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When are Tires unsafe
I agree with the diagnosis of underinflation.
Safety depends on how and where you drive to some regard, but since you do not have absolute control over your driving environment and conditions, it is generally best to keep your tires and vehicle in top shape. It would certainly seem foolish to have a wreck to save a couple hundred bucks on tires.
With respect to inflation, I would recommend that you monitor the tread wear and adjust the inflation to the amount that gives you a more even wear. It is normal for front tires to wear on the edges a little more due to steering forces. (That is why you rotate them) But, it sounds like you have significant edge wear and higher air pressure will carry more of the load in the center of the tires.
Some of the recent press about tires deals with tread separation, which is a different safety problem.
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When are Tires unsafe
I have owned many sets of Bridgestone Desert Duelers. They make a variety of treads, and I personally use the AT tread which is the most open and agressive. I had one set on a truck that had gone over the Baja 1000 course several times. I was very pleased with their life and performance.
I run the Bridgestones at near maximum pressure as stated on the sidewall, as Ken suggests. I lower the pressure only when I am going offroad and want more floatation and to keep the punctures down. I have only had two or three punctures in several years of running these tires. I would say that I get >60K miles out of a set of these and they don't stay on the pavement.
I am sure that others can relate stories about other brands. I was bothered when Ford was having trouble with Bridgestone/Firestone, but I tend to believe that the fault was with Ford and underinflation.
My wife had a set of Toyo tires on her truck and they lasted even longer than the Bridgestones. I have never used Michelins on a SUV. I replaced OEM Goodyears and BF Goodrich tires with Bridgestones, but it may be that replacement tires are higher quality than those sold as OEM. (Even within the same brand.) My Hummer has some huge BF Goodrich TA tires that seem to be doing well.
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When are Tires unsafe
Tires can be engineered for a number of features. Racing tires for example are not designed as much for mileage as they are for optimal vehicle performance. That could mean high speed, good cornering, and low unsprung weight. Puncture resistance and 60K milage life don't even fit into the performance equation.
Pirelli makes some good pavement racing tires with very soft compounds. Actually all of the major manufacturers make such tires, but Pirelli markets theirs to sports car owners for street use. They may handle well, but you won't be impressed with the life. Years ago, I had a very fast RX7 and I used a little known tire called a Phoenix Stahlflex. These handled like the Pirelli but gave a 50K life. So don't rule out the little known brands if you have reason to think that they are OK. I used the same tires at track events and then drove the vehicle home.
I am certain that OEM tires are not the same as aftermarket replacements. The car manufacturers are going to press the tire suppliers for every last penny of savings. I was involved in supplying some equipment to Ford, so I can tell you about this. The major auto producers do want their vehicles to stand out, so if that involves lowering the tire pressure for soft ride or using a soft tire compound to improve handling, they will do it as long as they think it will have little impact on vehicle safety.
You have to be careful about holding a grudge against a manufacturer. If a company produces a generally good quality product, it is in their best interest to keep their customers. But, everyone screws up at one time or another. Firestone for example has made good tires for a long time. When they got involved with Ford, there were tire problems. Those problems could be due to a variety of reasons. Bridgestone (owner of Firestone) screwed up by having their foreign chairman deliver a statement that was condescending and accepted no blame. There was plenty of blame to go around. But, I would say that Firestone has had time to correct their problems and are probably producing pretty good tires right now. I don't have any data, but I know how business works. They would be foolish to have taken any other path.
I have had continuing good luck with Bridgestones (offroad tires), so I will continue to use them. If I get a bad batch sometime, the dealer will have no doubts about my dis-satisfaction. The chairman of Bridgestone may be a bonehead, but as far as I know they are still making a good tire. Friends of mine swear by BF Goodrich TAs and other brands. I have Goodrich TAs that came on my H2. When it is time to replace them, I will certainly consider Goodrich, but I may also go with Bridgestones.
The best advice that I can offer is to ask your friends if they are happy with their tires and search out other information on the Internet.
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When are Tires unsafe
From what I understand, most tires are made by only a few companies. The smaller brands are often spec tires and are made by the larger companies with particular specifications on the construction and materials. These smaller brands could very well use better materials and construction methods even though they are made on the same or same type of large machines.
Cost of production and sales is the reason that there are differences. The smaller brands often have little or no advertising, so they can run with a thinner profit margin. All the major producers have huge advertising budgets, own their own stores and so forth.
My dad would always buy the cheapest tires he could find. These were generally the house brand at Montgomery Wards. Every year we would go out and buy a new set of bias ply cheap tires. I broke out of that mold and bought a set of radials and they lasted more than a year. When those tires lasted more than four years, I figured that it was actually cheaper to buy the best tires that you can find even though it costs more that first day. I have not bought a "cheap" tire since that time.
There are many brands out there that do well that I do not know much about. Toyo is one of them. My wife had Toyo tires on her truck when we met, and they did very well. So, you just have to keep an open mind, ask around, and check things out as best you can before you buy.
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When are Tires unsafe
I agree with Dave's comments. I don't know much about Cooper tires, but they have been around a good while and I have not heard anything bad.
re: Out of Round tires...All of these that I have seen have been tread separations. The bad thing about this is that you can balance them at one speed, but they will still have a problem and the tread has often come loose at the belts, so they are dangerous to continue to use. The treads can become separated because of heat, underinflation, and a variety of other reasons. (including poor puncture plugs)
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