Who makes the top of the line longest lasting tires for a regular car? Im looking at bfg advantage t/a, Michelin pilot sport a/s 3+ and the sumitomo htr a/s P02
understand that there's no free lunch.
stiffer, longer-lasting rubber has poor traction and useless is useless in freezing temperatures.
softer rubber wears quicker, but conforms to road, and stays grippy when frozen cold, which you need especially when there's snow, ice or rain.
Thicker rubber lasts longer, but it makes the tire heavier, stiffer, harder to balance, and reduces performance and road feel
I won't even get into road noise and heat.
The best tire is one that balances all the necessary properties in your driving conditions.
Which tire best balances all these then? And a thicker tire doesn't seem so bad
I said balanced for YOUR driving conditions. I have no idea what those are.
You will generally only see tread depth up to half an inch. Maybe 5/8 for an all terrain tire. Less tread for street tires. More tread for offroad tires. . Like I said, they're too heavy and unwieldly. They're loud and they shake. You get more "squirm". You don't want thicker tread for highway use
Probably just normal highway and neighborhood driving. Maybe a dirt road every now and then. And some rain and snow when ever its the season. All season tires seem to fit the best. So which all season tire is the most balanced?
What are you driving?
I don't think you can beat Michelins. When we needed to put new tires on my wife's car the guys at Discount Tire convinced her she needed Pirelli Scorpions on her 2017 RX350. I don't drive it but she says the tires are working fine for her. They have good wet traction. They look stylish if that matters.
There's Michelin and then everyone else if long lasting is your priority. Ive never had any issues with grip.
I had Sumitomo's in the past. Very quiet and balanced tire. Dry traction was excellent, but wet (especially snow) was terrible.
They did hold up to Detroit potholes though (and I'm talking about non-stop lumps and bumps).
General Tire...Altimax RT43
IMHO, the easiest way to screen out bad tires is by country-of-origin. In particular, I would avoid tires sourced in China, both the primary-Chinese brands (eg, "Westlake") and the other brands' Chinese-made models. There are certainly good China-sourced tires (Falken's AT tires are a good example), but usually when a tire maker outsources production to China, it's to cut corners and save money, not improve quality. That's just reality. And you have to be careful, because within a make and model of tire, some sizes may be made in China and not others.
In contrast, US, EU, and Japan sourced tires have some bad apples but are usually going to be pretty good.
You can look up the country of origin on Tire Rack under the "Specs" section for each tire.
Otherwise, the "best" tire for you will depend on the car, road conditions, weather conditions, and driving style, as others here have pointed out.
