# California’s proposed new tire regulations **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [April 27, 2026, 12:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562 "2026-04-27T12:06:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/21 "2026-04-28T15:11:30Z")
> [@Beancounter](#): > > handled in the wet like a pig on roller skates and then developed sidewall bulges in their first 5,000 miles. And I’ll bet that client never bought those tires again! The market has a way of weeding out bad products. Same for these Indian tires… > [@VDCdriver](#): > > made-in-India tires sold in the US that had “voids” in the sidewall Some regulations are necessary but all of them come with unintended consequences and nearly all come with additional costs to the consumer. The better written they are, the less problematic those unintended consequences will be. I was trying just to point out what I thought those unintended consequences are likely to be. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 3:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/22 "2026-04-28T15:16:34Z")
> [@Beancounter](#): > > The reason why not is because many people know or care little about tires and purchase solely on price, ignoring any other consideration including quality and safety. I personally don’t know any of these people. But I’m sure the number is very high. My first concern with buying a tire is type. My last 4 vehicles have been SUV’s so I either get a good All-Season that’s snow rated or an AT rated tire. Next is quality. There are many good quality tires from many brands. I also want something that lasts. Especially when I was working. 50k+ miles is what I like. And last is price point. I love Cooper truck tires (not so much their car tires). And I love the Michelin truck and car tires. But for my SUVs and pickups I’ve owned I choose mainly Coopers. Michelins seem to last a litle longer but at a permium price. When averaging out miles/price the Coopers were cheaper overall. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/23 "2026-04-28T15:44:58Z")
> [@MikeInNH](#): > > I personally don’t know any of these people. But I’m sure the number is very high. I have known at least one. A friend from my undergraduate days was griping about tire prices, back in the late '60s, and he said, “It’s just a hunk of rubber that shouldn’t cost more than $25”. His car–a '59 Pontiac–had Delta tires all around, but they were of 4 different types/models, and there was at least one tire that wasn’t the correct size. Luckily, he drove like Grandma, so this wasn’t as much of a hazard for him as it would have been for many other people. ---
**Author:** ![asemaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@asemaster](https://community.cartalk.com/u/asemaster)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 5:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/24 "2026-04-28T17:03:42Z")
> [@Beancounter](#): > > As a worst case I saw one client purchase a bunch of “Chinese” tires (such a great price!) for their fleet of work vans only to discover that the vans then handled in the wet like a pig on roller skates Buyer beware. If I buy a pair of shoes, or a car, or a steak, based on price and it doesn’t work like I think it should, I won’t buy that brand again. Simple. We don’t need laws for that. I love the tires I have on my car right now. Ride and handling is smooth and quiet, treadwear is excellent (I’m on track to get 80K out of these tires), wet traction is awful. I’d buy these again in a minute because they offer what is important to me. I can’t get behind the idea that someone else gets to decide what’s best for me. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve seen time and again that cheap auto parts and repairs can be incredibly expensive in the long run. But we can’t start making those choices for other people, just ourselves. > [@VDCdriver](#): > > had Delta tires all around, Delta tires? Haven’t heard that name in years. I had a local tire shop that would consign Delta tires to me, but I was never impressed with them and didn’t sell very many. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 6:59pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/25 "2026-04-28T18:59:04Z")
> [@asemaster](#): > > I had a local tire shop that would consign Delta tires to me, but I was never impressed with them and didn’t sell very many. I’m pretty sure that they were… not the best… but he shopped for tires purely on the basis of price. I seriously doubt that he would have been impressed with any info on their performance or quality. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2026, 10:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/26 "2026-04-28T22:29:04Z")
One year I switched from Goodyear to coopers at the farm store. When I compared th3 cost per mile, the Goodyears were actually cheaper. My record was 110,00 miles on the Goodyears with no casing problems versus maybe 80,000 on the coopers with some casing failures. I’ve not worried about price much since then although I will put cheaper tires on my Pontiac. When I get more years than mikes now, seems like I never wear them out but wreck them with nails and other road hazards. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_K1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/steve_k1/32/39535_2.png) [@Steve\_K1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Steve_K1)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2026, 2:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/27 "2026-04-29T02:27:00Z")
> [@asemaster](#): > > Why not post the LRR ratings and let the buyer decide what’s best for them? That’s it right there. Because they know better than us. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2026, 3:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/28 "2026-04-29T03:32:45Z")
Everybody has a story. I needed tires but I wanted to get another year out of my car and wanted whitewalls. The tire shop sold me some no name tires for close to $100. This was a few years ago like 15. I never could identified who made them. Maybe China, maybe India. At any rate they were one of the best tires I ever had. Quiet, good in snow and rain, and handled well. I would hate to think that the do Gooders could prevent me from buying them. ---
**Author:** ![Beancounter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/59ef9b/32.png) [@Beancounter](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Beancounter)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2026, 12:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/29 "2026-04-29T12:16:35Z")
> [@asemaster](#): > > Buyer beware. If I buy a pair of shoes, or a car, or a steak, based on price and it doesn’t work like I think it should, I won’t buy that brand again. Simple. We don’t need laws for that. The reasons we DO need some basic Laws on tires, the most important factor in a vehicle’s safety and performance are… 1. A large segment of our drivers only see tires only as “those big black rubber things” and consequently consider only the price. 2. And when those “things” fail or fail to perform, it puts other drivers at risk. 3. Of lesser concern is the fact that tire warrantees are only backed by the manufacturer so when those cheepo Third World, “Golden Dream” tires ■■■■ out, good luck finding anyone to back the warrantee. The bottom line is that practically all the manufacturers have good quality 2nd tier, lower cost tires typically sold under another Brand Name or Private Label that would not be affected BUT as costs go up I’ve seen some even lower cost, shoddy, products start to appear that frankly shouldn’t be allowed on the road. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2026, 1:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/30 "2026-04-29T13:19:35Z")
> [@asemaster](#): > > I love the tires I have on my car right now. Ride and handling is smooth and quiet, treadwear is excellent (I’m on track to get 80K out of these tires), wet traction is awful. I’d buy these again in a minute because Buying tires that you know have poor wet road performance just does not sound like a responsible choice by someone who shares the road with other people. ---
**Author:** ![asemaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@asemaster](https://community.cartalk.com/u/asemaster)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2026, 8:35pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/31 "2026-04-29T20:35:02Z")
> [@Beancounter](#): > > The bottom line is that practically all the manufacturers have good quality 2nd tier, The discussion isn’t about the quality of the tires, it’s about low rolling resistance and removing tires from the marketplace because they don’t meet state guidelines. Maybe I like to keep my snow tires on the car year round. Maybe I’m more interested in my weekend baja rally than I am in improving my gas mileage. Or maybe I refuse to buy anything other than the absolute bottom of the price ladder. The point is the marketplace should decide what sells and what doesn’t. > [@VOLVO-V70](#): > > Buying tires that you know have poor wet road performance just does not sound like a responsible choice by someone who shares the road with other people. Responsible to whom? I’m beholden to myself and my needs before anyone else’s. Operating a car isn’t an altruistic proposition. I buy what I want and am willing to pay for. When it comes to tires I want (in this order): -A smooth and quiet ride that handles nicely. -Decent tread life. I rarely keep a car for longer than one set of tires, but I don’t want to buy tires every 30K miles. -A price point I find acceptable, there are a lot of other things I like to spend money on. -Traction. Now if I were an avid snowboarder and went up to the slopes all winter long traction will be higher on the list. If we were talking about my kid’s car, price will be first. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2026, 8:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/32 "2026-04-29T20:39:22Z")
I would not buy a low rolling resistance tire. To me that means less grip on the road. I want a sticky tire, not a hard one. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/33 "2026-05-01T16:06:15Z")
Must have been about 1959 before many tire regulations. I went with my dad to the local gambles store. They had an ad in the paper for four tires for $90. We needed tires before our vacation trip. So did we buy on price? Yeah. What was wrong with that? Gambles, like tempo, like sears, etc. was a legitimate place to buy tires and refrigerators. I find it hard to fault someone for buying tires on price. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 5:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/34 "2026-05-01T17:54:59Z")
That’s $1021 in 2026 dollars, just for perspective. ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 6:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/35 "2026-05-01T18:33:10Z")
4 for $99.99 sales was still going on in the 2000’s and later, we used to do it quite often to move tires, install only, no carry out… Been some years though since the last sale like that… I did the Dayton Quadra Se’s (Tires Plus version of the FS tires) and then Primewell PS 830/850’s… Once there was very little demand for the 13, 14, and 15" tires, we stopped doing it… We would have automatic Road Hazard and Lifetime Balance on the tires for max service gross profit and then discount the c.r.a.p out of the tires to get the price down to the 4 for $99.99 price… We sold a lot of cheap tires that a way as some buyers only cared about the price, but we also were able to up sale a lot of tires when we showed the customer the benefits of a better tire… ---
**Author:** ![davesmopar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/davesmopar/32/41750_2.png) [@davesmopar](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davesmopar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 6:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/36 "2026-05-01T18:37:13Z")
> [@jtsanders](#): > > That’s $1021 in 2026 dollars, just for perspective. +1 I was about to say, $90 in the 50’s, 60’s and even the 70’s was a big difference the what it is now a days… ---
**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 8:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/37 "2026-05-01T20:15:55Z")
> [@asemaster](#): > > Responsible to whom? Responsible to the other vehicle you slide into and wreck on a rainy day. Yes, this happened to me, stopping at a red light, by an idiot behind me. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 8:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/38 "2026-05-01T20:42:45Z")
Yeah and that was cash back then. No credit cards. Of course some had department store cards but you would go to the bank if you needed money. I don’t know the figures but I suspect there were fewer bankruptcies. ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/39 "2026-05-01T20:44:07Z")
Doesn’t matter the cost of the tire if they are bald. ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 6:02pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562/40 "2026-05-02T18:02:50Z")
Yep, drove from Utah to Minnesota on recap snow tires. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562.md?page=1) [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/california-s-proposed-new-tire-regulations/205562.md?page=3)