Tires: Quality of Tires, season tires, snow traction

Question
Do tires really vary that much with respect to quality?  I have a 2002 new Beetle and have been searching online for tires that are the same size as the tires that came on my VW (205/55R-16).  As long as I find a tire that matches this size, I should be just fine (or should I be looking for other qualities in a tire?)I live in southern california and am clueless about tires . . .  Thank you so much for your time.

Answer
Beth,

You can divide "Quality" into 2 parts:

1)  Consistency from tire to tire - There is some variation from tire manufacturer to tire manufacturer.  Some are very consistent, and some have problems in this area.  But this is usually handled by the dealer when there are problems - and problems are common will all manufacturers - it's a matter of degree.

2)  Performance level - This is more a factor of how well the compromises were handled and this is true regardless of the tire manufacturer.  As an example of this compromise:  All Season tires are supposed to have good wear and some snow traction capability.  But the tire manufacturer can design the tire to emphasize wear, but he has to sacrifice snow traction to get it.  Usually the write up on the design will give you a clue about how these compromises were handled.