Sumitomo Tires? Encounter AT

[Zack1978]

Hi everyone,
As the title indicates, does anyone have experience with Sumitomo tires? I have been looking for tires on Tire Rack and the Encounter AT tire ssemingly has good reviews. I have zero knowledge of this brand and their reputation. Some general Google searches seem to say that they are a low tier brand not known for quality and others sing their praises.
I know that Sumitomo owns some well known brands like Falken and others so I guess they can't be terrible right?

I have no issues spending money for quality tires, I just don't know if these are quality.

https://www.sumitomotire.com/Tires?linename=ENCOUNTER%20AT

Any insight?

Thank you

 

[dogememe]

I have used them before (once) with no issues. I sold the vehicle I'd put them on (Suburban) shortly afterward but when I had them they were fine.

 

[CKN]

I was on Tire Rack last night looking at the same tires. I like how Tirerack puts the least expensive tires on the last few pages.....on just a random search with no price criteria set.

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

I wouldn’t even buy Falkens after a poor experience with them. Cheap tires tend to be fine when they’re new, but wear quickly, go out of balance, and lose traction as they wear.

 

[Zack1978]

I wouldn’t even buy Falkens after a poor experience with them. Cheap tires tend to be fine when they’re new, but wear quickly, go out of balance, and lose traction as they wear.

I agree with you wholeheartedly, but is Sumitomo a "cheap" tire? I know nothing about the brand.

 

[Zack1978]

I wouldn’t even buy Falkens after a poor experience with them. Cheap tires tend to be fine when they’re new, but wear quickly, go out of balance, and lose traction as they wear.

And the Falken Wildpeak tires are one of the most popular AT tires, but that doesn't mean they are good.

 

[RoadDukie]

I've had good results out of two sets of these tires. Both a highway tread. One set L/T, the other P-Metric. Very quiet, smooth, with good traction and control.
One thing I noticed about these tires while shopping is that they tend to have a deeper tread than other competitors. While neither set has worn out, I tend to think that more rubber = longer lasting tire.

 

[Passport1]

Sumitomo tire company is large and well known. I've had several sets of their tires. They have all been reasonably good. The standard a/s tires are very good. The UHP a/s tires are good but as someone mentioned they wear out too fast.

I'd buy another set sure.

 

[CKN]

And the Falken Wildpeak tires are one of the most popular AT tires, but that doesn't mean they are good.

They sure get decent reviews on the truck sites. There is a disconnect somewhere if they are "not good".

 

[Delta]

They sure get decent reviews on the truck sites. There is a disconnect somewhere if they are "not good".

They used to be cheaper and a good A/T tire, so people loved them for this. After a while the price went up to around what all the others were charging.

 

[dumkid]

They used to be cheaper and a good A/T tire, so people loved them for this. After a while the price went up to around what all the others were charging.

Same thing happened with the general grabber, the falken wildpeak, etc. People post on a forum that they found a good a/t tire for less than the competition. A bunch of people go buy that tire, and a few months later that tire costs the same as the competition