re: Are lesser known tires from a bigger brand worth the lesser price?

Most people purchase tires with little knowledge of what they need in a tire.

What is your priority?
- safety in wet weather?
- road noise?
- handling?
- wear duration?
- cost?

A few things don’t matter at all:
1. Cost is not predictive of anything.
2. Brand is not predicative of anything.

Go to one of the tire websites and look at the reviews and ratings on the size tires you need for your specific vehicle.

Then you can shop online or in a store for that SPECIFIC model of tire.

Coopers on my truck

Michelin’s on the Lexus

Pirellis on the Merc

Like someone else said- never cheap-out on your tires

Never purchase a tire that isnt cooper. Wish they were still cheap

quote:

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The cheaper tires use a harder compound to maximize tread life. They may have plenty of tread left at 50,000 miles, but they start slipping and sliding on wet roads. I stick with the higher end tires, they may not last as long, but I will pay for safety.

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This is the truth. I had much better tread life with the Chinese brand, but the Michelins stopped better. Not much better mind you. But I did have 14 wheels stopping. lol

I sell tires. My advice to anyone. Buy the best tire you can afford. I say this not because you’re getting a better tire, you may or may not be, I say it because it doesn’t really matter. For the average driver, you could buy ANY tire that is appropriate for the application, assuming good alignment and steering/suspension parts that aren’t worn out, and get good service. You’re no better off, but you’ll feel better about yourself. Tire snobbery is real.

Razor blades and car/truck tires may be the most overpriced items on the market

Most cheaper are made by larger brands.
Keep em balanced/aligned and drive normal, you'll be fine

OBTUSE PSA:

There are significant differences in the quality of tires on the market. While tires in general are far better than they were 20+ years ago (just like cars) there is still a large divide from lowest to highest quality.

On a daily basis, outside of some hostile working environments where serious PPE is required, your personal vehicle tires are the most critical piece of safety equipment you have and are the most likely to directly impact your short-term health and welfare. Your every control input controlling a mass of more than a ton is carried out by a very small contact patch. They are statistically far more important than the locks on your house or the CCW in your waistband. While I know the economy is tough now and tire prices are significantly inflated I still implore you to not buy cheap tires that are empirically less effective.

This post has not been paid for by big tire.

Generals will probably not kill your but they don’t typically have a good ride. There are bad models of Goodyears, Pirellis, Michelins, etc but they generally will not get you killed

A lot of tire companies have a consolidated tire carcass. The difference comes in the tread cap compound. So whether premium or third tier brand, same carcass.

With today’s CAFE standards, a lot of performance tires give you better fuel mileage but less wear protection. So they make Uncle Sam happy and you also have to buy tires more frequently.