Putting Tires to the Test

There Is More To Tires Than Rubber Meeting the Road

There are two indisputable facts about tires. First, at some point we rely on our tires when making an evasive or emergency maneuver, slamming on the brakes whether it’s dry or wet, or hoping our tires will last a bit longer just before taking off on that 2,000-mile road trip. Second, no one thinks of tires until they absolutely have to, as in sitting on the side of the highway with a blowout. Tires, for most motorists, are taken for granted. They shouldn’t be. So where to get unbiased information to become an educated tires buyer?

One company determined it was important for consumers to actually know about the products they are looking at in their stores. Discount Tire (in some states it goes by America’s Tire), independently and at its own expense, tests all the tires sold in its 1,200 stores located in 38 states. The uniqueness of this, a retailer comparison testing the products it sells, versus the manufacturer of those products doing so, is rare. This would be like a grocery store chain testing all the food and beverage products they sell, or a department store doing the same for all the clothing they sell. Again, it is rare.

Testing at the Park

Discount Tire does its testing at the Treadwell Research Park in Pearsall, Texas, about an hour outside San Antonio, where they have several courses designed for different tests over 900 acres. Automotive journalists were invited to experience the effectiveness of different tire types over a wide range of road surfaces on these three courses.

The 1.9-mile oval, with 7-degree banked turns, offered demonstrations for grip in dry and wet, slalom turning, emergency braking and encountering rough road surfaces. Discount Tires pointed out what variables Treadwell tests for, and what type of feedback is given to the tire manufacturers, including if a different brand’s tires perform better.

We took out a 2022 Tesla Model S and 2022 Tesla Model 3 for wet and dry panic stops from 60 mph. These were the stopping distance results of two brands of all-season tires on two very similar cars.

Model S – All-wheel drive

Michelin 245/45/19 Pilot Sport 4S

Wet: 144 feet

Dry: 104

Model 3 – Rear-wheel drive

Goodyear 245/45/19 Max Life

Wet: 199 feet

Dry: 129

While it is clear which tire stopped shorter, we learned there is more to consider when choosing which tire to buy than stopping. There is ride quality, handling, noise, tread wear and cost. We will get to the process for these buying decision factors later.

We then tried our hand on the Wet Vehicle Dynamics Area, which is an 800-by-800-foot track that is flooded with .069 to .089-inches of water. Two autocross-type courses were set up where we tested three different cars, each with different all-season tires.

BMW 330i – RWD

Bridgestone Weather Peak 225/45/18

BMW 330i – RWD

Michelin All-season 225/45/18 Pilot Sport 4/S4

Our conclusion was that the last tire was the best at negotiating the wet, slippery course, offering excellent cornering and grip in not-ideal traction conditions.

Our final experience was at the Off-Road Test Area that had several dedicated sections. I rode shotgun with a pro driver in all but the last one as that was a slow technical course over some serious sharp-edged boulders.

Mud Traction

Trail Handling

Hill Climb

Silt Road Course & Vehicle Dynamics

Gravel Bins

Cut & Chip Road

Boulder Crawl & Rock Garden

Shopping and Buying

Discount Tire has made its independent testing and reviews available for free online at the Treadwell tire guide. The site goes through the basic questions of vehicle, type of driving, and what factors are important to the customer. After input, recommended tires are shown with the ability to change the criteria. If tread wear was the most important on the first search, changing to price will show tires in a different ranking, or maybe some that weren’t on the first search inquiry. The consumer can do this at home or with an advisor in one of the stores. I tested the system by entering the brand, model and year of my car, what type of driving I do (suburb and city) and this was the result.

Joshua Sorter, director tire development at Discount Tire, said the intent of the testing is to “show what we are doing to be customer advocates in selling tires, and we want customers to be confident in what they are buying and make sure they are getting the tire they are expecting to be getting.” Joshua continued, “We are very transparent, both with what we provide the customer, and what we provide back to the manufacturers about how their tires perform.”

John Baldwin, chief product and technical officer, told us: “When buying a new car, they come with what we call OE, or Original Equipment, tires, and that manufacturer has different customers in mind. These could be government or general consumers, or maybe they choose the OE tire for CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) reasons that has a low rolling resistance, and they might not be as focused on things such as wear, winter and performance. When a customer comes to Discount Tire, we are thinking of them, as there are so many tire options. Those drivers have different interests of maybe long wear, low rolling resistance, wet or snowy weather or handling.”

“We know tires can be daunting, which is where our online portal and specialists in the stores come in to play to help consumers understand their options when replacing their tires.”

Final Thoughts

After spending a day at the Treadwell Experience, the science of tires and tire testing is fascinating. It is also something most people know very little about. Our advice is to go online and drill down on the type of tire that best fits your vehicle, driving style and needs.

Shopping for tires can be as confusing as shopping for a mattress. Pricing, styles, features and brands populate the message as if a consumer knows what any of them means. A recent report said 61% of drivers replaced their tires when they appeared worn, and 31% only did so when they experienced a problem. This reinforces the testing and evaluation Discount Tire is providing to consumers for free, as the key is to prepare for tire replacement before it is an urgent need by selecting the ideal replacement tire and choosing a good retailer.

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Story by John Faulkner. Photos by John Faulkner and Discount Tire.

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