Rep Power: 320

Its raining real hard here in SoCal...
I was driving my mom's SUV to the post office and passed by an accident.
So I started to wonder if the tires I bought for her SUV was going to get her safely to work tomorrow...or should I have spent more and bought something more expensive?

Her car has Republic tires, which are made by Goodyear according to the papers that came with it. And they were half the price of actual Goodyear stamped tires.

So I'm wondering why brand names make tires under a different name and sell them for cheaper?
We know cost is one reason but is build quality part of the equation too?
If it's anything like clothing brands...I'm going to change her tires ASAP.
We all know Banana Republic, Gap, and Old Navy all belong under one roof.
And if my tires are equivalent to Old Navy, I'm changing them to Gap or B.R. ASAP. (For those of you who really can't tell a difference between these stores other than price, you have to look closer at the stitching. I used to help out at a sweat shop..errr...clothing factory. )

I was also thinking we can get a list going of who belongs to who and who makes whose products. Hopefully it'll be filled with enough info so a mod can sticky it to the top and avoid further useless posts.

 
Rep Power: 333

first, i would search up those tires that your mom has on the suv and see the reviews and ratings of those. goto like tirerack.com 1010tires etc etc. they sound like OEM tires or some "just something for now" type of tires to me.

if you want to keep it real safe, i would consider a set of new all-season tires if you have the money. i know suv sized tires will end up at least 5 bills for good ones. check out a local costco too, they carry michlein/bridgestone/ and other good tires. www.costco.com

warn your mother about driving conditions and how horrible those tires may be. goodluck to you and your mom. drive safe

 
Rep Power: 308

The number one cuase of SUV accidents are moronic drivers who think that becuase they have an SUV they can barrel down the interstate at break-neck speeds, and be impervious to an inclement weather.

With that said, the BIGGEST factor to a tires performance in weather conditions is it's tread pattern. If Goodyear is making the same tread pattern under BO-BO TIRES brand name, then F it... Buy em up.

Just like your clothing line, quality will also be a small part of the issue. However it will more likely be in the material of the tire, You may not get the amount of miles riding on BO-BO's. Or they might not grip the asphalt as nicely, so you get more peeling action when you Mom's is cranking it off the redlight to the grocery store.

Also, just like your Clothing line, 10% of the price increase is to pay for the added quality, and 90% of the price increase is to have a little Horsey on your shirt Pocket.
F THAT.. I rock the Old Navy clearence rack like my life depended on it. I'm not paying 120% more for a piece of clothing that will last 30% longer. The math just doesn't add up.

Same with tires, don't pay 120% more for a tire that will only last 30% longer.

Do however look at the tread pattern, and the performance review of the tire, as stated in previous posts.

 
Rep Power: 282

Price and brand name doesn't mean squat. I've owned many cheap and expensive tires over the last 8 years and all I can say is it depends on the particular tire. For example, I hated my old cheapo Kelly tires with a passion, but I'm pleasantly surprised by the cheapo Pep Boys tires that came on my g/f's car. I have mixed feelings on the yokos and michelins I've tried. My current Bridgestones are worth every penny.

Goodyear/Republic
Bridgestone/Fuzion

I think Avon and General are secondary lines as well, research dude.

 
Rep Power: 333

BRIDGESTONE AND FIRESTONE ARE SAME TOO but never knew about "Fuzion"

 
Rep Power: 320

If the tires don't grip the asphalt as nicely as name brands, then that only means I'll lose grip faster during an sudden stop. Thats not good at all.

Most cheap tires have about the same mileage life as brand names.
Pep boys offers ~70,000 mile tires and such so mileage isn't a reason.

I'm thinking that materials used is the biggest factor between a no name and brand name tire.

 
Rep Power: 424

Avon is their own company, its just not very large.
Bridgestone is Fuzion but its not a lesser brand per se, its just bridgestones line of Ricer Tires.
Firestone would be Bridgestone's **** tires

Anyways... my guess would be that Goodyear has released some new tire (compound, tread, blah, blah...) and then taken the old model (which probably has nothing wrong with it) , changed the name on the sidewall, and now sells it for less because they know people will still buy it. That way they can still make more money off of it even though its not top of the line, but those people who just want Point A to Point B tires will still buy them. Its probably just stringing a little more money out of a superceded product, I doubt there's anything wrong, they're just 2 years ago's model or something.
If you had namebrand tires on it before, and these are clearly more squirly then change them... but if you can still beat it around a little and it'll hold its ground, then I'd say they're fine.

 
Rep Power: 346

Bridgestone, Firestone and Dayton are one, Dayton are BF's **** tires. Bridgestone >Firestone>Dayton

 
Rep Power: 308

This is true, but you want to leave your braking to your brakes and your traction to your tires to some extent. too much grip on the tire will also lock the brakes up faster and cuase skidding.

 
Rep Power: 0

I thought less technology and research was the biggest factor. Like less work with noise reduction, optimizing tread patterns, and so on. I had some Dayton tires in the past. Cheap, high mileage tire. New ones have the UNI-T technology, same as Firestone and Bridgestone.