Are Tire Reviews Worthless?

[artbuc]

Starting to think reading tire reviews is a waste of time. You know the drill. Reviewer A says tire is quiet as a church mouse and Reviewer B says had to get rid of exact same tires because they were too noisy, etc, etc. How do you go about selecting new tires? Do you pay any attention at all to reviews such as those found on Tirerack?

I asked for suggestions on another thread and got some terrific feedback. So, I am not asking for a specific recommendation, I am just interested in how you select tires. Thanks.

 

[Skippy722]

Noise will be subjective, like I'd be okay with noise from some chunky all terrains but my wife would find it obnoxious. As for actual performance, I place more weight on tire racks testing over user reviews, but I do take them into consideration.

When I select tires I first look at Tire Rack's test results for snow rating, and place more emphasis on braking ability in snow than acceleration. I've actually been looking for some A/T tires for my new truck, General consensus is that the OE Goodyear's are trash in the snow.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Well I think a lot of them will have to be ignored. A lot of the reviews are from people with a worn out car with a bad alignment. Well, of course they're going to wear funny! Or some of it is just subjective to the vehicle.

Example: The ipike snow tire I put on my Subaru. They make it undriveable in the snow. This last winter I ended up driving the Sentra on worn out CL find snow tires because I can actually keep that on the road in the snow. I prematurely changed out the snow tires this year and got caught in a snow storm with the factory Subaru tires and they performed better than the Hankook snow tires!

 

[MParr]

I do look at the Tire Rack reviews. However, I don't buy tires based on JUST their reviews. I consider what I need based on the tires UTQG rating. I look for tires that work well in rain. I like tires that are tread wear rated from 500 to around 650. I like A to AA traction and A for temperature. I NEVER buy based on Consumer Reports reviews.

 

[CharBaby]

Yes I do read & watch tire reviews from the TireRack & Consumer Reports along with others such as "Youtubers" along with friends & family as well as consumer reviews of tires on same/similar vehicles who drive in same/similar climate as we do.

However, this is only a starting place for me as I typically start months before I need tires for a specific vehicle. And nothing is gospel, it's only a guideline.

I have a very strong criteria for me & my family as I know better than anyone else...how we drive, where we drive, our specific vehicles, climate & road conditions. Whether we do more of city, rural or hiwy. No one knows these conditions better than you.

And it isn't only about what we like or want in a tire but what we don't like about certain tires and trying to eliminate those dislikes.

Someone(I don't remember who) once said that e.g., "all season tires" are like a can of mixed nuts. In some brands you may get more peanut and less of the cashews & almonds etc. In other brands, that may change around some.

What is it that you're looking for a tire to do best/better in certain areas for your needs. Such as ride/handling or quiet/comfort or simply performance or foul weather?

I realize that it takes time to nail this down(or dial it in) but to me, it's worth the time. Especially since I review tires(and aftermarket parts) sort of the way I revew cars. Kinda' regularly!

Pick something like, oh IDK, 5 areas(or more) that are most important to you and look for tires & reviews that come closest to checking off the most boxes in your criteria.

Same with headlights, wiper blades, bakes etc...OIL!

 

[mrsilv04]

I read a bunch of tire reviews here on BITOG, as to how wonderful the Michelin LTX tire was.... month after month, year after year.

After shelling out over $800 for a set... actual tire owner A found out they were, by far, the worst tire that I have ever owned. The only time in my life, that I've ever pulled off a set of tires at half tread, and sold them on Craigslist, because I couldn't take the overwhelming lack of wet/snow traction any longer.

There's a difference right there.

And then we have Random Commenter 722 (above) who comments about a tire because of "general consensus"... and apparently not because he's actually owned a set. By the way 722, I actually have a set of those "trashy" OE Goodyear tires on my truck, right now.

There's a huge difference right there.

 

[FordSVTGuy]

I tend not to put too much weight in the online reviews of other customers. They can be helpful if the tires are reviewed for you exact vehicle though. I think it is fair to look at trends in reviews by customers. For example, if most have really good or bad experiences then that can be a solid data point for you.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I usually don't pay too much attention to comments about noise because just about any new tire will sound quieter than the bald old tire it replaced. I pay attention to wet traction and tread life. Especially tread life because wear rating is based on a manufacturer standard rather than an industry standard.

 

[jeepman3071]

I only read reviews for tires that were on a similar vehicle as what I'm looking to put tires on. The same tires can handle differently on various cars due to differences in weight distribution, handling, etc.

Even then, I only take the reviews with a grain of salt.

 

[sloinker]

I'm surprised that most folks on this site don't dispense the same advice about tires that they do about motor oil. Because you know only a person of diminished mental faculties would spend an extra penny on anything. Buy the cheapest DOT approved tire that is the correct size for your application. Recaps? Does Supertech make tires? It's the Bitog way!

 

[artbuc]

This is precisely why I asked the question. I guess you have to read tire reviews the same way I read Amazon reviews. Look for trends, common complaints, etc. Reminds me of when I bought new TV's. Samsung is arguably the best TV out there yet 12-15% of the people thought they were total junk. Like someone else said, almost any new tire will give a great impression when they are replacing worn out ones. Biggest complaint against Michelin seems to be early dry rot. Biggest complaint about Bridgestone seems to be hard rubber after a few k miles. Who knows but I appreciate your input.


Originally Posted by mrsilv04
I read a bunch of tire reviews here on BITOG, as to how wonderful the Michelin LTX tire was.... month after month, year after year.

After shelling out over $800 for a set... actual tire owner A found out they were, by far, the worst tire that I have ever owned...

 

[Andrew1972]

Ignore any tire review that is under 5k miles.

The honeymoon period of any tire is under 5k when the reviewer remembers their previous tire (likely louder due to wear) at end of life comparing to a new tire. Enough time passes they become more objective on the review.

I pay really close attention to winter traction even new though. Yes winter tires are better but raised in New England so know how to drive on cruddy tires in slippery conditions.

 

[Leo99]

I don't pay any attention to tire reviews. I did for a while and bought top rated tires that were nothing special and bought low rated tires that were fine. From now on, I just take the advice of the people at the local tire store.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted by mrsilv04
And then we have Random Commenter 722 (above) who comments about a tire because of "general consensus"... and apparently not because he's actually owned a set. By the way 722, I actually have a set of those "trashy" OE Goodyear tires on my truck, right now.

There's a huge difference right there.


Apparently you missed he has them on his new truck? or you are just being extra salty in your michelin dookey drop? Unless you have Goodyear OE tires off a 2019 ram.. you might have different tires.. and since you dont know which wheel/tire pkg he got.. you cant know.

 

[Hall]

You have to look at what the majority of reviewers say. If 9 people say they're quiet and 1 says they're noisy, I "throw out" the review that says it's noisy (and vis versa).

 

[MNgopher]

See some of my pet peeve going on right in this thread.

Goodyear OEM's are trash. OK, which specific Goodyear tire, in which size, and which application.

Or Hankook Snow tires are trash. Which specific one? There are many.

I've had bad Goodyears - Wrangler RT/S tire. I happen to like the set I've got on my F150 that were OEM's. They are Wrangler All Terrain Adventure with Kevlar (LT series), but I also run dedicated snow tires. And I've had them on for over 50,000 miles at this point.

Same on the Hankook Winter TIres. I've had two - the Ipike W409 and IPike RW11. Liked the W409's a lot better than the RW11's, but the RW11's still beat the pants off the all season Michelins Latitude HP's when the snow was flying...

 

[CharBaby]

Something that I have noticed between TR & CR is that they're close, not exact but close in their ratings of exact model tires. However, they both test on different vehicles in slightly different sizes. And this will be the slightly higher/lower rating for that model.

Another thing that I've noticed between TR & CR is, as a model of tire drops in the ratings on one site, that tire usually drops in the ratings on the other. Typically due to new tire models eclipsing older models.

Although both sites test many of the same model tires(pass, tour, truck/suv, winter) neither site test all of the same tires as one another.

 

[javacontour]

I believe TireRack give you the chance to filter reviews this way.

Originally Posted by FordSVTGuy
I tend not to put too much weight in the online reviews of other customers. They can be helpful if the tires are reviewed for you exact vehicle though. I think it is fair to look at trends in reviews by customers. For example, if most have really good or bad experiences then that can be a solid data point for you.

 

[skyactiv]

I prefer Tire Racks own test track results and assessment vs reviews from real world owners. I focus on wet weather performance. I chose Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate which the Tire Rack tested as being superior to the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ in the wet and the tires are indeed amazing in the wet.

 

[Eddie]

CU and TireRack are my go to places for tire information. Ed