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cheap tires
Tire Information World : your friendly
independent source of tire help
The low down on cheap tires
 Want to know about cheap tires?
People often ask me about cheap tires, and I tell
them straight out I don't like them, and why.
When I'm driving on the freeway with my family,
basically I'm controlling a mechanical monster which
weighs over a ton and which has the capability of
killing not only me and my family in an instant if I
lose control, I want the most control I can have.
When you realize that the only control I have over
that beast are four little patches of rubber the size
of a man's shoe touching the ground, I insist that I
have the best patches that I can afford and that
usually eliminates cheap tires.
Note that I said usually. There are some
ways of getting tires at a low cost, and also ways to
get more use out of the money you spend. In this
article I'm going to concentrate on the low cost
tires and give you some thoughts on them that may
help you the next time you're shopping.
Where to find really cheap tires
Perhaps the biggest source of low prices tires are
the big retailers who buy container loads of popular
sizes directly from factories in China or other
places.
Here's what you may be buying. If the tire is an
unusual, or unknown brand, you're buying a product
from a company that has nothing to lose if they get a
spate of complaints for poor quality, or short life.
Next, you may be getting a tire made with a rubber
compound which is cheaper than that found in a high
quality product.
Just because the rubber in one tire "looks" the
same as another, that doesn't mean it is the same.
The cheaper version might not contain UV inhibitors
that slow down tire
deterioration from sunlight, or they might not
resist heating which results from driving at high
speeds, or the tires could not be as effective in
cold weather, and so on and so on...
Let me tell you something I noticed in Chile when
I visited a mass retailer looking for something I
needed at home. I wandered into the automotive
section and saw a tire that looked like a Goodyear
tire which I once sold, but yet it was ugly ... it
seemed roughly made and almost "unfinished" when
compared to a name-brand tire.
What this turned out to be was an "obsolete" tire
design which the factory had stopped making years ago
and replaced with a new design that had better
handling and lower noise designed into it. Rather
than throw out the tire molds (which are expensive to
make), they offered them to buyers who would put
their own name on them. When they were put into
production they didn't have the same rubber compounds
as the best tires, they were not inspected
one-by-one, and they were not cleaned up and
delivered with the same care as top-line tires. This
allowed them to be made -- and sold -- more
cheaply.
If I were buying tires for a light-duty utility trailer
which I used very rarely, to carry light loads and at
low speeds, I might consider a tire of this type for
this situation. I would not want this for my car!
Flea marts, classified ads, garage sales, other
liquidations.
These might offer a chance to find some cheap
tires if you know a little about what you're buying
and how to read wear patterns and tire
condition. Even so, you want to be cautious in buying
a tire from an unknown source.
Shortly after I started in the tire business, I was trained
to be an inspector to process tires which were
returned to determine if they had suffered from some
defect in manufacturing or had inferior materials
used in them. In the laboratory we were shown some
tires that appeared to be brand new but had been
returned to determine if they were defective. One of
the strange things about these tires was that they
looked the same from both sides whereas most new
tires have a sidewall different on one side from the
other. The other thing we discovered is that these
tires had no serial number.
Our instructor explained to us that these tires
were actually made up of two tires which had been cut
in half through the center of the tread, and then
carefully stuck back together to make them appear
like new tires. The defect in these tires was that
the steel bands and cords which are hidden inside the
tire were also cut and these tires split apart very
soon after they were installed -- often with
disastrous consequences.
These tires had been made out of factory reject
new tires which had been sold for scrap rubber, but
ended up being "remade". Since that time that factory
destroys any tires that are rejected from their
quality control, but it is possible that other
factories might still be permitting reject tires to
leave in a way that would permit this kind of
skullduggery.
Auto wreckers
If you're in a pinch for cheap tires, you might be
able to find what you need by going to an auto
wrecker and seeing what they have to offer. As you
know, a car which has been totally wrecked in an
accident may still have some usable parts, and that
includes wheels and tires. Especially if you inspect
the tires carefully you might end up even with brand
new tires (example, the spare) for a good price.
Discontinued lines
You can sometimes get a good deal on orphan tires
that a dealer might have when a new tire design is
introduced and they are left with only one or three
items. Since people generally replace either two or
four tires at the same time, a dealer might be
willing you give you a discount just to get this old
stock out of his warehouse.
Economy grade tires
Most tire dealers will offer you their top grade
tires first and try to get you to buy those. If your
budget is limited, keep asking if they have anything
cheaper until they run out things to offer. The
cheapest tire from a major brand is still a quality
tire and will be backed by the prestige of the
company but will probably not last you as long in
service as the premium grades which have a higher
treadwear rating.
In general terms if you find a reputable tire at
half the price of a top-line tire, you would find
that its treadwear
rating would be about half meaning that you
should expect to get, say, 20,000 miles from the tire
instead of 40,000. I've tried some of these and have
had no reason to complain, but they definitely did
wear faster. If you calculate your cost-per-mile you
often find that it is higher that a more expensive
choice.
Well, as you've seen there are possibilities to
find cheap tires, most of which I don't particularly
endorse, but which might suit your situation.
After Purchase
After you've bought your tires, whether they are
top-line or the cheapest you can find, you can
enhance the value you have by taking good care of
those tires. Check the tire pressure regularly,
inspect them at least monthly for unusual wear, rotate and balance them as required and you
and your tires will live much more happily
together.
Did you know we have a special
place to show-off your favorite wheels?
See the Hot Wheels Show Room
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