Quality tires

[Daniel Evans]

I read an article that stated tires are distributed by the quality of the tire. Dealerships being at the top of the food chain and discount tire outlets being at the bottom. Any truth to this?

[KHE]

The assembly plants get the best tires. The seconds go to tire dealers and the worst ones go to the internet tire sellers.

If your dealership has tires with a GM part no. then they are the same as the tires used in the assembly plant. If they don't have a GM part no. then they are likely the same as what you'd get at a tire shop.

[winterset]

Either intentional or unintentional, you get what you pay for. At least with the name brands, they have a reputation to uphold, so quality should not be too affected. Quality control sets the Limits for saving a few pennies here and there, while the consumer spends many times the manufacturing savings to get the quality they expect.

[Logan]

The factory gets the best ones. They don't have time to mess around with 400 jiggly tires. The rest make their way down the food chain...

One problem with building tires is they all look the same....but each one is unique inside.

You typically will not get a good mount and balance somewhere where they are paying $8 per hour. They can also easily and unknowingly damage a tire during the mounting process.

The same tires can also have differnet Spec rating numbers on them. The GM part number tires are the best. There is a difference between a dealer selling GM part number tires and a dealer selling replacement tires.

I attached a picture of a DTS factory tire/wheel take off from a set I bought. This tire had only 2 tiny weights....you might have to look close. One on the inner rim and one stuck on the inner wheel in the background. Most will not be this good....but you'll never see a 3-4 oz wheel weight on a factory GM passenger car wheel... and you wont get this at Wallyworld.

[Z15]

The assembly plants get the best tires. The seconds go to tire dealers and the worst ones go to the internet tire sellers.

There may be truth to this. I once purchased a set of GY Wranglers for a older Chevy 4x4 PU from Tire Rack. No one could balance the tires. The GY dealer tried 3x and said the tires were worst he even seen and suggested they were seconds. A GM dealer played around match mounting them and could do no better. They shook the truck starting at 45mph up. Some had to have up to 8 oz of weight to come close. The money I saved buying them from tire rack I more then spent trying to get them to balance.

[Daniel Evans]

thanks for the feedback

[KHE]

The factory gets the best ones. They don't have time to mess around with 400 jiggly tires. The rest make their way down the food chain...

One problem with building tires is they all look the same....but each one is unique inside.

You typically will not get a good mount and balance somewhere where they are paying $8 per hour. They can also easily and unknowingly damage a tire during the mounting process.

The same tires can also have differnet Spec rating numbers on them. The GM part number tires are the best. There is a difference between a dealer selling GM part number tires and a dealer selling replacement tires.

I attached a picture of a DTS factory tire/wheel take off from a set I bought. This tire had only 2 tiny weights....you might have to look close. One on the inner rim and one stuck on the inner wheel in the background. Most will not be this good....but you'll never see a 3-4 oz wheel weight on a factory GM passenger car wheel... and you wont get this at Wallyworld.

I went out and checked the wheel weights on my 2013 Silverado truck that I bought new in August of 2013. One tire has a 2 oz weight and another has a 3 oz weight on it. I was surprised to see such big weights on it. There is absolutely no vibration at any speed.

[Logan]

I was waiting for that. You missed the key phrase...'passenger car wheel'..

The trucks are in a completly different class.

[KHE]

I was waiting for that. You missed the key phrase...'passenger car wheel'..

The trucks are in a completly different class.

What is different about the truck tires? Is it just the size or is it the construction of the tire that can tolerate additional weight to balance and still be OK? Or is it the chassis/suspension that is more tolerant?

[Logan]

Full size and weight of the wheels and tires...chunky tread...full frame vs unibody.

You will not see something like this picture coming out of a GM plant. So many things wrong...it's ridiculous.

I suspect this is from a dealer who added chrome wheels and marked up the price of the vehicle.

[Ohio Jim]

Good afternoon All,

I could not help but chime in..over the last 30 years I have purchased many tires. My experience has been Michelin's were always the best. I had a '94 Town Car. They installed the tires and when I looked, there was not a single weight. I went back into Sam's with a slight attitude since the tires were not balanced! I spoke to the desk, and then directly to the tire installer. He said the combination of the Lincoln rims and the Michelin tires was the best he had run across. He told me this set of four did not need a single weight. He said the Michilen's were generally the best balanced tires he dealt with on a daily basis. I took it up to 100 mph on the way home and there was not vibration. Maybe he was right.

Ohio Jim

[Z15]

I got OEM MICHELIN PILOT MXM4 on my CTS4 and I went and looked, only 1 wheel on the car has any weigh on it. I could not tell how much, 3 small stick-ons on the inside of the wheel. Over 40,000 miles and the car rides perfectly.

[guyslp]

My personal experience, which admittedly is but one data point, doesn't suggest that there's much (if any) truth to this and that's over a long period of time.

I've purchased Michelins, Toyos, Hankooks, and Kumhos for a variety of passenger cars - some from tirerack.com, some from treaddepot.com, and some from our local "mom and pop" tire store, Central Tire, which has been in business for decades and serves the commercial and truck trade as well as "regular consumers".

I haven't had trouble with any of these tires and, with the exception of the Hankooks which I've not had long enough to assess functional service life, all have proven quite durable. For myself, I definitely don't believe that Michelin is worth the price premium they charge. Others, of course, will have a different opinion.

I certainly haven't seen any notable difference in tire quality depending on sales outlet. Companies have far too much invested in their own reputations to play silly games with them. My experience has been for a given maker and tire line the product is the same no matter who's selling it.

Brian