Tires are just like your cat’s feet. They must support the entire vehicle’s structure and help the car grip the road.
If you have low-quality tires, your vehicle may lose handling, and you will experience a lot of road noise. To top that off, you must buy new tires every few thousand miles as the old ones will wear out quicker.
There are hundreds of tire-manufacturing brands out there but not every brand makes good tires. Some tires are cheap, but their low price often means they are not reliable.
The only thing between the road and the car are the tires – Therefore, it’s wise to invest in a good pair of tires for your own and your family’s safety.
That’s why it’s important not to get fooled by flashy tire deals and attractive prices. Invest in well-known manufacturers only.
What are the Worst Tire Brands?
There are thousands of different tire brands to choose from out there. Some you should avoid at all costs. The worst tire brands you should avoid at all costs include the following:
- Chaoyang
- Goodride
- AKS Tires
- Telluride
- Compass Tires
A lot of Chinese manufacturers are developing a lot of brand names for almost the same tires. One big manufacturer from China is Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company. They are selling many cheaper tires without good safety checks or tests before they leave the factory.
If you are looking for good tire brands to buy instead check out our other articles: 5 Best All-Season Tires or 8 Best Performance Tires
Cheap Chinese Tires
China exports 65 million tires out to the world each year. Therefore, most of the cheap tires you will find on markets will be Chinese-made, the worst tire brands to avoid at all costs.
Without good safety checks and bad materials before leaving the factory, it’s already set up for a disaster.
Take a look at them, and you won’t be able to differentiate them from more expensive branded tires made by Michelin or Dunlop. But that’s the thing. These tires look good to an untrained eye but are not good in quality, safety, or durability.
However, there are some reliable Chinese tire manufacturers out there. But the majority do not perform well.
Why you should not buy cheap tires
If you think you should save some money by buying cheap tires or continuing driving with old tires, you should consider some things.
1. Safety
The biggest concern with cheap tires is safety. What happens if your tire explodes just by a small nail in your tire while driving at 75 mph? It can cause a serious accident and nothing you want to happen, even though this is much more likely with cheap tires than more quality tires.
2. Longer Brake Distance
The brake distance and the grip between good and bad tires differ greatly, which can be the difference between life and death. This is something you really should consider before buying cheap tires.
3. Durability
Another aspect to look for is quality with durability. Cheaper tires will most likely have a much shorter life. If you buy cheap tires, you must replace them more often, and you may not save as much money as you think. Cheap tires also have weaker sidewall, which can easily replace the tire because of sidewall tire damage.
4. Environment
Cheaper tires are often bad for the environment. This does both apply to the manufacturer environment and the road wear environment. Tires that wear out more quickly release more particles into the air, eventually destroying the environment.
What tires should you buy instead?
When you know which are the worst tire brands to avoid on the market, you probably also want to know which brands are better to buy instead? We do usually recommend buying tires from known brands, often made in the US or Japan.
Here is a list of the best performance tire brands we do recommend to buy instead:
- Michelin
- Goodyear
- Continental
- BF Goodrich
- Bridgestone
- Cooper
- Nokian
- Pirelli
- Toyo
- Yokohama
Some significant errors and red flags in this "article". Yes, many Chinese tires are junk - the majority are not so much "unsafe" as they are short-life throwaways. I have found that the biggest issue is that they never last even close to their "treadwear" rating. And good luck getting any kind of warranty - it won't happen. But - to dismiss them due to environmental damage due to faster wear and "releasing more particles in the air, destroying the environment" is an insane statement that is both false and plays the ecco-game (poorly). But then I get to the supposed "good" brands... and see Goodyear (or as my friends in the tire business often call them "good for a year". Goodyear manufactures some of the worst tires on the market in both longevity and in wear life. In fact, I have serious concerns for Cooper's quality after being acquired by Goodyear.
There is no consumer protection in China for food bought in restaurants. The meat is old and dangerous to eat. The tires do not have standards to pass either. Be careful purchasing.
Terrible - Run from Goodride. Less than 3k miles and two out of four blew out. I travel at a rated safe speed, daily inflation checks and wheel torque always. These things are downright dangerous. Saved one blow out and am trying to get it tested by a reputable agency.
The worse tires anybody could buy are hankook Had these the tires since the car was new and to changed them four times. Went straight to the car dealership to change them it seemed like they didn't want to be bothered.
Sorry to hear you had bad luck with your HKs, however, to date, I've had 3 sets of HKs and they have been great and value for money, relatively (optimo, ventus z14s and rs4s). I had a bf goodrich comp 2 blow out on me at speed with low miles on them, so I'd hesitate to make blanket statements like that. I also have had 3 different sets of sumitomos that have a somewhat "cheap price" rep however, again, my experience has been outstanding. On the other side of the coin, my experiences with Michelin, Continental, General, Goodyear and Toyo have generally been very good.
I have been of offered ROMAN tyres manufactured in China - do you know of them? Regards
Have always run Goodyear Wranglers Durotrac tyres 265.75 R 16. All were made in America. They were brilliant tyres made in USA. Last lot made in CHINA and found after 30000km multiple leaking points showing signs of drlaminating. Dealer doesn’t want to know. Has anyone else had similar problems? Dealers attitude was awful .
Your advice on Sailun Terramax HLT tires. I have found very little reviews on them, but all the reviews I have found were good reviews. Some say it’s very comparable to higher brand expensive tires. You thoughts please..