Which is the best overall tire?

[GeNeRaL]

I don't know how one tire could be considered the best, overall. As a tire salesman in a previous life, One mans ideal best tire can and will be completely pointless for another with a different need.

There are tons of different manufacturers and brands, each with multiple models, some for specialty use like specifically for sand or mud or snow, etc. Some give exceptional performance with decreased longevity, some give increased longevity with decreased performance and so on.

I guess the answer would be to figure out what is important to you for the type of driving conditions you will most commonly encounter, then determine what is important as far as how long you want a tire to last vs. the performance you can get from it.

Personally, I'd choose a Toyo, Pirelli or Yokohama model over Michelin or goodyear any day of the week, but I'm sure others would disagree. It's all in what you prefer and what you want.

The problem with OEM tires is that they are definitely not the best tire, but rather the manufacturer probably has a deal with the manufacturer and got the best price for mass delivery of tires. In other words, if honda says "hi i need 4 tires for each of the 100,000 ridgelines we're building, what can you give me?" they probably won't take the $70 per tire nice ones over the $30 per tire decent ones, if that makes sense.