Hankook, Dunlop, Pirelli, Kumho Uniroyal, and Goodyear WERE the worst overall in the Brand Average Category [but this includes factors that are not germain to ownership like delivery, support, product availability, etc]
On Medium Truck Tires:
Retreadability [can life cycles be extended?] Michelin and Toyo were tops then Bstone, Yok, Firestone, Goodyear,,,,,,,,,,,,,Kumho,Dunlop and Hankook were at the bottom.
Michelin, Yok, Bstone, and Toyo were rated top in Product Quality with Dunlop, General, Kelly, and Kumho at the bottom
Remember when Nissans came with Toyo tires and everyone complained yet the dealers feel different, this brand won Best overall and tied with Michelin in Quality and Innovation. It was top 3 in ever category!
Tire Review 10th annual Study
Toyo
I love my Toyo Proxie H4's.
I've put over 55K on two sets and they have always been satisfied with their performance. I do a lot of high speed driving (80 miles per day/ Fla. turnpike), so I'm very particular about the those four small points of contact with the earth, especially when your cruising between 80 - 100 mph.
Needless to say...they've discontinued this model, hopefully the replacement will be as good.
---------------------------------------------------96 Q45 / 92000 miles / 225/60/15 Toyo Proxie H4 V rated 400 treadware
I've put over 55K on two sets and they have always been satisfied with their performance. I do a lot of high speed driving (80 miles per day/ Fla. turnpike), so I'm very particular about the those four small points of contact with the earth, especially when your cruising between 80 - 100 mph.
Needless to say...they've discontinued this model, hopefully the replacement will be as good.
---------------------------------------------------96 Q45 / 92000 miles / 225/60/15 Toyo Proxie H4 V rated 400 treadware
I know most people on this board go for pure performance, but I recently replaced my J's tires.
I first put on some firestone sh30's but they rode like crap and took such a set overnight that it took 10+ miles to smooth out. My commute is less than that. They handles great but I wanted more.
I took advantage of their 30 test drive and got all my money back.
Finally decided to get Cooper Lifeline SLE, h rated with good weight ratings. Paid almost 100 less than firestone and gives me a great ride and good handling. I am not a race car driver so I go for a good mix of characteristics on tires. Hard to get much input on the internet about other peoples views but I find them a competent tire for the average joe.
So far I think Cooper is ok. Also I saw their SUV tires wer highly rated
I first put on some firestone sh30's but they rode like crap and took such a set overnight that it took 10+ miles to smooth out. My commute is less than that. They handles great but I wanted more.
I took advantage of their 30 test drive and got all my money back.
Finally decided to get Cooper Lifeline SLE, h rated with good weight ratings. Paid almost 100 less than firestone and gives me a great ride and good handling. I am not a race car driver so I go for a good mix of characteristics on tires. Hard to get much input on the internet about other peoples views but I find them a competent tire for the average joe.
So far I think Cooper is ok. Also I saw their SUV tires wer highly rated
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Q45tech
- Moderator
- Posts: 14296
- Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2002 3:19 am
- Car: 1990 Q45 342,400 miles 22 years ownership with original engine
1995 G20t 5 speed 334,000 miles 16" 2002 wheels - 205/50/16 Sr20ve vvl
Members have to UNDERSTAND that tires with NYLON safety caps do take a set over night and in 15 minutes in cold weather.
In fact Nissan's new proceedures require all tires to be driven for AT LEAST 15 minutes IMMEDIATELY before they are tested on the Hunter 9712 machine faliure to do so will not give the correct radial force imbalance readings.
The above is a good rule since all tires take some set even without Nylon caps so waiting 15-30-60 minutes for your turn [to be balanced] while the car sits in the lot is a guarantee that the balance will not be set correctly when the tire gets round/warm again on the road!
I know this sounds radical but the higher the performance the tire the worse it gets. Michelin rarely uses Nylon caps instead going for an EXTRA strong Aramid/Kevlar [which is less prone to set] but more expensive.
The problem is all manufacturers make some cheap tires and probably some good ones ..........total Brand may not mean much unless you buy the bottom tire at the bottom manufacturer.I feel safe buying the most expensive/highest performance from almost any name brand.......just don't stretch it to its limit.
Seeing hundreds [probably thousands I've never counted] of tires removed from a Q gives you some idea what works and what doesn't but this cannot be correlated to another car because of the weight / stress differences.
Same with the 400 pound lighter J30 or any FWD car as the modes are different.
Even models within brands are different as one name {ER20 or RE92] may be really 5 different tire designs [T, H, V, W, Z] in different sizes and there may be grades in the same size.
People hated the cheapo T rated RE92 but the Z rated was terrific.
You can't even trust TireRack Tests since they use light BMW and now IS300 because that is the weight class most drive.
What about Lincoln Town Car, Crown Vic, Cadillac, Big MB500, and heaven forbid massive SUV ?
Look at Lexus LS430 as the guide for a premium quality tire in a 4000 RWD car they are always a notch above at least in that size.
Most tires are made for AVERAGE CARS and AVERAGE DRIVERS.
In fact Nissan's new proceedures require all tires to be driven for AT LEAST 15 minutes IMMEDIATELY before they are tested on the Hunter 9712 machine faliure to do so will not give the correct radial force imbalance readings.
The above is a good rule since all tires take some set even without Nylon caps so waiting 15-30-60 minutes for your turn [to be balanced] while the car sits in the lot is a guarantee that the balance will not be set correctly when the tire gets round/warm again on the road!
I know this sounds radical but the higher the performance the tire the worse it gets. Michelin rarely uses Nylon caps instead going for an EXTRA strong Aramid/Kevlar [which is less prone to set] but more expensive.
The problem is all manufacturers make some cheap tires and probably some good ones ..........total Brand may not mean much unless you buy the bottom tire at the bottom manufacturer.I feel safe buying the most expensive/highest performance from almost any name brand.......just don't stretch it to its limit.
Seeing hundreds [probably thousands I've never counted] of tires removed from a Q gives you some idea what works and what doesn't but this cannot be correlated to another car because of the weight / stress differences.
Same with the 400 pound lighter J30 or any FWD car as the modes are different.
Even models within brands are different as one name {ER20 or RE92] may be really 5 different tire designs [T, H, V, W, Z] in different sizes and there may be grades in the same size.
People hated the cheapo T rated RE92 but the Z rated was terrific.
You can't even trust TireRack Tests since they use light BMW and now IS300 because that is the weight class most drive.
What about Lincoln Town Car, Crown Vic, Cadillac, Big MB500, and heaven forbid massive SUV ?
Look at Lexus LS430 as the guide for a premium quality tire in a 4000 RWD car they are always a notch above at least in that size.
Most tires are made for AVERAGE CARS and AVERAGE DRIVERS.
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Q45tech
- Moderator
- Posts: 14296
- Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2002 3:19 am
- Car: 1990 Q45 342,400 miles 22 years ownership with original engine
1995 G20t 5 speed 334,000 miles 16" 2002 wheels - 205/50/16 Sr20ve vvl
In the same magazine was a generic article about the ES100:" Twin steel belts,a jointless nylon cap ply, belt edge covers, and layered belt construction keep ES100's footprint in consistent shape, said Yokohoma"280 AA A and different grades!!!!!!! H, V, W, and Z" Emphasizing traction and ride confort" ????????????
The PR guys promised everything from one tire [what a lie] at a cheap price..............they even talked about a new Silicon Carbon compound that Michelin has used for 8 years as a brand new invention from Yokohoma...................we can say anything cause the stupid magazine writers are eating our food and drinking our liquor at this Press Launch at Sears Point was overheard but not printed in the article due to the multipage ad they purchased in the next 3 issues!
The PR guys promised everything from one tire [what a lie] at a cheap price..............they even talked about a new Silicon Carbon compound that Michelin has used for 8 years as a brand new invention from Yokohoma...................we can say anything cause the stupid magazine writers are eating our food and drinking our liquor at this Press Launch at Sears Point was overheard but not printed in the article due to the multipage ad they purchased in the next 3 issues!
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Q45tech
- Moderator
- Posts: 14296
- Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2002 3:19 am
- Car: 1990 Q45 342,400 miles 22 years ownership with original engine
1995 G20t 5 speed 334,000 miles 16" 2002 wheels - 205/50/16 Sr20ve vvl
Very few members go for pure performance since there are no Ultra Performance tires currently made in the 15" size that will fit the load index with the exception of the Firestone 225 SZ50 EP [and it is not an Ultra just a very good High [treadwear change] performance].
Necessary to go to 245/255/50/16 to find some
Necessary to go to 245/255/50/16 to find some
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szh
- Posts: 15932
- Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2002 12:54 pm
- Car: 2018 Tesla Model 3.
Unfortunately, no longer a Nissan or Infiniti, but continuing here at NICO! - Location: San Jose, CA
Hi, Dennis.
Agreed! I looked for high-performance tires in the 15" rim size with good wet braking (as that is what scares me the most with most tires!) and only the Firestone seemed to make the grade in that rim size. Unfortunately, buying new rim's was/is not in the cards for me. So, when the SZ50EP's on my 95 Q wear out, the replacement will be the same! And this is not a bad decision, since I like the tire a lot!
Z
Q45tech wrote:Very few members go for pure performance since there are no Ultra Performance tires currently made in the 15" size that will fit the load index with the exception of the Firestone 225 SZ50 EP [and it is not an Ultra just a very good High [treadwear change] performance].
Agreed! I looked for high-performance tires in the 15" rim size with good wet braking (as that is what scares me the most with most tires!) and only the Firestone seemed to make the grade in that rim size. Unfortunately, buying new rim's was/is not in the cards for me. So, when the SZ50EP's on my 95 Q wear out, the replacement will be the same! And this is not a bad decision, since I like the tire a lot!
Z