Armstrong Tires Review: Who Makes Them, and Are They Any Good?

Armstrong is a name that older drivers remember from the side of American tire shops, and younger drivers meet as a mid-priced option that turns up in almost every size they search. Both reactions are reasonable, because the brand has lived two separate lives. Here is what Armstrong is today, which of its lines are worth your money, and where it does not belong.

Disclosure: New American Tires Hub is an independent tire retailer. We sell the Armstrong tires discussed on this page and we make money when you buy from us. We are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Armstrong or ZAFCO. The views below are our own, and we say where the brand falls short as well as where it does well.

Who makes Armstrong tires, and where are they made?

The original Armstrong Rubber Company was founded in 1912 by George F. Armstrong, and unlike the big names of the era it built its business on replacement tires rather than supplying car factories. By the company's own account it had grown into one of the largest tire makers in the world by the early 1960s. Pirelli bought the company in the late 1980s, and under Pirelli the name slowly faded until, by 2012, it was close to being retired altogether.

That year ZAFCO, a family-owned tire manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Dubai, acquired the brand from Pirelli and rebuilt the product range from scratch. The tires you can buy today are made at ZAFCO's own factory outside Bangkok, Thailand, and distributed from warehouses in the United States. The rhino mascot from the old advertising came back with the relaunch.

So the honest answer to "is this the same Armstrong?" is: same name, same mascot, different company and different factory. That is not a criticism. Unlike many value brands, Armstrong states openly who owns it and where the tires are built, and its passenger lines carry full UTQG grades that you can check against what is moulded into the sidewall. Those are the things worth verifying, and the rest of this review is built on them.

The Armstrong lineup at a glance

Across the brand we hold well over two hundred sizes, from 13 inch economy cars to 22 inch trucks, which is a wider spread than most brands at this price. If your vehicle takes a common size, there is almost certainly an Armstrong in it. You can browse every Armstrong tire we have in stock, or read on for what separates the lines.

Blu-Trac PC and PC3: the touring line most people will buy

The Blu-Trac PC is Armstrong's everyday all-season tire, and it is where the brand makes its strongest case. It carries a UTQG treadwear grade of 700 with A ratings for traction and temperature, which is the highest treadwear index on any Armstrong car tire, and only the Tru-Trac H/T truck tire grades higher at 740. It is also higher than most tires at its price. It comes in T, H and V speed ratings, in sizes from 13 to 17 inch, at roughly $40 to $95 a tire.

To be clear about what that 700 means: UTQG treadwear is an index from a controlled test course, not a mileage promise. A 700 tire is expected to wear more slowly than a 350 tire from the same maker under the same conditions, and that is all it says. Real-world life depends on your car, your roads and your alignment. But as a signal that the compound was built for longevity rather than grip, it is a meaningful one.

The PC3 is the newer generation, covering 14 to 18 inch with the addition of W-rated sizes. Stock on the PC3 is thinner than on the original PC, so if you find your size in both, the original is usually the easier buy.

Blu-Trac HP and HP3: the performance side

The Blu-Trac HP is the performance tire, with W and Y speed ratings on most sizes and a treadwear grade of 340. That lower number is the trade you would expect: a softer compound that grips harder and wears faster. It is the widest line in the range, from 14 inch right up to 20 inch, at about $50 to $130.

Most HP sizes carry an M+S marking, which means the tread pattern meets a geometric standard for mud and snow. It does not make the tire a winter tire, and it is not the three-peak mountain snowflake. If you see real snow, read our all-season versus winter tires guide before relying on any all-season performance tire.

The HP3 is the current generation, and Armstrong lists some sizes as EV compatible. That is a marketing designation rather than a regulated one: it usually means the load rating and construction were chosen with heavier battery-electric cars in mind. The load index on the sidewall is still the number to check against your door placard, whatever the label says.

Tru-Trac SU and SU3: crossover and SUV highway tires

The Tru-Trac SU is the crossover and SUV equivalent of the Blu-Trac PC. It carries a treadwear grade of 440 with A traction and temperature ratings, H through Y speed ratings, and covers 16 to 22 inch. Prices run from about $65 on a 16 inch to just over $200 on a 22 inch. It is the line to look at for a RAV4, a CR-V, an Explorer or a half-ton truck that spends its life on pavement.

The SU3 is the replacement generation, currently in 17 to 22 inch. As with the PC3, stock is shallower than on the original, so check both.

Tru-Trac H/T, A/T and Desert Dog: the truck side

This is where Armstrong is more serious than its price suggests. The Tru-Trac H/T is the highway truck tire, in both passenger-metric and LT sizes from 16 to 20 inch, and its passenger-metric sizes carry a 740 A A grade, the highest treadwear index in the range. The Tru-Trac A/T and its successor the A/T II are the all-terrain lines, and the A/T II in particular is heavy on LT sizes with 10-ply load range E construction, including 33 and 35 inch flotation sizes for lifted trucks. The Desert Dog M/T is a full mud-terrain tire in 33 to 38 inch flotation sizes, most of them on a 12-ply casing, at a price that reflects it.

One detail matters here. The passenger-metric A/T carries a UTQG of 560 A B, but the LT sizes across the H/T, A/T II and Desert Dog carry no UTQG at all. That is not a gap in Armstrong's data. Federal rules only require UTQG grading on passenger car tires, and LT tires are exempt. If you are comparing an LT Armstrong against an LT tire from another brand, treadwear grade is simply not available on either, and you compare on load range, ply and warranty instead.

These are three of the Armstrong tires we hold in the most depth, one from each side of the range:

What the warranty actually covers

Armstrong's passenger and light truck range comes with a limited mileage treadwear warranty, two-year road hazard coverage, roadside assistance and a 30-day money-back guarantee, according to the distributor. The mileage figure differs by line: the manufacturer states it goes up to 85,000 miles on the longest-warranted tire, and the performance and truck lines carry shorter terms. The exact mileage for your specific tire is printed on the warranty sheet and on our product listing for that size, and it is prorated, so a tire that wears out early is credited toward a replacement rather than replaced free.

Road hazard coverage is the part worth noticing. Many tires at this price carry no road hazard warranty at all, and a pothole that destroys a tire in its first year is a total loss. Two years of coverage on a tire costing $60 changes that arithmetic. Read the terms before you count on it, since exclusions apply and the claim runs through the seller.

Armstrong versus Zenna

This is a comparison people search for often, because the two brands land in similar sizes at similar price points. The difference is in what each publishes. Armstrong names its owner, its factory and its warranty terms, and its passenger lines carry UTQG treadwear grades from 340 to 700. Zenna, as we noted in our Zenna tires review, does not disclose its manufacturer, and it generally comes in cheaper.

Both meet the same federal safety standards, as every tire legally sold in the United States must. The choice is about what you are paying for. If you want the lowest price on four new tires and are replacing them at a normal interval, Zenna's Sport Line is hard to beat on cost. If you want a longer treadwear index, a stated road hazard warranty, and a truck and all-terrain range that Zenna does not offer, Armstrong is the better fit, and the gap in price is usually small.

Where Armstrong makes sense, and where it does not

It makes sense for a daily-driven car or crossover on a 13 to 18 inch wheel, where the Blu-Trac PC's 700 treadwear index and low price are a genuinely good combination. It makes sense for a pickup on highway or light trail duty, where the Tru-Trac H/T and A/T give you LT construction and a road hazard warranty without a premium-brand price. And it makes sense if you care that the brand tells you who makes it.

It does not make sense if you need a true winter tire. Armstrong has a Ski-Trac winter line, but it is not something we hold in any depth and we would not steer you to it. It also is not the right choice if you are chasing the last tenth of wet grip on a performance car. The Blu-Trac HP is a competent performance all-season, but the premium names invest far more in compound development, and that shows at the limit. At the price difference, that is a fair trade for most drivers, but it is a trade.

The verdict

Armstrong is what a value brand looks like when it is run by a company with something to protect. The heritage name is mostly marketing, but the things behind it are real: a disclosed factory, full UTQG grades on the passenger lines, a road hazard warranty that most competitors at this price skip, and a range wide enough to cover a 13 inch hatchback and a lifted 35 inch truck from the same catalogue.

If you are replacing a full set on a car or crossover you drive every day and you want to spend less without buying something anonymous, the Blu-Trac PC and Tru-Trac SU are the two tires to look at first. Confirm your size, load index and speed rating against the door placard, and buy the one that matches.