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Interesting. I was talking with a local car maintenance shop that I have had good luck with on repairs to older out of warranty vehicles. He also sells tires. He told me that the tires at the big warehouse club stores are not the same as what the smaller shops get. Said the club stores request changes to the tire to make them cheaper even though the naming of them are nearly identical. Similar to what this guy is saying about OE tires. Not sure if the club store tires thing is real or if he was just trying to convince me to buy tires from him in the future.
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Falken offers only one version of the A/T3W in 235/65R17, and its specs are different from other AT3/W tires it sells. This tire was specifically designed to meet Ford specs (as described in the video), and Falken doesn't sell a different version of this tire in that size. Falken lists all the specs for the different sizes of that tire on its website; it distinguishes the different sizes by what it calls "item number." I looked briefly through the list and saw only a couple of duplicate sizes (the same size tire with different specs), but the data is there. I suspect "club-only" tires are the same, i.e. if you check the manufacturer's website for a given tire the specs are readily available. If a tire reseller tells you the tire available at Costco is different from the one they sell you can just go check it out for yourself.
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Just like anything else, big corporations can have items made to a price point. Always to minimum specs that will get the job done. Remember they're not in business for you. Car manufacturers used to pay bonuses to people who figured out a way for the company to save a nickel on every vehicle. Just like the Bank is not your friend, never was, never will be.
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For example:
For the top two 70-series tires, the load ID/ply rating is different.
The 75-series tires have different max load ratings (lbs.) -- and the first 2 are rated for single or dual use, the 3rd one is single use only, although at 3,970 lbs. it is rated much higher for single use.
Nothing vendor specific there.
That begs the question -- why do all of the 75-series tires have the same E/10 ply rating?
In any case, I can find nothing to indicate that Costco's tires are any different from those sold elsewhere. Every source I found says they are exactly the same.
If they were different, they would have to have some unique identifier.
The claim that Costco (and Sam's Club, etc.) sell inferior products -- from tires to toilet paper -- has been around a long time. I have never seen proof of that. It's likely that the rumor was started by smaller competitors since they cannot compete on price.
It's hard to imagine a reason why a respected name brand mfr would degrade the quality of their product for any retailer -- even one as big as Costco. If word got out it would damage their reputation, and Costco's.
Also, while it might be possible to set up a completely different manufacturing and distribution system for ONE retail chain, it would probably end up being more expensive than making one high-quality version of a product.
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The Dealer tires that you receive with a new vehicle are not the same you would buy from a tire shop. Either the Dealer or Manufacturer there more or less Demo Tires.
My wife's Brand New Edge picked up with 12 miles on it. She got almost 20,000 miles out of a brand new set of 4 Michelin tires. She could not get up or driveway with a dusting of snow. We lived in a Suburb with a 25ft driveway.
Dealer Tires are like buying a new printer, they give you a new ink cartridge, its great for maybe 15 prints then its empty. New Dealer Car Tires are the same. Not every one, but happened to me & 4 others that I know of. Ford, Dodge, Toyota.
Buyer Beware when buying someones recently removed tires they are selling. $500-$600 seams like a deal but they will not last. As the video said, they are just putting something on to sell the vehicle. Either the Manufacture or the Dealer is doing it.
I’ve even heard of people test driving and swapping tires, happens on rental cars all the time. I guess thats one way to upgrade your wheels & tires….sorry off subject a bit
My wife's Brand New Edge picked up with 12 miles on it. She got almost 20,000 miles out of a brand new set of 4 Michelin tires. She could not get up or driveway with a dusting of snow. We lived in a Suburb with a 25ft driveway.
Dealer Tires are like buying a new printer, they give you a new ink cartridge, its great for maybe 15 prints then its empty. New Dealer Car Tires are the same. Not every one, but happened to me & 4 others that I know of. Ford, Dodge, Toyota.
Buyer Beware when buying someones recently removed tires they are selling. $500-$600 seams like a deal but they will not last. As the video said, they are just putting something on to sell the vehicle. Either the Manufacture or the Dealer is doing it.
I’ve even heard of people test driving and swapping tires, happens on rental cars all the time. I guess thats one way to upgrade your wheels & tires….sorry off subject a bit
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This is not true of all OE tires. The Falken A/T3W in 235/65R17 offered as an option for the Bronco Sport is the same tire you will get if you purchase one from a tire dealer. The video does a pretty good job of explaining the reason(s) why some OE tires disappoint some customers. In some cases it's about saving money, but just as often it's about meeting a specific performance objective. Sometimes the performance objective conflicts with longevity/durability.
I completely agree. I was wrong to say all or most. I was just speaking with a friend about this 3 days ago. Same thing happen to his wifes car 15,000 miles.
There are alot of Tires on New Vehicles that will see 50,000-60,000 miles plus.
But there are enough that I wouldn’t take a chance purchasing tires from someone who upgraded there tires and whats to try and recoup some money.
Might seem harsh but a Good Deal isn’t always a Good Deal.
There are alot of Tires on New Vehicles that will see 50,000-60,000 miles plus.
But there are enough that I wouldn’t take a chance purchasing tires from someone who upgraded there tires and whats to try and recoup some money.
Might seem harsh but a Good Deal isn’t always a Good Deal.
That is true, but it is not the same spec as the other A/T3W's.
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Look at the list on Falken's website. Pretty much all the different sized A/T3W tires have different specs
Tire is not built the same as the others to save weight.
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I don't think that's what Mark meant. The ones you get as an option from the factory are the same ones offered at tire stores (spec'd the same for the same size). Cheers!
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Great info Mark...Thanks for posting this.
This reminded me of an old commercial on TV (back in the 80's) in Orlando. Hilarious.
This reminded me of an old commercial on TV (back in the 80's) in Orlando. Hilarious.
My 2006 Escape came with a set of M&S General's and they were the best tires out of all the ones I had on it. I got over 60k miles and they were great in the snow. Not all OE tires are bad.
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I've attached the list of A/T3W tires Falken sells. Look carefully and you'll see that none are "built the same" as any of the others. They were all built to meet a given spec. It may be an OE spec like the 235/65R17 (built to Ford's requirements), or one that Falken created for its own purposes. My guess is Ford wanted a tire it could market as an all-terrain tire that wouldn't negatively impact fuel economy. By all accounts, these are competent off-road tires (see video below) offering excellent road manners with minimal impact on fuel economy—in other words, exactly what Ford asked for. Are they the "same" as other A/T3W tires? Nope. But they are a truly excellent compromise for those who need decent off road capability, but don't want the downside of a typical all-terrain tire, i.e. the extra weight and poor road manners.
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