Jump to content

Tires


Recommended Posts

I know this one is usually common sense, but i thought i would share it anyway, and that is off brand or cheaper tires, versus name brand tires. I actually have a couple off brand, and brand name tires in mind here. This started due to needing a set of tires for my 1994 Dakota about 4 months ago, and not having a lot of cash to work with at the time, but, i learned recently that on some things, it really is true that you get what you pay for. I bought a matched set of Green Diamond, all season, 235/75/15's, nothing spectacular, but, they were claimed to have a 45,000 mile life, which, i have since found out, was just hype. For comparison, my 1991 Dakota has Goodyear Wrangler A/T's, same size, that were purchased about 4 years ago, that still have legal tread, and havent worn uneven in any way, despite having been driven more than 60,000 miles, mostly highway and in town streets, nothing extreme off road. The Green Diamond tires, on the other hand, have less than 14,000 miles on them, same driving conditions, and, as i found out today, the left rear has worn excessively, and the left front has less than half tread life, whereas both right side tires still have 3/4 tread left. My 1994 Dakota has no alignment issues, so that isnt a factor, as well as having no visible rear axle alignment issues, and the shocks are name brand, upgraded shocks, that are less than 4 months old, whereas, the 1991 Dakota not only had a minor alignment issue, it also had issues with the tires going soft from issues with oxided beads on the aluminum rims. I looked into the Green Diamond tires, although after the fact, and found, without really understanding why, that they use crushed glass in the molding process. I have also read where there molding process isnt consistent.

 

Another tire comparison, is on a pair of my wifes Subaru Legacy's, one being a sedan, one being a wagon, both 1999 models, with the same 225/60/15 size tires. We put Hankook Ventas A/S on her 1999 sedan, which is her daily driver, and has seen nearly 50,000 miles, and is just now about due for tire replacement, whereas the 1999 Outback wagon has Good Ride tires, which after researching, are a brand from Singapore. Dont ask how they ended up on the car, as they were on it when we bought it, however, that car has roughly 61,000 miles on it since purchase, and, the tires are still showing around half tread.

 

All in all, i have learned, off brands arent always a bad thing, as long as you research what you are buying ahead of time, as much as you possibly can, before making a purchase.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...