Car Tires

Post #185,684 by jbrabeck 12/1/04 8:24:08 AM Reply	Car Tires I need to replace tires on my car ('95 Saturn SL1). What is the difference, if any, between the $25 40k tire and the $80 55k tire? Except for price and tread life. Are the name brands "better"? ANy suggestions? Car takes 175/70R14 which is an odd size and therefore slightly higher priced. I'm planning on using 185/70R14 (1.4% "faster") which are about $10-$15 cheaper per tire. Oh yeah. Here in Mini Snow Duh, tires MUST be at least all season. TIA Joe A good friend will come and bail you out of jail ... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"
Post #185,685 by Another Scott 12/1/04 8:50:45 AM Reply	Dunno. Be careful about changing sizes. You don't want to have any rubbing issues. Just about any tire is M+S these days (other than very sporty ones), but you still might want dedicated snow tires in your neck of the woods. I've had good luck with Michelin. We've had X-Ones (that they don't make any more) that lasted ~70,000+ miles on a Corolla. The MXV4 tires on my old LeSabre were pretty good and lasted ~50,000 IIRC, but they picked up nails quite frequently. It came with Goodyear something-or-others that only lasted about 30,000 miles. The Continental tires (German) on my VW Jetta seem pretty good so I'll consider them seriously in the future. I wouldn't get Pirelli myself, mainly because everytime recently that I've gone to buy tires the salesmen have pushed them so hard (they must get a larger commission on them or something). They may be fine tires, but I have no experience with them myself. Note that you can't compare a (sidewall) 500 treadlife with Michelin to a 500 treadlife with say Firestone. The sidewall treadlife numbers are for comparisons within a brand, not across brands. The letters (e.g. A,A,B) can be compared, IIRC. As a general rule, more expensive tires are usually better but how much better is a subject of debate. It's unusal for tires to last as long as the tread mileage rating in my experience (but I usually replace them before they go bald ;-). I have a mechanic friend who says that the City garage where he works gets heavy truck tires for ~ $10 each. Tires seems to be one of those rackets - that, or competition is fierce but consumers don't know about it. He likes Bridgestone tires. IIRC, they have a pretty long treadlife too. Avoid off-brands unless you know of someone who has good experience with them. Cheap tires aren't worth it. I spent over $500 on tires for my LeSabre T-Type the last time I got them (lifetime balance, road hazard, yada yada). I've been scarred by having to replace flats in cheap tires on country roads as a teenager, so I probably go a little overboard. Check [link\|http://www.tirerack.com\|http://www.tirerack.com] for an idea of prices and what they recommend before you buy locally. Some places will haggle with you if you cite the TR price. Don't be afraid to ask if they can do better on the price (or throw in the lifetime balance and road hazard stuff for free, etc.). Does that help? Good luck! Cheers, Scott.
Post #185,710 by Andrew Grygus 12/1/04 1:30:47 PM Reply	Pirelli Now this is over 10 years ago, but the last time I got Pirelli tires I had 3 structural failures within a year. Unfortunately, no warranty because the tire store folded soon after I bought them. Maybe Pirelli did them in. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #185,733 by Ashton 12/1/04 3:47:22 PM Reply	All good advice. I used Michelin exclusively, for decades - from Austin Healy Sprite through Citr\ufffden, Saab, etc. The 'X', later ZX and XZX were not only long-lived (the rear pair on my last Saab went tooo long: they were original after 20+ years! the rears experience much less wear than front, on any FWD and I never X-ed tires on FWD - just replaced in pairs). I changed this pair just for common sense/time reasons, though there were no sidewall cracks.. In brief, back when I paid attention to tire reports from er sports users and other critical types: Michelin was always lauded for QC, even though some specialty tires were superior in the trade-off of adhesion [softer] VS longevity. As to $: resistance to road hazards plus better QC is what you are supposed to 'get' with more $, and enough people notice that -- perhaps to account for the long term reps of {such as Michelin}. Since your expensive box + contents connects you to F=MA solely by these 4 patches of rubber: what's your life worth? moi ..who has to think next about tires, too. Screw up / neglect the today, "4-wheel" alignment and your tires Will die via the dread thump-thump thump of a permanently ruined tread, no matter how "good" they were.
Post #185,707 by mmoffitt 12/1/04 12:41:50 PM Reply	Michelin. Michelin. Michelin. I've had Goodrich, Goodyear, Firestone, General, Pirelli and Dunlap, all with horror stories. For the past 20 years I've only purchased Michelin's and have never been disappointed. bcnu, Mikem Eine Leute. Eine Welt. Ein F\ufffdhrer. (Just trying to be accepted in the New America)
Post #185,732 by jbrabeck 12/1/04 3:30:23 PM Reply	I've had good luck with Michelin But they're priced about $25/tire more than others. A good friend will come and bail you out of jail ... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"
Post #185,738 by mmoffitt 12/1/04 4:19:47 PM Reply	True, they aren't cheap. But $100 bucks could save a lot of worries ;-) bcnu, Mikem Eine Leute. Eine Welt. Ein F\ufffdhrer. (Just trying to be accepted in the New America)
Post #185,764 by daemon 12/1/04 6:53:37 PM Reply	depends on how much driving you do if you're local get to the tire store and get the set just one above the cheapest. If you drive a lot and dont have alignment issues on your car spend the money and get the michelins regards, daemon that way too many Iraqis conceived of free society as little more than a mosh pit with grenades. ANDISHEH NOURAEE clearwater highschool marching band [link\|http://www.chstornadoband.org/\|http://www.chstornadoband.org/]
Post #185,770 by folkert 12/1/04 7:43:52 PM Reply	I recently re-shod my Lancer. I bought Goodyear Triple Assurance Tire. Not cheap. But then again, My wife Karen drove it on Monday with all the ICE and Snow... She was the only car able to traverse the entrance ramp (up hill) from Pearl Street. She didn't even spin tires, it is a stick... and very light. Heavy cars with meaty tires were not able to traverse. Roadmaster Station Wagons were not able to go either. They are really good tires. -- [link\|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net\|greg], [link\|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry\|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ *i_wethey* No matter how much Microsoft supporters whine about how Linux and other operating systems have just as many bugs as their operating systems do, the bottom line is that the serious, gut-wrenching problems happen on Windows, not on Linux, not on Mac OS. -- [link\|http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1622086,00.asp\|source] Here is an example: [link\|http://www.greymagic.com/security/advisories/gm001-ie/\|Executing arbitrary commands without Active Scripting or ActiveX when using Windows]
Post #185,777 by daemon 12/1/04 8:13:39 PM Reply	was looking at those 2 weeks ago. I really liked that tread design. regards, daemon that way too many Iraqis conceived of free society as little more than a mosh pit with grenades. ANDISHEH NOURAEE clearwater highschool marching band [link\|http://www.chstornadoband.org/\|http://www.chstornadoband.org/]
Post #185,795 by folkert 12/1/04 10:41:24 PM Reply	Yeah, three patterns over layed onto each other... One with two deep groves for wate and snow removal, one for corner biting, one with tons of sipes for good wet and ice/snow traction. Greater than 60K Mileage and lotsa sidewall strength. They really change the way the car feels and runs. Both for the better. The Steering wheel tells me WAY more than it used to. I now have to judge that car speed using the Engine rather than the wheel noise. I like them alot. -- [link\|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net\|greg], [link\|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry\|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ *i_wethey* No matter how much Microsoft supporters whine about how Linux and other operating systems have just as many bugs as their operating systems do, the bottom line is that the serious, gut-wrenching problems happen on Windows, not on Linux, not on Mac OS. -- [link\|http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1622086,00.asp\|source] Here is an example: [link\|http://www.greymagic.com/security/advisories/gm001-ie/\|Executing arbitrary commands without Active Scripting or ActiveX when using Windows]
Post #185,830 by pwhysall 12/2/04 11:51:28 AM Reply	Black ones. Here endeth my knowledge of tyres :-) Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home]
Post #185,869 by CRConrad 12/2/04 6:46:45 PM Reply	Except, on some models whitewalls really are de rigeur.
Post #185,907 by jbrabeck 12/3/04 9:23:08 AM Reply	Shirley you jest They must also be round... A good friend will come and bail you out of jail ... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"
Post #185,914 by pwhysall 12/3/04 10:39:20 AM Reply	Minor detail. Peter [link\|http://www.debian.org\|Shill For Hire] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home]
Post #185,909 by jbrabeck 12/3/04 9:26:56 AM Reply	Got a pair them too, but meant the tires... Went to a local recycling shop. Found of near new Michelin Radial X for $30/ea. Quieter ride, no more pulling right (will still have alignment checked due to wear patterns on old tires) I'm happy with them. Thanks to all for suggestions. A good friend will come and bail you out of jail ... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"

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