Smoking (deal on) Tires

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion) 09/17/2019 at 12:13 • Filed to: tires

1

40

I try to be way ahead of the seasons when it comes to tire shopping, because deals are better and selection is better. With my E46 I was able to put wheels and tires on it for almost a decade without buying new* ( I think I bought new once) because Craigslist was prodigious not only in E46-compatible wheels, but the common 205-55-16 tire size. I have NOT had the same luck with our 2012 Volvo, since I don’t want 19" wheels for snow tires, and also because TPMS.

So I’ve been watching for deals, and on TireRack today I found these that will fit my factory 16" wheels:

That’s $354.52 BEFORE the $80 rebate, so it’s $274.52 but then   call it + $100 for mount/balance at my local shop so ~$375 all in, using existing TPMS. That’s quite good, for tires that I’ve heard are excellent.

So the factory wheels will become my winters and I’ll get a set of 17's for summer from... somewhere. It’s really hard to beat TireRack when it comes to having to deal with TPMS. I can maybe pick up a $2 00 set of wheels from Craigslist but I need to spend at least another $300 on TPMS, maybe more. Then I still need tires for those “cheap” wheels. On TireRack they’ll put in TPMS for $264 total for all four, which is hard to beat when they include mounting/balancing and shipping to my door.

Sad to say, my all-in cost for a set of used wheels off CL could be really close to a new set from TireRack. Or maybe that’s good, because it lets me justify getting whatever wheels I want!

Or

OR RALLY WAGON

mmmm

Meanwhile I’ll keep looking at CL for someone ditching a “perfectly good set” of factory Volvo wheels for under $1000 with good tires and TPMS that will work with my car. HA! When they do appear they’ll be 150 miles away. 

CalzoneGolem > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 12:18

2

TPMS can fuck right off.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 12:18

1

My subaru dealer also has these on sale, was quoted $120/tire plus install. Tire rack is $124/tire.

M.T. Blake > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 12:21

1

Last set of wheels and tires I bought was for my former WRX... $1600 for Enkei RPF01 in gold with tires I don’t remember. 

functionoverfashion > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 09/17/2019 at 12:23

0

~$120 for 17's. I was considering just going to 17's year-round but nope. Sticking with my original plan, 16's for winter and especially because one road I go on every day is horrendous in the winter, not much better in the summer. 

dogisbadob > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 12:23

0

Pull the bulb :p

What I hate , besides the stupid TPMS law and the expensive direct TPMS shit, is that TR only carries the expensive sensors. on eBay, you can get ITM Uni-Sensors for about $20 each. Still more than you should have to spend, but it is about half teh cost of TR or anywhere else.

functionoverfashion > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 09/17/2019 at 12:23

0

Oh also, I called my local shop to see if they can do the same deal. Rather give them the business if I can, since they’re mounting them anyway. 

E90M3 > CalzoneGolem 09/17/2019 at 12:24

1

Why? 

facw > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 12:24

1

Hmm, that’s a good deal. I was thinking about the Blizzak LM001 (their performance winter tire), but for $150 maybe the WS80s would be good enough. Of course I’m not entirely convinced I need winter tires at all (I don’t need them here in Boston, so it would mainly be for going skiing or whatever, and if needed I can probably steal my parents’ XC70 for that).

functionoverfashion > CalzoneGolem 09/17/2019 at 12:24

2

seriously. I bought a whole set of wheels and tires in great condition for my E46 that lasted me four winters, for $300. Mind you, that was a great deal BUT it’s nearly that much just for the *(#&$%( sensors!!! 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 12:25

1

225/60 R17's on the outback. But my existing WS80's have another year or two left. 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 12:25

0

Discount tire if you have one in your area. They are the best in my area. 

functionoverfashion > M.T. Blake 09/17/2019 at 12:29

0

Ah, don’t worry. Your local CL is probably full of random wheels and tires that’ll fit the M5

benn454 > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 12:29

1

I'd go with the gold Sparcos.

M.T. Blake > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 12:30

1

I’ve got Forgestar wheels for it, I’d consider picking up OEM wheels but people ask too much for them.

functionoverfashion > facw 09/17/2019 at 12:30

0

If you go skiing from Boston, where do you go?

I had snows on my E46 last year but not on the Volvo. It was still good, but I can just imagine how kick-ass it’ll be with snows. 

CalzoneGolem > E90M3 09/17/2019 at 12:31

1

The whole system is stupid. Having to break the bead to service them and having a system with just an idiot light. The cars that will show you all 4 pressures is handy, but even then when one dies you have to break the bead to fix or replace.

functionoverfashion > dogisbadob 09/17/2019 at 12:31

2

I’ve wondered about those cheap sensors - I’m afraid to try them only to find out the don’t work, AFTER I’ve paid a shop to mount/balance my tires. 

CalzoneGolem > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 12:31

0

Big yikes.

functionoverfashion > CalzoneGolem 09/17/2019 at 12:33

0

I would actually welcome a system that replaced the valve stem cap. But then I guess people would steal them. 

E90M3 > CalzoneGolem 09/17/2019 at 12:33

0

In the 5 years I’ve had a car with TMPS, I haven’t had an issue. Mine also tells me which wheel is low. It doesn’t tell me the pressure, but it’s never been wrong. 

facw > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 12:35

1

Various places in NH and VT. Not a big deal most of the time, but if I want to go up while it is actually snowing or right after a heavy snow, I’d appreciate having the better tires. It’s a good chun k of change to spend for something that’s only really going to matter a few days a year. O bviously they have some benefit the rest of the time, but as someone who works remotely, I can generally avoid going out when the roads are a mess. I will say that my old all-seasons did a better job than I would have expected when I came home from NYC during a major snowstorm last year.

CalzoneGolem > E90M3 09/17/2019 at 12:38

0

Congratulations. Only our 2020 Soul works and tells us the pressure. My F orester and the 2013 Soul only worked after we purchased them.

CalzoneGolem > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 12:39

0

There’s plenty of things people could steal off our cars but don’t.

functionoverfashion > facw 09/17/2019 at 12:43

1

If you go off the road on 93 I’ll come pull you out of the snowbank with my Volvo.

But yeah, I definitely didn’t need snows on all 3 cars last year. W e’re down to two, and both will have snows now. Being able to swap out wheels on my own means I can do it the night before the first snow and take them off as early as I want, too - this means they’ll last quite a few winters, which is key. 

functionoverfashion > CalzoneGolem 09/17/2019 at 12:48

1

Well, true, but if you had a $50-$100 sensor on your valve stem that could be unscrewed super easily, and was a really common part shared among many cars AND that was prone to failure as small sensitive electronics can be........ 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > facw 09/17/2019 at 12:58

2

Winter performance tires are excellent for places that you dont really need snow tires but could find value in them occasionally . Also worth looking at is the Nokian WRG series. Its an all season but meets snow tire standards in Europe as well. I found them to work well on my Subaru through winter driving in Utah, Wy, and Montana. Even though I still daily them in sunny socal. 

functionoverfashion > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 09/17/2019 at 13:00

1

Nah, everything’s an hour away from me here. I mean, more or less. Any big chain stores certainly are. There’s a local place that’s been in business forever, Wilson Tire, but I’ve never heard a single good thing about them. The ONLY good thing I can say is I once had a plastic shield come loose on my car, on the highway RIGHT at their driveway, so I pulled in. I had my 1-year-old son with me, and asked if they could put it on their lift and re-fasten the shield. I expected to be charged an hour’s labor, or for them to tell me they couldn’t do it but they “helpfully” removed it completely and disposed of it for me in the shredder... or something. But no! They fixed it and sent me on my way, no charge.

But they suck at tires. 

functionoverfashion > E90M3 09/17/2019 at 13:05

0

It (hasn’t been) problematic for me, but it makes it much harder to buy/sell used wheels/tires. I did have a sensor die on my wife’s old X3, but they were 11 years old when one of them died. 

functionoverfashion > benn454 09/17/2019 at 13:06

0

They make the white Sparcos (rally wheels) in a grey. I would use those for winter but I want wheels with fewer spokes for winter, easier to clean snow out when it gets packed into the inside of the wheel (this is especially a problem when driving out of an unplowed driveway, which we do all the time... or when you do donuts. 

facw > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 09/17/2019 at 13:08

1

Yeah, “dont really need snow tires but could find value in them occasionally “ is probably a pretty good description of me, which is why I’m interested...

HoustonRunner > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 13:13

1

Alternative - live in Houston. Summer tires all year.

(Yes, we are preparing for a tropical depression right now that could bring up to 10-15 inches of rain over two days.  So I spend the winter tire money on insurance.  Five cars flooded from 2015-17.  And my rates didn't go up because of it, they were already higj.)

i86hotdogs > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 13:32

1

White Sparco’s were top on my list for the van. I lucke d out and found white Taurus SHO wheels for a fraction of the cost. The only knock I heard about the Sparco’s are the blue label is known to peel off fairly easily.

benn454 > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 13:33

1

I just like the way they look on a black car.

functionoverfashion > HoustonRunner 09/17/2019 at 13:41

0

Yikes, well stay safe! I’d be more worried about my boat in 10-15 inches of rain, but only because the lake would come up and over the dock, and the posts would start lining up with the side of the boat instead of the rubrail.

First world problems. 

shop-teacher > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 14:04

1

That's a killer deal!

HoustonRunner > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 14:33

1

After Harvey I said I was getting a boat for such situations, but it would need a motor if we actually wanted to get out of the neighborhood. I’ve seen the flood current enough times to know - rowing will not work.

The problem then is the ongoing maintenance need for a reasonable motor - electric or gas. I either need to make sure I have batteries charged or I need to run a gas one often enough to keep it lubricated.

So I haven’t don e anything.

NTuley > functionoverfashion 09/17/2019 at 14:55

0

I was wondering when someone would say something about this. I just bought the same tires for my Baja. I had a set on my Audi A llroad and they were amazing!

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > facw 09/17/2019 at 16:39

1

The WS series tires are their serious winter tires. I have a set of WS70s on my winter wheels (which will need to be replaced in ~5 years unless I somehow start driving enough to wear them out, much like my summers that will probably need replacement due to age rather than wear)... They’re so cheap that it might be worth it, but my weather is so wonky and snow so rare (but it can be heavy when it happens) that I’m hoping to get a set of Nokian WR G3 or G4 tires, since they don’t wear like the Blizzaks do when it is warm.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > facw 09/17/2019 at 16:43

1

They’d be perfect for your use, much like the reason I want them. I need something I can reasonably use for the 4-6 months a year that it’s too cool for my summers to get good grip (and they develop flat spots like crazy when it’s cold) , but also gives me good traction when it becomes icy/snowy, which rules out all-season tires.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > CalzoneGolem 09/17/2019 at 16:48

1

I wish TPMS sensors at least used a standard communication protocol so they could pair with any car... But I also wish they were external so you could like change their batteries without removing the freaking tire. They end up being more work/expense than they’re ever worth and get destroyed when tires blow out .