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J.D. Power: Customers Happiest With Michelin, Pirelli Tires

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Pirelli's CyberTyre

If it's nearly time to get a new set of tires, heed two pieces of advice: You generally do get what you pay for, and certain brands do quite consistently leave motorists more satisfied than others.

In this year's case, it's Michelin and Pirelli. In J.D. Power and Associates' major annual tire study, Michelin was rated highest in Power's luxury, passenger car, and truck/utility market segments, while Pirelli took the top spot in the performance sport category.

Pirelli tires—offered on a number of performance cars, including as part of the optional Brembo Brake Package on the 2011 Ford Mustang GT—did especially well in the appearance and ride portions, according to Power.

The annual study, called the U.S. Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study, gauges tire owner satisfaction after two years of ownership by looking at four primary factors: wearability, appearance, traction/handling, and ride.

Power found that there were more problems with slow leaks in tires this year versus last (13.4 problems per 100 vehicles, versus 12.0 last year).

Michelin Pilot Sport 3

Enlarge Photo

But that doesn't negatively affect satisfaction as much as you might think. The increased reports of leaks are less the representative of greater flaws in tires as they are the increased deployment of tire pressure monitoring systems in new cars.

And, J.D. Power notes, owners have been more accepting of slow leaks in tires but less tolerant about uneven wear or excessive noise.

Power says that having trouble-free tires is crucial to 'brand advocacy'—and quite likely loyalty. The firm noted a huge difference in overall satisfaction scores between those who had one or more problems versus none at all.

[J.D. Power and Associates]

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Comments (2)

B-Man Posted: 4/20/2010 6:19pm PDT

All I know is I bought a set of Pirelli P-Zero Nero M&S Pinna's in Dec. of 2008 and had Sear's Automotive Center at the Park Place Mall in Tucson, AZ, put them on. I drive a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS, so they're low-profile, high performance tires. These Pirelli's put the OEM Dunlop's to shame, they really do. The car pushes in to corners and holds like a dream. Mitsubishi did a fantastic job building the architecture frame for this car. It is an absolute ball to drive and the Pirelli's help to make it that way.

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forex course Posted: 4/21/2010 3:00am PDT

The tire's structure includes twin, high tensile steel belts reinforced with spirally wound Aramid to distribute the vehicle’s load across the tire’s footprint providing high-speed durability and uniform ride qualities.

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