What Tire Do I Buy? | The 6 Most Popular Car Tire Brands

In 2022, there were 290.8 million cars on the road in 2022, according to Zippia.com. That figure includes cars, vans, SUVs, and light- and medium-duty trucks. That amounts to over 1.16 billion tires hugging American roads. Unfortunately, most drivers can’t tell you what tire brand they currently have on their vehicles.

As the only part of your car in contact with the road, your tires play a crucial role in vehicle safety. So, when it’s time to replace your tires, it would be beneficial to know which brands have the best record for performance and safety. We asked our tire experts at #1 Cochran Buick GMC Youngstown to review the industry and provide you with the best brands for the most popular vehicles.

Michelin Tires

The French company Michelin makes tires for most countries. As the second largest tire manufacturer in the world, Michelin continues to win awards in safety, performance, and customer satisfaction; for example, its CrossClimate2 tire rates as one of the best all-season tires on the market. Plus, the Michelin Pilot Sport S4 continues to garner acclaim as the top performance tire. So, whether you have a premium sports car or a commuter sedan, Michelin has over 50 tire models to fit the following applications:

• All-season.
• Touring.
• High-performance.
• Ultra-high performance.
• Winter.
• All-terrain.
• Mud-terrain.

Michelin has a vast network of retail outlets and a great selection of tire types. In addition, it boasts top-quality ratings by industry professionals, and customers love it. The only drawback is you’ll pay a little more for the Michelin Man to wrap your wheels in a set of four.

Continental Tires

For over 150 years, Continental has made tires part of a larger ecosystem of automotive and transportation applications. However, Continental maintains a steady focus on mainstream vehicles, making 59 different tires in the U.S. to fit everything from high-performance cars to SUVs. Here’s a snapshot of what Continental excels at:

• All-season.
• Touring.
• High-performance.
• Ultra-high performance.
• Winter.

Continental has perfected one facet of tire manufacturing: how long they last. Unfortunately, Continental doesn’t focus too much on off-road applications. So, if you want to add aggressive off-road tires to your lifted truck, you might be better off searching elsewhere.

Goodyear Tires

Fun fact: Charles Goodyear invented vulcanization. No, not the live long and prosper thing. The process of strengthening and elasticizing rubber things. The vulcanization process exposes rubber to heat and sulfur, where its elastomers harden, adding strength and creating cross-links that make it more elastic.

Goodyear has been making tires since its inception in 1898 and today is the fourth largest tire manufacturer globally. It offers 85 different tire types to fit everything from race cars to commuter vehicles.

Another fun fact: Goodyear started when Frank and Charles Seiberling borrowed a mere $3,500 to purchase an abandoned strawboard factory in Akron, OH. It wasn’t long before it succeeded in making carriage tires, bicycle tires, and horseshoe pads. But with the sudden growth of the automotive industry, Goodyear started making car tires. In fact, Goodyear patented the first tubeless automobile tire and a tire-building machine that would propel it to the top of the industry by 1916. Today, Goodyear’s tire types fit the following applications:

• All-season.
• Touring.
• High-performance.
• Ultra-high performance.
• Winter.
• All-terrain.
• Mud-terrain.

Getting a Goodyear tire is as easy as doing a web search for one of its stand-alone tire shops. It has a nationwide retail network, an excellent reputation with consumers and mechanics, and one of the most expansive selections of tires available. Unfortunately, you’ll pay more for a Goodyear tire than an off-brand.

Bridgestone Tires

You might not know that the Bridgestone brand comes from Japan, and that’s okay. Bridgestone is the largest tire manufacturer in the world but didn’t get there organically through growth. Instead, Bridgestone purchased various brands over the years to get where it is today.

One of those brands was Firestone, which has a storied history. Harvey Firestone founded the Firestone Tire Company in Akron, OH, way back in 1900. One of Harvey’s claims to fame includes creating the first non-slip tread ideal for race cars. As a result, Firestone tires wrapped the wheels of Indy 500 winners for 25 straight years by 1948, and consumers have coveted the Firestone brand for decades. In addition, you can expect to find reliable tires from the Bridgestone family, including:

• All-season.
• Touring.
• High-performance.
• Ultra-high performance.
• Winter.
• All-terrain.
• Mud-terrain.

When you buy a Bridgestone tire, you get one of the highest-quality tires available, especially if you stay with the Firestone brand. In addition, Firestone tires have had the lowest recall rate of any manufacturer over the last five years.

BF Goodrich Tires

BF Goodrich, one of the oldest tire manufacturers, started making tires in 1870. BF Goodrich never tried to be all things to all people. Instead, it focused production on a small range of 21 tire models. It didn’t do a lot, but what it did, it did exceptionally well, particularly with vintage muscle-car tires.

However, the brand was purchased by Michelin in 1990, a move that helped keep a strong performer alive while boosting the French manufacturer’s footprint in America. You can find the following tire types:

• Ultra-high performance.
• All-season.
• Touring.
• All-terrain.
• Mud-terrain.

You won’t find the widest selection of tires from BF Goodrich, but if you want a 14- or 15-inch-wide tire for your mid-60s muscle car, it has you covered. However, you should consider another tire if you need something better suited for wintry weather.

Cooper Tires

Another Akron, OH, tire manufacturer, Cooper, has worked in the market since 1914. Cooper has had its ups and downs over the years but recently has enjoyed success with its Discoverer truck and SUV tires. And, of course, the Cooper Cobra continues to draw muscle car attention for its fat width. You can find over 20 Cooper tire types, including:

• High-performance.
• Winter.
• All-terrain.
• Mud-terrain.
• Touring.
• All-season.

Purchase New Tires in Youngstown Today

We hope you found our tire review helpful and informative. If you need a new set of tires, our tire department here at Cochran Buick GMC Youngstown has an expansive inventory of the best brands. Our #1 Cochran tire technicians can provide an exact match to your existing tire or recommend a good alternative if you want something different. You can schedule a visit online or stop by our dealership anytime.

New Wheels by jeff_golden is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0