Beyond the Dodge Ram truck with 20 turbos and slammed, mid-engined Hummers is a part of the SEMA experience that most car enthusiasts here are likely to avoid: the Global Tire Expo. While it lacks the flash and excitement of some of the other halls, its importance to the average American consumer is hard to overstate.
All the badges at SEMA identify who you are, so mine has a little green strip at the bottom that says “MEDIA.” In some parts of the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center, this grants me some level of status. Car builders want to reach content creators, both to show off their work and to justify the expense. But there are huge halls where the key signifier is the red strip that says “BUYER.”
Many of the vendors from various Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Cambodian, and other tire manufacturers took one glance at my badge and quickly looked away. Because I didn’t represent a regional tire chain like Mavis Tire, I couldn’t do anything for them.
Tires are an expense that most people can’t delay for long, and it’s one of the few areas left in retail where there’s a high percentage of independent and regional chains. That means there’s still space for competition from various manufacturers, but it also means that buyers have to be aware of how tariffs are suddenly impacting costs.
Do You Know Where Your Tires Were Made?
If you’re reading The Autopian, it probably means you’re an enthusiast, so you may only put nicer tires on your car (unless you’re David, and you buy the cheapest A/Ts at Walmart [Ed note: Those tires are made in the U.S. and not subject to tariffs! -DT]). Tire manufacturers and sellers talk in terms of tiers, with brands like Michelin and Continental at the top as “Tier 1” tire suppliers. Below that are slightly more affordable “Tier 2” tires, like a Firestone or Uniroyal. These are always shifting, but if you can recognize the name of a tire, it’s probably at least a “Tier 3” tire. Think Nankang.
And then there are the “Tier 4” tires. These are brands you don’t think about until you have to think about them, and that’s probably the first time you replace the original tires that came on your car. Then, all of a sudden, you’re driving out of your regional tire company with a set of Roadlux rubber.
The mix of distributors here at SEMA makes sense when you look at who imported the most tires last year. According to the industry trade publication Modern Tire Dealer, the biggest importers in 2024 were Thailand, Mexico, Vietnam, Indonesia, Canada, South Korea, and Cambodia.
With everything getting more expensive, the buyers for these tire chains were looking for tire manufacturers (and tire accessory companies) who could help keep costs down.
How Style Is Making Tires More Expensive
I spoke with a representative of a Chinese and Vietnamese tire manufacturer who provides a tire for nearly every passenger application, ranging from your basic all-season tire to ultra-high-performance tires. These tires are sold under various names and, if a tire installer wants to order enough, the company will even slap a custom brand on the sidewall (the volumes are too high for us to do an Autopian tire, unfortunately).
He explained to me that, with OEMs trying to fill the wheel wells with ever bigger wheels, there’s a sticker shock that comes when a consumer wants to replace the 20-inch Continental tires on their crossover and comes to discover that replacing them is the equivalent of 2-3 car payments.
All of a sudden, that customer might not care that those Continentals are suddenly being chucked in exchange for a set of LingLongs. Walking around his tire offerings, there was really a tire for everything.
His company’s UHD tire looked curiously like a perfect replacement for a Michelin Pilot Sport 2, which is a $300 tire depending on application. His tires? About $89-$120 a pop, wholesale.
Will those prices go up? The tires he’s important are made by a Chinese company with manufacturing in Vietnam, where he says the current tariff is around 19%.
Tire Tariffs Aren’t New, But They’re Making Everything More Expensive
While there hasn’t been as wide-ranging a tariff regime as this one since the early 20th century, it’s not like tariffs haven’t been regularly used by various administrations. Back in 2009, then-President Obama instituted a tariff on Chinese tires. More recently, the Trump administration announced another round of tire tariffs targeted at medium- and heavy-duty trucks to go along with the more recent tariffs on tires and other parts for regular passenger vehicles.
As another article in Modern Tire Dealer notes, it’s becoming hard for dealers not to pass on those prices, as one of the retailers interviewed for the article noted:
It depends where (the tires) are coming from. We try to keep a tier-one, tier-two, tier-three and we dabble in tier-four. A lot of our tires are from Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia. Companies are watching their costs more closely.”
Watkins says he’s been forced to pass some tire costs onto his retail customers, adding that the price of “everything else is going up, too. Fuel, insurance, my payroll — all of that goes up, so I can’t afford not to pass it on. And most of the level-headed customers we have understand why we’re doing it. Their prices are going up, too.
Here’s more from an April story in Rubber World Magazine:
A record 63.4% of tires sold in the U.S. last year were imported. With tariffs ranging from 26% to 46% on tires from these countries, consumers can expect higher prices at the checkout. JPMorgan analysts have warned that the full effect of these price increases may not be felt immediately, as companies stocked up on tires before the tariffs were announced.
While domestic tire producers might see a slight net benefit from reduced competition, they are also facing tariffs on the import of raw materials like rubber. This dual impact could lead to increased production costs and supply chain disruptions, further complicating the market dynamics.
It’s hard to pin down exactly what the costs will be to the average consumer because a lot of it depends on how much stock a company has and which country the tires are actually coming from. It’s also a moving target, because tariffs with various countries seem to change on a whim.
This, coupled with the fact that people are holding onto cars longer, means there are more folks driving cars that aren’t worth a lot, so there’s likely to be more demand for Tier 4 tires both by consumers and retailers. This might help keep prices down for some consumers a little longer while tariff costs are still being evaluated, but likely not forever.
Top graphic image: Matt Hardigree
Trump’s Tariffs!
Anyone installing Chinese branded tires on their high performance car is playing Russian Roulette. BTW Chinese companies are famous for laundering Chinese made products through Vietnam, so don’t believe the labeling.
I SAW A RAM TRX FRIDAY WITH SOME CHINA TIRES AND SOME SUPER SHITTY 20 INCH AFTERMARKET WHEELS TO GO WITH IT!! it’s sunday and i think my eye might still be twitching!
First of all, you already have probably the most unique truck on the road right now there is no need to customize it further to show your individuality . Second of all you are going to customize a 100,000 truck “on a budget” WUUUT.
3rd of all there was a lot of engineering that went into wheel and tire selection and with 800+ horsepower you are likely to BREAK THE BEAD ON YOUR DAMN TIRES WITH THOSE SHITTY ASS WHEELS. holy crap.
FWIW I have a set of UHP Chinese tires on my Civic Type R, the Vitour P1s. For their target goal of track times and grip they are at the top of the pack. That isn’t even my subjective feelings either, Grassroots Motorsports and Tire Rack have done independent testing, and they perform extremely well. I won’t be running them next year, but that’s because I am doing less track time and mostly just autocross. The compound needs more heat to activate than I can typically get on our short local courses. Extreme Performance Summer Tires Road Course Test Report
Up until a couple of years ago we had a local shop with 4 locations, and a couple of independents and a couple of chains, and one mom and pop outfit that was really great. Pop and the local chain owner all retired about the same time. Now we have some really generically named places like Tire and Brake Center and Big Brand Tire & Service. Not sure where I will go when my tires reach replacement time.
Tire Rack is great. If you buy wheels as well, they will mount and balance them, so you only need to put them on your vehicle.
If you buy just the tires, an independent shop will mount and balance them for you, and you can shop around for a reasonable price.
The independent shops where I live mostly sell the cheapest (wholesale price) tires.
I only buy from tire rack now (though Amazon is coming in hot on their heels for price) and I use a mobile installer to put them on. It used be the case that tire rack would provide the mobile installer, but since they were bought out, you have to find your own now (not sure how that improved anything).
I’ll give a third vote for Tire Rack to buy the tires. They also conduct, and publish, actual tire testing; on real carsc across different similar tires. It’s a little hard sometimes to cross-compare tires from one test event to another test event, but hey, at least they are producing real data, and offering good prices!
It takes a little longer to get them shipped to a local shop, and a bit more work to get scheduled with the local shop, and you pay the shop to install, so overall the prices end up similar.
However, walking into a local shop you get to choose from whatever that shop happens to have in your size, usually either an exorbitantly priced Tier 1, or a no-name Tier 4. With Tire Rack, I know exactly what I’m getting.
This yet another complaint I have with the new car market. A new Civic Hybrid only comes with 18-inch wheels! On a Civic. Why? Obviously for looks, but the down sides don’t justify the larger size at all. More expensive, worse ride, more flats…
Yes! They make the ride worse, reduce efficiency, and tires more expensive and easier to break.
I intended to replace my Bolt’s 17” wheels with the 15” ones from a Sonic, but I had to ge tire tires in a hurry when a branch on the road in the dark caused a bubble.
I did that for winter wheels. Just a tip – there is not enough clearance between the front brake caliper and the wheel if the tire shop used stick on weights. They will have to use the kind that go on the rim.
Doing it again I would go with 16 inch wheels.
This is important news! Thank you
I’ll second what Jason said. My Mazda came with 18s, and on my turbo AWD model OEM 16s barely clear (by about 1 or 2mm) the caliper with stick on weights. If I eventually want to do a BBK, I can’t use the OEM 16s that I have at all and the 18s I purchased to replace the damaged wheels that were on the car when I bought it will require a 12mm spacer.
Room to grind down the caliper edge for clearance?
If I keep the stock brakes, yes. If I go to a BBK, they use a bigger rotor and no.
If tariffs keep LingLongs off Altimas and Rogues in favor of Goodyears or Kumhos – I’m okay with that.
Meanwhile it looks like Vredesteins will still be relatively affordable – despite them going up less than $100 for a set between fall 2024 ($642 installed) and the ones they replaced from spring 2021 ($568 installed) – both from Tire Rack.
Americans are equally capable of making incredibly bad tires.
Which is why I left Firestone off the list.
I have never had a set of Firestone tires I didn’t hate. There were Destination ATs on my truck that were… okay, if I’m being charitable. It never got stuck in the mud, but they were kinda terrible anywhere else. There were Firehawks on my Blazer when I bought it (why?) and those were immediately replaced the first time we got snow. I wasn’t a fan of them even in warm weather. My parents’ car had some form of Firestones on it originally and I hated those too. Mercifully they’ve been replaced with some Michelin CrossClimates.
My parents had a new set of Firestone 500s installed on Mom’s Monterey prior to our relocation from Michigan to California the summer of 1977.
Two blowouts occurred along the way – first somewhere in Iowa, the other out in the Nevada desert.
We finally arrived in Reno/Sparks on two of the snow tires Dad had in the back of his F100 for some reason – and new tires had to be purchased there.
Soon after, there was the big recall – but Firestone wouldn’t honor it without the destroyed tires in our possession.
How many years later did Firestone do the same thing with Ford Explorers?
Mom insisted on Michelins ever after.
‘Cause why not, right?
The knifes been twisted so many times it’s f**king dull.
Tariffs and pissing off former reliable trading partners. Welcome to the new reality.
Discount Tire has been side-eyeing my 5-year-old Michelins like they were ticking time bombs. Only 15K miles on them, but after the third screw found its way into the same tire, they threw in the towel and said, ‘We can’t fix it anymore.’ Luckily, I had their tire insurance, so I got a new set of Pilot Sports for $1,187.
Of course, they hit me with the modern sales script: ‘You can’t be driving on 5-year-old tires,’ and, naturally, ‘your wiper blades are shot’—which was funny since I literally just replaced them. I wanted to stretch the tires another year, but with prices creeping up, I guess my procrastination finally paid off for once.
I was advised to put new tires on my large truck for safety reasons and sent to a very competitive place.
Their preferred off brand just went up 50% in one price change.
No reason, no excuse, they just decided they can get away with it.
And off off Broadway brands started getting the same price jumps.
These are semi tires, though this is not in that weight class.
It is considered very dangerous to lose a tire in front, so better not to find out.
Some of those off brand but acceptable tires had doubled in price in a short time.
There is no reasonable explanation, and these were not dealer increases.
This was well before the Democrats insisted on electing Trump, yet again.
More significantly, I got a screw in a tire on my pickup, easy but annoying repair.
I called Discount Tire, and they said they would do it free, or at a low price if it was a more complex patch.
I get there and wait and wait, then they say they have bad news, my fairly new tires are too old, and they won’t touch them except to replace them, for “safety reasons”.
So I go to a nearby Walmart that has some competent people in their auto area.
Surprize, surprize, now they’re giving me the same con job.
They tell me it’s Walmart orders, and the guy I know admits it’s a scam.
Tells me he can’t repair the tire.
Independent shop nearby, same scam.
I start hitting small shops.
Find a well run Mexican shop and they are making bank off the people needing repairs that are being scammed by the chains.
I’m still doing business there.
The pickup tires are high profile 17″s.
Possibly more common than 16s now.
I think all this is possible because of the lack of manufacturing in this country, and long term slack control of criminal conduct by companies.
I don’t know what it will take, but we all know business as usual wasn’t helping, and the Democrats make it clear they will not change a thing.
I think some companies should start getting the death penalty for their actions, and prison for their management.
Corporate policies that screw people are normal in all parts of the economy. I feel your anger. It is not so much one party or another’s issue, it’s been the same old story since 1776: The rich elites and the rest of us. The rich and their corporate friends control the markets and the rules. The two party system is just to keep up the image of choice. Corporations make a policy that all the tire repairs are now “not safe” and so you are forced into new tires. I went through that situation twice. It’s maddening.
The patched tires are still on the truck doing fine.
I had one that just needed reseating.
You may notice a lot of retailers have hit a wall.
With pay too low and companies trying to cut jobs, there is just no more money.
Many have changed habits permanently.
I know people that simply won’t buy from Amazon, period.
Most manufacturers recommend changing tires after 6 years regardless of tread wear because rubber degrades over time. Large tire shops aren’t going to go against manufacturer recommendations. There is no upside to risking a multi-million dollar lawsuit to save you a buck.
There is not a lack of manufacturing in the USA. We manufacture more in the USA than we ever have. We are the 2nd largest manufacturer in the world – which makes sense as we are the 2nd largest economy. We manufacture more automobiles in the USA than during peak auto worker employment back in the mid-70’s.
However, we do all this manufacturing with WAY less people. As an example the green sand foundry I worked at in Alabama was producing twice the product with 1/3 of the employees they had in the 70’s. Automated mold making, automated melt, automated pour, automated shake out. The only thing really manual in the foundry side is cutting parts off the injection sprue. Then there is the machining side. They used to have lines and line of manual machines that did one thing with a worker standing in front of them. Now a part goes into a CNC and comes out finished. One worker runs 4-5 CNCs.
This is no different than the what happened to farming. At the start of the 1800’s more than 80% of the US workers were in agriculture. That dropped to 30% by the end of the century. Today it is 1 – 2% but we produce way more food than when almost everyone was a farmer.
When agriculture industrialized those workers moved to the city and worked in factories. Now those factories don’t need very many humans. It is yet to be determined what those extra workers will do. They have been moving to services but those jobs are being automated too.
Just look at Amazon. They are the 2nd largest employer in the USA but are looking to almost completely automate their distribution centers and cut 75% of their employment in less than a decade. Like the factory before it, an Amazon warehouse was a place that someone with a high-school education could walk on the job with no training and make multiples of minimum wage and have health insurance. In the near future you will either drive a delivery van or need to be a robotics tech.
I don’t have a solution that fits our capitalist mindset in the USA. The most obvious solution to having more more workers than work is to reduce the work week and boost pay. That is what we did a century ago. There is also the idea of universal basic income. What I do know is that the pace of automation is only going to increase. I see it in the factories I work in every day.
Why can’t I buy what I want made in the USA then?
Much of our critical manufacturing infrastructure no longer exists here.
The Co-op used to be able to order the us made iron tools I wanted, at barely higher prices, but they gradually became unavailable.
Crescent iron tools are Chinese now and not good.
Prices on used tools are skyrocketing.
If automation works, why can’t I buy quality without shipping it from Europe or Japan?
I met an accountant that wrote a book on American wealth.
He calculated that the government gave away enough wealth annually to pay every citizen a dividend of $30,000 a year.
That was in the 80s and he may have done the math much earlier.
I don’t think he is wrong.
Regarding arbitrary tire replacement schedules conjured up by the very unbiased corporations profiting off wasteful early replacement, there is not a more transparent scam out there.
Are they deliberately building unsafe tires that harden or dry rot for profit?
Why do I often run across antique tires that are soft and holding air, as newer tires fail in warehouses?
I am quite capable of assessing grip and performance myself, as well as the quality of a tire repair.
Not everyone can drop up to a thousand dollars for a new pair of tires, on the We-Say-so orders from a tire company.
My liability insurance costs more than my running costs, and I mean all of them.
If people can’t get tires repaired, they will buy even older tires instead of missing work, or being unable to go to the grocery, or doctor.
You absolutely can buy US made tools if you want them. At work we use Proto brand tools (owned by Stanley) that are made Texas and Georgia. We also buy plenty of Stanley’s US made automation tools that cost hundreds to millions of dollars.
Want to by some US made boots. Danner is located right here in Portland and will be happy to sell you US made boots. You will pay a premium over their imported versions. (Mine are 9 years old and have been resoled twice)
However, in general, the USA has moved up the manufacturing ladder to high value, high technology products like Boeing jets, GE industrial gas turbines and GPS guided John Deere tractors instead of low value commodity products like wrenches and boots.
You do have to look if you want US made commodity products and be willing to pay more. Try a site like
https://saygoodbyetochina.com/not-made-in-china/categories/mechanics-tools/
Your accountant’s claim doesn’t base the most basic check. In 1980 the total US federal spending was $590 billion. Population was 226 million. That is $2,605 spent per person.
Nobody says you have to buy new tires. Tire installers are saying THEY aren’t going to take on the liability to patch YOUR old tires. Want to patch them yourself – have at it. Want to find some mom and pop shop that will do the job – knock yourself out. There is no law saying you can’t patch a tire but there are companies saying they aren’t going to take on that risk. That is their choice even if you don’t like it.
I buy a lot of proto tools and they are usually labeled as imported.
I have been satisfied with them however.
Perhaps they have some two tier sales?
The numbers from the accountant refer to assets given away, not cash spent.
I think he was conservative in estimates.
There is no question to me that both Walmart and discount tire never intended to repair anything.
It was obvious from their behaviour.
The tires are fairly new and show no age at all. They’re still in warranty but too far away from the store that sold them.
If they have no intention of repairing, they shouldn’t invite you to come in for it.
It is criminal fraud, ie bait and switch.
I won’t be buying any tires from places that don’t repair, unless they are shipping only.
I bought two front tires from the Mexican shop that did my repairs.
I have tires on my small trailer no one stocks, same for other cars.
Some things you can’t afford to have off the road.
For what it’s worth, all I could get in 13 in was Chinese or heavy duty Carlisle, which I prefer.
Couldn’t wait, so got the better Chinese tire, $35 shipped.
Still looking good.
Bet I can’t get anything good at that price now!
“This was well before the Democrats insisted on electing Trump, yet again”
You have the party wrong. No self-respecting Democrat would ever vote for Trump.
And most of the voters who did are now regretting their decision.
Politics should stay out of here, but from my interpretation, I think this is a back-handed comment that the Democrats: after looking across the political landscape; assessing what was causing people in the middle to shift right and to actually consider Trump a viable option; observing that many people were more worried about their own domestic social and financial security than they were about foreign allies and long-term environmental policies; recognizing growing mainstream push-back against some social policies… thereby chose to ignore all of that and nominate the furthest left, most un-electable candidate possible; thereby handing Trump the election.
But I could be wrong and I apologize for delving into politics.
In my experience among my peers, the main complaint is that the democratic party is *too conservative* and has been shooting itself in the foot by endlessly chasing a vanishingly small percentage of “centrist” voters (and still pandering to corporations/the military-industrial complex), thus alienating their actual base of progressive young voters, who instead vote for truly unelectable fringe candidates or just don’t vote at all out of frustration that no candidate actually represents their interests.
As journalism has declined or vanished, perhaps many people no longer have the tools to parse real politics, or understand how it works, and the very real ways it affects them.
It’s far deeper than that, and the obliviousness of voters convinced only bad people disagree with them is what has pushed even apathetic voters to hold their nose and back away.
The Democratic party is actively cannibalizing itself without remorse by vilifying most citizens.
The total intolerance for diversity in the Democratic party while cosplaying orwellian slogans has destroyed their credibility with everyone paying attention to their actions.
Those who simply leave the party and vote independent aren’t being counted now, but they are legion.
As a lifelong democratic voter, active with Acorn and legal protests and activism, the Democrats deny I exist.
The party is no longer recognizable.
When I point out the obvious, that the Democrats elected Trump, I am being literal.
My votes are based on the actions and openly stated intentions of the Democrats.
Their problem is they have shown what they intend.
Being a traditional Democrat now makes me a fascist to the “Democratic” party.
I voted for Obama twice.
I deeply regret that.
I can’t imagine a path that will regain any credibility for them.
“Trump bad” seemed to stop working.
It’s rather sad.
They nominated a black/asian woman with a Jewish husband which managed which upset a whole lot of people for a variety of terrible reasons. The people who weren’t bothered by that thought she was far too conservative.
Shopping for snow tires for the first time in my life, I recently found out about two brands I’d never seen before: Nokian and Nordman. They’re not cheap–comparable to Michelin or Pirelli. What “tier” are those, and how large are those manufacturers?
Never heard of Nordman. Nokian is from Finland and is a highly regarded brand of winter tires.
Nokian are as good as it gets for snow tires.
My Hakkapeliitta R5s are quite good.
Nordman are Nokian’s second, sligthly cheaper brand
Nokian has a large plant in Tennessee.
Nokian is a Tier 1 supplier, the Hakkapeliita line is extremely popular in Canada (Kal Tire loves to recommend them) and they are very well-known for their ice braking performance.
Nordman is their Tier 2 brand, sort of like how General is the North American tier 2 counterpart to Continental
Mostly on this topic, I’m curious what folks here think of Vredestein tires. The Quatrac Pro+ looks like a good alternative to the Michelin Cross Climate 2 for a 3PMSF at a much lower price and I’m trying to determine if they’re a legitimate option.
I’ve seen Vredestein referenced favorably over the years. I look at them kind of like Nokian – not all that well known in the US but not a bad tire.
Tire Rack runs tests. They tested the Quatrac Pro versus the Cross Climate 2 and others last year. Seems the Vredestein performed pretty well.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/premium-touring-tires-to-elevating-the-journey?ttid=336
I ordered a set of Vredesteins for my Citation X-11 about 40 years ago, phoning it in to a company with an advertisement in the back of Road & Track. Yes, I think that was Tire Rack. These days I base most of my tire research on the long running tests documented by Consumer Reports and Tire Rack. It puzzles me that people won’t spend one or two hundred dollars more for a better set of something as vital as their tires.
I put some quatrac pro+ for my car, because I had quatrac 5 on a previous car and they were terrific tires. The quatrac pro+ so far seem to be even better. They’re quiet with a nice ride, and have way better wet traction than the Conti’s they replaced. The 5’s were pretty impressive in snow/ice as well, so I have high hopes there. I always head towards Vredestein’s if they’re an option.
I had the quatrac pros on my Kia optima SX and they were fantastic handling tires with a soft ride. Not the most quiet but they ended up cracking due to dry rot, but my car was not moving for most of the pandemic. Your mileage may vary. I’ve had one Discount Tire employee say they are a low quality tire but it was the baby-employee of the store. I replaced them with pirelli’s because they had a good rebate at Tire Rack.
We’ve had Vredestein Wintrac winter tires on a CUV for now the 6th and probably last winter season, VERY happy with them. It’s going to be time to replace them for next season but we’ll run them this winter and probably just leave them on over the summer, but the dropoff in performance over time was very linear and reasonable. Quiet, very good perfomance. Solid choice.
Got some Vredestein HiTrac all-seasons and they’re fine. They were my midrange pick but they’re down to 4/32 at around 23k miles
I have Vredestein Quatrac Pro+ on my C300 and I love them. Superior ride and great all-weather traction.
Plus, they were made in Hungary so low tariffs because Trump has a bro-crush on their fascist president.
Wow – thanks for all of the responses. This is all super helpful and a credit to the community here.
My wife has the CC2 on her e46 vert, we have the similar Goodyear tire (weather ready?) on the minivan , and this gives me some confidence to add the Quatrac Pro+ into the mix on the e39 (and save some money while I’m at it.) I don’t love snow, but I might hope for a little this winter to see how they all work, haha.
I have had Vredestein Hypertraks since moving east from CA.
I have found them to be superior to the Pirellis and Continentals which Mercedes-Benz have been selling me for the CLK – particularly for longevity and wet-weather traction.
I used to need to replace the rears every 2 years and the fronts every three – whereas the entire set of Vredesteins lasted 3.5 years.
I just put Quatrac Pro+ on my GR Corolla after the OEM Michelin summer tires wore through. So, my only basis of comparison is those summer tires. That said, the Vredesteins have greatly improved the following:
+Going over bumps is way softer/comfier
+Road noise is actually very decreased. The radio seems louder, is how much it’s gone down.
Some things are worse, as you’d expect:
-Cornering performance. Safe speeds are down compared to the summer tires. The biggest difference is that soft sidewall that adds so much comfort is also adding a lot more wobbliness into the car on corners. Not as chuckable.
-Dry traction down? Not sure on this one. It seems worse overall but some situations it is better? Straight line traction is generally not a problem for the GR with the AWD. Mostly shows up when the road has bumps or rapid changes. In those cases the Vredesteins sometimes absorb and maintain grip better while others the Michelins were superior.
Oddities:
*The power distribution I normally stuck with on the Michelins was 30/70, almost exclusively. I still generally use the 30/70 mode by default, but I find myself using the 50/50 and 60/40 modes more frequently and enjoying them with the Vredesteins. I think it’s the added wiggliness in the sidewall that is encouraging me to have more stability occasionally.
The bulk of these impressions are based on my daily commute on back roads, so I’ve been able to really pick apart the spots in the drive that have changed. Overall I am quite happy with the Vredesteins. They’ve improved the weak points of the car (comfort/noise) and the car is so very sporty that taking a bit of the edge off still leaves it very rambunctious.
I just had a set of Quatrac Pro+ installed on my ’22 Mazda3 (FWD) last week. My early impression is that the ride seems a good bit softer and quieter vs the OEM Toyo Proxes A40 (which were, admittedly, down to the wear bars). The reviews on Tire Rack sold me on the Vredesteins. I wanted an all-season tire with good wet and snow ratings for commuting, and they fit the bill without breaking the bank. I haven’t had a chance to try them out on a rainy commute yet, but I was out running errands in the rain last night and they handled it just fine.
I work for Firestone as a tech. We already sell very few of our decent tires, at least at our location – it’s SureDrives (manufactured by Hankook iirc) all day every day. In fact, after telling a customer just Thursday they had cords showing out of one side of one tire (so they need an alignment at least and likely suspension work on this particular vehicle), they were not interested and only wanted to know how to stop it sounding “like a truck” (exhaust leak, still waiting for manifold to come in).
Man, even back when I worked at Goodyear as a tech 20 years ago so many people just wanted something “black, round, and holds air”. They couldn’t give two damns about performance, they just wanted it cheap. “Sure thing, here’s our finest selections of Kelly and Republics!”. Now at the dealer we just try and give a good, better, best. “Good” is definitely the volume seller.
Have you tried “crap (will kill you), good, excellent”? That would push customers into the higher price bracket.
Pay is artificially low, while prices are artificially high.
Many people can’t cover expenses any longer.
Can confirm. “40 (hours worked) for 30 (hours paid)” is the rule we live by. And it’s not just a saying. We literally only get paid for 30 hours if we work 40 or more hours.
Or maybe you meant more than just techs, but we specifically are subjected to literal wage theft.
Please flesh out that statement a bit. How does your pay drop if you work 40 hours?
That’s not what I said. I said we have to work 40 or more hours to get paid for 30 hours. My *wage* effectively goes down for any additional clock hours, but my absolute pay does not go down (or up).
Ah, I thought there was something specific happening at 40 hours. You also mentioned wage theft so I thought your employer might be doing something especially dodge.
I assume you are talking being paid based on book time for a job instead of the actual hours it takes?
Personally I think everyone should be paid hourly.
The vast majority of my life I’ve been a salaried employee which also means all the overtime is unpaid. On the other hand my European counterparts have a 35 hour work week and are either paid overtime or one for one extra vacation time for every hour worked over 35. They also start with 6 weeks of paid vacation. There is a reason our Return on Sales is double theirs.
I meant everyone, but I am well aware of the issues in repair.
I often try to hire specialists directly.
I know a Nissan tech, top mechanic at a dealer, all the certifications.
They commonly try to pay someone with less experience, at lower pay, to short him on hours.
Obviously this regularly backfires when they can’t diagnose it, then they hand it off to him anyway.
He says even Nissan is trying to max out all profit in the first 50,000 miles on new cars.
He has started working independently when they don’t keep him busy.
Are prices going to go up certainly. These businessmen can say they are against it but they realize once the price comes down they don’t have to follow at least not the whole way. When are they going to come down you ask? I can’t say why but I would guess the last 3 months of 2026. As for the tariffs yes they are on tires and raw materials but you will only be hit with one or the other.
Do you really believe prices will come down after tariffs go down? That’s cute.
I am pretty sure that they will go down or disappear a few months before the midterm elections
That’s a good point. However I doubt retailers will reduce prices. They didn’t after covid shortages ended.
Some did, others did not. Depends on the product.
The tariffs might go away but the higher prices won’t. Material costs take months to filter down to the retail customer
I don’t know if I’m tired from all the winning or if I am just tired.
OMG. I might love you. Perfect.
Tube or tubeless, that’s the question.
“He explained to me that, with OEMs trying to fill the wheel wells with ever bigger wheels, there’s a sticker shock that comes when a consumer wants to replace the 20-inch Continental tires on their crossover and comes to discover that replacing them is the equivalent of 2-3 car payments.”
Yeah I specifically have avoided vehicles that have stupid oversized wheels with rubber band tires.
And on some vehicles in the past (such as my Honda Fit Sport which had a weird sized lower profile tire), I bought a set of used steelies so I could install a tire that was in the much cheaper and more common size used in the base model.
My C-Max currently has 17″ wheels. And I know that other variants of the C-Max in the world have 16″ wheels with tires in sizes that are cheaper and will clear the brakes/suspension.
Haven’t decided if I’m gonna go to a smaller wheel when the time comes to replace my tires.
I do know one thing… I won’t get the noisy, but long-lasting directional Michelin Crossclimate tires which came with my car.
Will likely get General Altimax RT45 tires that I’ve had good experience with on past cars.
And yeah… Tariffs will make things for consumers.
And to the Americans here… any politician that says that Tariffs are a good idea is a politician that is saying that higher taxes are a good idea.
Think about that (among other things) before you vote in the mid-term elections next year
Actually it would be refreshing to hear a politician argue that higher taxes are a good thing.
So you are saying both parties are screwing us. Trump with the Tariffs and DNC with the any tax is a good tax.
That and the fact that neither party represents us so much as they do lobbyists and the highest bidders.
I’ve had good luck with Generals. An under rated brand IMO.
I like the GMAX HPAS, too, and I’ve got them several times off Tire Rack with $100 rebates, which makes them great deals. Not as good as the Continental EC DWS06, but usually a lot cheaper, well rounded, and I like a little less overall dry grip for the street.
Manwich, for the Ford there’s not enough price difference or cost savings between 17 and 16 inch tires to justify even a cheap used set of wheels. This isn’t like shopping tires for an option packaged 255 40 21 Audi against a base 235 55 19, for example. You may be overthinking that C, buddy.
16’s are about $30 a tire cheaper. Used OEM wheels can often be found for $50 each – then you can sell the 17’s.
I concur with MustBe. I had two mk3 Focuses, an SE with the 17s and ST with 18s and I used 16s for winters on the SE. Price between the 16 and 17 is minimal and I think the ride/handling compromise is better for the 17s. The 18s were more weighted toward handling, but rode decent enough as there’s still some sidewall. I ended up using the 17s on the ST for the winter tires (16s wouldn’t clear the brakes, anyway), but because I had them as the pricing of 17s vs 18s weren’t that far apart. They’re all kind of smaller wheel sizes today. Your car is heavier than the Focus, so there should be even less of a difference between sizes, so IMO, I’d just keep the 17s.
I’ve always found Tire Rack to have a great selection with useful reviews and testing and competitive pricing even with shipping. Their recommended installers are often much cheaper, too, then if you buy direct from the installer. Most of the places around here want $50-75/tire to mount and balance (pre-tariffs, so WTFK going forward), but I’ve been paying $25. You can even have them shipped to the installer, though I have them shipped home, so I can drop them off with the other set of wheels and pick them up at my leisure, plus not have to trust the one kid they have who says he knows how to drive a manual to get my car in and out of the bay.
My installer charges his cost for the tire and $15 for mounting and balancing. I was blessed when I found him. The whole staff of mechanics are great. Whenever I get work done they explain it to me as if I know what they are talking about. LoL but I’ve done 3 engines and 2 transmissions plus so they have got some money from me
Please tell me you’re in central NC and if so, WHO???
I don’t think it’s been $15 here since the turn of the millennium. It was $25 for a while, then it shot up to absurd prices. It’s not like the tire jockeys are getting paid much more for the increases. I nearly bought an old, but decent mounter and balancer cheap from a shop that went under, but they took up too much space. Would have easily paid for them by now, though.
At least in my part of the world, Tire Rack also has mobile installers, so I can hang at Stately Mollusk Manor instead of blowing half a day sitting in Another Major Retailer’s waiting room (WITH an appointment, and without usable wifi), waiting for them to deny scratching my rims – all for about the same if not better price. The guy who covers my neighborhood also has an independent brick and mortar.
edit: Tire Rack will also drop ship to the mobile installer.
You don’t need wi-fi, they have 8 year old Better Homes and Gardens and the Motor Trend Car of the Year 2014 issue to read!
Costco has good prices to. I find they are often the same as Tire Rack.
I needed tires for my motorcycle this summer. The old guy who knew how to talk to customers told me I picked a good week because next week they were skyrocketing. That was in July
Just looked this up but lazy. According to the web I can look at the sidewall to determine where my Continental brand tires were made. They apparently have 4 factories in the US. But again too lazy to look at the sidewall today.
Thankfully buying new tires is not on my to do list for a good long time to come. Hopefully. Current tires are 3 years old and have shown absolutely no signs of wear, or use despite the way I beat the hell out of them.
Since tires are the last actual point of contact to the road I insist on learning each new sets limits as soon as they hit the road. A practice that’s close to 50 years old now.
Hopefully when Orange child leaves, this crap will go away.
A line from a Lord Peter Wimsey novel regarding leaving: Nothing became him in life like the leaving of it. The current occupant will be in this category.
We can only hope for the best. It would be nice to know what his MRI found. I believe it would trigger at 25th amendment proceeding if made public.
Dog, burger, house, camera, lies…and all that stuff.
Appreciate the quote, it’s a good one.
I read this and for some reason “squirrel” popped into my head.
Isn’t orange guy terribly confused by magnets? An MRI might just scramble his brains, or make birds fly into him. Or whales.
The talking yam still hasn’t bought Greenland, wasn’t he going to buy Greenland?
No purchase until all the windmills are removed and the whales can live in peace once more.
He does believe that magnets stop working if you get them wet.
My first car was a 1977 Honda Accord hatch, had 155 SR13 tires. Worked at Sears Auto around 1995, sold a set of Goodyear 12 ” tires for a Ford Festiva, mounted and balanced total was about $150. Those were the days.
I pushed up a lot of purchases this year in advance of things.
One was tires for my new-to-me W204 C63 Edition 507. A great set of Continentals to keep the playful rear a bit more in check by smoothing out the transition off-center better than Michelins. To no surprise, they’ve gone up around 25% since. I’m about to send it out for the winter to refresh everything to get it roughly back to showroom condition, and I’m aware I’ll now spend a fair bit more now than earlier in the year.
The other was a lamp I wanted for nearly 20 years. I was like, “…eff it, get it done.” It’s now 45% more expensive than 7 months ago. 45% more! I may have bought it at the lowest inflation-adjusted price it ever was sold for in the US.
Fun fact: the Lego company is the world’s largest tire manufacturer.
They’re also the world’s smallest tire manufacturer.
“Will those prices go up? The tires he’s important are made by a Chinese company with manufacturing in Vietnam”
I’m assuming you meant the tires he’s imported
I was here to point this out. Guess the weekend crew didn’t catch this…
Just like everything else. Everything gets to cost more! It’s that Oprah meme but with Trump instead.
You make a good point everything Oprah was involved in raised the cost big time
There is a desperate need for low-cost tires. Since my state did away with safety inspections the amount of beaters going down the highway at 80 mph on the temporary donut spare is staggering. And scary! I get away from those cars in traffic asap.
They have a name! It’s “Altima”
They exist – especially in reasonable sizes. Looking at Tire Rack the cheapest 15 inch no-name tire for my Bolt on Sonic wheels is $74 a tire. Firestones for $77. 48 options less than $125 each.
Modest wheel size stay winning. But as mentioned in other comments is planning ahead (with the exception of emergencies) and look for deals. I’ve had good luck ordering 2 sets of tires off Amazon and the local Belle Tire does a great job with mounting.
If you end up buying from Tire Rack, if you have one local, go with their network of installers and have the tires shipped directly to them. The one near me gave a BIG discount on mounting and balancing. Only $60 for the set of four! And they did it perfectly. Plus I didn’t have to schlepp the tires to them. Win-win.
I take the ultimate cheapskate route. Since I’m driving distance to their Delaware distribution center I pick them up and save the sales tax since DE has none.
I buy as much in NH as I can when I am in ME as well for the same reason.
Depends. I’ve looked at downsizing my truck wheels to factory takeoff 18’s instead of the 20’s I have. But to maintain a 33″ tire size, it isn’t cheaper.
I am not sure what you are saying here
He’s trying to get cheaper tires since 18’s are more common. To have the increase sidewall to keep the RPM and speedo correct, but the tires are just as expensive as the 20’’ ones are now. They use to be cheaper.
Nailed it. It used to be you could swap to smaller factory takeoffs and save quite a bit on tires. But I’m finding that to not be the case.
As MikeInTheWoods explained. Smaller wheel size does not always equal cheaper tires. As I’m personally experiencing right now. 33″ tires for 18″ wheels are just as expensive as 33’s for 20″ wheels.
My VX came with 18s but an earlier year model had 16s. The tire cost savings don’t justify the cost of the rims.
I willing to guess that’s probably going to be the case for most vehicles. You probably need 2-3 tire changes to make it break even.
Depends on the vehicle.
I got a set 4 Sonic wheels that fit my Bolt for $200 plus $80 for TPMS sensors. 17 inch Michelin X-Ice winter tires are $226 while the 15 inch version is $156.