[Green1995SVX]

Originally Posted by immortal_suby

Where did you get this information? I'd be interested to know what manufacturers do this. I could see it being done from a rubber compound aspect to save money with a cheaper compound, but the cost and complexity of tooling to make 2 different tread depths for the same tire does not add up.

It's absolutely not true at the tire company I work at. The OEM's are made identically to the replacement market tires. The OEM's have the strictest tolerances for uniformity (balance, vlcc, conicity, etc. ) An OEM market tire is held to a higher standard (center cut from normal production) to encourage customers to be repeat customers.
Making your OEM tire a crappy tire in relation to the replacement is only going to make you lose customer loyalty.

Some more interesting information: OEM is not where we make money. The replacement market is. When choosing between the many development contracts for OEM each year the replacement market is a huge consideration. Customer loyalty and demographic as it pertains to the type/class of car being purchased is also a major factor when choosing which contract to bid on. For example, why would you spend a bunch of R&D money on a great tire for a kia rio when you know the customer is going to put on a cheap set of chinese tires as soon as the OE's are worn to the threads. You spend the money on a BMW where you can be pretty sure the owner isn't going to downgrade to a cheaper brand when the time comes. You definitely don't put an inferior tire on the OEM or you are digging your own grave.

This makes a lot more sense to me. I've never heard of OEM tires being made to a lesser standard.