I recall reading somewhere that treadwear is not directly comparable across brands, but is comparable between different tires within one brand.
I would think that a lot of consumers would benefit from being able to cross-compare products across brands. However, nothing significant has turned up in yahoo searching for information on cross comparisons on treadwear.
Anybody know of a study, method, or location that provides information on comparing treadwear of different tire brands? I have looked at tirerack’s user reviews, but the overall data they have adds all users ratings, and dont tell specifically what portion of the survey’s have customers rating from firsthand experience of multiple tires in one class from multiple brands.
The US Consumer Product Safety Division provides a comprehensive list rating just about any tire you can think of in four categories. I believe they are treadlife, temperature rating, overall wear, and I forget the fourth. Anyway, google on this. I’ll post a link later…sorry, I gotta run! Good luck! By the way, surprisingly, Michelin (for as well known as they are on the pro’s racing jackets and other racing pariphenalia) does not rate as well as I would have expected. I thought they’d be up there for as expensive as they are! - Jinx
And what’s so disappointing about Michelin’s ratings? All of them are rated A or AA for traction, A or B for temperature (like most passenger tires), and treadlife ranges all across the board, as it should.
Maybe he meant the Tirerack reviews?
Michelin’s prices are high enough that you would expect them to have absolute top ratings for everything in their category, but they have average to slightly above-average Tirerack ratings.
That seems disappointing on first inspection.
I would submit that people who can afford Michelin are pickier than the guys who go back and forth from General brand tires to house-brand tire shop tires.
My own experience from managing a small fleet of vehicles from passenger cars to light trucks parallels what I’ve observed with my own truck: Cooper tires deliver the greatest value. I’ve tried General, BF Goodrich, Goodyear, Firestone, Michelin, and Cooper. I’d rate Goodyear and Firestone the worst, General and Goodrich a bit better, and while Michelin makes a good tire, Cooper outlasts it from a treadwear standpoint while being kinder to your wallet.
As I understand it, the tire companies only agreed to these ratings at all if they control the reference. The companies don’t WANT you to compare across brands. So each company picks a reference tire (one of their own naturally) that is the average or reference tire. The ratings of all other tires are based on this reference. Each company can and does pick a different reference. So a company with a high reference will show relatively low scores relative to that reference. I assume the government provides guidelines on picking the reference, but the important thing is that you shouldn’t try to compare ratings across manufacturers. That is what is intended by calling it a relative reference.
when checking, I found it difficult to verify this information (a friend at a dealer told me this story), but I found this description of the testing process that makes it clear the test is relative to a standard tire provided by the manufacturer: