I studied epistemology in a college religion class. Epistemology is a fifty cent word for the branch of philosophy that explores the way in which man learns truth. What leads a person to the certain conclusion that God exists? Is it the conclusion of a logical process? Or personal spiritual experience? Maybe it’s embracing family tradition? At the risk of offending deity and condemning my soul to an eternity burning amid fire and Bridgestone, I liken the process of buying new tires to the quest for faith.
When we buy a car, we are able to visit local dealerships to test drive the vehicles under consideration. We can see, hear, feel, smell and [theoretically] taste a car before we buy it. Of course there are variables that are unknowable after 20-minutes at the helm and an hour putzing around the sales floor. But our personal sensory experience generally provides enough data to conclude whether a candidate car meets our needs, desires, and budget.
It’s not the same with tires. Ideally buyers could mount various tires to their car and perform comparative test drives back-to-back before deciding on what rubber they want to invest in.
The closest experience I’ve had to this occurred last year when Cooper Tires invited me (along with a dozen other auto journalists) to their test track near Pearsall, Texas. They prepared a number of head-to-head comparisons between their new CS4 tire and selected competitors.
Scribes were allowed to race a Mustang fitted with CS4s through a wetted rally track back-to-back with a second Mustang fitted with Bridgestones. Next we drove two identical Cadillac DTS’ shoed with Coopers and Continentals through an emergency stop trap. In each instance, the CS4 performed favorably.
I don’t think the Cooper folks did anything underhanded, but like a vacuum cleaner salesman who demonstrates his product sucking-up nuts and bolts, the tests were clearly designed to show their product in the most favorable light.
So we’re still relegated to grasping for truth through a fog-filled maze of mirrors. The manufactures (i.e. father of lies) and their self-serving marketing claims simply can’t be trusted. Most tire dealers (i.e. devil’s spawn) are equally untrustworthy; they will spin you toward the tire that makes them the most money. Car buff book, consumer guides and tire rag evaluations (i.e. sacred writ) are compromised by the same temptations that afflict their car reviews: pressure from big advertisers and addiction to the press junket gravy train.
That narrows reconnaissance options to word-of-mouth and Internet reviews (i.e. testimonials), both of which are also fraught with risk. When your neighbor (i.e. the zealot) tells you about his favorite tire, you have to wonder, “What the Hell does HE know about it?” Has he compared his favorite doughnut to each competitor so he can draw comparisons? More importantly, his automobile and driving style are unlikely to match your own.
Internet user reviews might be the most suspect of all. You can never fully know the background and biases of the reviewers. A bitter critic stung by bad service or stuck with a lemon could be on an e-jihad to ensure that the world hears of his pain. Furthermore, I find that familiarity breeds contempt among the most popular models. Somehow human nature makes us want to despise the successful and root for underdogs.
On the other hand, the review you are reading might be the handiwork of a marketing firm looking to stack the net with glowing reviews of their client’s product. Shopcartusa.com (i.e. Beelzebub) is an obvious example of this nefarious practice.
[Last year, as I searched for the best deal on a new camera body I stumbled across their site. Their “customers” unwaveringly gave thousands of five-star ratings and rave reviews of known suspect merchants, some of whom fell under indictment by the New Jersey State Attorney General.]
If you manufactured tires, wouldn’t you make sure that there were as many positive reviews about your product posted on TireRack.com as possible? If an electronic warrior is smarter than the guys at Shopcartusa.com, they can make favorable reviews look quite natural and convincing.
Most tire buyers become so confused by the chorus (i.e. legion) of unreliable messages that they immerse themselves in the only thing they know for sure– their own experience (i.e. tradition). But this fear of getting something bad blinds us from discovering anything better.
In my most recent tire search, my cynical self (i.e. the tire agnostic) was left to sort through the mass of information, sniffing each data and casting aside anything smelling of spin, reeking of bile or spritzed with eau de incompétence. I looked for threads of consensus from the many differing sources that remain. Balancing these conclusions against my needs and budget led me to my final selection. And then I prayed that I’d made the best choice.
[Cooper tires provided Mr. Montgomery with lunch, track time and insurance.]
If you think this is tough, try choosing motorcycle tires. Far more mission-critical, and even more black magic and hearsay.
Despite your crack about the dealers, my solution has been to ignore the Web and trust a local, independent tire merchant here in Cambridge, MA. I’ve been buying tires from him for years. He has never tried to oversell me and is very candid about the various brands, even going so far as to defend the cheap import brands (when I assume it is not in his financial interest to do so). I wonder how many guys like him are left…
I appreciate the minefield here for both motorcycle and car tires, yet like much of the machinery its mounted to, the equipment is generally capable far beyond the talents of even the enthusiast driver. As for the masses, the same can also be said to be true. If they’ll just check tire pressures once in a while and have some idea of how their vehicle will handle in an emergency, it seems the vast majority of today’s tires will perform admirably.
Nonetheless, having read of some hair-raising episodes involving summer tires which were used in winter conditions, some knowledge of tires should be a mandatory part of the driver’s test. As matter of fact, some required knowledge of vehicle response might create safer highways for us all.
There are some hard facts about tires, the treadwear rating, temperature and traction ratings at least let you compare some of the capabilities. Tread design is another way to shop, clearly the deep channel tires handle water better than the regular versions.
I found another set of tires that were a harder compound than what I had and chose them. I sacrificed some ride quality for treadlife, and reduced tire noise when turning in parking lots. Water handling was the same.
Probably the best way to determine what tire is best for you is to read reviews from other owners on a forum dedicated to your specific car. It probably works better for Corvette drivers like myself (there are literally only about 6 different tires that actually come in stock C6 sizes-285/35/ZR19 tires aren’t that common) than for something like a Corolla or Camry where you have 20+ tire choices.
That said, a lot of Vette drivers hate the runflats that come standard with the car but I don’t think any of them have tried the Continental Contisport Contact2 tires that I’m using, despite my extremely positive reviews of the tire (these tires are seriously incredible, max performance summer tires that I’ve driven through a Boston winter without incident). When it comes time to replace my tires, I’ve learned enough from other Vette owners that I’ll either stick with the Continentals, or go with the more expensive Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s, which seem to be the gold standard among performance cars.
If you think this is tough, try choosing motorcycle tires. Far more mission-critical, and even more black magic and hearsay.
I’m unfortunately stuck with only one or two makers of tires for my bike due to unusual sizing. But there are mountains of opinions out there from different points of view on what makes one tire better than another. There are no really horrible donuts, just wrong tires for the riding style.
Interesting op-ed. I’m always lost when it comes to buying tires.
Nice boots too, by the way, talking about shodding/footwear
Is it deliberate irony that the model is on a stack of Michelin MOTORCYCLE tires (Pilot Roads and Pilot Powers, to be exact)?
We motorcyclists are very VERY finnicky about our tires. There are comparative reviews: EG, about every 6 months, Bike (the British magazine) does a BLINDED test of 6-8 tires. Likewise, there are GOOD information on motorcycle specific forums, a lot of comparative data, etc.
I bought Nexen tires at Wal-Mart because as a student my budget is limited. So far they have performed well, much better than my father’s Toyos that cost twice as much, and they came with a lifetime road hazard warranty. When tire shopping gets difficult here in Quebec, is when you want winter tires. Buying anything too cheap will likely get your car destroyed, but I’ve developed a system. Looking for used Blizzaks or Michelins with a season or two left on them.
Solution: Subscribe to Grassroots Motorsports magazine. They test tires several times a year, tires they buy or have Tire Rack (i.e. not a manufacturer) provide, on a rented track, with their driver. Not to make this sound too much like a plug but they take a lot of the guesswork out. Like Consumer Reports without the boring.
I hate buying tires. All I know is that I need 225/40-18 or 225/45-18. There are absolutely fck all selection in stock 215/40-18.
I usually just go by the specs for treadwear/speed/etc/etc and generally look for an “ultra-high-performance-all-season” – perhaps a bit of a misnomer, but you can pick up all season tires with pretty insane speed ratings. I find winter tires a little easier, since I can pretty much ignore the speed ratings -ie, do I need to do 120mph sustained for 20-30 minutes in a snow storm? I never did understand “performance” winter tires for daily use. That being said, when I switch back to summers, I always relish the tight feel!
Grass Roots Motorsports frequently runs tires tests and comparos, with real test data. And they’re fairly independent and readily critical of anything they don’t like. The magazine is run by autocrossers.
Tire Rack also runs tests and allows users to rate tires, though I don’t know how trustworthy this is.
I finally hit upon a formula that has worked beautifully for me: buy Nokian tires (for summer and winter tires). Every one I’ve tried has been superb, and I have no regrets with any purchase.
I’ve used message boards for my knowledge gathering. But I also factor in price, and Tirerack does a great job staking up comparable tires together for measurement.
(shameless recommendation on)
Which is why I put Firestone SZ50/Wide Ovals on my cars. For summer tires on a budget it doesn’t get much better than a cheaper version of Bridgestone’s top line model with different cosmetics and a cheaper price tag. Sticky, smooth, quiet, amazing wet weather traction, great treadlife, performs well even as they wear, etc. I’m hooked.
(shameless recommendation off)
My experience is that a 5yr old tire is toast regardless of wear/mileage or make of tire.
So if your driving 20,000 a year and your keeping your car for 5yr buy the best tire you can.I check out the top of the line tire and buy the grade one below.I’ve had great service out of Michelin,Goodyear and for value you can’t beat a Cooper.
A lot of folks ignore thier tires and then complain about wear problems.You have to rotate check preasure and balance at least once a year.
As soon as you new tires are installed it is crucial to get a front end alignment, look at control arms balljoints steering racks,bent rims?struts,tie rod ends anyone of wich will impact tire wear.
Epistemology is a fifty cent word for the branch of philosophy that explores the way in which man learns truth. What leads a person to the certain conclusion that God exists?
Since we are talking about learning “truth”, some of us would phrase the example as “What leads a person to the certain conclusion that God does not exist?”
Other than that, great article.
Jesus, I’m tired of hearing about writers being beholden to “the press-trip gravy train.” Those of us who have to do this for a living (and in my case have been doing it since 1973 in the car world, and in the airplane world before that), would gladly pay extra if we could get _off_ that train. I suspect Mr. Montgomery is naive enough that he still gets a thrill out of a free drink.
Also take into consideration that tire tested on race tracks may not perform as well on the road where you will be doing most of your driving.
For me its past experience that determines tire choice and since its the part that connects the car to the road, I don’t mind spending money on it. The Michelin Pilot Sport has been my choice for my last three cars and they have been consistent and performed flawlessly under a range of conditions. Sadly they are also very expensive.
Stephan,
Just about every profession has some version of “freebies.” I think the issue is whether it clouds their judgement.
If you don’t like your profession, you can always mine coal.
“Stephan,
Just about every profession has some version of “freebies.” I think the issue is whether it clouds their judgement.
If you don’t like your profession, you can always mine coal.”
Try to understand what I’m saying here. I don’t hate my profession and I don’t wish to mine coal, thank you, I’m just saying that having to fly from New York to Phoenix and back in two days (or wherever) and do your work in the interim is nothing that “clouds a writer’s judgment” because it’s so much fun. It only seems that way to people who have never done it, or done it very little. “Oh, wow, I get to ride in a great big airliner and stay at a Sheraton and I don’t even have to pay for my drinks! Fabulous!” Not.
Nothing beats personal experience when it comes to tires. Don’t forget driving styles vary, so tire evaluations can be invariably subjective. At the extreme end of this scale, one only has to look at the difficulty Fernando Alonso had adjusting to new Bridgestones during the last F1 season. I bet Lewis Hamilton and he would offer vastly different reviews of the tire if asked.
On that note, my Mustang’s personality changed completely when I upgraded from dealer rubber to Yokohama Avids. Would definitely vouch for those as a good value option.
I am lucky. I have dealt with a family owned tire store that I trust for all of my driving years (21.5, to be exact). My dad was dealing with them before that.
They have a decent selection and I know they’ll give me their honest opinion and what they hear from customers. They may not know everything, but they have never steered me wrong so far.
I own a 2006 F150 and I recently bought a set of Toyo Open Country A/T tires. The stock size is 255/65-17 but I went to 265/70-17 in the Toyos.
So far, the Toyos are superior to the stock Continentals, even on the road. I am very happy with the tires…
Our method of choice is a combination of Tirerack and forums dedicated to your car. You can sniff out fake reviews from a mile and a half away, and the sheer volume of reviews on tirerack helps average out the data so it’s harder for manufacturers to skew, and harder for one guy who had a blowout to bring down the rating unnecessarily. When we replaced the tires on the LGT, we used tirerack and legacygt.com’s forums to make the decision… enough enthusiasts on the latter who had tried different tires and could make good qualitative recommendations, and enough ratings and quantitative data on the former that we knew what to expect in terms of grip, wear, etc.
You have to find your own truth, so to speak. How much do you want to spend? How much performance do you really need? Fortunately there are just as many good cheap tires out there as there are good expensive ones. And don’t assume the OEM tires are worth a damn, even if they are $190 apiece (*cough*RE92*cough*). While quality does have some bearing on cost, the most expensive tires are almost never the best.
FWIW, we’re running ContiExtremeContacts on the LGT (Z-rated), just had to replace all 4 (ask me how I feel about Atlanta’s road crews) and even though the last set only had a year or so on them, it’s amazing what a difference fresh tires make. They cost half of what a new set of RE92s would and perform astronomically better. I’ve still got the stock tires on my GTI, they serve me well… I think they’re ContiSportContacts (or Pro, can’t remember) and i’ve seen no need to upgrade yet.
And for those of you that run more than one set, don’t store your tires in your garage, ever! Put them in your basement, or someplace with a nice cool, controlled climate with no direct sunlight and no major temperature fluctuations. Tire rubber is just like any other rubber — exposure to heat, humidity extremes (dry and moist), and sunlight will prematurely age your tire, degrading the performance even if you’ve still got plenty of tread left. In the end, your car’s entire performance depends on four patches of rubber about the size of your hand… it amazes me that people will run their tires bald and then complain about the cost to replace them (same with brakes). I guess I’d rather fork over $400 again than deal with an accident.
So what tires did you end up with William C?
I just stick to one or two major brands and combine that with info from my indy car shop guy. I trust his judgment – especially for winter tires – even if his prices are a bit higher.
I enjoyed this article because I consider myself a tire aficionado.
I find that the best way to buy a tire is to carefully evaluate your desires and acceptable price range. Find a sub-set of tires that meet those criteria. Then read reviews. And then find car-specific reviews of a specific tire on your vehicle. Read owner reports.
Then vascillate on the topic for a few weeks.
Then purchase them and get them installed at one of the best places you can find. The difference between a $60 mount and balance and a $100 mount and balance is greatly mitigated when you are more satisfied with the balancing of the $100 shop (if they are using superior techs and equipment) as well as the, hopefully, lower risk of scratching one of your nice wheels. Furthermore, a good shop will torque your lugnuts correctly vs. most shops just air-gunning them on nice and tight.
Your tires will be well balanced, your rims will be unscratched, and your rotors will be less likely to warp from uneven lug-nut pressure. I’m not saying this is done by price, but it is done by reputable shops and they tend to be more pricier…
I drive ~25,000 miles a year and my wife drives about ~15,000. I’ve gone through 3 sets of tires on her car and 2 on mine. I’ve founded tirerack reviews to be spot on in all but one case (Yokohama Avid V4S cupped, wore down quickly, and gave really terrible snow traction…not braking or cornering, but traction out of a parking spot).
Anyway…if I may suggest:
There are many categories to find preferences in tire selection: Noise, comfort, tread-life, dry performance, wet performance, snow performance, ice performance, cornering, sidewall softness, tire price, tire weight…
If I may address a few of these:
Price – Sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes you don’t. Set yourself a top-end but don’t be afraid to spend half of that.
Weight – Weight is a good indicator of overall construction, sidewall stiffness, etc….it’s not full proof, but if most tires weigh 21 pounds in a given size and you are looking at a tire that weighs 18 pounds, there’s a good chance that sidewall is going to be softer, more likely to flat-spot, and possibly less durable with potholes.
I hope this helps someone. I find tire shopping to be incredibly fun….it’s one of the fastest and more regular ways to dramatically change the behaviour of your vehicle, most of the time in a positive manner :)
Hey Megan,
I’ve become a regular contributor over at LegacyGt.com and just placed an order for one (If I get it, I’ll post info and a link to “the story” hehehe…)…08, White, 5-speed, nothing else
Seems like the contiextreme’s didn’t have a chance to live a full life. How many miles did you get out of them?
The continental contiextreme is an example of a tire that doesn’t fit into one mold. It’s been a top-ranked ultra high performance all-season for like 5-6 years (or more). It costs around $80-100 a piece, usually 50-100% less than it’s competitors.
It does amazing in snow and ice testing, for an all-season. Literally one of THE best all-seasons for winter use.
It lasts a decent amount of time and performs well in handling, dry and wet traction.
It’s a little noisier than most. It weighs a little less and, incidentally, tends to flat spot a little.
Nonetheless, if you can take a little noise….it’s had to beat the price :)
Joe
Stephan,
I’m sorry if I touched a nerve. But I’m not particularly young, I don’t drink (alcohol, that is), and I’m not naïve enough to believe that being flown to interesting locations, bedded in the finest hotels, wined and dined in top tier restaurants, and being befriended by attractive PR folks doesn’t create a reluctance among journalists to write something negative.
I’m not saying that there aren’t professionals like yourself that don’t give in to these enticements. But I’ve seen scribes drinking deeply from the lifestyle. Just like beer companies putting sexy women in their ads, manufacturers and their PR firms host these events in this way BECAUSE IT WORKS. Otherwise their corporate financial controllers (like me) would have cut them off years ago.
Nonetheless, that stuff’s all packaging. The biggest temptation regarding press junkets is maintaining access to vehicles or, in this case, tires. TTAC is currently banned from press vehicles by GM, BMW, Subaru, Honda and probably some others I can’t recall, because they don’t like what we’ve written about them. There are many scribes trying to cobble together a writing career that cannot afford to lose this access.
I’m with Joe O. in that I liked this article because I also consider myself somewhat of a tire aficionado.
But I think I actually kind of like buying tires, as odd as that may sound. The research, the comparisons…I don’t relish spending the money, mind you, but I always think of it as an opportunity to increase the performance of my car, or at least make another smart, sensible purchase.
William Montgomery –
That doesn’t speak well for GM, Subaru, BMW, or Honda…
Sadly, if all outlets wrote such things that got them banned (though I don’t remember what you wrote about BMW of Honda that would elicit such a response) then the carmakers wouldn’t have the flexibility to ban in the first place.
It says more about a car company to ban someone who speaks negatively. Especially if that person is on a big soapbox.
Joe
So what tires did you end up with William C?
Stay tuned.
I like buying tires. I like comparing the tread pattern, cost, UTQG ratings, construction, and personal reviews (from long-time members of the forums I frequent) between different tires. All tires are compromised in some way, so it’s important to find a tire that suits your specific needs.
I haven’t read the article yet. But for some strange unexplainable reason, I just wanted to buy all of those tires…alluring visions are still going through my head, and they won’t stop!
Why yes, I WAS the one who bought the x-ray glasses from the back of the comic books; why do you ask?
I promise I’ll read the article and respond later. Maybe I can learn something about tires…
My rules are:
Never buy Michelin. They go out of round long before the tread wears out in my experience.
Never buy cheap tires.
I usually buy Goodyear, but they go out of round too. All tires are bad and never perform as advertised.
I’ve bought all sorts of brands of tires over the years and I’ve never ended up with a bad set of tires. It usually comes down to price and availability.
97escort –
I think that’s a humorous observation. I think Michelin has some of the most expensive tires on the market, and some of them are total crap, but they usually have the most consistent balancing of any tire maker….because of the methods they use to “glue” the tire together.
Michelin and Pirelli’s, from what I understand, have some of the better manufacturing practices for long-term tire balance.
Joe
Doesn’t Consumer Reports have some relatively objective reviews?
Actually, I think most people don’t put that much thought into their tires. They accept the tires that come with the new car. Then they go to Costco and buy whatever fits their budget.
Funny how manufacturers always seem to stick the wrong tyres on. Changing from the useless Firestone Firehawks to Bridgestone Potenza G009s were miles quieter on a Focus.
All too true. I had a similar conversation with the Bridgestone reps at last years Chicago show. They said they’d just had a winter tire comparison for journalists. (Which reminds me, I meant to get in touch with them and attend this year’s event…oops.)
Even then, what’s a non-journalist to do?
Best I’ve found are the tests performed by TireRack. But I’d much prefer the ability to personally test drive the things.
I don’t think user reviews are stuffed by the manufacturers. Unlike a small time merchant, a company like Michelin would suffer too much if they got caught stuffing the ballot box. A tire merchant–that might be a different story.
Consumer Reports makes a good effort at testing and reporting on tires. Of course their results aren’t gospel truth, but I find them to be one very useful bit of raw data with which to work. Between Consumer Reports and lengthy reading of Tirerack tests and reviews I’ve generally been able to find choice I’m happy with.
My one disappointment was Yokohama Avid H4S tires on our Accord. The ride, handling and noise expectations were spot on, but those suckers wore out much faster than the Michelins they replaces even though the Yokos had a higher treadwear rating.
It is always a bit of a crap shoot though. You don’t know how a set of tires is going to perform until you use them on your car.
I peruse a combination of Tire Rack’s reviews, their customer surveys/’reviews’, the testimony of forum members (NASIOC mainly), Consumer Reports and lately (and perhaps bizarrely), the German Automobile Association’s (ADAC) reviews. ADAC’s reviews are in German, so they have to go through babelfish for me to comprehend. I’m not sure if ADAC are more or less susceptible to the same factors that sway reviews elsewhere, but they do seem to be very thorough (some might say stereotypically German). The downside is that not everything they review is available in the US, and vice versa
I too liked the Conti Extreme Contacts other readers here have praised -they do get noisy as they wear though. The runflat Winter Contacts on my Cooper S have been pretty good too.
I think some of us need to get lives here. Tires are round, and black, and hold the car up off the road. Yes, yes, I know, we invented tire comparison tests when I was at Car and Driver two generations ago, and I’m not suggesting you buy some Korean crap that’s been pre-coated with ArmorAll, but jeez, do people really have that little to do that they’re that hysterical about tire choices?
I think condom choices are _much_ more important. Bread choices. Juice choices. Wine choices. Okay, I take that back, there’s another area where bullshit rules…
Stephan,
4 card-sized patches of rubber that withhold 2500-5000 pounds of steel and bodies away from other objects are not worthy of strong consideration and careful selection?
A ~1 square foot of rubber that is the main determiner of your ability to make emergency manuevers, stop quickly, navigate snow and ice (for those in such an area), and handle large puddles. Those things that keep you from impacting potentially deadly objects, for you or those you hit. Those are less important than condoms?
Ironically, I think the Koreans make some fine tires nowadays :)
But far, far too many people buy their tires from the special-of-the-week rack, not basing them upon their needs or the needs of their vehicle.
Nowadays, there are tons of great tires. But Bridgestone re92’s are still factory equipment on most Subaru’s. And they are still a terrible tire on snow covered roads (oh, you’ll accelerate, but braking is a scary experience). Most people will just keep buying them at $200 a tire….instead of buying a superior tire for $90 a piece…
That’s why knowledge of tires is important.
That and teaching people that a small PSI difference, unable to be seen by the naked eye, can make the difference between life and death. And good fuel economy :)
Joe
Well, my point was not that tires aren’t important but that judging them is a black art, like judging wine. All of us can tell a truly terrible wine from a $250 bottle, that’s easy. But when people start debating the merits of six $250 bottles, I think there are a very few who actually know what they’re talking about and lot who simply think they do or even just make believe they do.
If I am on a forum in the presence of dozens and dozens of drivers, within a relatively arbitrarily selected set, who have the butt-cheek calibration to seriously debate the merits of various tires, I am awed. (And quite obviously, I don’t have that talent.) But I suspect that’s not the case.
And that’s fair. I think if you pick 6 tires at random in any given “set”, right now, that you’ll find 1-2 that should not be considered by a reasonable person.
We’ve come along way since the 70’s as far as tires are concerned, but now we pilot the vehicles much faster through the same conditions…
Tires have saved my butt, lost to the laws of physics and spun me into a fallen tree, and were unable to cope with 4 tons trying to stop from 60 in 120 feet.
Since those things, I’ve learned that tires are probably the most important aspect of the car, as the car is almost always able to outpower, outbrake, or outhandle the tires you put on it…
Joe
Bridgestone HP50. I need say no more. Wait-I will. The roundest, quietest, and best roadholding tire I have ever had. EVER. And this is with 33 years of buying tires. 53000 miles later, I still have a bit of tread left, but they were meticulously maintained. Rotation is critical.
Kevin,
Bear in your mind that your small review has no bearing on what the tire is ACTUALLY like without a description of the car they are mounted on (is it 2000 pounds, 3000, 4000 pounds….are they mounted on 15×6 wheels in a 195/70/15 size?), your driving habits, the tire pressure you keep them inflated at, etc.
Otherwise “they are the best tires ever and have lasted for XXXXX miles” means nothing. If you only buy tires once every 5-6 years, then yes, I would expect a brand new tire to be better than any other before it. That’s progress. 15 year old tires SHOULD NOT be as good as tires produced now.
Joe
I rarely get involved with commenting on sites like this, But, I bought nexen 702’s all round for the 2000 Buick LeSabre I drive. I live in central Ontario so we get some good snow and rain. While these tires are a bit louder that my old ones (continentals) these handle my aggressive driving quite well. Had a nerfelburger stop in front of me on Hwy11 in a downpour in the fall cause he saw a deer some 60 yards off in the bush and the new tires slowed me down and allowed me to get around this citiot so he could enjoy his Kodak moment. I was sold on them after that. They are, however quite a bit louder on concrete highways a la Pennsylvania. If you can live with that they will work well on your heavy car.