when did car tires go up in price?

tonyb

When did car tires go up in price ?

1987- Where have you been?:D

shawn474

I just priced truck tires for the last two weeks; anywhere from 700 to 1400 dollars for 4 installed. I ended up ordering from tirerack.com and got a set of firestone destination a/t's for less than 600 bucks. With shipping and installation, it came to around 725 bucks. I was very happy with their prices, customer service and support. I would definitely use them again.

Shawn

Willow

We paid almost 1200$ for 1400$ winter Pirelli Scorpions for our SUV! (with steel rims)

For our stock tires made by bridgestone they are 700$

concealer404

Jstas wrote: »

There is nothing wrong with all-seasons. Most passenger car tires out there right now are all-season tires. They aren't a compromise. They don't do snow as well as snow tires and they aren't going to turn your car in to a race car by any means either. But just because of that doesn't mean they should be looked down on.

I'm not looking down on them.

I said they're a compromise, nothing wrong with that, and you just defined compromise, so i guess we're on the same page, yes?

concealer404

Jstas wrote: »

BTW, danger boy lives in the Pacific Northwest. They don't get "harsh" weather like snow. They get rain. Lots and lots of rain. Hell, the Northwest U.S. and Southwest of Canada are home to what's considered a "temperate rainforest". If danger boy should get anything, he should look at Goodyear Aquatreads which are, get this, listed as "all-season" tires. Pfft! They must be total junk then! :rolleyes:

Oh jeebus. Nobody is saying that all-season tires are junk, including myself. Get over yourself.

concealer404

Jstas wrote: »

Oh, but wait, the Scorpion Asymmetricos are Z rated rubber but they are all-season so they must be a "compromise". :rolleyes:

Seriously? WTF is wrong with you?

jdwmap

I have bought tires for a couple of years now for an aftermarket distributor. Last year, I lost count how many times we had a price increase on truck tires. This year they have an increase again but no plans to do it half a dozen times. I still can't believe how expensive wheels/tires are for a truck, I don't think I can own one because I won't drop that much on tires.

Jstas

concealer404 wrote: »

I'm not looking down on them.

I said they're a compromise, nothing wrong with that, and you just defined compromise, so i guess we're on the same page, yes?

No.

All seasons are what most passenger car tires are classified as anymore. They are a radial design with a self-cleaning tread pattern and a moderate to hard rubber compound for long life and low road noise. They are designed to be that way.

Saying that an all-season tire is a compromise because it doesn't do race duty so hot and anything more than a few inches of snow can stymie them (we are talking more than 6-8 inches on an unplowed road) is asinine. I hear the same damn argument from people who believe that the all out performance for whatever category you are looking at is what's best when in reality, it's not.

Race and summer/dry tires are compromises. They give up foul weather performance, ride quality and mileage for maximum dry weather performance. Snow tires are compromises. They give up ride quality, treadwear, dry weather performance and a bit of mileage for superior snow performance. Off-road tires are a compromise. They give up dry weather performance, mileage, ride comfort, noise, treadwear and in some cases rain/snow performance for off-road capability. Those tires are compromised in every way.

All-season tires are designed for road use by passenger vehicles transporting passengers from point a to point b via the vast network of paved roads. They have excellent ride quality and comfort, very low noise, very low rolling resistance for high mileage, very good wet weather performance, good snow performance, good dry weather performance and can even get your RAV4 to the campsite at the campground. They have excellent treadwear warranties with some being in the 80-90,000 mile range. Will they be the best tire for racing? No, not really. Will they be the best off-road tire for rock crawling and mud-bogging? No, not really. Are they good for say...a Wisconsin Winter? No, but then again, you'd need chains and studs for that as well as snow tires.

All season tires aren't a compromise at all. They don't cover the extremes but they do actually cover 90-95% of the conditions in which 75% or more of the people who use tires would request of them. That's a pretty good tire IMO. Especially since one kind of tire can cover so many needs for different people.

sucks2beme

Interesting how the stuff goes up, but doesn't seem to go down after the price of oil drops.
Anymore, the tires and stereo are worth more than the rest of the truck.

Danny Tse

Slightly off-topic....

For those who intends to keep their cars/trucks, I'd recommend getting the lifetime wheel alignment agreement from your local Firestone Auto Center (if you have one). It's about $150.00 and it basically let you have wheel alignments done as long as you own the car. The agreement is good nationwide at every Firestone Auto Center and considering a single wheel alignment will set you back at least $80.00, it's an excellent deal and it will extend your tire's life.

No affiliation....just a satisfied customer.

Jstas

Danny Tse wrote: »

Slightly off-topic....

For those who intends to keep their cars/trucks, I'd recommend getting the lifetime wheel alignment agreement from your local Firestone Auto Center (if you have one). It's about $150.00 and it basically let you have wheel alignments done as long as you own the car. The agreement is good nationwide at every Firestone Auto Center and considering a single wheel alignment will set you back at least $80.00, it's an excellent deal and it will extend your tire's life.

No affiliation....just a satisfied customer.

You also have to purchase Bridgestone/Firestone tires.

concealer404

Danny Tse wrote: »

Slightly off-topic....

For those who intends to keep their cars/trucks, I'd recommend getting the lifetime wheel alignment agreement from your local Firestone Auto Center (if you have one). It's about $150.00 and it basically let you have wheel alignments done as long as you own the car. The agreement is good nationwide at every Firestone Auto Center and considering a single wheel alignment will set you back at least $80.00, it's an excellent deal and it will extend your tire's life.

No affiliation....just a satisfied customer.

This is a great tip. Helps immensely if you make friends with the alignment tech during the racing season as well.

My local Firestone tech will set my car to anything i tell him to.

bigaudiofanatic

Might just be me but I buy mine off tire rack or discount tire. I usually but bridgestone potenzas or kumho ecsta. Usually runs me around 600 for all 4 and that includes the mounting and balance. I think that is a fair price considering they keep me and the car on the road better than "normal" tires.

heiney9

Michelins are probably the most expensive mass produced tires going and honestly they aren't worth the extra money IMO.

I've used Bridgestone, Kuhmo, Sumitomo and Pirelli and they have been excellent for a lot less than Michelin. I don't recommend Pirelli though..........not had good luck with them.

Tire prices really haven't changed that much in the past 5 years. I track prices pretty regularly and have always bought from Tire Rack and have then drop shipped to my mechanic an he installs them.

I run Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 Snow tires this is their 4th season and still have over 50% of their tred left.

I run Sumitomo HTR-Z II in the summer.

H9

heiney9

concealer404 wrote: »

take a look at the Kumho ASXs.

Great all-season tire. One I'd highly recommend.

H9

concealer404

heiney9 wrote: »

Great all-season tire. One I'd highly recommend.

H9

They aren't too shabby on an autocross course, either. :eek:

heiney9

concealer404 wrote: »

They aren't too shabby on an autocross course, either. :eek:

That's what I've been told! My mechanic races on the weekends and prepares race cars/autocross cars as well and he, as well as others, have used these at the track and says he was impressed at how well they held up.

H9

concealer404

heiney9 wrote: »

That's what I've been told! My mechanic races on the weekends and prepares race cars/autocross cars as well and he, as well as others, have used these at the track and says he was impressed at how well they held up.

H9

Yiiiii... don't know that i'd use them on a track day if you're actually going to beat on the car at all, they DO grease up a bit if they get real hot, but they're perfectly fine for a couple autocross runs with cool down time in between.

But seriously, for an all-season, they have the stiffest sidewall i've ever seen.

Kumho ASXs, Nitto Neogens, and Toyo Proxes 4s are all i tend to buy for my street cars. The Neogens are strictly a 3 season tire, though.

Gadabout

To answer the specific question....

Tire proces jumped last year when oil went well over $120 / barrel. It took about 3 months, after the peak of $145, for the prices They never seem to come back down.

danger boy

shawn474 wrote: »

I just priced truck tires for the last two weeks; anywhere from 700 to 1400 dollars for 4 installed. I ended up ordering from tirerack.com and got a set of firestone destination a/t's for less than 600 bucks. With shipping and installation, it came to around 725 bucks. I was very happy with their prices, customer service and support. I would definitely use them again.

Shawn

if you order then online and have them shipped to you. who installs them? will your local tire store be glad to mount then for you? IF so, how much did they charge?

I have a feeling. i'll order some tires online and then no find anyone to install them on my car. or else charge an arm and a leg to do it. so i'm shying away from that.

shawn474

danger boy wrote: »

if you order then online and have them shipped to you. how installs them? will your local tire store be glad to mount then for you? IF so, how much did they charge?

I have a feeling. i'll order some tires online and then no find anyone to install them on my car. or else charge an arm and a leg to do it. so i'm shying away from that.

Tirerack.com has recommended installers. The one that I used charged $14 per tire to mount and balance. It couldn't have been easier and the customer service is top notch.

Shawn

danger boy

got a call from Costco today.. Michelin discontinued the size I need for my car.. so i'm still looking.

got some price quotes from Les Schwab $525 or $577 installed, mounted, balanced, disposal fees, etc.

Local tire store Bridgestone Fusion ZRi = $515

Gadabout

If your still looking for the Michelin's ........ Discount Tire still has them.

If your still in Spokane

---

Michelin
Pilot Exalto A/S (34597)

Usually Available in 2-3 days


205/55R-15 88V RRBL

A set of 4 tires qualifies for: Michelin $70 Rebate (Details)

$140.00 $560.00
Environmental Fee (State Required) $1.00 $4.00
Tire Disposal Fee $2.50 $10.00
Valve Stems, Lifetime Rotations FREE
Installation & Lifetime Spin Balancing $14.00 $56.00

Subtotal $630.00

WA 8.70% Sales Tax $54.46

Total "Out the Door" Price $684.46

---

Here's the link for the discount tire search....

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/searchTiresBySize.do?r=WAEINT%7Cpc%7C99208&cs=205&ar=55&rd=15

A little odd but the same tire is $11 cheaper here in Texas. Base price of $129 a tire.

ben62670

treitz3 wrote: »

Since we are on the topic of tires here....anybody know of a place to get BF Goodrich All Terrain tires at a good price? What I am looking for is 285/75/R16's in a ten ply E-load class. The price I got quoted today was $215.00 a tire. I need 5 of them.

Any help would be appreciated. If you know of a good online place to purchase that happens to have these exact tires, PM me please.

Look at general grabbers. Also walmat has some nice Goodyear's.

I agree that Michelin's suck!

concealer404

danger boy wrote: »

got a call from Costco today.. Michelin discontinued the size I need for my car.. so i'm still looking.

got some price quotes from Les Schwab $525 or $577 installed, mounted, balanced, disposal fees, etc.

Local tire store Bridgestone Fusion ZRi = $515

Eh, i'm not a Fusion fan, but they're an OK tire i guess. I don't think they'll last 45k miles or anything, though.

Seriously, look at some Kumho ASX. They're cheap as hell in your size from TireRack. You'd be able to buy them, get them shipped, and installed for less than even what the ZRis will cost you.

billbillw

Kuhmo ASX are probably not the best choice for someone in the PNW. They are sub-par in the wet stuff. Last time Tirerack did a test on them, they were dead last in the wet. Unfortunately, the tire I would recommend (Conti Extreme DSW) is not available in the 205/55/15 size yet.

In that size, I might consider the Yokohama Avid V4S. I ran the H version of these tires on my Passat for many years (two different sets). They were a good all around tire. Quiet, smooth, good wet traction, good steering feel. They may not be the best in any category, but they are a good all around tire, and you can expect a solid 50,000 miles out of them.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVID+V4S

concealer404

Perhaps a good point. I never noticed any problems with them in the rain personally, but i'm pretty cautious on wet pavement as well.

The Yokos are a good tire as well.

Can you get Proxes 4s?

heiney9

Yoko's would be a good choice as well (Avid V4S). The Kuhmo ASX's are really good in the rain despite Tire Racks testing. I've never had good luck with Conti's, but then again I haven't run them in quite a few years.

My parents have these on their Passat for all around weather here in the Midwest they have been fantastic.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+G+019+Grid

How could I have forgotten to mention these. I recommend these over the Kuhmo's simply because of their outstanding all weather capabilites. If i were running all season tires on my GTi these would be it!

H9

concealer404

They don't have his size, though. If he'd be cool with running a 195/60-15, that'd be pretty close.

heiney9

He should call or e-mail TireRack because many times it's not listed.

H9