I usually buy tires at my local Sears and have the boys throw em on my car. But this time I have an RL that I don't really want the boys down at Sears to touch. I'll probably take them over to Acura and let them put them put the tires on these new wheels I'm getting. I only go to Sears cuz it was easy to deal with a problem tire since I bought em there, and had a warranty there.

If I get tires off tirerack.com, and then get some kind of road warranty protection, how does this work? I don't wanna be shipping a problem tire to them and all this bullshit. Maybe just buy the tires from them, as long as they offer a better deal than my local Sears or other tire shop, and just take my chances without their road hazard warranty.

What do you think? Anyone go the tirerack route and get a warranty with them? Or is this just stupid, and buy them without anything else, or buy tires locally in case a problem should arise it'll be a lot easier to just go there and deal with in person.

Also, I was thinkin Bridgestone Pole UHPAS for 18s, seem like they got pretty good reviews, actually excellent according to the 7 million miles or so logged by tirerack.com reviewers.

 

TireRack is great, warranty seems like a waste to me.

I have tried Bridgestone 960's and they are great in the dry and rain.

Don't confuse them for snow tires tho, I almost ran my TL into a wall the day before selling it because I made a 10mph turn on snowed in movie theater roof parking lot...luckily the place was abandoned at the time.

 

I'd be using the 960s in the snow though, as I don't feel a need for snow tires. These tires get pretty good ratings on tirerack in winter conditions..

 

TireRack rocks, I've been buying from them for years. I've bought two sets in the last year from them, one for the RL and one for my S2000. I used the warranty on my last set of tires from them, it's a bit of a hassle as are all warranty claims but they paid.

 

Well...if you go straight with 960's you're fine. But if you try turning and there's an inch of snow under you...forget it!

 

^ I'm using the OEM tires which are Michelin MX HXM touring right now.. it shouldn't be worse, should it? I'm gettin around ok on em, and there's like 4/32" left...

 

Good to know they take care of their customers, should I do business with em, especially on warranty.

 

I've bought many tires and wheels from tirerack.com. I feel the are the best in the web. They also have install shop all over the place.

 

Tire Rack is a great way to purchase tires. I have used them for years. Use their installer section to find someone to do the install. You can often have Tire Rack deliver straight to the installer if you arrange ahead of time with the installer. Or find your own installer. It is worth calling around-for example I was able to find installation prices at one NTB for $60 a wheel, and at another store 15 miles away, $20 a wheel, so stores can be inconsistent. You can also negotiate with your local store and they may be willing to deal in this economic climate.

I do not buy warranties, and over time, this has saved some money, because flats get fixed for free (example Discount Tires) or for something like $20.

I would treat the Tire Rack surveys with a grain of salt or three. It is very easy to give a tire a really high score. In addition, all sorts of drivers and cars use the same tire, and so results tend to get smoothed and look better than they really are. Many consumers will always rate a new tire as fantastic just because they compare it directly with what they just drove, which is typically worn out, bruised, out balance, out of alignment (always align all 4 wheesl after new tires) etc., so beware of those survey ratings...that is my two cents on the survey ratings

I would look at their review sections where they road test tires in a somewhat consistent manner. You will also find that one year, the tire is number 1 pick and drops, and vice versa, in another year, a tire that is number 3 or 4 pick can move up a spot or two.

 

Honestly, any UHP A/S tire you put on your car will feel better than stock.

I had MXM4's on 3 of my cars and I've promptly swapped em out. 2 cases of Pilot Sport A/S and one of Bridgestone 960s.

Definitely a huge difference.

 

Yeah I think it'd be Pilot Sport A/S or 960s.. guess I'll toss a coin... as far as tire warrantys I don't have problems with getting a flat, but have a problem with getting bubbles on the sidewall due to shitty roads here. So I like to have a warranty in that case..

 

Pilot Sport A/S are no longer in stock, so much for tossing that coin.

 

Huh?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....e1=yes&place=8

 

Chas- why do they constantly change the rankings of the tires? Like as of Aug 08 the Pilot Sport A/S Plus is #1, but it used to be #2? I don't understand how the rankings would change, unless.. the tire is constantly getting built differently?

 

Depends on what you mean by "winter conditions". Although the RL is AWD, tires make a huge difference-you can see that on some other threads-particularly if you are an aggressive driver. I have another Michelin OEM that was mounted on my 06 and noticed a tremendous improvement when I mounted another set of wheels with dedicated snow tires for this winter.

As far as Tirerack changing ratings I would guess that those are established just by the numbers of people responding to surveys. So if one year another tire gets really good reviews the first one reviewed may get bumped down to a lower rating, and vice versa.

I've had good experience with Tirerack but never purchased the warranty.

 

Those got the PLUS, which means they cost much more.

I was talking about the old and trusted Pilot Sport A/S which I got on closeout for less than $170 each delivered.

As far as rankings, they become stable as more reviews come in.

The higher the mileage reported, the truer the number.

Also, people factor in cost, noise, etc.

Performance wise Pilot Sport A/S and Bridgestone 960's seem to be top of the list, S4's are getting there but check the official comparisons.

 

That could be the reason, or it could also be sample variation, but more likely, the tires they test are also changing, or the tires they test against are changing...You usually always see a different set of test tires.

For example the Pilot Sport A/S Plus tested in August 08 is a new tire, and different than the previously tested and now discontinued Pilot Sport A/S tested previously in January 08, (although that was a snow test only).

The January Test is the Pilot Sprot against the BS 960AS, the Goodyear F1 AS and Pirelli PZero Nero M+S.

The April 06 test pits the Pilot Sport against the then new Bridgestone 960AS, the Conti Extreme Contact and Yokohama Advan S4.

So that is why the position varies over time, the competition is different or the set of test conditions is different, in the case of the snow test. The testing does give you good relative data.

That is my 2 cents

 

If you want full service and convenience then buy local from a reputable shop. Sometimes buying from a local tire shop might get you free lifetime flat repair, alignments, rotation etc. Plus if you have a new tire that's not exactly round you can just drive back and work with them until the problem is resolved, instead of shipping a tire back.

Give your local tire shop a chance by asking for a quote and then work down from there. I don't know of any place that will match the price of online dealers, so don't expect or demand it. Local shops have overhead expenses to keep the store running but give them a chance to earn your business.

If you want to save a few bucks then go with a reputable online store. I've used TireRack multiple times and have never had a problem with any of their tires (or prices ;-) Tires usually arrive in one day with UPS ground. I take off my own tires at home (use jack stands) and drive the tires to a good place to mount them, as I don't trust many shops with an impact wrench on my vehicles plus I find it's quicker to get them mounted that way.

Either way, keep in mind the total cost of everything- tires, shipping, taxes, mounting, balancing, parts, tire disposal fees, warranty, etc. plus your TIME.

I just got a local quote for 4 Serenity's mounted and all the works (no warranty) for $1,027. I told them to keep the factory valve stems as it has the TPMS and they saw that when they looked up the car but they said they need to do the TPMS valve service kit for an extra $8 per wheel. Think he said it was a new washer or something? I am not sure... but does anyone know if this is true?


Warranty: I never get the warranty as it drives up the overall cost but it's like any other insurance... never know when you're going to need it, especially for side-wall cuts. The thing I don't like is they pro-rate the tire so unless you wreck a new tire you're not going to get enough to cover the cost of a replacement.

 

I look at the reviews with 1/2-1 grain of salt. I think the varying results either reflect that all the tires in a given group are close in terms of function, or (if you take a cynical view) could depend on which one had the most in stock at the time of the test. I think it's more the former, or I'd like to think so.

 

I actually read the reviews for the specific vehicle I am looking for, not just look at overall averages and decide.

Different vehicles behave differently with the same tire.

 

I see now the TPMS kit / service pack contains: New Grommets, Nuts, Valve Cores, And Caps That Are Required To Be Installed Whenever A Tire Equipped With TPMS Is Removed And Replaced On A Wheel Rim