Factory Tires - Defect?

[joegr]

I have two LS's. On the 04, I had to replace two of the factory tires to get rid of a vibration. (not covered under warranty, at about 50K miles) On the 06, (only 18K miles) I am now replacing the second factory tire that developed a bulge in the side wall. (again, not covered by warranty.) I replaced the tires with the same model (from SAMs), and the replacements seem fine so far. Two of the original tires on the 04 are still fine (over 70K miles). I was just wondering if anyone else found the factory tire quality to be poor. (Both are sport models, 17" wheels, 150 MPH tires.)

 

[GWL]

I have two LS's. On the 04, I had to replace two of the factory tires to get rid of a vibration. (not covered under warranty, at about 50K miles) On the 06, (only 18K miles) I am now replacing the second factory tire that developed a bulge in the side wall. (again, not covered by warranty.) I replaced the tires with the same model (from SAMs), and the replacements seem fine so far. Two of the original tires on the 04 are still fine (over 70K miles). I was just wondering if anyone else found the factory tire quality to be poor. (Both are sport models, 17" wheels, 150 MPH tires.)

OEM tires except on High Performance cars (sometime even on HP cars) are notorious for being less than stellar in their performance. In most cases I have always viewed OEM tires as place holders to be replaced at the first opportunity. Although the Michelins that came on my LSE were not half bad, just a little loud.

 

[tireman]

Attention Here

Tires are still hand made. The quality of workmanship varies by which factory the tire comes from. The polymers used in tires changes daily. Some tire designs just naturally resonate at different speeds. As a general rule you get what you pay for in tires. The best quality control companies product the best products. I stick with Mich's and Goodyear. Noise comes from the interior of the tread design. Look for a design that has rubber block patterns along the shoulders that block the main horizontal grooves coming from the center of the tire. This lowers the noise release. Also look for less aggressive tread designs. The smooth blocks patterns at gentle angles keep the noise down.

 

[97stscaddy]

I was just wondering if anyone else found the factory tire quality to be poor.

What kind of tires are they?

 

[SoonerLS]

They're probably the Michelin MXM4s, but they could be the Continentals. I got another 19K miles out of the Michelins GWL mentioned (they were on the wheels I bought from him). With a total of ~25K miles on them when I replaced them, they weren't great, but they weren't crap, either. The Bridgestone Potenzas I bought are better tires, but the Michelins were pretty good for factory tires. (That was also pretty much my experience with the OEM MXM4s I had on my '04.)

The Contis that came on my '06's OEM 16" wheels were pretty good for touring tires, but I only got about 1K miles on them before I swapped them with the 17 LSE wheels I bought from GWL.

 

[scjmc]

I have had 3! seperate instances where Michelin tires have failed. Once on the wife's crown vic ($2500 in body dammage) and twice on our Grand Cherokee (no body dammage thank god for metal.) Just saying... All tires failed with GOOD life left in them. All seperation events also. Everyone raves about Michelins, but.....

 

[SoonerLS]

It depends a lot on the class and model of tires as to which are good, and it also depends on when you buy them. Michelin's Pilot Sport tires are supposedly very good tires, but that doesn't mean their econobox tires or truck tires are any good at all. Also, I wasn't overly impressed with either set of Michelin MXM4s I had; they were pretty good for factory tires, but that's not saying too much. They were, IMHO, easily outclassed by both the Avon Tech M550s I put on my '04 and by the Bridgestone Potenzas I have on my '06.

Additionally, just because a tire is the best thing since sliced bread this year, that doesn't mean it won't be a relative dog next year. Other tires may catch up in quality, or the production quality may fall off, or they may not wear well and have their reviews get worse over time. F'rinstance, the Avons I put on my '04 were at the top of the Tire Rack's ratings in their class, but as the miles driven on them have increased, they've been eclipsed by the Potenzas (and other tires).