Tire questions (Click Here To Answer)

"Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2" (pompei426)
08/11/2015 at 21:03 • Filed to: None

Where do YOU get them? Have you used Tire Rack? Worth it? How much should mounting and balancing cost at a shop? Would you trust any old shop with mounting and balancing? Anything special I should know. I’m cheap and am looking at some Dunlops on Tire Rack. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , think it’s a good deal?

DISCUSSION (25)

Party-vi > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:06

Tire Rack is fantastic. Mounting and balancing should be around $20 - $25 a wheel, and Dunlops suck ass

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > Party-vi
08/11/2015 at 21:12

I got a quote of 160 for mounting and balancing. Yaaa, not happening. I think Mr. Tire will be just fine.

You’d really steer clear of Dunlops? Not good? Reasons?

Party-vi > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:12

The last sets of Dunlops I’ve had chunked and wore pretty fast. Also they weren’t very sticky.

nothing > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:18

Tire rack is the place. Also if you go to your local tire store have a printout of the Tire rack price, more than likely they will match it, but you end up paying the sales tax.

I mount my own tires and I do not balance them. Balancing tires is largely a waste of money. It had a place years ago when tires where manurfactured out of balace. An experienced race car guy told me that and I have not balanced a set of tires since. Never had a problem.

Jcarr > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:23

I've used Discount Tire Direct a few times and they've been fantastic. Free shipping and excellent customer service.

lone_liberal > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:25

I’ve used Tire Rack and everything went fine. They do have deals with various shops where they will ship directly to the shop and they can do the mounting and balancing for you (for a price), but I’ve never done that.

Nymphicus Hollandicus > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:26

Hm... You want cheap tires? Take a look at the Jinyu YS51 (I think that’s what they are). I have a set on my Honda Pilot and they’ve been decent, I suppose. They’ve lasted me nearly 35k and my parents never rotated the tires freshman year.

dogisbadob > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:28

Whoever has the best deal at the time. Walmart, Mr. Tire, a local/regional chain, whatever. If I just need a used tire in an emergency, I do that.

I have used Tire Rack.

I HATE directional tires because you can’t rotate them. Unfortunately, there don’t seem to be many good tires in that size.

Master Cylinder > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:30

Tire rack kicks ass. Take a look at BF Goodrich Sport Comp-2 instead of the Direzzas. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the Dunlops but basically everyone loves the BFGs. They were great on my old Contour SVT, great grip and very predictable. Plus, they tend to have significantly wider tread width than other brands for the same size - which is good if you have the room in your wheel wells for it.

jjhats > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:33

I have never bought tires from tire rack. It is well regarded around all auto forums but I honestly don’t get why. The ammount you are saving is not much and surely doesn’t equate to savings once you ship em and pay a shop to install them. With that said, tire rack has a feature where you put in address to find installers. Many are listed on the site at 15 a tire. Show them the printout and bitch and they will honor it.

Now regarding tires. I have 18 so they are pricey. I've found craigslist to be a godsend for looking at tires. If you find lightly used you can save over 50%. You are fortunate to have a small tire so mini coopers miatas and Hondas are your best friend. You might even find wheels and tires for 300 it so at which point you can sell the wheels and save even more. I bought pilot super sports for 350 and blizzaks for 250 on the craigs so I suggest you look there. Beyond that I payed 107 to ntb in Rockville who mounted balanced and fixed my tpms on the michelins. I think that is more than fair but shoot for 20 a piece or 80 to mount and balance a set out the door with taxes.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > jjhats
08/11/2015 at 21:35

I would look for wheel tire combos, but the ratio on the tires I’m looking for isn’t stock. I’m waiting on a quote from Radial Tire in Silver Spring, but if the Dunlops are worth a damn, I can’t complain about $230 for 4 tires.

Urambo Tauro > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:36

I’ve placed an order from Tire Rack once, without any problems. They sent the tires directly to the local Goodyear so I didn’t have to transport them myself. I brought my car in and they took care of the rest. I had already paid Tire Rack, and my total at Goodyear came to just over $100, which covered mounting, balancing, new valve stems, and alignment. (This was for a full set of 4 tires.)

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > Master Cylinder
08/11/2015 at 21:37

Seconded on Sport Comps. Good grip, decent lifespan, great value. There are few good options with R15 rubber or for that price point, but I really think they perform well.

jjhats > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:39

I would go to the find an installer feature look at the prices quoted on tire rack and call the shop and tell them such. They should agree to honor it. Be sure to tell them you would ship to them from tire rack.

TylerLinner > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:41

I always buy my tires from Tire Rack and have never had an issue. Recently bought some Kumhos for my truck (hopefully the last tires I’ll buy for a very long time), and got them mounted/balanced at Discount Tire, with the weights on the inside lip of the rims.

For some reason I think a weight fell off about 500 miles from home, and I had two different shops re-balance it until it felt right again. Might have just been a freak occurance. Otherwise Discount Tire had a nice clean facility and seeminly-competent staff.

Of course, the specific tire place you go to makes a difference too, so read reviews on multiple locations near your house if you are concerned about it.

Urambo Tauro > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:49

Would you trust any old shop with mounting and balancing? Anything special I should know. I’m cheap and am looking at some Dunlops on Tire Rack.

“Any old shop” should be able to handle mounting and balancing okay, but keep in mind that any new tire installation should be complemented by an alignment. A reputable shop will keep their alignment rack calibrated properly.

You often get what you pay for, whether you consider yourself cheap or not. But, no one knows your budget better than you. Anything less than a full balancing and alignment will cost you in the long run. Keeping everything within spec is just as important as rotating your tires, and will help your new tires last much longer.

JGrabowMSt > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 21:50

$160 is a lot, my friends shop charges $20 a wheel for mount/balance and they have some of the nicest balancers in the business. I’ve never run on Dunlops before though. Are you looking for a decent all season tire, performance tire or something else? Brands I really have come to like are Toyo, Yokohama, Firestone, Hankook and Goodyear. In no particular order either. Continental tires wear very quickly and Cooper tires have a lot of road noise. General tires are decent, but certainly not my first choice.

I have Firehawk Wide Ovals on the HEMIWagon, and I have Ventus V12 Evos on the SL600. My old Neon always had Cooper Lifeliners, but as I said, they had lots of road noise. The Firehawks are incredible all seasons that can certainly handle a beating. I don’t drive the car especially hard (being my DD), but they perform exceptionally well in wet weather, which is a huge bonus. Today my friend certainly pushed the car extremely far (racing instructor, not outside his limits) and the tires held up really well. On the SL, the Ventus tires perform great as a summer tire. I don’t drive the car in the winter, so I couldn’t comment beyond that, but on damp/wet roads, I have significantly better traction with the Ventus tires than with the Michelin Pilot Super Sports it previously had on. The Ventus tires are far less expensive in comparison as well, but for dry weather performance, the Super Sports win by leaps and bounds. The Ventus tires aren’t bad, but do not bite like the Super Sports did.

General Grabber tires are pretty decent, as are Yokohama Avids. Cooper Lifeliners aren’t bad tires, but leave a lot to be desired in snow. Winter is definitely important to have just snow tires on the car, it makes a very huge difference.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > JGrabowMSt
08/11/2015 at 21:58

Looking for a good/fun summer performance tire. Don’t want to spend all my money on tires because even if the Dunlops aren’t the best, I wouldn’t mind.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 22:10

I’ve used tire rack a couple times because sometimes their prices are better than I can get through work and they have a better selection.

As far as mediocre tires go Dunlops are toward the top of the range. I’m really not a fan of them overall but for that price, in that size and performance category, I don’t see anything nearly as good.

Even my very expensive dealership charges only around $100 for mounting and balancing a set (not road-force, that’s a bit more). And yours are small diameter with big not-small sidewalls, I could change the set in about 15 minutes. There’s no reason for you to pay more than $100.

I’ve got experience with quite a few different tires. Shoot me a message with whatever tires you’re considering and I’ll give you my take on them if you want.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 22:11

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/11/2015 at 23:20

I just talked an 02 friend that races and knows everything I could ever want to know about tires and pretty much anything. He said they aren’t the best in the rain, but they are great performance tires. I’m fine with that because I don’t really drive in the rain anyway.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
08/11/2015 at 23:21

I’ve never been so turned on by tires.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/11/2015 at 23:36

Then I say go for it! That really is a killer deal for a set of tires.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/11/2015 at 23:46

I was told the proper size is actually 195/50/15 which are 200 after the rebait. Even better.

facw > Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2
08/12/2015 at 02:53

Bought from Tire Rack twice, with no problems. Something like $20-25/wheel for mount and balance. More if you get an alignment (I cheaped out, but will probably do it next time they get rotated).