Does the tire brand really matter?

Tire brand doesn't really matter as much as how many times a casing has been recapped, and how old that casing is.

 

Never again, as long as I can help it. Put a Sailun steer tire on my son's Freightliner and got maybe 40k out of it before it got out of round and wore unevenly, and bad enough it had to be replaced. That's the last one I actually chose to get and paid for. Then the dealer I bought my truck from put two new Sailun steers on it when I took delivery. They barely made 20k miles before badly out of round. Same dealer stuck one on a trailer I bought from them. Same deal, turned into crap in about two months. That one kind of surprised me and underscored the crappiness of them. The other 7 tires continue to wear perfectly. That one got ugly enough to be swapped and I replaced it with a new Firestone at a Love's.

Also had trouble with bad wear on two sets Yokohama steers and drives, purchased six months apart. Trailer tires were ok. Same deal on two trucks with two different drivers. Both equipped with cat's eyes. Bad wear resembles what you described. I did manage to get two of the four steer tires warrantied (with adjustment of course). Won't buy those again either. Weird part is, some people have had good use out of them. Apparently you did on the first set.

Since then, I've had great service out of various Firestone and Goodyear products. The Michelins may be great too, just not seeing the value for the price over what I'm using now.

 

Too many Michelin fan boys on here. Good tires but way over priced. Bridgestone and Continentals are just as good and you don't have to drive out of the tire shop feeling like you just dropped the soap in the prison shower. as far as goodyears, just a name these days. Cool blimps though.

 

Had a Michelin XZA3 steer tire blowout last month. They paid for the tire and road service call under warranty. Don't see other tire manufacturers doing that...

 

How many tires actually blow out on the road due to a manufacturing flaw or improper mounting?

I've had steer tires adjusted under warranty by Yokohama and Goodyear. Those were construction defects that got the tread out of round, but did not blow out on the road. Fairly prorated on all three occasions, since none were brand new tire failures.

 

Most tire shop's quit selling Chinese tires because of Quality issues.

 

Thats pretty sweet. But my experience is the dealer has more to do with that than the manufacturer. A good dealer knows how to work the manufacturer on belahf of the customer. I agree with REdforeman, I doubt the blowout was bc of a manufacturing defect. The dealer prob went to bat for you so you wouldn't be out of pocket. But heck, if your XZA3 blewout bc of a mfg defect, then i would stay the heck away from Michelins. blowout a steer while doing 70...well, I think that's something none of us wants to experience. No warranty is going to replace me.

 

It wasn't a dealer... it was through Michelin's national account.

 

In my years as a mechanic and driver I have seen Michelin tires out do everything else as a steer tire. However they come with a big price tag so in all actuality I would go with a Continental as a steer. Won't last as long but not by a whole lot. Price wise it is cheaper in the long run with them. There are others I would consider also. I would never never never never buy a Goodyear. Never had good luck with them as steers and not worth the extra price for drive or trailer tires. I would also only run caps on a trailer but it is best to run virgin. Remember though you have to watch Michelin tires when you put them next to another brand. They have soft sidewalls put them next to a Bridgestone and you increase your chances at a blowout.

 

I'm with you on this one. The Bridgestone M720 is my favorite drive tire. Nice tread pattern while still being fuel efficient. They last a long time and wear even too.