Avoiding the worst tire brands is a major necessity in road safety and the prevention of accidents. It is reported that over 13,000 accidents related to tires happen annually. Therefore, knowing your safety is of utmost importance. The price and the quality of the products should never be compromised. Cheap tires would wear out quickly and increase your expenses again in the investment of new tires.
Depending on the various products available in the industry, many consumers would reach for the lowest end of the catalog. However, you should have proper knowledge of this to avoid getting caught up by the worst tires to buy. In this guide, we would bring you some of the worst tire brands to avoid and all the important details that you should know to buy a proper set of tires for your vehicle.
Top 10 Worst Tire Brands to Avoid at All Costs
Contents
- Firestone Destination Tires
- Falken Ziex Tires
- Carlisle Tires
- Low-End General Tires
- Westlake Tires
- ASK Tires
- Goodyear – G159
- GeoStar Tires
- Auto green Tires
- Chaoyang Tires
What are the Worst Tire Brands to Avoid?
Innumerable brands are getting introduced into the market continuously. Since it is difficult to check every detail about all those products, we have compiled a list of the worst tire brands to avoid. These brands have been picked based on their drawbacks in performance, design, and safety measures. Therefore, try to avoid these tire models as they can even result in numerous individual injuries and even deaths.
Firestone Destination Tires
Firestone is a reputed tire company in the U.S. and manufactures tires of high quality. However, the Destination tires have brought down this standard. The reason behind this is the low-quality raw material used in manufacturing in China.
Reasons to Avoid:
- Tires are too soft and bend easily over road bumps
- Poor safety features
- Risk of bursting
Falken Ziex Tires
This is a Japanese tire brand that produces affordable tires and is preferred by many buyers. However, working more on affordability might have been the reason behind the creation of the worst tires. Therefore, it is highly recommended to avoid buying this type of tire, even though they cost less.
Reasons to Avoid:
- Low road traction
- Tires are highly slippery on wet roads
Carlisle Tires
This brand has tire manufacturing plants in the USA while they make trail tires in China. Despite being a reputed manufacturer in the industry, they are not completely immune to cheap products of low quality. This drawback makes this brand that should be avoided when purchasing.
Reasons to Avoid:
- Paddles Radial Trailer Tires explode in severe weather conditions
- Safety concerns
Low-End General Tires
General tires are one of the top brand manufacturers in the industry. These tires are even used in Nascar and Formula 1 races. So it is even surprising to find this name in the list of worst tire brands to avoid. However, they also have low-end tires that are cheap and unreliable. Therefore, always try to avoid these cheap choices and buy the best quality products.
Reasons to Avoid:
- Cheaper versions are available in market
- Manufactured with low-quality material
- Wears out quickly
Westlake Tires
Westlake tires are manufactured by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company, a Chinese manufacturer. This company produces the cheapest tires, but they do not last long and need to be avoided.
Reasons to Avoid:
- Tires perform well only at the normal speed of 50 mph and on dry road
- Gets damaged easily due to road bumps and potholes
- Loose road traction over 60 mph
- The very short lifespan of tires around 10,000 miles
ASK Tires
This is another Chinese tire manufacturer that has created the most dangerous tires ever. They are cheap both in cost and quality.
Reasons to Avoid:
- The poor grip on both dry and wet roads
- Wear out very quickly
Goodyear – G159
This is a famous U.S. tire brand that has a good reputation for producing quality products. However, you should not purchase this model as it is hazardous.
Reasons to Avoid:
- The model G159 was associated with many accidents in 2003
- G159 was declared defective and unsafe in 2005
- Manufacturing of this model was stopped over 15 years ago
- These tires still being available in the market at a very reasonable price
GeoStar Tires
These tires are also manufactured in China and are very affordable. It is popular as a tire suitable for all weathers and all seasons. However, there are reasons that you should avoid this brand.
Reasons to Avoid:
- Very low driving comfort
- Do not grip well on snow and wet roads
- Poor steering responsiveness
Auto green Tires
The Autogreen tires are made in Beijing, China. These tires are also listed as one of the worst brands to avoid purchasing.
Reasons to Avoid:
- Not long-lasting
- Hardly complete 10,000 miles
- Uneven tread wear
- Vibrations at freeway speeds
- The low grip on dry roads
Chaoyang Tires
This is another famous tire brand manufactured by a leading Chinese rubber company. This brand is popular in both Asia and the U.S. However, they also have some worst defects that make this brand to be avoided.
Reasons to Avoid:
- Tires make too much noise
- Wear out very quickly
- Tires would burst in extreme weather conditions
- The tires are too soft
- It can get damaged and punctured easily.
Are Chinese Tire Brands Good or Bad?
Not all Chinese tire brands should be avoided without proper confirmation. However, most Chinese tire brands have manufactured deadly tires in most cases. Even most of the brands discussed above as the worst brands to avoid are also Chinese-made. So there is a question at the end, whether you can fully trust these brands.
The Chinese tire brands have exponentially grown in the industry, over the world. Therefore, regardless of the country you are from, it is necessary to double-check the quality and safety confirmations of these tires.
Most of the time, the Chinese tires are cheaply manufactured and sold to the market without API’s authorization. They often make exact copies of the expensive, reputed tire brands with low-quality material and sell them at lower prices. These fraudulent copies should be avoided at all times.
These companies have their focus only on gaining profit and do not care for the safety of their consumers. Therefore they do not follow the standard quality checks and recommendations. These tire models are highly dangerous and very risky to be driven on the road. So try your best to avoid cheaper tires as they can be very often, cheaper in quality too.
Factors to Consider Before Buying Tires
Buying a tire is not a difficult process if you get into the correct details. But it is a challenging task, and you need to do a lot of research and reviews before you settle for a product. You need to eliminate the negative choices as much as possible and focus on the best products. You also need to find the exact requirement of your vehicle to find the ideal type of tire. So let’s identify some of the major factors that you should concern when purchasing a tire.
Compatible Size
You need to know the correct size of your wheel to find a tire that suits the application. The tire size is usually mentioned at the sidewall and looks like P215/65SR15 89H.
- In this case, the letter P denotes Passenger vehicles, and the letters L.T. symbolize Light Trucks.
- The number 215 gives the width of the tire in millimeters from sidewall to sidewall.
- The number 65 is the ratio of height to width, known as the aspect ratio. This means the height is equal to 65% of the width of the tire.
- Letter R stands for Radial (construction type) which means the layers are Radial across the tire.
- The number 15 gives the wheel diameter in inches.
- The number 89 gives the Load Index
- Letter H denotes the Speed Rating
Brand
The brand name is a factor that is most sought after. This is because the brand matters as much as the compatibility of the size. Always choose tires from a reputed brand that has not let down the users. Go for a high-quality tire even if it means spending some extra cash. You wouldn’t regret the decision as good products mean good safety and high durability. Some manufacturers serve specific customers with special requirements while there are some others who are dedicated to providing their service to a wider customer base.
These companies reflect on their solid reputation and provide the best tires in the industry. Most Japanese, American, and French tire manufacturers have good products that you can choose from.
Chinese brands have got market around the globe and have abundant supplies of all products with competitive prices. Hence, you might even get caught by cheaper products at low price tags.
This is not to let down the Chinese products in any way, but to help customers find the best products from reputed Chinese brands. So, make sure to avoid cheap tire manufacturers who are trying to sell their products as much as possible without caring about the safety of users.
Replicas
This is a major concern when it comes to making fraudulent copies of branded products. Most Chinese manufacturers are engaged in this. They make replicas of high-quality brands using cheap raw materials and sell them at low prices.
There are replicas of famous brands such as Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear, etc. It is the best choice to avoid buying replicas and purchase a quality product. However, if you are willing to buy a replica at a low price, you can still buy them. But make sure to buy it from a reliable Chinese brand that offers a warranty.
Performance
Tires with unidirectional tread patterns are most likely to offer you maximum performance. This is indicated on the sidewall of the tire and has arrows pointing out in the forward direction. This guaranteed the longevity of the wheels and ensured maximum grip on the road. They would cost a little more as they are made from high-quality material.
They also have thicker and wider tread blocks. Using these tires would be a good investment in your vehicle. However, the performance implies the ability to handle the car properly even when being driven at high speeds and not the lifespan. Brands named high-performance might wear out soon due to this. So make sure you understand this difference correctly.
Longevity
The duration that your tires last is another important factor to be concerned about. This includes how long you expect to keep them. Manufacturers provide estimates on the mileage for optimum tire tread. But the longevity would vary, depending on certain factors such as road elevations, type of road, and other climatic conditions where the vehicle is being driven. An all-season tire would typically have a tread-life of approximately between 40,000 and 100,000 miles (which is 64,374 and 160,934 kilometers).
Features
The main features of tires include performance in mild and extreme weather, durability, grip on the road, and specific surfaces. Tires are offered certain ratings after safety checks such as speed and treadwear rating. The designs can be decided upon the user’s preference. You might prefer the “all-weather” feature if you are from a region with a lot of ice and snow on the roads.
Some manufacturers claim that their tires increase the fuel economy of the car. So if you are interested in such additional features, you can research more about those possibilities before you choose the tires.
Date of Manufacture
Like every other product, tires also get old. Therefore, it is necessary to find out the date of manufacturing the tires before purchasing. This is usually indicated on the sidewall as a four-digit number, followed by a dot and some letter sequence afterward. As an example, the number 3019 means the tire was manufactured in the 30th week of 2019. Avoid buying very old tires, as quality deteriorates over time. Even brand new tires, if left out for too long without using would get worsen and decay over time.
The main reason for this would be long-term exposure to heat and other weather conditions. It is recommended by automobile manufacturers to replace tires every six years, regardless of the condition. This is why it is highly recommended to check the date of manufacture before you buy them.
Warranty
Check for the warranty of the tires. Usually, the manufacturers offer a warranty of up to 50,000 to 80,000 miles. However, most of the time, tires would not last that long. If you are driving around very often and get exposed to severe conditions, you would need to make use of the warranty. Make sure that the terms of the warranty are not completely based on mileage because they can refuse to give you a new set of tires.
They would charge you for the exchange and even question you on how well you took care of the tires. If you have not rotated your tires in time, haven’t used the recommended tire pressures, and done anything unsatisfactory, you might not even get partial coverage for your tires. Therefore, always make sure to check the terms and conditions of the warranty are satisfactory. If they are acceptable, always abide by the required regulations so that you can get full coverage when required.
Safety and Quality Standards
You should always care about both the safety of tires and road safety. The quality of the tires is directly proportional to the safety. This is why they are passed through quality checks to remove any doubts on the product quality. Nevertheless, some manufacturers do not care about quality and safety. Therefore, avoid such brands and ensure your safety.
Price
The price is the main consideration when buying any product. Consumers prefer to buy more affordable tires if they have limited budgets. However, make sure to make your budget a bit more flexible as good things cost more. After all, you shouldn’t sacrifice your safety for the cost of buying cheaper products.
Why are Cheap Tires so Bad?
You should always invest in a trustworthy tire brand that manufactures quality products that ensure the safety of the users. It is important to choose a reliable brand that creates durable tires so that you get the highest benefit for the investment. Always try to avoid tires that have negative reviews on safety measures, as lives matter more than anything.
Lack in Safety
Safety is the biggest concern in cheap tires. They can even explode your tires just by a small nail. It can even cause serious accidents due to defects in the performance. Sometimes the cheap tires have worn out been before you notice. You might face the consequences of this on wet and slippery roads.
Longer Brake Distance
Cheap tires tend to have a longer brake distance which would account for the difference between life and death. They would slide along the road for a long before coming to rest. There is a great difference between the grip of good and bad tires. This is a drawback that might exist in very often cheap tires.
Durability
The lifespan of cheaper tires would most likely be lower than others. You might have to replace them more often and the expense would even be greater than the investment in buying better quality tires. There is also a problem with weaker sidewalls in cheap tires, making them the worst tires to buy.
Environment
Using cheaper tires is also bad for the environment. They would get worn out quickly and release more particles into the air. Frequent wearing off of tires would also increase the need to dispose or recycle them. This would also generate additional waste and gradually cause environmental pollution.
No Resell Value
Most car parts have high values even when you resell them. However, cheap tires would not have any interesting value for you to resell. If you buy good quality tires, decide that you don’t want them, and choose to sell them, you can earn most of the money you spent. But you cannot do this with cheaper tires as they don’t have a proper resell value. So, even if you buy the wrong tires you would have no option to get rid of them or get your money back. Sometimes the cheap tires would not even have a proper brand name or good quality. So, this is another reason why you should not settle for cheaper tires.
What Tires Should You Buy Instead?
Most brands in the U.S. and Japan can be recommended as good tires with high performance. Some of these brands are:
- Michelin
- Goodyear
- Continental
- BF Goodrich
- Bridgestone
- Cooper
- Nokian
- Pirelli
- Toyo
- Yokohama
How to Decide Whether New Tires are Needed?
Driving with damaged tires is dangerous and has a higher probability of causing accidents. Therefore, you need to replace your tires in time. So, how exactly can you know that you need to replace the tires? You might not always get the correct answer from salesmen because they need to sell their items somehow. This is a guide on this matter.
Check the Tread Depth
You can get the tread depth checked using a tread depth gauge. If you can’t find one, then you can do the traditional penny test. Place a penny upside down so that you put Lincoln’s head into the tread groove.
If you can still see Lincoln’s head, then you need to replace the tires as the tread is not deep enough. On the other way around, if you don’t see the forehead area, you can drive more on your tires. Perform this test on various places around the tore. Pay special attention to the areas that look more worn out. It is not safe to drive in bad weather conditions when the tread is worn out to 1/16th of an inch. So, it is recommended to replace the tire.
Check the Tread Wear Bar
There are tread wear bars for almost all the tires sold in the U.S. The treadwear bar is a smack raised bar of rubber in the tread groove. When the tread comes equal to the wear bar, it indicates that the tire is worn out. This situation would be dangerous as the tread depth is not enough to evacuate water. Therefore, you need to replace the tires. The safest condition is when the grooves are deeper.
Check Uneven Tread Wear
If in any case, you notice that there is irregular tread wear on one side of the tire, it shows that your wheels might be misaligned. You would have to get proper wheel alignment and even replace the tires if needed. You can also get expert help on this matter.
Check the Sidewall Damages
The sidewall damage can cause the shredding of tires. Driving under this condition would be very dangerous. So if the sidewalls are damaged and cannot be repaired, it is recommended to replace the tires as soon as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
The following are some frequently asked questions on purchasing new tires. It would bring you additional knowledge on different aspects that might not have been discussed in the context above.
How many years do tires last?
Tires are safe to be used for 6 years as states by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. After that, the condition of the tires needs to be evaluated, and based on the outcome, it can be decided whether to replace the tires or use them further. However, the age of tires should not exceed 10 years.
How many miles should tires last?
The original tires should last between 50,000 to 70,000 miles. However, this would slightly vary, depending on the quality of the tire and the condition of the roads.
What pressure is too high for tires?
The average tire pressure for cars should lie between 30 and 36 PSI. If the pressure is increased beyond this value, it will result in quick tread wear.
What pressure is too low for tires?
The lowest recommended tire pressure is 22 PSI. Having tire pressure lower than this value would wear out the tires prematurely and even overheat the tires when driving at high speeds. It creates a risk of a blowout. Therefore, this causes an extremely dangerous situation. If you need to have a longer lifespan for your tires, do not lower the tire pressure below 30 PSI.
Conclusion
To briefly summarize the discussion, you should avoid some worst tire brands indicated as they have very negative impacts on road safety. So to ensure the highest return on your investment, make sure to choose the best type of tire depending on the factors mentioned above. Check the tires often and replace them in time to avoid unwanted safety issues. Even though you would have to bear a considerable expense on the purchasing of vehicle tires, you would not regret buying the best quality product from a reputed manufacturer.
We hope you find this article useful and if you are interested in similar facts, we are glad to share details about the Worst Refrigerator Models to Avoid.