How to identify the best tire make for your fleet

Although identifying the best make of tires for your fleet is a challenge, the effort can deliver very beneficial results for your management.

This is because using the right tire reduces not only tire costs in your operation, but costs in other areas too. Tires directly influence fuel consumption and vehicle maintenance.

So, if a make is not as good, the vehicle may be visiting the workshop more often or refueling more than usual.

Learn more below:

• What is the best tire make?;
• How to choose a tire for a vehicle;
• How to assess a tire to determine whether it is the best make.

What is the best tire make?

The best answer depends on several factors. For example, your vehicle type, the type of road it travels on, the vehicle’s time on the road, average mileage and a range of other factors.

There are undoubtedly many well-known truck tire makes available to buy, but is one really better than another?

It is impossible to give a general answer because, as you can see, many variables determine what makes a good tire make — and they are specific to each individual operation.

A fleet operating on highways has different needs from one using only urban routes, for example. These operations even require different tire types.

The vehicle model itself also has characteristics that influence how comfortable, economical and durable a tire will be in the operation.

Which tire make lasts longest?

Just as there is no single answer about the best tire make, there is no single correct answer about which tires last longest.

Generally, the tire with a better useful life than the others is one that has correctly undergone tire management processes, being kept clean, with ideal calibration and minimized wear.

That is why, to determine the make that lasts longest in your fleet, it is essential to have a tire management routine and carry out the necessary analyses regularly.

How do you choose a tire for a vehicle?

You can start by assessing the best-selling tire makes in Brazil. The leading and best-known ones include Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Pirelli, Continental, Yokohama, Firestone, Hankook and Dunlop.

Most importantly, assess the tires you already use and the results they deliver for your fleet. Ask and answer questions such as:

• Which tire lasted longest in the operation?
• How many tires are lost each month?
• Which tire make has the most losses?
• Which tire make has the fleet’s best CPK?

These questions provide guidance on different aspects: each tire’s useful life, whether new or retreaded; the cost per km driven; and other essential data that will influence your decision about the best tire make for your fleet — and whether you need to replace the fleet’s tires.

In fact, the Efficient Fleet Management Group has hosted several discussions about each manager’s preferred tire models and makes. If you would like that firsthand experience too, join our community for free (in Portuguese).

How do you assess a tire to determine whether it is the best make?

Fleet tires should be assessed before purchase, during use and afterward. Information from each stage will make it possible to compare expectations with reality and show whether the asset’s purchase cost was worthwhile.

All this also contributes to smarter, more economical tire purchasing in your transport operation.

Before buying a tire, you should understand its model, whether it is the ideal type and has the right severity rating for its intended role, whether its size is right for the vehicle model, and other information.

To assess tires during and after use, you need to start with some questions. For example:

• How many kilometers did the tire travel before retreading, and how long did that take?
• How many kilometers did the tire travel after retreading, and for how long?

You can also analyze tires discarded prematurely to understand the reason for disposal and identify the best solutions in each case to avoid similar incidents in your operation.

In any case, a complete analysis requires ongoing data collection in the operation’s routine. For tires, two measurements are essential: 1) tire pressure and 2) tread depth over time.

Both can be measured with different tools, but among them, the electronic measuring device offers the greatest accuracy and convenience in tire inspection.

After collecting this data, it is essential to record it in a spreadsheet or control system and establish the intervals for analysis.

Want a free spreadsheet to start keeping records? See the template we provide (in Portuguese).