I need to step in here:
Treadwear ratings are not meaningless. You just have to know what they mean. What the treadwear ratings mean is a comparison in a standardized test against a standard tire that every tire manufacturer has to compare to. The trick is to know that a rating can be understated, but not overstated.
What they don’t mean is how many miles you are going to get.
The biggest variable in treadwear is your driving conditions. Live in the country and basically drive in a straight line, you’ll get much more miles out of your tires than if you live in the city and turn a lot to get anywhere. There are other variables, such as driving style (gentle vs “spirited”,), pavement type (aggressive vs polished), etc.
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I agree. The tire ratings are for comparison when buying new tires. It’s like gas mileage ratings at fuel economy.gov.
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A good tire shop will do that. A less-good tire shop might sell you whatever has the highest markup or whatever they’re looking to clear out.
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When a friend of mine needed tires, the tire dealer sold him tires that had a lower load rating than they should have been. This was discovered when he was having them rotated at the dealership, during a visit for maintenance. Needless to say, neither he nor I would ever patronize that tire shop again.
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I always read comparison test results at Tire Rack and Consumer Reports. I also look at consumer ratings at Tire Rack, but I’m skeptical how well responders can compare the tires they have now to others on the market.
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Because I can’t run my own comparison tests, I rely on the ratings published by both CR & Tire Rack. But, when you read some of the individual comments from people who tag-onto the Tire Rack website, it’s difficult to take some of them seriously.
I’ve found the national chains will push whatever tire they need to get rid of or have a promotion on from the manufacturer or what they have the most in inventory. It’s a complete joke. There’s enough information on-line to get a good evaluation of a specific tire(s) for your vehicle to choose from. I haven’t found one brand fits all.
Must have more honest people in Minnesota. For the rest of us I’d suggest learning a little before going to the store. Although Costco doesn’t sell any crap tires. So for those not in the know I tell them Costco. For those in the know I tell them Tirerack.