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With so many new tire options how do you know you’re buying the right one for your vehicle?

In this guide we’ll break it all down to help you choose the best value or the best fit for your situation given the factors that are most important to you, the driver.

Guarantees

Many name brand tire manufacturers offer customer satisfaction guarantees ranging anywhere from 30 to 90 days. If you’re not happy with your purchase, most will allow you to exchange the tires for other tires within the same brand as long as the customer pays the difference in cost. Some manufacturers offer free installation on the replacement tires. Guarantees help you make the right decision.

Guarantees & The Differences Between Them

Bridgestone 90-DAY BUY & TRY GUARANTEE – “If a retail customer is not completely satisfied with their eligible Bridgestone-brand tires, the tires can be returned to the location where they were originally purchased within 90 days of purchase for a full refund or exchange.”

Continental Customer Satisfaction Trial – “If you're not happy with your purchase, we'll replace your tires with Continental brand tires in the first 60 days.”

Firestone 90-DAY BUY & TRY GUARANTEE – “We’re so confident Bridgestone tires are prepared to perform no matter what, we’ll let you test them risk free for 90 days. If you’re not satisfied with the performance, we’ll refund or replace with no questions asked.”

General Customer Satisfaction Trial – “All General Tire brand passenger and LT tires bearing the General Tire name and D.O.T numbers are covered by the 45 -Day Customer Satisfaction Trial.”

Goodyear 30-Day Pledge – “we offer our 30-Day Pledge program, which gives you up to a month to decide if you want to keep your tires or exchange them for a different set of Goodyear or Dunlop tires at no cost.”

HANKOOK '30 DAY FREE TRIAL' PLAN – Applies to select Hankook tire models and does not cover all tires offered by Hankook.

Michelin Satisfaction Guarantee – “If you’re not 100% satisfied, bring your tires and original sales receipt back to the place of purchase within 60 days for a new set of tires.”

Pirelli 30 Day Trial Offer – “If you are not satisfied with your new set of four (4) Pirelli tires, you can exchange it for a new set of four (4) Pirelli tires at the original place of purchase, within 30 days from the original date of purchase.”

Toyo ‘30 Day Trial Offer' – “Purchase 4 Toyo tires and take a “30 day trial”. If within 30 days you are not completely satisfied with the performance of your new Toyo tires you may return them for a full credit*.”

Yokohama 60 DAY SATISFACTION GUARANTEE – “A retail customer who purchases a set of 4 applicable Yokohama tires from an authorized Yokohama dealer in Canada is entitled to evaluate the tires for 60 days from the purchase date. During the 60 day period, the retail consumer may return the tires to the dealer who sold them if not satisfied. The original receipt must be surrendered with the return.”

Tire Warranties

What’s Covered & What’s Not

Warranties are written promises from the tire manufacturers to repair or replace a tire that develops a fault within a particular period of time. Certain terms and conditions apply between different tire manufacturers.

Kilometre Warranties (AKA Tread Life Warranty)

These are the guaranteed number of kilometres you get from your tires before they wear out. Tire manufacturers will want to see that the tires were worn evenly and may ask for service records that the tires were rotated regularly according the tire manufacturers recommendation. Most tire manufacturers will offer a pro-rated refund for the difference between the kilometres promised and the kilometres delivered. Some tires like winter tires (except Michelin), some offroad tires and some Ultra High Performance tires don’t come with kilometre warranties.

Like most things, there are trade-offs with long tread life tires. Long tread life tires often sacrifice traction and performance.

Average Kilometre Warranty By Category of Tire

Touring all-season – 70,000 kms – 145,000 kms

All-Weather tires – 70,000 – 100,000 kms

Performance all-season – 50,000 kms to 130,000 kms

Ultra High Performance all season tires – 50,000 kms to 80,000 kms

Ultra High Performance summer tires – 30,000 kms to 50,000 kms.

Winter tires – These tires don’t come with any mileage warranties (Michelin is the only exception as they publish treadwear warranties on their winter tires).

Race tires – These tires are best for racing at the race track and don’t come with a mileage warranty.

Limited Road Hazard Warranty

Road hazard coverage includes damage due to potholes and other road hazards. Continental, Nexen and select models of Pirelli and Hankook are eligible for road hazard warranty where the tire cannot be repaired.

Workmanship & Materials

This warranty is for a specified time period such as five years from the date of installation. To be eligible for a claim, the tire must have an unusual issue that wasn’t caused by lack of vehicle maintenance or improper vehicle handling and is usually a result of the manufacturing process.

Ride Disturbance/Uniformity Warranty

Most name brand tire manufacturers will cover excessive vibration or ride disturbance within twelve months of purchase and up to two tires are covered. This occurrence is rare.

 

Road Side Assistance

Michelin 3-Year Roadside Assistance

Program includes:

Flat Tire Changeout

Fluid delivery (gas, water, etc.)

Lockout service

Battery jump start

 

Continental Roadside Assistance

Get a flat change and spare installed (or tow if needed for free up to 250 kms). Pre-Registration required.

Emergency Trip Interruption Coverage

If you have a mechanical breakdown during a road trip, we'll help cover eligible expenses. Pre-Registration Required.

 

Nexen Roadside Assistance

Covers your tires 24/7/365 for a period of 36 months from date of purchase. In case of flat tire, a qualified professional will change your flat tire with your spare tire free of charge. If a working spare is not available or you have two or more flat tires, towing will be provided free of charge to the nearest Nexen Tire dealer or authorized place of repair.

 

Rebates – Instant vs Mail-in

Rebates are money back from the manufacturer for buying a set of 4 new tires. Most major tire manufacturers offer rebates at certain times of the year (usually when seasonal tire changes happen). Rebates range from $25 to $150 and should be included into your buying decision.

Reviews – The best options to find the most honest tire reviews are YouTube, Consumer Report Magazine, online vehicle forums and Reddit. These reviews are of actual customers giving their feedback, not a business trying to sell tires or are the tire reviewers receiving payment from tire manufacturers for promoting their tires.

 

Vehicle and Vehicle Use

Pickup Trucks – Different tires are required if truck is used for passenger use versus commercial use. Some pickup trucks are used for towing trailers, hauling heavy loads or plowing. These trucks require LT (light truck) tires that have reinforced sidewalls to handle heavier than normal weight. Trucks used for passenger use may be able to use regular passenger tires. Consult your vehicle owner’s manual for tire requirements.

SUV/CUV/Vans – Recommended tires: touring tires, all-weather tires.

Passenger Cars – The majority of cars belong to this category. Aside from the proper size, speed rating and load index, the vehicle use is the next thing to consider.

Compact and midsize cars – Recommended tires: touring tires (higher tread life, less grip), performance tires (better grip, comfortable ride, less kilometres than touring tires), all-weather tires (year-round tire use, less traction in winter than dedicated winter tires but better traction than all-season).

Midsize cars and luxury sedans – Recommended tires: Performance tires, ultra-high performance tires, all-weather tires, summer tires.

Sports cars – ultra-high performance all-season, ultra-high performance summer tires (some sports cars with extremely high horsepower engines require summer tires for traction), track tires.

Electric vehicles – These vehicles are quite heavy and can accelerate quicker than engine driven vehicles of the same size so load index must be adhered to. Not having tires with the proper load index/speed rating can cause the tires to fail. Electric vehicles produce less noise than engine driven vehicles so having tires with noise cancelling technology can really improve the comfort of the ride.

 

Cost Per Kilometre:

When tire benefits appear similar (guarantees, warranties etc.) you can compare how many kilometres you get with each dollar you spend. This works well for touring tires.

Published tread life of tire / total price of tire = kilometres per dollar spent.

Ex 1. 225/60R17 Bridgestone Ecopia H/L 422 Plus

110,000 kms / $1111.65 = 98.95 kms/$

 

Ex 2. 225/60R17 Firestone FireHawk AS

80,000 kms / $899.21 = 88.97 kms/$

You can see from these two examples that although Firestone offers a lower upfront cost, Bridgestone is the better value in terms of kilometres you get per dollar you spend.

 

What The Numbers On The Tires Mean

You will see a number that will look similar to

225/65R17 XL 102H

Tire width – this is the first number of the size and is given in millimetres. In the above example the width is 225.

Aspect Ratio/Side Profile – This is the second number of the size (after the forward slash) and is the sidewall height measure from the top of the rim to the top of the tire. The aspect ratio is a percentage of the tire width. In this example the aspect ratio/side profile of the tire is 65% of 225.

Construction Type – Nearly all tires sold today are radial tires. The R on the size means radial construction.

Rim Diameter – This is the diameter of the rim in inches. In the above example the rim diameter is 17 inches.

Standard Load (SL) or Extra Load (XL) – Extra load tires (XL) are made to withstand higher loads than standard load tires (SL) of the same size. Extra load tires resist damage better and last longer than standard load tires, but standard load tires are more fuel efficient. Vehicles that require XL tires must have XL tires.

Treadwear Number (UTQG Number) – This is a number the tire manufacturer has assigned to their tires noting how long the tires will last. For example, a treadwear rating of 400 should last twice as long as a treadwear of 200. These numbers are NOT comparable between manufacturers and are subjectively given by the manufacturers.

Traction Grades – These letters tell you how well a tire stops in wet conditions. AA is the highest rating and C is the lowest rating.

Temperature Grades - Temperature grades represent a tire’s resistance to heat and is assigned an A, B or C grading. A being the best.

Original Equipment Tires (OE) Versus Replacement Tires

Original Equipment (OE) Tires – These are the tires that come fitted with your vehicle when you buy it new. The vehicle manufacturer specifies to the tire manufacturer what characteristics they want the tires designed with ie handling, ride noise, longevity, and fuel efficiency to perform the way that is pleasing to customers. OE tires are a practical match for your vehicle but not always the best match for the type of use a person would want from their vehicle ie all-terrain tires or racing track tires. OE tire options and prices can be found on our “shop for tires” page on our website when you search for tires by vehicle rather than size.

Replacement Tires – People may decide to replace the brand and model of tire the vehicle comes stock with for a variety of reasons, some reasons might be: improve handling, quieter ride, better fuel efficiency, improved tread life, lower cost, improved wet traction, different vehicle use like offroad use or racing.

For drivers, tires are a necessary purchase. When little is known about how to buy tires, cost becomes the determining factor. Very cheap tires are usually a false bargain, often when comparing kilometres per dollar as well. As we can see, warranties, satisfaction guarantees, roadside assistance, performance applications, type of driving and tire specifications help us make better informed buying decisions.