I worked at a Big O for nearly a year in Ypsilanti, MI.
Most of the Big O brand tires are manufactured by Goodyear/Kelly Springfield. Mostly Big O sends what compound, construction and tread design they want for their tires and Goodyear/Kelly manufactures it for them. I have noticed some eerily similar tires elsewhere since I've started working at a Belle Tire now.
Big O's low end passenger car tire, the Aspen, appears to be VERY similar to the Kelly Explorer (same end of the spectrum). The Big O Super Sport SXP (my '98 Jetta TDI has a set of these on it) tires are EXACTLY the same as the old Penske Speedtrac tires. Does respectable in the snow, actually.
The Big O brand is probably more well known for their truck tires. While I have never lived with a set of these tires, they did appear to be very solidly constructed and had unique tread designs. Their high-end passenger car tire appeared to be constructed very nicely as well, again with the unique dual channel tread design. It's called the Legacy.
Big O itself tries to be the company that outdoes everyone with customer service. Our shop tried, but the circumstances were not ideal. The initial 12 or so Michigan shops were all the same franchise. Suffice to say, the owners were penny-pinchers and we often couldn't get what we needed when we needed it. Unpaid bills to the machine repair man so we couldn't get replacement parts for our tire machines when they broke on time, unpaid bills to the uniform company one week lead to us having no new uniforms or shop rags... The list goes on. It was utterly rediculous. The pay wasn't exactly competitive with other local comparable shops either. But I hired in not knowing better plus I just really needed a job and had no experience. So I basically just took what I could get.
But knowing about the company's policies, they do seem to be a reputable group. I'm not sure I'd bother with a Michigan Big O, but out west, where the company got started, I wouldn't doubt for a minute that they really would do you well for customer service. If you're a little unsure about the Big O brand tires, they do carry major name brands as well. Can't hurt to give them a try.
Interestingly enough, I know a couple Belle Tire managers who have jumped to Big O. One was the manager at the Belle Tire store I am currently employed at. He got removed from our store and placed at the store on the other side of town. He got fired after only a couple weeks there, then he ends up at the very Big O shop that I left just a few months prior!
Ok... enough of that. I got too carried away and
EDIT: back on the topic of tire quality, I have noticed a number of Kelly and Goodyear tires, particularly on the cheap end, get "out of round" as well call it. Seeing as how Big O's lower end passenger car tires are very similar, I can see where similar problems could arise... Stay with the higher end or stick with another brand like Michelin, Pirelli.. whoever and you should be ok. But I highly doubt that ALL Big O brand tires are that bad... Our shop did more oil changes in tires, and it's been so long that recalling the specifics on what tires had common combacks is a little difficult.
I don't mean to bash Goodyear, really... The Assurance TripleTreds are fantastic tires. But some of their other tires just aren't so spectacular... All around, I prefer Michelin for outright quality and innovation.
[ April 01, 2005, 01:41 AM: Message edited by: Matt-TDI ]