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Longevity is another way to look at value. I find the Michelin LTX M/S last a long time, you can do a search for what various people claim for mileage. Costco and Sams have a slightly cheaper version, and a local indy shop might have the LTX cheaper than the chains. If you live in a sunny area and don't garage it, the sidewalls might rot first, then the cheaper ones might make sense.
I have a set of Pathfinder tires on my truck after changing the OEM BFGoodrich tires, which were bland, expensive and rough. The Pathfinders are a lot more aggressive and chunky looking, have a longer warranty from Discount Tire (50k Miles) the BFG was 35K. They ride much smoother, my only issue is that my pressure sensor has not been a fan of the new tires, but I think that's more a sensor issue. My tires, specifically, are re branded Kumho's w/o white walls for 15% less, a longer Discount Tire warranty because Pathfinder is their private brand. I've had Pathfinder tires on many cars in the past and they always were good tires until around 43-48K, then you have to start driving on roads where nails happen to be.
Tires are not the item to skimp on, as your safety on the road depends in large part on the tires' condition and quality. Good tires are necessary for safe driving.
But what is your definition of good? Being an expensive brand doesn't mean it's better. Keeping a good tread on your tires and not doing idiotic things like peeling out is more important, IMO. Besides, there are many important components to safe driving that have nothing to with brand of things you have and everything to do with driver behavior, things like driving at a safe speed and distance, not tailgating or cutting people off in traffic, obeying traffic lights and signs, getting your car inspected when it's due, etc.
In certain circumstances I've driven cars with four different kinds of tires and not had issues. The sellers of tires try to make a religion out of how tires and special flim-flammery can save you, but it really comes down to skills practice and awareness of what your car can do as equipped.
I've watched a person from a different culture drive up to a storage unit, take a wheel with a worn tire off his truck, roll the least worn replacement tire out of his storage and mount it on the rim right there with his feet and a lever and a hand pump, no sacred nitrogen air or computer balancing. Off he went, just another day.
Motorcycle shop mechanics have been known to run their own bikes on customer cast-offs.
Meanwhile, if you have a front-wheel drive car, the free lifetime rotation effectively can't be done for "safety" reasons because of a faked video that "proves" the thickest tread needs to be on the rear. On a FWD vehicle, the fronts wear faster. So I end up doing my own rotations or I would buy tires more often...hmmm.
Where I'm going with this is the big chains no longer offer an advantage if you buy good tires, because they will renege on their promises and find a way to keep gouging. That advertising budget doesn't come from nowhere.
I had Michelin's on my Chrysler 300. First set went 80,000 miles, second set over 60,000. Decided to save money on the next set and got Hankooks. In under 40,000 they were sh*t. Went back to Michelin's.
My title says it all - buy Pathfinder tires at the max price my budget would allow? Or a no name brand, same warranty (Discount tire) but for 25% less?
Every other time in my life that I needed a full set of new tires, my dad was making the purchase... so I need input from someone who knows what they're talking about. I've done a lot of reading, but I'm unsure what to do.
My husband knows less about cars than I do
buy the best tires you can afford, and the best tires your car needs for the conditions under which you drive. no need to buy pirellies or michelines when faulkens and kuhmos do quite well for a daily driver.
I don't make up definitions. The term "good" already has a well established meaning that's universally recognized.
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Being an expensive brand doesn't mean it's better.
It does in many cases. Being cheaper very rarely makes it better.
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Keeping a good tread on your tires and not doing idiotic things like peeling out is more important, IMO. Besides, there are many important components to safe driving that have nothing to with brand of things you have and everything to do with driver behavior, things like driving at a safe speed and distance, not tailgating or cutting people off in traffic, obeying traffic lights and signs, getting your car inspected when it's due, etc.
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