Bridgestone vs Michelin tires for commuter car- all weather, no snow driving

[wildbeast]

Looking to replace tires on our commuter car - will get about 15k miles per year freeway driving.  Costco has both Michelin and Bridgestone tires - the Bridgestone would come out at $640 total, which is $100 more than the Michelin - Costco currently has a coupon for Michelin so would be $527 total - but the employee said that Bridgestone gets better performance for longer periods which as a commute car would be good.  We don't need any snow performance. 

I have no experience in this area and hope you guys can help me out. 

[Gone Fishing]

For around $300-350 you should be able to get a set of Kumho's or other higher quality import tires for a commuter car.  The Kumho Solus KR21s are rated for 80,000 miles, I usually get 50-60k out of them.  Still a pretty good deal.

[lbmustache]

In my experience Bridgestone has been very good for lasting a very long time. They started to "crumble" towards the end of their life (I forgot what the term is - where chunks of the tire start coming off).

Michelin is okay but they seem to be noisier than other brands (in my experience). Not a huge fan of them overall.

My favorite tires that I put on my (old) car happened to be these: http://www.americastire.com/dtcs/tires/road_hugger/vehicle/viewProductDetail.do?ra=%2Ftires%2Froad_hugger%2Fvehicle%2FviewProductResults&v=015718%7C2009&r=CAOINT%7Cpc%7C90815&yr=2009&pc=17743&ar=55&rd=16&vid=015718&cs=205

I believe "Road Hugger," is owned by Kumho - maybe even a rebranding or something like that. They were inexpensive, quiet, and I had no issues whatsoever with them.

[Jack]

+1 on cheaper but still good brands that Costco doesn't carry.

Also, what's the treadwear rating of each of the choices? (Or better yet, just post the model numbers.)

[argonaut_astronaut]

I agree that you should take a look at other tires. The only reason I spend a bunch on tires is the snow capability.

Also, I will throw out there that one benefit of getting them done at Costco is that there is free repair/maintenance/rotating/balancing for the life of the tire. You can get this deal at your local tire shop as well, but there are costcos everywhere so if you get a flat on that summer road trip you will be able to find a costco at least in the state if not closer.

[wildbeast]

Thanks guys!  Here is what Costco has.  I'd like to stick with them because of the service package they offer, the convenience, and the fact that they always stand by their product.  Their tire prices is all-inclusive and includes lifetime rotation, balancing, and patching.

Michelin - Premium AS - 60k mile warranty - $527 total
Bridgestone - Serenity Plus - 75k mile warranty - $641 total

[Jack]

Michelin Premier A/S reviews

Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus reviews

comparison test

Okay, so it looks like despite the fact that the Bridgestone has a longer warranty, the Michelin has a better treadwear rating according to user reviews. Even if that were not accurate and the warranty turned out to be a better measure of tire life, 60k/75k = 80% of the treadwear for $527/$641 = 82% of the price is pretty much a wash.

Based on my skimming of the comparison, it looks like the Tire Rack experts think that the Michelin is at least comparable to the Bridgestone, if not better. (And if you cared about snow/ice performance, the tie would break in favor of the Michelin.)

Considering all that, I'd go with the Michelin.

[Gone Fishing]

Thanks guys!  Here is what Costco has.  I'd like to stick with them because of the service package they offer, the convenience, and the fact that they always stand by their product.  Their tire prices is all-inclusive and includes lifetime rotation, balancing, and patching.

Michelin - Premium AS - 60k mile warranty - $527 total
Bridgestone - Serenity Plus - 75k mile warranty - $641 total

Are there no other options?  As with many "higher end" products, what you are buying is $200-300 of insurance that you may never use.  The general MMM philosophy is to self insure (buy cheaper (but decent quality) tires and repair/replace on your own dime, if needed). Sure you may take it on the chin from time to time, but in the long run you come out ahead.  As far as convenience/emergencies go, there is a tire shop on nearly every corner in America, sometimes two!   

[tj]

The factory tires on my Honda Civic were Bridgestone and they only lasted about 25k miles. The tire shop said they are crap? I replaced with Kelly Chargers, which were pretty inexpensive and they still seem to be going fine at 60k miles.

[MM_MG]

I am a huge Costco fan, but I go to Discount Tire (Americas Tire in some place) for all my tires.   You simply cannot beat their customer service and in most cases price. 

[Bertram]

The thread-title is really funny to me. motogp (the motorcycle racing league) is in the process of switching the tire supplier from Bridgestone (past 8 years) to Michelin (Starting in march). The tires are pretty different and have different strength and weaknesses, and since we only had a few days of testing in the old year there's lots of speculation on how this is going to effect racing strategies and individual riders. Some say it's going to put everything on it's head, and we're going to see different riders dominating the next season as everybody will be busy to adapt.

So everytime I see Bridgestone vs. Michelin I come in here expecting discussions of this type only to be let down by discussions of economy, longevity and saving cents. ^^


For what it's worth, Bridgestone has been the supplier of many car brands for the past years, among them BMW. And just about everyone there hates them for how loud they are or how bad they drive (traction as well as comfort-wise). And they complain that they last forever and that they'll just swap them out straight away, rather than wait before the tread wears down. So if the goal is to save, I guess Bridgestone will be fine. I am sure a good deal can be made, if you are looking for tire sizes that are common on current BMW models (16-17" and 205/55 to 225/50).

[NoStacheOhio]

Comparing brands of tires isn't particularly useful, IMO.

Specific tires are very different. The stock Bridgestones on a lot of Subarus are terrible tires, but they make other tires that are perfectly good.

I would just find the highest rated tire for your needs with the most generous rebate/deal and go with that. I just put Cooper Zeons on my Civic for about $500 before rebates. No complaints on how the tires perform.

[MasterStache]

The factory tires on my Honda Civic were Bridgestone and they only lasted about 25k miles. The tire shop said they are crap? I replaced with Kelly Chargers, which were pretty inexpensive and they still seem to be going fine at 60k miles.

I had a similar experience where my factory Bridgestone tires only lasted 30K miles on my Civic. I merely thought it was a rare defect or something else. Purchased the same tires, and they lasted only 30K again. And they aren't cheap tires.

My mechanic recommended Cooper tires for actually a little cost than the Bridgestone. At 20K miles already, they have tons of tread left (just rotated them this weekend) and will last well beyond 30K. And they have been excellent in the rain and snow. Never again will I buy Bridgestone. 

[Chris22]

Comparing brands of tires isn't particularly useful, IMO.

Exactly. 

Also, treadwear ratings are not comparable across brands; they're relative to that brand.  So a tire with a treadwear rating of 300 on Brand A may wear faster or slower than a tire with treadwear rating 240 on brand B, but a 300 from Brand A will last longer than a 240 from Brand A.

Best bet is the tirerack ratings that were linked up thread, they're probably the biggest and best repository of tire ratings and data.

[Mr. Green]

I've been using the user reviews on Tire Rack for years and I've never been disappointed. You just can't beet millions of miles of experience, fed back into a nice visual presentation of a tire's capabilities. Rarely have I ended up picking a tire that a local place like Costco or Mr. Tire has on hand, because they rarely tend to have the best performing tires. And best performing doesn't always mean expensive either.