Is there a sure fire way to get a good deal?

Local tire company here had a "Buy 3 Get 4th Free" deal which sounded great. But they spiked their labor so much that the overall savings only came out to be about $50.

2/19/2016 3:29:10 PM

use tire rack and have people match the price. (look for close out tires)

occasionally you can get a set for super cheap. I just got 4 285/70/r17 pirelli scorpion atrs for $360 shipped to my door. Had them installed at discount for $130

2/19/2016 3:36:33 PM

Buy a tire machine now, enjoy a lifetime of savings

3/27/2016 2:31:16 PM

Costco

3/27/2016 2:37:43 PM

discount tire direct

3/27/2016 4:26:39 PM

Discount Tire

and keep an eye on this: http://tinyurl.com/h2tgt6a

3/27/2016 7:54:01 PM

My dad has a tire business so I just order them through him and mount/balance them myself at his shop.

$$Profit$$.

3/28/2016 8:37:32 AM

I used to shop around but now I just go to Discount Tire. Very rarely have I found a better deal. Plus, I love being able to just show up and get the tires balanced and rotated every 2,000 miles.

3/30/2016 8:24:23 AM

^ yah those guys are great. been going there for over a decade. they've always given me the best price (i usually call around just to be safe), but what really puts them over the top is their service. they always give me tire warranty credits on unrotated/staggered tires. I get 13k out of my 50k treadwear warrantied rear tires and instead of nearly $500 for two new ones it's usually $150. They'll also fix screws/holes etc for free, even if they didn't sell you the tires.

[Edited on March 30, 2016 at 9:36 AM. Reason : they do usually have promotions on sets of 4, and are fairly negotiable]

3/30/2016 9:36:01 AM

another vote for Discount Tire. Also if you have a certain tire in mind that they don't offer they will usually still find a way to get it for you.

4/5/2016 9:09:06 AM

I give Discount Tires my bidnes

4/5/2016 9:59:38 AM

Anyone recommend the best all-season tires for off-road and snow? I'm due new tires in October for my Outback and I've heard a lot of good things about Goodyear Tripletred tires. I'm debating going full on snow tires for the winter but not looking forward to swapping/storing them. I never had any issues with AWD and the current stock tires on my car even in deep snow so I'm thinking of sticking to all-season for now.

8/26/2016 4:21:35 PM

snow lol

8/26/2016 4:26:00 PM

I assume at least one person ITT lives somewhere where it snows regularly...

This list looks good:

http://tires.about.com/od/buyers_guide/tp/The-Best-All-season-Tires-For-2013.htm

I have Nokian tires for my bike commuter in the winter. Haha.

[Edited on August 26, 2016 at 4:29 PM. Reason : s]

8/26/2016 4:27:15 PM

Continental DWS are rated pretty well, and I enjoyed them as far as all season tires go. Performed very well in the slush/ 1-2" of snow Raleigh got a few years ago.

[Edited on August 26, 2016 at 4:33 PM. Reason : .]

8/26/2016 4:32:12 PM

^Thanks! Those were #2 on that list. The ones that came with my car were Continental Procontact. They just didn't last very long.

8/26/2016 4:33:39 PM

Do you have a 17" wheel?

Lots of people putting 215/60R17 yoko geolanders on their subies from the forums I occasionally check in on. Good reviews although I think some were wishing for a stiffer sidewall, but that's a pretty minor complaint unless you really slice up curvy road or air down for soft roading.

I have Michelin Defenders on my Wife's car in 215/60R16 I think, and they were pretty horrible in the ice/snow I've driven it in (it's also a 2wd Kia). Good tire otherwise.

[Edited on August 26, 2016 at 5:16 PM. Reason : 16" wheel gets you into general grabber at2, regarded as the best soft-roader all terrain]

8/26/2016 5:14:27 PM

Yeah they're 17" wheels. I'm looking for the best snow/ice performance in an all-weather/all-season. I've heard about the yoko geolanders as well. They look like a solid tire.

8/26/2016 5:22:00 PM

Got my current set of Michelins from Costco

8/28/2016 12:04:34 AM

Why not get dedicated snow tires? Keep them on a cheap set of steel wheels and swap them out every year. Pretty easy to do and they'll last 2-4 winters that way.

8/29/2016 9:24:04 AM

^That's the eventual goal but I currently live in an apartment and don't want to deal with storing them. Plus with decent all-weather tires and AWD I haven't had any issues on ice, slush, and even deeper snow. From what I'm reading many of the best all-weather tires border on being decent snow tires as well.

8/29/2016 11:23:44 AM

Ah, was unaware of the apartment situation.

You can always store extra tires underneath your bed! As long as you love the smell of rubber, that is...

8/29/2016 1:12:44 PM

Yeah house with a garage is next on the list of big purchases.

8/29/2016 1:18:00 PM

Went with Goodyear Tripletreds. They're awesome. Drove in a foot of snow and ice and had no traction issues. Both my cousins are happy with them and they look new on their cars after 30k miles.

1/25/2017 6:53:02 PM

yay i get to bttt

Got about 65,000 out of my Bridgestone Alenza Plus. Had a blowout this morning on the highway.

5/31/2019 1:19:14 PM

I always liked the DWS tires fwiw

[Edited on May 31, 2019 at 2:50 PM. Reason : I would check Costco to compare against Discount Tire]

5/31/2019 2:48:37 PM

Discount will price match and negotiate

5/31/2019 8:18:50 PM

Quote :

"I used to shop around but now I just go to Discount Tire. Very rarely have I found a better deal. Plus, I love being able to just show up and get the tires balanced and rotated every 2,000 miles. "

6/2/2019 6:30:50 PM

Time to come clean about something ebarassing. About a year and a half ago my front right tire got a puncture that couldn't be patched. My back tires were also bald and since I had a 100+ mile drive that night I needed tires pronto. I should have tried to get by with some sort of cheap used tires until what I wanted came in.

It was late in the day and all they had were the all weather version of the bfGoodrich comp-2. I say this with no reservations: those are the worst fucking tires i can ever remember buying. All weather? If it rained a light drizzle more than a few minutes I would slide all over the fucking highway. That alone lead me to prematurely replacing the things within a couple of months. I've only ever had max or extreme performance tires on this particular car and none of those have ever given me the slightest bit of trouble in the rain. Nevermind just being more fun to drive on. Any idea why in the hell they were so awful in the rain??

Anyway, for the latest set of tires I decided to try something I have before and went with hankook ventus r-s4 despite being kind of hesitant based on some reviews saying they tend to be fine up to the limit but not giving a good sense of where they're actually going to break away. Honestly haven't had any issues, but I haven't beaten on them like they deserve either.

I see there Direzza ZIII's (Dunlop drop star spec from the name?) are finally in stock at tire rack even though I'm pretty sure they've been available in Japan for years now. Anyone given them a shot? I loved the ZII's so I'll definitely check those out eventually. By the time I get around to new tires in 3 months or so tirerack may have stocked back up. Seriously, they only have 2 left of one of my sizes until August ffs. Then again, I'm wouldn't leave those things on to be exposed to freezing temperatures so maybe I won't get any until next year.

6/6/2019 6:31:15 AM

Interesting news about those ZIII's, as I was considering ZII's for my next tire (even though they don't come exactly in my OEM size).

Really roasted my Michelin PSS's 2 weekends back at RRR. Front tires have 22k+ miles on them and this was their 3rd track weekend. Rears have 14k+ miles and this was their 2nd track weekend. Only took a few laps on the hot track for the fronts to get greasy and start understeering quite a bit. ABS engagement was pretty easy to trigger as well, lap after lap, braking from 130 to 80ish. lol.

Need something fresh before VIR in the fall, and the Pilot Super Sport successor, the Pilot Sport 4S, is apparently inferior in dry traction and track durability so that's quite disappointing.

[Edited on June 10, 2019 at 9:14 AM. Reason : ]

6/10/2019 9:11:51 AM

what about RE71Rs?

As of right now, I think I'm leaning towards either a set of those, or a set of NT-01s for the FR-S.

[Edited on October 5, 2019 at 2:26 AM. Reason : i'd consider a set of Cups, but they're too expensive]

10/5/2019 2:26:22 AM

Why NT01s and not NT05s? The NT01s are more extreme but could be a bit much for your car. Not to mention they're about 5-7 lb heavier per tire than the NT05s.

I'm open to whatever is highly rated, reasonably priced and in my size, for 200TW. Will purchase in a few weeks.

10/7/2019 8:13:11 AM

I bought my 2016 Mazda6 last November and had it for a year. When I got it they had put a pair of new tires on it, but the front two still had some tread life left. Those two are about done for now, but the back two are doing fine. My care uses 225/45 R19 tires and came with Dunlop SP Sport 5000s, which run $215/tire on TireRack and are not well reviewed. At that price I'm not far off from just going with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S instead. I've also thought about going with something like the Firestone FireHawk Indy 500 as those are only $150/piece and have great reviews, but would be mismatched until the back tires wear out. Any thoughts?

10/13/2019 2:05:43 PM

Just filled up the tires with enough air. The pressure sensor light is on once a year.

10/13/2019 3:04:26 PM

^^^ The Bridgestones are cheater 200TW tires for spec classes. they're really more comparable to the NT01, but the NT01 will tolerate a lot more heat during extended lapping.

^^ man i can't believe it comes with tires even that aggressive. hell i'd put some long-lasting all-seasons on it, haha.

10/13/2019 11:37:33 PM

Just ordered NT05s.

10/15/2019 8:22:41 AM

I'm debating ordering POTENZA RE-71R in 205/50R15. $122/ea at Discount Tire... Only $4 more for each tire over Azenis...

[Edited on October 15, 2019 at 12:05 PM. Reason : .]

10/15/2019 12:05:24 PM

RE71s will be faster but will last <50% as long

10/16/2019 7:47:33 AM

I already punish my tires enough as is. I should probably stick to Azenis then. LOL

10/16/2019 1:44:39 PM

So, regarding tire wear... I push my car as hard as I can. The car probably has room for faster times with a better driver, but I think it's safe to say that I don't hold back when she's at the track.

I currently have Koni coilover kit 1150-5006-1; ride height adjustable, 220#/180# Front/Rear spring rates. My current alignment is -2.5° front and -1.5° rear camber, 1/16" toe out front and rear. The wear on the front tires are oddly uneven in that outside tread block. I figure this is because of the toe? (And the fact I am merciless on my tires). When I'm on track, I'm using 100% of the tire in the corners (not rolling over onto the sidewall but using 100% shoulder) and tire pressure is around 25psi cold on 205/50-15 Azenis. I'm looking to upgrade to ground control 2.5" perch kit and go 500# square in the future. I have new poly bushings and a factory rear anti-roll; no front anti-roll. Powerplant is a H22a with M2B4 trans (factory LSD). (2260# car full weight with 174whp/163wtq). Other than driver mod and taking toe to 0, what can I do to get a more uniform wear pattern? Or is this the normal cost of playing at the track for a fwd platform?

The left side of the tire with the most wear is the inside, the right side of the tire is towards the outside (shoulder) of the car.









I would have expected the tire to wear more consistent along the green line, but it's actually staggered along the edge of the tread as shown in the yellow. I called Falken and they informed me that this is a single compound tire. I don't have a pyrometer, but i could check the tire temps next time. I usually just make sure i'm not rolling too hard past the shoulder and onto the sidewall and that the tires aren't feeling greasy on the track. Needless to say, I get about 5 days at an HPDE off a set of these 200 A-A UTQG...



[Edited on October 16, 2019 at 2:14 PM. Reason : .]

10/16/2019 2:13:24 PM

Thats just how Azenis wear.

I used to run azenis before switching to the hankook rs4s. I have prolly dumped 20 sets that looked exactly like that.

2300lb RWD E30 with Front -3.5, 1/16th toe, rear ???

I would start adding some pressure. I liked them with a bit more pressure hot.

10/17/2019 8:47:22 AM

Thanks for the confirmation.

Why the switch to Hankook rs4s? What are your thoughts on the Hankooks over Azenis?

10/17/2019 9:10:00 AM

Corresponded with a switch from 15x7 to 15x10 wheels.

205 Azenis lasted about 8 hours
245 RS4 last way, way longer. Probably about 40 hours before they age out from heat cycling, still plenty of tread left.

I would seriously look at the 195/15 RS4 as an option for your car. They are wide 195's.

The azenis used to overheat also. 2-3 good laps and they would get nice and greasy, required backing off and cooling them down to go fast again.

10/17/2019 3:10:18 PM

^ Now that you mention it, I would notice that they would get greasy after about 15 minutes of hard running on them when they are new. 8 Hours (~25-30 Heat cycles) on the Azenis sounds about right for the number of HPDE sessions I run on them. I would LOVE to get into 225/45 RS4s, but my 15x7s seem to be a tad too narrow for that tire for the track (what I've read online). I also don't know what all i need to do to get 225s fitted on the EG (new rims, fender rolling? etc)

I'll give the 195/50-15 RS4 a chance. No real price difference from Azenis. Thank you for the recommendation!

[Edited on October 17, 2019 at 3:39 PM. Reason : .]

10/17/2019 3:26:42 PM

Costco for sure.

Other than taking longer than expected(i guess cause lots of ppl go to them for tires which should say something), I’d say them

Prob only 4 places I’d go are

1. Costco
2. Sams
3/4. Discount tire/walmart no order for these 2

[Edited on November 5, 2020 at 7:46 PM. Reason : I went today. Michelin pilot sport 4 a/s]

11/5/2020 7:46:23 PM

anyone got any dealers that have good black friday deals? looking for a couple sets of cup 2s or the new goodyear trackday tires

11/24/2020 11:39:42 AM