Why do OEM tires sucks?

[mooncancook]

I was reading a lot of reviews on Tirerack when shopping for new tires. I found that most reviews say the OEM tires suck and overpriced, worse than other tires costing half. So why do manufacturers select weak OEM tires for their cars since better tires might help them score better in car reviews?

 

[vi edit]

For a large percentage of people OEM tires are absolutely sufficient. OEM's have to put on a swiss army tire that will work in snow. Work in rain. Work when it's dry. Work on pavement. Work on gravel. The trade off? They don't work great in any one thing. The exception is on sport packages where a performance or summer tire is offered. Otherwise it's typically a jack-of-all-trades all-season.

Most drivers couldn't even tell you what sort of tires are on their car. They don't care. Never will care. They simply know that they will get about 50,000 miles out of them and replace them with something cheap when the OEM's wear out.

It's really only "enthusiasts" who press the point and they want tires that work great under certain conditions but generally suck for everything else. If you put on a high performance summer tire it's like a pig on ice in the winter. Plus you get a fraction of the wear out of them.

It's all about tradeoffs. OEM's take the tradeoff of performance for utility and durability.

 

[Jahee]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
For a large percentage of people OEM tires are absolutely sufficient. OEM's have to put on a swiss army tire that will work in snow. Work in rain. Work when it's dry. Work on pavement. Work on gravel. The trade off? They don't work great in any one thing. The exception is on sport packages where a performance or summer tire is offered. Otherwise it's typically a jack-of-all-trades all-season.

Most drivers couldn't even tell you what sort of tires are on their car. They don't care. Never will care. They simply know that they will get about 50,000 miles out of them and replace them with something cheap when the OEM's wear out.

It's really only "enthusiasts" who press the point and they want tires that work great under certain conditions but generally suck for everything else. If you put on a high performance summer tire it's like a pig on ice in the winter. Plus you get a fraction of the wear out of them.

It's all about tradeoffs. OEM's take the tradeoff of performance for utility and durability.

Well put..

 

[SVT Cobra]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: vi_edit
For a large percentage of people OEM tires are absolutely sufficient. OEM's have to put on a swiss army tire that will work in snow. Work in rain. Work when it's dry. Work on pavement. Work on gravel. The trade off? They don't work great in any one thing. The exception is on sport packages where a performance or summer tire is offered. Otherwise it's typically a jack-of-all-trades all-season.

Most drivers couldn't even tell you what sort of tires are on their car. They don't care. Never will care. They simply know that they will get about 50,000 miles out of them and replace them with something cheap when the OEM's wear out.

It's really only "enthusiasts" who press the point and they want tires that work great under certain conditions but generally suck for everything else. If you put on a high performance summer tire it's like a pig on ice in the winter. Plus you get a fraction of the wear out of them.

It's all about tradeoffs. OEM's take the tradeoff of performance for utility and durability.</end quote></div>

Yup, not to mention Tirerack reviews suck. And, engineers spend a lot of time selecting what tires to go on the car for the purpose it is intended for. The chassis and frame all depend on the tires. Don't expect to get good handling from a civic, and then when you don't (because the tires are to reduce noise and for comfort) blame it on the tires.

The only thing tirerack is good for is prices. Find the tire you want by going on a manufacturer specific forum and asking what type is the best.

 

[mooncancook]

Well the OEM Michelin Pilot HX on my Mazda 6s gets pretty horrible reviews in Tirerack, and the ppl at Mazda6 forums don't like them either, and they cost $200 apiece. The other popular OEM tires Potenza RE92A also gets horrible reviews. I have a feeling that OEM tires are generally more expensive not because they are superior, but because manufacturers are banking on that most owners would simply stick w/ OEM parts and tires for their cars.

I have a hard time deciding on the tires now. BS Potenza RE960AS Pole Position seems like a step up from stock Michelins, and it's $140 ea w/ $75 GC rebate. Also anybody familiar with Goodyear Eagle F1? Are they any good? I'm also considering summer tires since my car will not see snow here in Cal but the choice for 215/50R17 is not great.

 

[blipblop]

I agree on the RE92's. I have them on my Scion tC and they are absolutely horrible. I'm by no means an aggressive driver... but wow do that suck

 

[Dman877]

I just replaced the stock Micheln Pilot's on my 04 TSX with BS RE960AS Pole Positions and these tires are a noticeable improvement. The car corners harder and it's much more difficult to lock up the wheels during hard breaking (haven't induced the ABS once yet and with the Pilot's, it happened on a regular basis.)

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: mooncancook
Well the OEM Michelin Pilot HX on my Mazda 6s gets pretty horrible reviews in Tirerack, and the ppl at Mazda6 forums don't like them either, and they cost $200 apiece. The other popular OEM tires Potenza RE92A also gets horrible reviews. I have a feeling that OEM tires are generally more expensive not because they are superior, but because manufacturers are banking on that most owners would simply stick w/ OEM parts and tires for their cars.

I have a hard time deciding on the tires now. BS Potenza RE960AS Pole Position seems like a step up from stock Michelins, and it's $140 ea w/ $75 GC rebate. Also anybody familiar with Goodyear Eagle F1? Are they any good? I'm also considering summer tires since my car will not see snow here in Cal but the choice for 215/50R17 is not great.

The regular Eagle F1's suck. The Eagle F1 GSD3's are awesome, and the shoes all my cars where in the winter when they don't have slicks on them. Just don't ever get caught in any mud or even slight snow as they are 10x worse than the regular summer tire in cold conditions or on grass (like parking at your kids soccer game) which are worse to begin with.

 

[SVT Cobra]

Originally posted by: Dman877
I just replaced the stock Micheln Pilot's on my 04 TSX with BS RE960AS Pole Positions and these tires are a noticeable improvement. The car corners harder and it's much more difficult to lock up the wheels during hard breaking (haven't induced the ABS once yet and with the Pilot's, it happened on a regular basis.)

Interesting as Micheln pilots are some of the best tires out there.

 

[Aikouka]

I felt a bit overcharged when I traded in my car that had great ~$125 a piece all-seasons on them for a car that cost $35,000 and had $50 a piece tires. I miss those old tires... they were better in snow, they gripped the road better, weren't noisy. I forget exactly what they were... I think Goodyear brand though.

 

[mooncancook]

Originally posted by: SVT Cobra

Interesting as Micheln pilots are some of the best tires out there.

There are different Pilot models, the OEM ones (eg Pilot HX) suck. Just like the Eagle F1 you commented above, GSD3 is great, but the regular F1 sucks. Right now I'm trying to decide between Kumho Ecsta SPT UHPS and RE960AS Pole Position UHPAS...

 

[CFster]

OEM tires are often of lower quality than their aftermarket counterparts. The only thing the manufacturers care about is noise levels during the test drive, and that important EPA mileage rating. Hence, a lot of OEM tires have weak sidewalls.

I see OEM Michelins with bubbles in the sidewalls all the time in my line of work.

 

[pray4mojo]

I replaced those OEM Michelins on my Mazda6 with Falken Ziex 512s.

 

[helpme]

Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Dman877
I just replaced the stock Micheln Pilot's on my 04 TSX with BS RE960AS Pole Positions and these tires are a noticeable improvement. The car corners harder and it's much more difficult to lock up the wheels during hard breaking (haven't induced the ABS once yet and with the Pilot's, it happened on a regular basis.)</end quote></div>

Interesting as Micheln pilots are some of the best tires out there.

Yeah, the TSX (I have an 06) stock pilots (MXM4) are not very good performance tires. Mine has been on road courses a few times, and I also agree that they are not good for any type of performance driving. They are good for normal driving, but cost a crapload.

I don't plan to put any high performance summers on the TSX as I now have an older SRT-4 for track use, but I sure won't be replacing the TSX tires with $200/ea Pilot MXM4s.