I recently spent a good deal of time researching tires for my Alfa Romeo GTV6 on a wonderful site called
www.tirerack.com
They give real-world evaluations on different brands and also comparison tests between brands with a subject car.
I ended up with Michelin Pilots on my Alfa. Expensive, but worth it for this car. For the MB (Helga), I would probably go with one of the Yokohama tires. Half the price, and rated very good by Tirerack.
Please note, that tires are easily the most technologically advanced "thing" on any car, even new cars!
As such there are many nuances within brands. For example, one Bridgestone model might be wonderful in all respects, and another model might feel like crap. They are both Bridgestones and the same size and rating, but different models and very different performers.
They can vary in feel and performance too, even if they are the same model, but different speed ratings.
It is very easy to generalize about brands of tires (Goodyear, TOYO, etc.), but please do not be swayed by what your fathers said!
i.e. It used to be that General tires were universally crap, and had a deserved reputation for tread separation. Now they are owned by the highly respected German company Continental, and Generals are now worthy of consideration.
And not all Firestones are dangerous!
Yes, I know. Tires are very complex, and the more you know about them, the more complex the choices become.
But if I can generalize a bit about brands I would rate the manufacturers like this;
#1 Michelin
#2 Bridgestone
#3 Yokohama
Please check out
www.tirerack.com and good luck!
