Tires....

[badrose]

Hankooks are great.

[KeithKSR]

They're close. Tire Rack didn't charge sales tax, but was $120 more expensive; however, $70 of that was in a rebate, so it really was only $50 more expensive. I'm going to be looking today/tomorrow to see if the rumor of free installation at Costco is accurate; if so, then it will be $60 more than that. They're two different models of Michelins, best I can tell close to the same--same warranty, speed rating, etc. So it's not apples to apples, but fruit to fruit, I guess.

Costco may have the same Michelin with a different name on them than what the tire shops sell. Walmart does that. The tires will be identical other than the name.

[KeithKSR]

Hmm. Reading a lot about the Hankook tires. They have an all-season, 70k mile warranty tire, same speed rating, etc., reviews very good every place I've seen. $129 per tire, with a $50 rebate for a set of four.

If I can spend $600 for those all-in, I might do that instead. Wish Costco had them.

I'd go with the Hankook tires, Michelin has been riding on their rep a lot in the past decade. The last few sets of Michelins I had weren't any better than discount tires.

[Darrell KSR]

I'm going with the Michelin tires. Costco has it (Keith was right, it's the same tire--confirmed by Michelin), just $30 less per tire to begin with. Then they discount the set of 4 by $70 instant rebate, rather than mail-in. And today they are giving a deal on the Michelin's where you get 1-cent installation, so it knocks $130 off the set. And their installation includes free road hazard warranty, lifetime rotation and balancing, etc.

[CitizenBBN]

Man, this is a lot of info about tires. All I know is that I wear mine out really fast and they aren't cheap. I should probably shop more.

[Darrell KSR]

Man, this is a lot of info about tires. All I know is that I wear mine out really fast and they aren't cheap. I should probably shop more.

If you are interested in Michelin's, these are about as good as you'll find for price. $193* a tire for the 265 65r 17, and free installation/road hazard/rotation/etc. Free flat repair for life, inflation checks, balancing, etc. at Costco.

*Edit--that's before subtracting $70 for the set of four, so the net is about $176 a tire, free installation.

I'm not a Michelin fan-boy, and think they are one of many good tire brands, but it's a nice 70k warranty, six-year warranty from Michelin. Michelin ranks this tire as a "10/10" on wear, and an "8/10" on braking (they don't go higher than 9 there). I know how you drive; you don't use the brakes anyway.

[CitizenBBN]

I got the Michelin ASIII tires last time, worked great on my car.

As for my driving, I don't brake often but when I do I give them a real workout.

[suncat05]

I like Cooper tires too. I have had 2 sets of them on my truck, just good tires.
On the other hand, I will never, ever own another set of Bridgestone tires. My wife's car came with a set of them on it, and we had nothing but trouble with the original set and the 2 replacement tires that Toyota put on for us, courtesy of the warranty we bought when we bought the car. Bridgestone tires are junk, plain & simple. I'd rather have a set of "maypops" on my car than that junk!

[KeithKSR]

If you are interested in Michelin's, these are about as good as you'll find for price. $193* a tire for the 265 65r 17, and free installation/road hazard/rotation/etc. Free flat repair for life, inflation checks, balancing, etc. at Costco.

*Edit--that's before subtracting $70 for the set of four, so the net is about $176 a tire, free installation.

I'm not a Michelin fan-boy, and think they are one of many good tire brands, but it's a nice 70k warranty, six-year warranty from Michelin. Michelin ranks this tire as a "10/10" on wear, and an "8/10" on braking (they don't go higher than 9 there). I know how you drive; you don't use the brakes anyway.

I had a set of Sailun Terramax AT tires put on my truck in 2013, not one issue and they have a nice soft ride for a 10 ply tire. They ride much better than the Goodyear Wranglers I used to have on it. About $600 for a set of four installed.

https://simpletire.com/sailun-p265-7...SABEgI-ZfD_BwE

[Darrell KSR]

I had a set of Sailun Terramax AT tires put on my truck in 2013, not one issue and they have a nice soft ride for a 10 ply tire. They ride much better than the Goodyear Wranglers I used to have on it. About $600 for a set of four installed.

https://simpletire.com/sailun-p265-7...SABEgI-ZfD_BwE

Those are $153.92 per tire + $19.50 per tire shipping + $15.39 a tire for the road hazard warranty + $11.25 per tire installation at their preferred installer + $2.00 disposal fee + $1.00 for SUV/trucks + $3 shop fee (10% installation cost) = $206.06 per tire, or $824.24 for a set of four installed, before tax.

The Costco deal is a very good deal. Plus it includes lifetime rotation as well, which that one doesn't.

Edit--I'm sure those are great tires. I'm not suggesting any tire is better than any other. But all those friggin' add-on fees--are killers. If I knew a guy that would do it for me for free, and I didn't worry about the road hazard warranty, rotation, etc., then my options might be expanded. But as it is --man, that Costco, "all-in" deal is a killer deal.

Put another way--the Michelin tires at Costo are $176 per tire, literally.

Now, start subtracting the cost per tire you don't have to pay at Costco that you have to pay elsewhere:

$176
- $19.50 shipping fee saved
- $15.39 road hazard warranty saved
- $11.25 installation fee saved

Some of the others may be similar, so I'm not including them. But you get to a net price at Costo for the Michelin 6-year, 70k warranty tires, with road hazard warranty, lifetime rotation, etc. of $129.86 per tire.

That's a great deal in my book.

[bigsky]

No tire advice from Montana would be appropriate in Alabama.

I do run Hankook Blizzaks in the winter but they are expensive and wear out quickly. They also can save my life on winter Montana interstates and highways.

PS It is the last day of summer--and snowing.

[CitizenBBN]

Since this thread started I've had to change my tires twice.

[Darrell KSR]

Got the new tires put on yesterday. Big issue with Costco - wait time. They take limited appointments, about two weeks in advance, so if you know you need your tires rotated or something, you can make the appointment and no wait in line. Yesterday I arrived around 2 and they told me it would be ready around closing time. Fortunately, they offered the option to call me 30 minutes before they were ready for me, which allowed me to spring free, but that's a heck of a wait.

The guy told me they open at 10 am, but begin giving out numbers at 9:30. Brutal without an appointment, and a significant downside to buying tires at Costco.

[Darrell KSR]

No tire advice from Montana would be appropriate in Alabama.

I do run Hankook Blizzaks in the winter but they are expensive and wear out quickly. They also can save my life on winter Montana interstates and highways.

PS It is the last day of summer--and snowing.

Brakes and tires are things you just don't mess around with.

[KeithKSR]

I like the way the tire shops I deal with do their pricing. The only add ons are taxes and tire disposal fees.