Rethinking Factory-Installed Tires: What You Need to Know

Home » Rethinking Factory-Installed Tires: What You Need to Know
February 25, 2024
Edward Smith

Factory-Installed Tires Might Not Be the Best

When considering replacing your factory-installed tires, you might be weighing your options about what to purchase. Should you stick to the same model your vehicle initially came with? Perhaps not. The tires your car manufacturer selected may not be the best choice for your personal needs as a driver. Often, the tires that roll off with new cars are a compromise to check off certain boxes for automakers.

Tire Reviews offers an in-depth analysis of tires for 2023. They prioritize all-season, best performance, summer, winter, all-terrain, and tires for sports cars and those for BEVs. You can also check out 1010tires.com for reviews on different size tires and their handling, comfort, and treadwear, as well as their handling in the snow and on wet and dry pavement.

Why Do Manufacturers Prefer Reduced Rolling Resistance Tires? 

Manufacturers prefer factory-installed tires with reduced rolling resistance for vehicles like EVs and standard passenger cars. Why? Because these are the tires that will be evaluated during EPA testing, contributing to fuel efficiency and electric range numbers, manufacturers can boast in advertisements.

Test Drives Are Usually Made on Clear, Dry Days

Yet, it’s also essential for these tires to impress journalists and perform well in conditions typically encountered during test drives—often on clear and dry days. Publications like Car & Trend, MotorDriver, and Edwards rely heavily on performance data gathered under these conditions for their reviews.

What About Daily Driving in All Conditions?

But where does that leave other critical tire features, such as durability and wet weather performance? Since manufacturers do not prioritize these factors in factory-installed tires, they may fall short of expectations. As a driver, it’s your responsibility to assess what characteristics you value most in a tire for everyday use. In addition, before purchasing new tires, you can check recalls.gov to see if there are problems with the tires you are considering purchasing.

It’s entirely possible that the best tire for your vehicle is not the one it came with when it rolled off the assembly line. Doing some research before replacing your tires can help your vehicle operate better and more safely when driving conditions are considered. 

Avoiding Blowouts

There are many causes of blowouts, which can also occur in factory-installed tires. Some of the significant problems that cause a blowout include:

  • Road damage, such as potholes and debris, can lead to a blowout. If this is the cause of your accident, you can recover compensation for your injuries by placing a claim against the government entity charged with maintenance. However, you only have six months to file, so you might want help from an accident attorney.
  • Overloading a vehicle can cause a tire to explode or blow out. Not rotating your tires regularly can cause the weakest one to let go.
  • Underinflating your tires can lead to a blowout because it results in wear on the sides of your factory-installed tires.
  • Uneven tread caused by not rotating your tires can increase the blowout risk.

Accident attorney Ed Smith explains a few tips to consider when seeking legal assistance: 

Sacramento Car Accident Lawyer

I am Ed Smith, a Sacramento car accident lawyer. If your vehicle experienced a tire blowout causing injuries due to an unrecalled defect or government negligence, you might want to determine if you can place a personal injury claim. Contact our accident attorneys at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly advice about your case. You can also contact us online

We are honored to belong to the Million Dollar Advocates and Top 1 Percent. For additional information about our law firm and how we’ve helped others, please visit our Verdicts & Settlements page and review reviews on Yelp, Avvo, and Google.

Photo attribution: Image by THAM YUAN YUAN from Pixabay

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