Tires

If you’re interested in a career in automotive journalism, here’s a piece of unsolicited advice – don’t get in the passenger seat of a Lucid Air Sapphire with the car’s development engineer for hot laps of a major racetrack shortly after eating lunch.

Any off-road gearhead with a bit of dirt under their fingernails is sure to know that traction is a huge part of a great day on the trail. All the locking differentials and beadlock wheels in the world – or horsepower and torque, for that matter – won’t stand a chance in the tough stuff if the tires on yer rig are bald as Homer Simpson. This is why some drivers end up enduring YouTube infamy thanks to viral videos caught at the most inopportune moments.

I am told spring is here, though the weather has been, shall we say, inconsistent? We've had some warm days, and some spring rain, but it's also remained chilly at times. Spring in Chicago is non-linear, and this year is no exception.

Advances in the field of tire and rubber technology (yes, that’s a thing; we promise) have permitted manufacturers to make huge strides in the ability of these things to grip surfaces of all types. In the past, there was a push to sell all-season tires which performed at kinda-sorta acceptable levels in a variety of conditions but didn’t truly excel in any particular environment.

While it’s true that electric vehicles don’t require the same level of routine maintenance that gas vehicles do, EVs have some downsides. A main point of complaint for owners has been tires, as a new J.D. Power study showed that many are surprised that their heavy, torque-rich EV burns through rubber faster than when they had a gas vehicle.

Today's QOTD won't apply to those of you in the so-called "smile" states, at least not for the most part -- obviously some parts of California see snow, and Texas experiences the white stuff on occasion.

A Detroit-based startup hoping to normalize robotic tire changes has filed for bankruptcy, perhaps offering hope to all the humans worried that they're about to be displaced by automation. RoboTire, which launched in 2019, had stated its intention to speed up vehicle maintenance for auto repair shops, fleet operators and dealerships. Now its status is Chapter 7.

Wide swaths of the motoring public tend to dislike spending money on new tires, thinking them little more than rubber circles which are all the same. As gearheads, we know the difference of course, and often dive into the purchase with zealous amounts of comparison and opinion. If only we could transfer this enthusiasm to everyone.

Until now, the specter of all-weather tires has been somewhat nebulous. Purported to be a bridge between all-seasons and winters, they used to be derided by some as ‘good at everything but great at nothing.’ But tire tech has come a great distance in a short amount of time, particularly from brands like Nokian which plow cubic acres of dollars into their R&D departments.

Win a set of Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires!

It's time for a TTAC Giveaway! Once again, we're giving away some winter tires! You can snag a set by entering below.

Those four black circles at each corner of yer car are technically the only parts of the machine that literally touch the pavement. All the modern safety or efficiency gear in the world is useless if an owner has cheaped out with off-brand rubber or simply runs the wrong set.

Those of us in the Snow Belt know this, explaining the rise of that three-peak mountain snowflake symbol that certifies the tire for winter duty. But the rise of electric vehicles comes with a new set of considerations – and Nokian thinks they have an answer.

Airless tires are one of those concepts that have been around forever (we used to call them wagon wheels) but never seem to be able to achieve a technological breakthrough that would make them preferable to what’s already on the market. However, Michelin just managed to produce a set it says has been tested at 130 mph that it believes could be ideal for law-enforcement applications.

The tires that came on your car when it left the factory may or may not be from a big-name manufacturer, but in many cases, automakers equip custom-designed tires that look like off-the-shelf brands you can buy at the shop but are specially made to highlight the car’s strengths. J.D. Power’s 2023 U.S. Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study found that those efforts have paid off with an increase in overall satisfaction from 2022.

Finnish company Nokian put down roots in the South a few years ago, opening a brand-new facility just northeast of Chattanooga back in 2019 where they currently employ about 350 locals. In a spurt of good news for the area, Nokian has announced they plan to bump that number to 475 by the end of this year.

It's time for another TTAC Giveaway! This time, with winter fast approaching, it's time to once again work with Bridgestone to provide a lucky winner with a set of winter rubber, just in time for the snow to fly.

Goodyear has agreed to recall more than 173,000 intended for commercial delivery vehicles and RVs nearly two decades after the last one was manufactured. The company’s G159 tires have been under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) since December of 2017 and the recall comes in the wake of years of lawsuits alleging the rubber contributed to a series of fatal accidents dating back to 1998.

Despite no new claims having launched in years, court orders and settlement agreements delayed an order to make corporate data pertaining to the tire-buying public for five full years. The NHTSA didn’t even launch a formal investigation until late in 2017, followed by the recent announcement that the agency has pushed Goodyear into a recall for a tire that ended production during the Bush administration.

If you live in a region that gets harsh winters, with snow and ice that makes driving a nightmare, you want the best winter tires possible. Whether you drive a car, truck or sport utility vehicle – even one with four-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive – proper snow tires will allow your vehicle to accelerate, steer and brake more confidently and more safely than an all-season tire.

Tires, like donuts, are round with a hole in the middle. Unlike donuts, picking tires can be hard. You can’t just go back the next day and grab another one if you don’t like them. Rather than filling your hunger, tires keep you safe and secure on the road in all types of conditions, both wonderful and miserable. While there are tires designed for summer and tires for winter, for many people, the compromise of an all-season tire is a much better choice. Like a plain donut, the all-season tire is good every day, even if it isn’t your favorite.

Continental Tires has announced the recall of about 93,959 Continental, General, and Barum brand passenger vehicle tires. Made in their Mt. Vernon, Illinois plant, the tires went to vehicle manufacturers, and the aftermarket.

Only 37 of 84 cars finished the King of the Hammers, proclaimed the planet’s toughest one-day off-road race, on time this year. Tad Dowker and Jordan Pellegrino, two racers on Mickey Thompson Baja Boss X tires, were among the finishers.

There’s no question the Jeep brand has been on a bit of a roll. After launching the new Wrangler a couple of model years ago, they followed that up with the similar-but-really-not Gladiator and are set to (finally) have a three-row offering in the new year. Combine that with volume from the Cherokees – both Grand and un-Grand – plus the Renegade, and FCA essentially has a license to print money.

You already saw our feature on the tire sale at TireRack on Goodyear winter tires, but it’s looking like the online superstore has a bunch of ways to earn some solid cashback between now and the end of the month. Covering everything from winter and all terrain tires to more basic all-seasons, the deals include options from Michelin, Continental, Yokohama, Cooper, Dick Cepek, Firestone, Khumo, and Pirelli. Click through the links below for a closer look at the various promos out there and how to qualify.

General Motors has announced it will choose “sustainable natural rubber” for the 49 million tires it buys each year. The automaker claims it is establishing a set of buying principals to ensure sustainably harvested materials and is encouraging other automakers to follow suit in a bid to reduce deforestation.

It won’t suddenly make driving your Chevrolet good for the environment, but it should give drivers bragging rights — allowing them to claim their tires killed fewer critters before even getting the opportunity to run any over.

However, environmental smugness is occasionally warranted. With tire manufactures representing 75 percent of the natural rubber market (according to the World Wildlife Fund), an overall shift toward sustainability would provide a measurable impact on deforestation. But what is General Motors getting out of this move and what will the price of environmental awareness be?

BFGoodrich’s All-Terrain T/A tires can be found everywhere, from your local construction site to the most grueling of off-road races. I’ve fitted some of my trucks with the original KO and used them on and off-road, so I was curious what improvements BFGoodrich could bring to its latest iteration: the new KO2.

BFGoodrich brought me up to Bethel, Maine to test out its new tire in the nearby hills — and to catch this year’s Red Bull Frozen Rush.

The Frozen Rush trucks run a one-off spiked version of the same tire, but I was more interested in the street version that might adorn one of my (or your) vehicles.

[Editor’s note: Part One of Steve Lang’s updated guide to used car buying can be found here]

Schedule the test drive for a time when there’s no rush. If it’s bad weather, reschedule.

Take a little notebook, write a quick check list based on this article, and make notes.