Tires Unveiled: Choosing Between Original Equipment (OE) Tires or Replacement Tires

A common thought we hear a lot year after year here at PMCtire is: “I don’t want to purchase the same tires as I had on my vehicle because they weren’t good”, or even “I don’t want anything to do with Original Equipment (OE) tires because they wear out a lot faster than aftermarket (replacement) tires!”

If you recognize yourself in those statements or if you heard such things regarding OE tires, you are not alone! Although this may be true in some cases, there is, most of the time, an explanation as to why OE tires might not have performed as well as customers might have expected.

In this article, we will dive into the different characteristics that differentiate OE tires for replacement ones, the advantages and disadvantages of both types and how, here at PMCtire, we can help you choose the right tire for your vehicle and how we structured ourwebsite to provide you with the necessary information to make a clear decision.

By the end of this article, you will be able to make a better decision based on the information provided and guide you towards the tire that will suit your needs!

What are Original Equipment (OE) Tires?

So, the first question we receive from many customers is: “What’s the difference between an OE or OE-marked tire and the other ones?”.

OE tires are tire models that are also available as replacement models, but there can be many variants of this model built in different ways to fit on different cars.

For instance, in 1 tire size, there can be multiple variants for the same tire model, with the same specs or slightly different specs, at the same price or different prices.

If we take as an example a Continental - ContiSportContact 5P in a 255/35R19 dimension, we can see there are 6 different versions that can be purchased on our website. 1 of them is the “regular” version, or aftermarket/replacement version. The other 5 versions are variants built by Continental with small differences (visible or nonvisible), creating 5 different part numbers for this 1 model in this 1 dimension.

The differences between all those versions are explained in the article, but we can see that some of these variants were built for Mercedes vehicles, others for BMW or even Audi.

There are actually 2 types of OE tires: Original Equipment and Homologated tires.

Original Equipment Tires

As the name suggests, Original Equipment tires are manufactured to be on some vehicles when the vehicle is originally delivered. This means that tire manufacturers, such as Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone and many others have agreements with car manufacturers. Under these agreements, a tire company commits to supplying a predetermined number of tires that will be mounted on vehicles directly at the manufacturing plant. Consequently, when a customer purchases a new car, it comes equipped with tires selected by the vehicle manufacturer as part of their partnership with the tire producer.

Most of the time, OE tires will have a specific stamp or logo on the sidewall indicating which car manufacturer the tires are original equipment for.

Homologated Tires

On their end, homologated tires do not necessarily come equipped with the car from the manufacturing plant. However, they are still tires that have been designed and manufactured to answer specific guidelines and requirements asked by the car manufacturers. Therefore, even if a customer were to purchase those tires as a set of replacement tires, they would still be made to optimize the vehicle’s performance.

Just as for the OE tires, homologated tires will have the car manufacturer’s logo stamped on the sidewall, designating the tires were manufactured under strict conditions and requests for the car manufacturers.

Here is a Chart including most car manufacturers and the symbols/codes found on tire sidewalls that indicate which car manufacturer the tires are OE equipment or homologated for:

Are there any advantages to purchasing OE tires?

The objective behind OE tires is to make it easier for the owners to identify and select exact replacements when the Original Equipment tires wear out. Matching the original tires that came with or have been built to be installed on a particular vehicle helps maintain the vehicle's intended personality.

Another advantage of choosing OE-marked tires is that they optimize the vehicle performance. By selecting those tires, you ensure the tires will contribute to the maximum and offer the optimal safety, grip and overall performance your vehicle was designed for. This is possible thanks to visible and non-visible factors.

For instance, a car that originally comes with 225mm-wide tires might request that the original equipment tires are a little narrower than “regular” aftermarket 225 tires, or maybe they will ask it to be wider for some reason. Also, many changes in the way the tire is built have to do with the compound used to create the tire. So even if all the specs of the tires may look identical to the “regular” (often less expensive) aftermarket tires, there are differences in the way the tires were manufactured, making them optimized for a particular vehicle brand compared to others.

Another important point required by car manufacturers is that the tires provide the maximum fuel/range efficiency. No tire will provide better fuel/electricity than OE-marked tires installed on the right vehicle.

Finally, some OE-marked tires come with a foam inside the tire that’s made to reduce noise as much as possible, which comes in very handy for electric vehicles. Due to the lack of noise usually caused by an internal-combustion engine, all factors to reduce outside noise are considered by electric-vehicle owners, and tires are now also part of the solution!

Therefore, when purchasing an OE-marked tire that’s been designed and manufactured specifically for your vehicle, you ensure to maximize your car’s potential by making it the safest possible, providing the optimal grip on the road to face all kinds of conditions as well as saving as much as possible on fuel/electricity purchases.

On the other hand, are there any drawbacks to purchasing OE tires?

As anything in this world, OE tires aren’t perfect or a necessarily better option for your vehicle.

As mentioned earlier, OE tires provide better fuel efficiency than aftermarket/replacement tires. This is mostly due to the fact that OE tires usually come with a lower tread depth measurement than aftermarket/replacement tires. For instance, the aftermarket/replacement variant of a tire model might come with 10/32nd of tread depth whereas the OE-marked tirecomes at only 7/32nd. This will result in a better fuel consumption, but the tire will wear out faster than the aftermarket variant since there is less rubber, hence why some customers believe that OE-marked tires are made “cheaper” to replace them more often, which isn’t exactly the case.

Also, one drawback of OE tires is that for many vehicles, tires wear out in pairs (rather than sets of four) due to a lack of maintenance or when equivalent treadwear can't be achieved through periodic tire rotation. While it can't make up for performance differences due to tread depth, it is most important to match new tires to those originally used on the vehicle when replacing tires in pairs.

Finally, OE tires may often carry a higher price tag than aftermarket alternatives due to the extensive testing, advanced technology, and significant research and development investment they require. Additionally, it's more common to encounter inventory shortages with OE tires, as the production volumes tailored for specific vehicle models are generally lower compared to the broader production runs of aftermarket tires.

What are Aftermarket/Replacement Tires?

When it comes to “regular” variants of tire models that aren’t made to be installed on any particular vehicle brands or models, this is what we mean by aftermarket/replacement tires. These tire models represent the most majority of tires offered on the market since they are manufactured and sold independently of the car's original equipment (OE) manufacturers.

These tires are designed to fit a wide range of vehicles and are not limited to the specifications of any single manufacturer. They offer a diverse array of options for consumers, catering to different preferences, driving conditions, and budgetary constraints. Unlike OE tires, which are developed through a partnership between car and tire manufacturers to specifically match a new vehicle's performance characteristics, aftermarket tires provide the flexibility to customize or enhance the vehicle's performance, comfort, or aesthetics according to the owner's desires. Aftermarket tires come in a broad spectrum of types, including but not limited to, all-season, performance, off-road, and winter tires, each engineered to excel in specific conditions or cater to particular driving needs. Find out more regarding the different tire seasons and categories here.

Are there any advantages to purchasing aftermarket/replacement tires?

Obviously, the advantages of the aftermarket tires are the “weaknesses” or disadvantages that OE tires offer, and vice-versa.

Replacement tires will usually wear out slower than OE tires (for an equivalent tire model) since there is more rubber and a higher tread depth on those, they tend to be more price-oriented since there is much more competition in that segment of the market and it’s usually easier to find replacements since there is more availability on those.

Other advantages of aftermarket tires include the wide variety of options offered to customers. For instance, if a vehicle is originally equipped with performance tires, some customers might not be pleased with this, so looking for options outside the Original Equipment options will allow them to choose a tire that suits their needs the most.

On the other hand, are there any drawbacks to purchasing aftermarket/replacement tires?

In the same order of idea, the disadvantages of aftermarket tires are basically what make the strong arguments of OE tires. When purchasing an aftermarket tire, customers don’t purchase a tire that has been specifically designed for the vehicle they’re driving, so they can’t really utilize the full potential of their vehicle.

Moreover, choosing aftermarket tires may impact the vehicle’s performance such as a higher fuel/range consumption or a change in the behavior of the car if load/speed indexes are not respected, which is usually the case with aftermarket tires compared to OE tires.

Shopping Tires (OE or Aftermarket/Replacement) at PMCtire

As shown in the screenshot at the beginning of the article, our tire experts here at PMCtire do a thorough job trying to make it easy for customers to understand what tire part numbers are best suited for which vehicles in the case of OE tires, or if the tire is an aftermarket tire that hasn’t been manufactured with any kind of strings from car manufacturers.

You can still find a lot of important information no matter if the tire is an OE or aftermarket model, such as the tire type, season, load/speed index, as well as more details in the product’s detail page under the “Specifications” tab.

Is it safe to install another vehicle manufacturer’s marked tire on my vehicle?

To close this article, a question we’re often asked by our customers is: “Is it ok to install a tire optimized for X vehicle brand when I own a Y vehicle brand?”.

That is a very good question and we are aware that seeing several times the same tire with multiple prices can be confusing, hence why we try to make the options as clear as possible, but there will always be uncertainties or particular cases.

For instance, a customer looking for a tire model in a specific dimension with 2 model variants. 1 aftermarket and the other is an OE tire optimized for a different car manufacturer than what the customer drives. If the aftermarket model is out of stock, is it okay to purchase the OE tire that is optimized for another vehicle brand?

Ideally, this is not what we would recommend. In a perfect world, customers would purchase an OE tire that’s optimized for their vehicle brand. If this tire is not available, then the aftermarket variant would be the 2nd best option, and in the absolute worst-case-scenario, the last option would be to purchase an OE tire that’s optimized for another brand.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to our team of experts who will be happy to answer any question you might have and find the best tire that suits your needs!