The tire is one of the most important parts of any car. The rubber around your rims wouldn’t matter if you had 50 horsepower or 500.
You need good tires to perform well when cornering, braking, maintaining a straight line, and accelerating. When I say perform excellently, I mean to be safe to drive.
I rarely mention a tire that isn’t safe in any of the previous reviews on this list. Despite the fact that some may not perform as well as I would like, I would still mark them as safe for most people. As a result, I only review tires from reputable brands.
At the end of the day, all are produced by manufacturers with proven records of producing quality tires. Check out our list of the best tire brands just now.
There are currently three types of tires available, divided by price and performance. There are premium, mid-range, and cheap options.
Tires evolve as manufacturers incorporate newer technologies, and the boundaries aren’t always clear. There are times when a premium tire may perform like a mid-range tire, and vice versa.
Let me explain why you should avoid these tire brands before I list them.
Table of Contents
Why Do We Call a Tire A Bad Tire?
This topic could probably go on for days, so I’ll try to keep it brief.
Here’s an example of why a bad tire isn’t necessarily the cheapest. Tigar winter tires are considered cheap for my 30-year-old Corolla.
Let me explain before you call me a hypocrite. From the factory, the car had 70 horsepower. My car is underpowered because about 20 of those have died in the past three decades.
It’s mostly used around town, so getting something like a Michelin Alpin would be a waste. I need them to keep me safe, and the ones I have now are doing that.
My reason for telling this story is that people often say that the cheapest tires are the worst. The ones I have in my car claim that the statement is false, meaning that it’s true to a certain extent.
Bad tires begin at the factory. A premium price isn’t just about performance. You also pay for the manufacturer’s research and development and everything else related to manufacturing. Cheaper brands invest less, which is why they are cheaper.
The manufacturer won’t test the tire to its limits when there isn’t much research and development. As a result, the compound and tread design of the tire are untested.
The tread design is also important. Two tires may appear to be identical at first glance. It is clear that they are not the same, and those minor differences can make the difference between a good and a bad tire.
Durability is the last but not the least. For the most part, the tires I review here are very durable. They may wear down faster than others, but their internal construction prevents them from tearing themselves apart. Experiencing a tire explosion at 70 mph on the highway isn’t fun, I know.
In summary, a bad tire is one that isn’t designed properly and doesn’t pass serious safety checks.
How Can You Avoid Bad Tires?
On a twisty road, I’m just as enthusiastic about dancing with a car, but only with a tire that can perform properly. To stay on the road when entering a corner at a high speed, you must rely on the tire’s grip.
It takes only a blink of an eye for a tire with poor aquaplaning resistance to spin you out of control. You have a recipe for disaster when you add long braking distances to the mix.
Even everyday driving can be problematic with bad tires. Most of us refer to these as plastic tires. In a routine drive to work, the rubber compound does not provide enough grip or traction.
In most cases, this results in the tire understeering or slipping when accelerating. It’s essentially a new tire that’s worn down.
Durability also plays a major role in the quality of a tire. Depending on the type of tire, a durable tire should last 40,000 to 50,000 miles. Then there’s the internal construction.
A reputable brand’s tire will be constructed to withstand the daily abuse our tires undergo. There are tons of techniques used to prevent them from blowing up while driving, such as steel belts and nylon wrapping.
Warranty is the last piece of the puzzle. Some of the tires I’ve reviewed in the past do not have a treadwear warranty, but there is usually a workmanship or uniformity warranty.
You won’t get any of that with the cheapest and worst tire brands. You cannot replace your tire if it deforms and becomes wobbly.
Which are the worst tire brands?
Let’s get to the part you’ve all been waiting for. Here are the worst tire brands to avoid:
- Compass
- Geostar
- AKS Tires
- YKS
- Westlake Tires
- Goodride
- Unicorn
- Telluride
- Accelera
- Triangle
- Chaoyang
- Trazano
- Sunfull Tires
There’s a misconception that Chinese tire manufacturers produce the worst tires, which isn’t exactly true. Take Accelera, for example; it’s an Indonesian company that still makes bad tires. In my opinion, many Chinese tire brands are subpar.
Additionally, these are not the only lousy tire manufacturers. The listed below are among the worst and should be avoided at all costs.
Compass
Somehow, Compass reminds me of Chaoyang. The company sells bicycle tires as well as passenger tires. Additionally, the company sells car parts from various brands.
It looks like a wholesaler with a tire manufacturing plant. Having entered the market in 1998, the company hasn’t shown any signs of improvement since then.
Considering that these tires are on this list, they perform as expected. The longevity and comfort aren’t bad, but the performance isn’t.
Geostar
There might be some backlash about this brand, but hear me out. Geostar is a brand owned by Nankang, so for some people, that may be enough to qualify them as good, right? No, not really.
To be fair, Nankang does not make excellent tires; it makes good enough tires at a reasonable price. The Geostar brand follows the same philosophy and makes cheap tires that perform poorly.
When you add a cheaper option to an already cheap tire, the result isn’t really safe. If you’re careful, dry performance may be passable, but anything other than that is unsafe.
AKS Tires
The weirdness of this brand only reinforces my opinion that its tires should be avoided at all costs. There is no information on the company that manufactures the tires.
There is some information on dealerships that sell them, but nothing about ownership or headquarters, let alone used technologies or features. This brand looks like it’s made in someone’s basement, in my opinion.
These are the worst performers. The grip and traction levels are so low that you almost feel like they are made from plastic at slower speeds in perfect conditions. In less ideal conditions, performance is much worse.
YKS Tires
Westlake Tires
Westlake is the third Zhongce Rubber Group tire brand on my list. The story is more or less the same as Goodride, cheap tires with a catch.
The tires from this brand are advertised as safe tires for the local market, meaning they are primarily intended for China. They are still available in other parts of the world, however.
In contrast to tires developed in Europe or America, these tires do not go through the same inspection process. Because of this, the company can cut costs in certain areas in order to offer them at a lower price.
Some users have reported that most models are good for driving around town at slower speeds. The tires are dangerous at higher speeds because you can’t feel the grip, and you don’t know if the tire will stick to the road when cornering.
Goodride
Zhongce Rubber Group also owns Goodride tires. The brand has been on the market since 1997 and is among the youngest on this list.
From passenger car tires to truck and bus tires, the brand offers a wide variety of options. According to the lineup, most of the tires are for commercial use, including truck, bus, and agricultural tires.
Goodride tires are advertised as being cheap, or competitively priced. I wouldn’t recommend these tires, even though I’m not one to go on a rant against cheap tires.
The tires are generally durable, and users report that they wear well. In addition, they note that the traction and handling are significantly worse than those of other tires in the same price range.
Accelera
We’re moving away from Chinese brands and reaching Accelera. Founded in 1996, the company sells high-performance tires and was founded in Indonesia.
Accelera was founded in the same year as Elangperdana Tyre Industry, so it hasn’t been on the market for long. There are tires for passenger cars, off-road vehicles, and even racing in the company’s lineup.
It surprises me that there are rising tires from a company that produces high-performance road tires with poor performance.
As with some other brands on this list, the tires struggled most in wet conditions. In order to get some barely safe driving experience, some owners reported being very gentle with the throttle and brake pedals.
Triangle
Triangle is a much younger tire company and has been in business since 1976. The company was founded in Weihai, China, and initially produced tires for sweeper cars for the Indonesian market.
Triangle gradually began producing car tires as China’s car market grew. The company went through many changes until the 2000s, when it started taking things more seriously, hoping to produce better tires.
Triangle and the University of Akron signed a contract in 2011 to improve research and development.
The company appears to have a lot of potential as long as the R&D department does its job properly and produces good tires. Wet weather is the biggest problem most tires face right now. People say there isn’t much traction for safe driving.
Chaoyang
It’s surprising that Chaoyang has been around for so long. Hangzhou, China, was the location of the company’s founding in 1958.
Over the years, the company has consistently expanded its tire lineup to include tires for bicycles, cars, and even forklifts. This company is part of the Zhongce Rubber Group, which owns a few other tire brands.
One of the interesting things about this company is that there is a positive side to it. In the early days, most of the company’s focus was on bicycle tires, and some people consider them to be good. The lack of experience and refinement that Chaoyang tires lack makes them perform poorly compared to other brands.
Trazano
Trazano is the last tire brand on this list under the Zhongce Rubber Group. This is another US-based brand founded in 2009, so it’s still a minor in this field.
Interestingly, there isn’t even a website to view the available models. As a result, you will have to rely on the resellers’ information. In spite of the company’s claims, the tires are far from safe and reliable.
Although most of the tires aren’t bad, you’d still get a lot less performance than with similarly priced models from a reputable brand. You will begin to notice uneven wear as the tire wears down. The center of the tire will have much less tread than the sides.
Sunfull Tires
Sunfull is a brand of tires owned by Unicorn Tire Corporation, a US company. It’s a US brand that manufactures its tires in China.
Thus, you’d expect that they’d have something good to offer, especially since there are a lot of things made in China that aren’t bad. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
Two problems plague the company, which has been around since 2007. Firstly, it lacks models, and with only a few options, there isn’t much it can offer.
Second, there is a lack of performance. It is usually the wet performance that is the weakest point, and the tire has some of the longest stopping distances I have seen.
Chinese Tires
Each year, China exports 80 millions of tires overseas. Most of the cheap tires you will find on the market are Chinese-made, which are often the worst tire brands to avoid.
It’s already set up for disaster without good safety checks and bad materials.
You probably won’t be able to tell them apart from more expensive branded tires made by Michelin or Dunlop. That’s the thing, though. Untrained eyes may see these tires as attractive, but they are often not high quality, safe, or durable.
There are, however, some reliable Chinese tire manufacturers as well. Unfortunately, we have found that the majority do not perform well.
What are the Signs of a Bad Tire?
You could read a review, but that may not be the best option. You are unlikely to find a review of these tires on a reputable website.
There is usually some information about them on the website that sells them, along with a lot of praise about how good they are. Those should be taken with a grain of salt.
Technically, you can’t tell if a tire is bad or not, so the next section is for you.
How do you choose a good tire?
There are two things that a good tire always has:
Ratings based on safety
Your primary goal will be safety if you drive a car that won’t perform well on a track. If you have an older car, I wouldn’t recommend going for the more expensive options.
I’m not saying that performance ones are bad, but you will pay more for them. You won’t be able to use the tire to its full potential, so it’s the same as my winter tires. Instead of spending a fortune on expensive tires, I took the safe road.
As long as the manufacturer has a proven record of providing quality tires, even if you choose the cheaper option, you shouldn’t have any problems.
While grip and traction are important, I think the most important aspect is braking distance. With more expensive tires, you’ll have shorter braking distances, but that doesn’t mean the cheaper ones will be 10 times longer. Although the stopping distances will be longer, they will still be short and safe.
Performance
I love driving a car on a track and getting behind the wheel. Performance tires are ideal for these applications. In both premium and mid-range segments, you’ll find excellent high-performance tires, so no matter which you choose, you won’t be disappointed.
It’s important to keep in mind that you won’t get the same levels of grip and traction. Either get a feel for it yourself or see if we’ve reviewed it.
What are the best tires to buy instead?
If you know which are the worst tire brands to avoid on the market, you probably also want to know which brands are better. The best tires are usually made in the US or Japan by well-known brands.
The following are the best-performing tire brands we recommend instead:
- Cooper
- Nokian
- Goodyear
- Toyo
- Michelin
- Hankook
- Pirelli
- Continental
- Yokohama
- Bridgestone
- BF Goodrich
Models are more important than brands
Last but not least, you should look at the specific model of the tire and not the brand. Some mid-range tires have braking distances like some premium tires. Several mid-range tires had low noise, while premium tires had a rough ride.
For some, it may come down to personal preference, while for others, it may not matter. As a daily driver, I have had Hankook, Falken, Continental, Firestone, etc. Performance is what I look for in a tire.
In the end, you should pay attention to the tire application, whether it’s summer, winter, all-season, touring, high-performance, etc. Choosing the right tire for your needs is important because you won’t find a tire that will perform perfectly in all conditions.
Final thoughts
You should avoid cheap tires from Chinese tire brands like Goodride, Westlake, Chaoyang, and Compass Tires. You should also avoid Telluride, YKS, and AKS Tires.
We may have seen improvements in the quality of these brands since our tests, but this is what we’ve seen in the past. Please prove us wrong if you can
Tires from the brands on this list should generally be avoided. Although some models are better than others, these brands generally produce bad products without good quality checks.
It’s not necessary to settle for a poor quality tire just because it’s affordable – there are plenty of other affordable tire brands that make quality products.
References and Resources:
Video of Worst Tire Brands
FAQs
What is a good cheap tire brand?
When it comes to good, inexpensive tires, Cooper, Hankook, and Toyo come to mind. It really depends on what you’re looking for and what you consider inexpensive in a tire. Don’t skimp on your tires! It is often true that you get what you pay for.
What brand of tires should you buy?
There is a huge difference between different tire brands in terms of quality and performance. There are some tire brands that may be better suited to certain vehicle types or driving conditions than others.
It might not always be necessary to purchase tires from a specific brand, but it might be worth considering depending on your circumstances and needs. Finding the right tires for your car and driving style is what matters most.
What is the quality of Chinese tires?
Chinese tires are available in both good and bad quality. It is unfortunate that a large number of Chinese tires lack quality control when they leave the factory, so there are a lot of bad Chinese tires on the market.
What should the price of a good tire be?
A good tire should cost between $70 and $250. When determining the cost of a good tire, there are a few factors to consider.
Your tires will be more expensive if your car is heavier and faster. A car with high-performance tires or larger wheels will also be more expensive.