Car Talk Names The Worst Tires You Can Buy

One of Car Talk’s latest undertakings was an 18-month research project aimed at finding out which are the best tires for many vehicles and applications. The top-rated tires earned a Golden Wrench Award. The top brand overall was Michelin.

During that research, Car Talk also uncovered some tires that are NOT the best. We looked over Car Talk’s work to find the tires that you may want to be warned about before you make a buying decision.

Here is the list of tires that were found to rank lowest among the many brands available.

Milestar All-Season
Car Talk created a comprehensive look at all-season tires since they are the most popular type of tire in much of the U.S. The lowest-ranked model was the Milestar MS932. We searched for this tire and found it had a very low price point. Amazon's rating was relatively high. However, Car Talk cautions, “This lesser-known brand might fit a tight budget, but we recommend doing your due diligence and proceeding with caution. Not as many sizes available and customers have reported treadwear issues.”

Chaoyang Brand Tires
Chaoyang tires are found on many lists of the worst tires, not just Car Talk’s. This flat-tire-rated brand is also on the warning list from cashcarsbuyer.com, mechanicbase.com, and carambit.com. Car Talk says, “Chaoyang is a Chinese rubber manufacturer offering mostly bicycle tires and more recently, passenger, SUV, light truck, and motorcycle tires. This brand is not widely known in the industry. We recommend doing your due diligence and proceed with caution.”

We researched Chaoyang and found it is a sub-brand under the ZC Rubber parent. The other brands in the family Arisun, Westlake, Goodride, and Trazano also appear on other lists of tires to second-think. However, the bicycle market seems to regard Chaoyang more highly.

How To Find Reviews For Tires
There are many good sources of reviews for tires. We like Tire Rack’s reviews because they are specific to the model on which the tire was mounted. You can find overall ratings done by Tire Rack in testing, but more importantly, you can find owner/user reviews specific to your vehicle model.

John Goreham is a long-time New England Motor Press Association member and recovering engineer. John's interest in EVs goes back to 1990 when he designed the thermal control system for an EV battery as part of an academic team. After earning his mechanical engineering degree, John completed a marketing program at Northeastern University and worked with automotive component manufacturers, in the semiconductor industry, and in biotech. In addition to Torque News, John's work has appeared in print in dozens of American newspapers and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites. You can follow John on TikTok @ToknCars, on Twitter, and view his credentials at Linkedin