Worst Tire Brands That Compromise Your Safety and Performance On The Road

The worst tire brands produce low-quality, noisy, and inefficient tires that wear out prematurely with subpar grip and can burst anytime. Furthermore, their tires lack essential safety measures and thus do not meet international safety standards.

Since tires are your only point of contact with the asphalt allowing you to corner, brake, and accelerate, they must be of premium quality to perform their job superbly.

The market swarms with plenty of premium as well as low-quality cheap tires, and it is very hard to distinguish between good and bad. Therefore, you should be able to identify the worst tire brands from the lot. We will precisely explain this point before revealing the poorest tire brands.

How Can You Recognize The Worst Tire Brands?

If you really want to avoid buying a bad tire, get one that has passed third-party quality and safety testing. It is also wise to read tire reviews of real customers to find the most durable ones.

Here are some tips for recognizing cheap quality tire brands.

1. Poor research and testing: A cheap brand does not invest in research and development and never tests a tire to its limits. The result is a tire with an untested compound and improper tread design. Such a tire will not last longer and perform optimally.
2. Vague information: The worst tire brands hold the essential details about manufacturing, such as the aspect ratio, heat resistance, speed rating, load index, tread wear rating, etc. Best brands reveal each detail to give you a good idea of the tire’s quality.
3. Poor tread design: Among the most important things in research and development is tread design. A poor tread design does not offer optimal road grip and may wear out quickly. It means you have to spend on new tires much earlier than expected.
4. Low-quality rubber: Low-quality rubber is thin, so the chances of split sidewalls are very high. Thick rubber is more durable and lasts longer.
5. Poor performance: A noisy and bumpy tire with a low-performance rating is a no-no for any rubber purchase. An all-weather tire should perform optimally in normal dry and wet conditions. A poor-performing tire does not offer decent traction and grip even in dry and smooth conditions.
6. Bad customer service: Poor customer service goes hand in hand with the worst tire brands. Some cheap tire manufacturers even do not take customer queries. Therefore, it is good to buy a tire from a company that has a long history of offering excellent customer service.

What Are The Worst Tire Brands?

With the market teeming with hundreds of tire brands, it will be difficult for you to identify the worst tire brands. Notably, we cannot tell the difference between bad and good tires by just seeing them because they all look the same. To make it easier for you, we present you with the worst tire brands of 2024 based on their quality, safety, durability, and of course, their customer ratings.

Avoid buying tires from any of the following companies:

• Chaoyang
• Westlake
• AKS Tires
• Accelera

Chaoyang

Chaoyang is surprisingly one of the oldest operating firms on the list, creating tires for bicycles, forklifts, and cars. Operating under the supervision of Zhongce Rubber Group, their bicycle tires work well. However, car tire manufacturing is their recent activity, which isn’t bringing much praise to the company.

• Safety: Car tires from Chaoyang are not safe to drive owing to the low-quality rubber they use. The soft tires can burst and puncture easily and cannot withstand harsh conditions.
• Durability: While the tread looks thick and well-ridged, the rubber tends to weaken pretty fast, particularly on rough roads.
  Value for Money: Normally costing between $50 and $200, Chaoyang tires are cheap but do not last long. It means these tires offer less value for your money.
• Grip and Traction: The grip and traction are good when the tires are new but wear out very fast due to the low-quality rubber.
• Seasonality and Adaptability: These are not very good tires for extreme weather conditions, nor can they adapt well to rough terrains.
• After-Sales Services: The aftersales service isn’t available, so the resolution of your problems related to tires won’t be easy.

Westlake

Working under Zhongce Rubber Group, Westlake came two years after Goodride and couldn’t impress us. Their tires are cheap but come with a catch. The company markets them safely for the local region, which means they are suitable for China. However, they are also available in other parts of the world, including Europe and America.

Since Westlake tires are made in China, they do not follow the stringent inspection laws and procedures of the U.S. and Europe. It is why they sell at a much cheaper rate in the western world.

Interestingly, most tires from Westlake perform well at slow speeds, and users have rated them good to drive within the town. However, they are horrible at high speeds due to their low grip.

• Safety: Users reported excellent traction for up to a speed of 30 miles per hour. Anything above that isn’t safe.
• Durability: They seem durable but lack quality in the initial construction. These tires might not run well beyond one-year usage.
• Value for Money: Costing between $60 and $80 seems like a good bargain, but they are unsafe at high speeds.
• Grip and Traction: Again, grip and traction at a high pace is a question mark. So, you should not buy them for highway driving.
• Seasonality and Adaptability: Westlake tires do not perform well in different weather conditions. It means they can’t adapt to wet and rough roads well.
• After-Sales Services: The company does not offer after-sales service, as they don’t have any refund or return policy.

AKS Tires

The AKS is the third on our list of the worst tire brands, which you should never buy for various reasons. First, we cannot find any details about the company or its tire manufacturing processes. We do not know who owns it, where its headquarters is, and the technologies they use in manufacturing.

• Safety: Experts call AKS tires deadly because they can lose grip and explode easily.
• Durability: The cheap quality of rubber makes them less durable. The tires wear down quickly, much quicker than you thought.
• Value for Money: Do not be tempted by their low price; they are not worth it. The typical $50 rubber won’t last long.
• Grip and Traction: They are equally poor on wet and dry roads, so you should avoid AKS tires at all costs.
• Seasonality and Adaptability: Since they do not perform well in wet conditions, you should avoid using them in rainy weather. The same is true for even dry and hot weather where these tires’ grip is poor. Seeing these traits, you can clearly see they have the worst adaptability.
• After-sales Services: Because you don’t know where the company manufactures its tires, you cannot find a representative who can solve your queries regarding poor-performing tires. You can send them an email, but you might not hear from them.

Accelera

Here’s the first non-Chinese brand on our list of worst tire brands. Starting its operations in Indonesia around 26 years ago, Accelera claims that it is capable of manufacturing high-performance tires. The company is a part of the Elangperdana Tyre Industry and offers tires for passenger vehicles as well as for off-road SUVs, trucks, and even racing machines.

With a long portfolio of tires, one might believe they are good at what they are doing. But the reality is otherwise; users reported poor performance on wet surfaces. They revealed they had to be very careful with braking and acceleration to avoid losing grip.

• Safety: Due to the cheap rubber they use, the Accelera tires aren’t good at gripping, especially on highways at high speed.
• Durability: The low-quality rubber means the tires are not durable and will die down in a short time.
• Value for Money: The company is making money because they only offer cheap tires costing between $80 and $110.
• Grip and Traction: The grip and traction are okay on a dry, leveled surface. However, driving on a wet road at a medium speed lessens the tire’s grip.
• Seasonality and Adaptability: Low-quality tires have one trait in common; they are good on dry and smooth roads at a low speed, but they fail miserably to keep traction on wet and moist roads. Accelera is no different, with very low adaptability for different roads.
• After Sales Services: Accelera is different from other brands on this list in terms of support. They will receive your call but might not genuinely help you if your tire bursts or loses grip in normal conditions.

Some Other Worst Tire Brands That Require a Brief Mention

• Firestone: The American tire company is notorious for only its Destination tires, which come from China. The low-quality, soft rubber is so flexible that it bends easily and lacks vital safety features.
• Falken Ziex: The Japanese tire firm has recently started making inexpensive tires. The budget tires are of inferior quality and do not offer optimal grip on wet roads. So, you should avoid them, especially if you live in an area which witnesses rainy weather frequently.
• Goodyear (G159 tires only): The US company creates excellent tires, but their G159 tires garnered a bad reputation for the firm. They caused various accidents, so the firm had to stop its production. However, some of these tires are still circulating in the market at low dirt prices.
• General Tires (Low-end models only): General Tires is a premium brand, but their low-quality, cheap tires do not live up to the company’s reputation, so you must avoid them. Users reported these General tires wear out quicker and are noisier than their high-priced versions.

Why Should You Not Buy Cheap Tires?

Buying cheap tires might save you some money, but it will be counterproductive. How? Well, the biggest drawback of a cheap, low-quality tire is its safety rating. Such tires are more likely to burst when they hit a pothole or even a nail.

Furthermore, cheap rubber comes with a longer braking distance and less traction, which could make a big difference between life and death in an emergency. The low-quality rubber makes these tires less durable so replacements will be frequent. Mainly, their sidewalls are weak, and when they damage, you cannot repair them.

Besides all these drawbacks of cheap tires, low-quality rubber is also harmful to the environment. From manufacturing processes to quick wearing, cheap rubber destroys our environment.

How to Select a Good Tire?

We advise you to consider a tire’s performance, safety, and brand. A good tire is one that offers optimal performance in all weather conditions. Of course, you need specific tires for specific situations, so pick your tires according to your use and environment. You cannot complain if you use a summer tire in winter driving conditions or go for all weathers for off-roading.

The second and perhaps the most vital aspect while picking your new tires is safety. The tires must be safe to drive, offering optimal grip and a short braking distance.

The third aspect while choosing a good tire is the brand. We suggest you go for any renowned brand and select any tire (premium, mid-level, or cheap) from their range. However, the tires must complement your driving behavior and conditions.

FAQs

Conclusion

Please note this is not an exhaustive list of the worst tire brands. There are so many others like AutoGreen, Sunfill, Trazano, etc., which you should avoid at all costs. Meanwhile, don’t think that all Chinese tire brands are bad. Do your research and only pick a tire brand with a proven record of offering thousands of risk-free miles.