# Tires



## brad

When I bought my car, I did a lot of research beforehand, reading all the reviews, etc. My sister has the same car (a Toyota Matrix), and her only complaint was that it wasn't great in the snow. This worried me until I saw that one of the car review magazines said you should buy a model with the 17" wheels, which have better traction than the standard 16" wheels.

So I dutifully plunked down the extra cash for a model that came with 17" wheels, which also came with a lot of options I didn't need or want, such as electric windows, a sun roof, wheel locks, etc.

Then winter came, and I learned to my amazement that snow tires are not made to fit my 17" wheels. Snow tires are required here in Québec, but I would use them even if they weren't required: all-season tires lose their grip when it gets cold. I had to buy new 16" rims and snow tires to go on them (at first I thought this would affect the accuracy of my speedometer and odometer, but it turns out the wheel-and-tire combination is the same radius). 

After about six years my original tires for the 17" rims were worn and starting to develop leaks, so I decided to replace them. They had to be special ordered, and the four tires together cost about $900. And one of the new ones appears to not have sealed correctly on the rim and has a slow leak.

So my frugality lesson out of all this is: avoid non-standard wheels and tires for your car. I'm going to switch to my 16" rims and just have the tires changed on those rims every season; I'll see if I can sell my 17" wheels and the new tires. Ugh!


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## the-royal-mail

Actually brad a lot of people have two sets of rims and tires. The nicer rims get the summer (aka "all season") tires and the uglier rims (usually crappy tire steel black ones) get the bridgestone blizzak tires. It's cheaper and easier to swap out the entire rim rather than swap the tires and have to deal with bead sealer etc. I fussed with changing tires off one set of rims for years and if I had to do it again and was in your shoes, I would keep the extra rims you have now. If you're careful about where you buy the tires from, some places will even store your off-season wheels in their facility for you. But you need to ask about this in advance, not many places do it.

There is no substitute for good winter tires.


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## CanadianCapitalist

brad said:


> After about six years my original tires for the 17" rims were worn and starting to develop leaks, so I decided to replace them. They had to be special ordered, and the four tires together cost about $900. And one of the new ones appears to not have sealed correctly on the rim and has a slow leak.


Brad, did you explore buying tires in the US? I've heard from many people who saved a bundle by buying them in the US. Can't recall how much they said they saved. Also, can't recall if the savings accounted for the costs involved (apart from time) in driving down.


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## andrewf

If they are leaking, bring them back to the shop that installed them. They will fix it.

But the other point is: low profile tires are expensive, and mostly a vanity thing. They may perform slightly better, but cars work just fine with normal tires.


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## Four Pillars

I've always had a 2nd set of cheap steel rims for the winter tires. Probably $200 for a set?

As mentioned, it's cheaper and easier to keep all your tires on their own rims. I switch mine myself twice a year - it's good exercise.


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## rookie

ouch...

pains to hear that.


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## m3s

It's much better to have a second set of rims for the winter. It saves having to mount, seal and balance tires twice a year (and going back to have them resealed when they don't)

I use 16x6.5" wider, lighter alloy rims in the summer, and 16x5.5" steel rims in the winter

If I were you I would just keep the 17"s since you already bought and mounted new tires. If you ever sell the vehicle, most people prefer to see original alloy rims rather than hub caps or aftermarket rims

The states is cheap for tires. I always buy used tires because so many people sell barely used tires for dirt cheap - going on my 3rd year on $50 winter Toyos and 2nd year on $100 used sporty Kumhos


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## brad

mode3sour said:


> If I were you I would just keep the 17"s since you already bought and mounted new tires. If you ever sell the vehicle, most people prefer to see original alloy rims rather than hub caps or aftermarket rims


Well, the car's five years old now and I'll probably keep it another five years at least, so maybe I will stick with the 17" rims for now and then when these tires wear out I'll see about buying a new set of 16" rims at that point so I can buy cheaper tires. By the time I'm ready to sell this car, it'll be so old that nobody who would buy it would be concerned about aesthetics!

And yes, once I find time I will bring it back to have that one tire looked at; it's a slow leak but it's losing about 0.5 psi per day. I only drive it once every week or two, so I have to pump up the tire before every trip.


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## m3s

andrewf said:


> But the other point is: low profile tires are expensive, and mostly a vanity thing. They may perform slightly better, but cars work just fine with normal tires.


They perform better if you have a sports car that would overpower or crunch the sidewall of lesser tires

For most cars they actually reduce power to the ground (more rotating mass, more torque required) and make a hella rough ride.

I shake my head at kids with 18" rims on their "performance" civics. Stock rims are generally well suited for the vehicle


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## bltman

17" are not "non-standard" tires. They are more expensive than 16" but a lot of the costs also depends on the other dimensions or characteristics of the tires. There are three numbers in a tire spec and they all mean something. Tires also have a speed rating which also impacts their price. The $900 you spent on the 17" tires may have cost $870 for the 16" version or possibly $750 or somewhere in between. If cost was a concern, you could have gone with a cheaper brand. Again, it depends on the total size of the tire, the tire spec, the brand of tires, where you purchased them from, etc. I am not sure you would have saved all that much. 

BUT, it is much cheaper when changing tires from summer to winter to change tires that are already on rims. If you switch to go with your 16" rims all year, you will pay more to the mechanic twice a year. Because it takes longer (with greater chance of leaks) if the mechanic needs to physicially remove the tire from the rim and put the new one on the rim.


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## brad

bltman said:


> The $900 you spent on the 17" tires may have cost $870 for the 16" version or possibly $750 or somewhere in between.


The four snow tires I bought for my 16" rims cost $450 new. But that was a few years ago -- I have to buy new snows this year (for my 16" rims) so we'll see how much they go for.



bltman said:


> BUT, it is much cheaper when changing tires from summer to winter to change tires that are already on rims.


Yep, I understand. It only costs $26 to have my four tires changed when they're on the rims, which is so cheap that it's not even worth doing it myself, especially since I don't have a pneumatic lug wrench.

The expenses of buying new tires and the increasing number of repairs I'll have to start making as my car ages are making me start thinking again about getting rid of my car altogether and joining a car-share service (there's a Communauto car about a six-minute walk from my house). I've spent exactly $0 this month on gasoline and probably won't have to fill up the tank until mid-September!


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## canabiz

CanadianCapitalist said:


> Brad, did you explore buying tires in the US? I've heard from many people who saved a bundle by buying them in the US. Can't recall how much they said they saved. Also, can't recall if the savings accounted for the costs involved (apart from time) in driving down.


CC, I looked at buying tires from the States for my Nissan X-Trail but in the end I went with Costco.

If you have a Costco membership, I think the prices on their tires are quite competitive, certainly on par with (or not much more than) what you got in the States without the hassle of driving down there and the time involved. They also have perks like free flat repairs. You can catch the occasional coupons as well.


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## CanadianCapitalist

canabiz said:


> CC, I looked at buying tires from the States for my Nissan X-Trail but in the end I went with Costco.
> 
> If you have a Costco membership, I think the prices on their tires are quite competitive, certainly on par with (or not much more than) what you got in the States without the hassle of driving down there and the time involved. They also have perks like free flat repairs. You can catch the occasional coupons as well.


I get my tires at Costco as well. I simply don't have the time to spend 3 or 4 hours driving to the US and back for a new set of tires. I haven't compared prices but it is nice to know that Costco isn't all that more expensive.


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## canabiz

CanadianCapitalist said:


> I get my tires at Costco as well. I simply don't have the time to spend 3 or 4 hours driving to the US and back for a new set of tires. I haven't compared prices but it is nice to know that Costco isn't all that more expensive.


It may be worth it to buy from the States if you are into cars and want to have performance tires and what have you. Tirerack.com and a couple of other sites can ship to the UPS store in Ogdensburg for a nominal fee and you can cross the border to pick them up.

For the rest of us who simply wants to get from Point A to Point B, I agree with you Costco tires are all we need. They also have very competitive deal for oil change, i usually drop the car off, do my shopping and come back in 1 hour to pick it up. Work well for me!


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## Jon202

I had to replace my summer tires this spring after 7 years as I have summer and winter tire/rim sets and do only 16k/year. The tires started to crack before I could wear them out.

I picked up some used tires a shop that had 9/32nds inch (usually new is 11-12/32nds inch) for less than half the price of new.


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## Jungle

I bought my last two sets of tires at Wal Mart. I shopped around, (not including buying in USA) and nothing was cheaper. Wal Mart also had the cheapest install pricing too.


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## Sherlock

brad said:


> the four tires together cost about $900


Did you shop around? My car also has 17" tires (235/45/17) and I found a set of 4 performance summer tires on sale for just under $700. Not a high end brand but for a daily driver that never sees the track they're good enough.


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## Ihatetaxes

My wifes car has 17" aluminum wheels/all season tires and a set of 17" steel wheels and winter tires. The 17" size was harder to find and more expensive - around $1500 for wheels and tires. In reality the car is so much safer in the snow and ice that I would have paid a lot more for that security for my family. 

My car has four wheel drive and my commute is 12 km of city roads so I don't bother with snows. 

The van with snows is as good or better than a four wheel drive SUV with all season tires.


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## m3s

From living in rural areas with twisty snow packed roads, we actually found the cheaper taller sidewall tires on 16 or 15" rims worked much much better in the winter

They are narrower and cut through the hardpack or slush rather than float on top if that makes any sense. There's more pressure/weight on a smaller surface to get down to the pavement or at least dig into the pack more. You also want higher tire pressure. The taller sidewalls are also much more comfortable for driving over frozen chunks of sluch and ice etc

On pavement however, the 17"s larger footprint does have much more grip. Studs are also worse on pavement, as they hold some weight of the rubber off the pavement. I learned this one day meeting a deer. Lower presser is better on pavement to spread out the weight/contact

Anyways just like softer rubber, it is smart to have smaller rims/higher inflation and studs on snow


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## andrewf

I don't thinks studded tires are legal in most places in Canada. They are hell on roads.


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## m3s

Actually it's only illegal for Ontario plates in southern Ontario

You guys don't get real Cdn winters anyways 

They are definitely legal in most of Canada and highly advised if you do any kind of driving on back roads


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## furgy

I used to run studded tires for many years , I have found the soft rubber siped tires like Blizzaks to be far superior to the studs.

One day studs will be illegal anyway , even tho I believe the coarse gravel they put on the road nowadays does more damage to the roads than studs ever did , not to mention the millions of damaged windshields.


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## m3s

Depends what you do. I haul a snowmobile trailer out mountain passes and studs are handy to get up hills and keep control coming down. I've never tried rubber spikes, but I imagine they're better in certain conditions

Besides cracked windshield, the salt destroys vehicles and brakes

Personally I wish all roads were left snow packed any everyone had to learn how to drive. But I also think if everyone drove stick they would drive safer too


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## Sherlock

mode3sour said:


> They are narrower and cut through the hardpack or slush rather than float on top if that makes any sense. There's more pressure/weight on a smaller surface to get down to the pavement or at least dig into the pack more. You also want higher tire pressure. The taller sidewalls are also much more comfortable for driving over frozen chunks of sluch and ice etc


It's true that a narrower tire cuts through the snow better. It's generally a good idea for the winter wheels to be a size smaller than whatever your summer wheels are, if your car will allow it (most will). I don't think you're right about the tire pressure though, if anything the pressure should be lower for driving on snow/ice.


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## m3s

Well yea tire pressure is probably less important and more subjective, depending on conditions and type of tires etc

Two reason I say run higher pressure in winter:

1) In the summer your tires heat up more when you drive. In the winter they don't heat up as much when you drive, so you compensate by having higher pressure (this is if you measure them cold like most people - not in a heated garage)

2) Because winter tires have larger/softer rubber treads they are less responsive so you want to increase the pressure by 5 PSI or so to compensate. This also helps to cut through snow (more pressure on the ground - as opposed to trying to spread the weight and float a bit like off-roaders do on wet ground by lowering the pressure)

You can't really grip ice, so having wider tires or lower pressure won't help. Weight is what helps on ice by pressing the tire to the ice and smaller tires puts more weight/inch. This is why pick up trucks should carry weight in the winter. This is also why transports trucks seem to drive crazy fast on snow, they're heavy


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## bean438

Brad, downsizing to a taller, smaller tire is called minus one sizing. Plus one sizing is the opposite when people want a larger, lower profile tire which are great for handling but suck for winter.

The minus sizing gets you a smaller winter tire (which means cheaper, and more choices) and gives you extra cushion should you slide into a curb. (not likely if you are running winter tires.

If you are going to keep your car for more than 4 years you are better off with separate rims and tires, as you dont have to pay twice a year to demount and remount tires. Not to mention you could damage your rims, and it is not good for the tire.

The best situation is to buy rims and tires at the same time. The best place do order online is :

www.tirerack.com

My friend ordered a set of winter tires, and rims, and all said and done shipping, taxes (gotta pay taxes wherever you buy them), and duty he saved almost 500 dollars CDN!

Now these were bigger tires, (dodge dakota 4x) and our dollar was no where near par.

I need new winters this year and I will be buying from tire rack, and taking them to wal mart so they can demount my old winters and put the new ones on.

Of course I will shop around, but if local retailers cannot come reasonably close then tirerack it is.


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## m3s

I mount my tires myself at an auto club garage. It takes care and skill/experience to do without damage

For that reason I wouldn't use Wal mart or Cdn tire on nice rims. I know Cdn tire anyways has only 1 mechanic on shift at a time, and they aren't the ones mounting the tires and changing oil. Once the edge of the rims are scuffed they will leak easily. YMMV


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## Sherlock

What is an auto club garage, some kind of garage people can rent to work on their cars?


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## m3s

Yea, they are very popular on military bases. I volunteer to supervise for 1 night a month so I can use it for free. Besides having lifts, air tools, press, place to dispose oil etc there are also knowledgeable people in the club to learn from

I heard they used to exist elsewhere before everyone started suing everyone. Still it would work with a little safety training and a shift mechanic. When you work on your own vehicle, you realize how a little care goes a long ways (that mechanics rarely have time for)


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## Square Root

Based on the number and diversity of responses to this thread-maybe we should open an automotive section


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## canabiz

CanadianCapitalist said:


> I get my tires at Costco as well. I simply don't have the time to spend 3 or 4 hours driving to the US and back for a new set of tires. I haven't compared prices but it is nice to know that Costco isn't all that more expensive.


CC, I needed to replace my all-season set as they are quite bald and I decided to look at buying tires from the States and have them shipped to an UPS store at the border (Ogdensburg, NY in this case which is only about 1 hour from where I am in Ottawa)

I went with Discount Tire Direct which offers free shipping and other discounts and long story short, I ordered a set of 4 Hankook Optimo H727 (very good online reviews and excellent Consumer Reports ratings), have them shipped to UPS store in Ogdensburg, picked them up this past weekend, went across the street to have them mounted and balanced at WalMart, declared my purchase and paid tax + duty at the border and drove home!

After all is said and done, I saved at least $200, compared to getting the same set of tires here at Canadian Tire and/or other Canadian retailers (both online and brick & mortar). Well worth the quick road trip.

My brother is looking for a set of winter tires + rims for his SUV and I will definitely tell him to go this route, or wait until the local Costco offering rebates at the very least.


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## My Own Advisor

For our Kia, we have 16" winter tires on rims and 18" summer tires on rims. Just switch them when the seasons change. 

I don't have winter tires on my 13-year-old Mazda. Almost like a sled in the winter, so I don't drive it much.

Good lesson learned for future cars brad, at least now you can pay your knowledge forward!


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## Synergy

Canabiz...

I purchased a set of performance summer tires and winter tires through a US retailer (TireRack.com) and saved myself around 40-50%. All fees including taxes, duties, etc. are available at checkout so you can easily compare to your local tire shop. Shipped right to my front door, very pleased with the overal process, tires, etc. Worth checking out, may save you a trip to the border, etc. I'll bookmark Discount Tire Direct in case I need to price shop in the future - thanks.


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## CanadianCapitalist

canabiz said:


> I went with Discount Tire Direct which offers free shipping and other discounts and long story short, I ordered a set of 4 Hankook Optimo H727 (very good online reviews and excellent Consumer Reports ratings), have them shipped to UPS store in Ogdensburg, picked them up this past weekend, went across the street to have them mounted and balanced at WalMart, declared my purchase and paid tax + duty at the border and drove home!


Thanks for sharing canabiz. I recently installed tires on my car at the local Kal-Tire (price was same as Costco but they had tires in stock). Cost $700 all in. Looking at Discount Tire Direct, the same set of tires costs $385. So, it does look like one could have saved about $200 buying and installing these tires in Odgensburg.


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## nathan79

Earlier this year, I bought a set of alloy wheels off Craigslist for $160 -- two of which had perfectly good tires already mounted. The other two had worn tires, but I just happened to have two decent tires sitting around that I got for free, so I paid to have them mounted and balanced on the rims for $60. So, essentially I got a full set of alloy wheels and tires fully mounted and balanced for $220. 

Like others have done, I left my snow tires on my steel rims so they're handy for whenever I need them.


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## canabiz

CanadianCapitalist said:


> Thanks for sharing canabiz. I recently installed tires on my car at the local Kal-Tire (price was same as Costco but they had tires in stock). Cost $700 all in. Looking at Discount Tire Direct, the same set of tires costs $385. So, it does look like one could have saved about $200 buying and installing these tires in Odgensburg.


No worry, CC. I am looking for a set of winter tires for my brother's SUV (Infiniti QX4) and Discount Tire Direct is offering rebates through the form of prepaid VISA cards for different tire brands so there are even more savings to be had.

I was checking out the Hankook i-Pike (again very highly rated set with good online reviews and Consumer Reports ratings) and I can get them for $550 at Discount Tire Direct and Canadian Tire wants $980 before tax and install :-( 

I like to support Canadian companies as much as anyone else but that is simply highway robbery. I went down to Ogdensburg last Sunday at 11:00 and got back to Ottawa at 15:00 after all is said and done so it didn't take very long really.


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## mind_business

For those of you searching out the cheapest price on tires, or even those that aren't, do you also check the age of the tire you're purchasing? 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11


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## sprocket1200

Jungle said:


> I bought my last two sets of tires at Wal Mart. I shopped around, (not including buying in USA) and nothing was cheaper. Wal Mart also had the cheapest install pricing too.


Yeah Walmart is cheap. I'm Not rich enough to buy the cheap stuff!


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## sprocket1200

nathan79 said:


> Earlier this year, I bought a set of alloy wheels off Craigslist for $160 -- two of which had perfectly good tires already mounted. The other two had worn tires, but I just happened to have two decent tires sitting around that I got for free, so I paid to have them mounted and balanced on the rims for $60. So, essentially I got a full set of alloy wheels and tires fully mounted and balanced for $220.
> 
> Like others have done, I left my snow tires on my steel rims so they're handy for whenever I need them.


Yeah Craigslist. Get oem rims for $200 for all four all day long!


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## sprocket1200

mind_business said:


> For those of you searching out the cheapest price on tires, or even those that aren't, do you also check the age of the tire you're purchasing?
> 
> http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11


Most definitely I do. It is a great negotiating tactic.
We don't run Michelin tires that are more than 12years old. All other brands we scrap after 6years.


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## Blue Horseshoe

If you're outside of BC, I'd recommend TireTrends (they supply many of the tire dealers in the Vancouver area, and as such, won't sell to consumers in BC, but ship elsewhere). I used to live near the border in Vancouver and would never even consider buying tires in Canada, when I could pop across the border and pay around half the price of tires back home. I recently bought a new Tacoma out here in the prairies and needed a set of winter rubber for it. Not living near the border anymore, I had to find a good source within Canada. I considered Tire Rack and Discount tire, but with shipping and tax to a Canadian address, it was no longer competitive. I ended up buying 4 Continental Extreme Wintercontact 265/70/17 for the OEM wheels for $600 shipped from TireTrends in Langley, bought a set of used 16' wheels off another Tacoma on Kijiji and another set of all-terrain Hankook Dynapro ATM's in 265/75/16, again from TireTrends, and paid $650 shipped. Both sets of tires are in the top 3 in reviews with their competition. Just wanted to show that you shouldn't have to pay in the 4 figures for quality tires if you're doing proper research.


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## praire_guy

It also depends if you are buying just tires or tires and rims. I picked up a set of blizzaks and rims from tirerack for just over a grand, all in. Taxes, shipping, duty. Delivered to canada. 

Don't forget you still have to have tires mounted , balanced, etc. 30 bucks per corner in canada. 

Tirerack has always been, and still is the best deal out there. 

Tiretrends is a joke.


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## liquidfinance

praire_guy said:


> It also depends if you are buying just tires or tires and rims. I picked up a set of blizzaks and rims from tirerack for just over a grand, all in. Taxes, shipping, duty. Delivered to canada.
> 
> Don't forget you still have to have tires mounted , balanced, etc. 30 bucks per corner in canada.
> 
> Tirerack has always been, and still is the best deal out there.
> 
> Tiretrends is a joke.


I had a great experience with tirerack when living back in the UK.

I had a Mercedes C43 AMG at the time. I wanted original AMG Styling II 18" staggered wheels. Tire rack got the to me with shipping and duty cheaper than was possible from anywhere I looked within Europe.

I digress from the thread but a big thumbs up to tirerack.


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## Blue Horseshoe

praire_guy said:


> It also depends if you are buying just tires or tires and rims. I picked up a set of blizzaks and rims from tirerack for just over a grand, all in. Taxes, shipping, duty. Delivered to canada.
> 
> Don't forget you still have to have tires mounted , balanced, etc. 30 bucks per corner in canada.
> 
> Tirerack has always been, and still is the best deal out there.
> 
> Tiretrends is a joke.


Have you ordered from TireTrends? They have sales fairly often - that's the time to grab them. I used to think Tire Rack was the best, until I found Discount Tire Direct - they often have slightly better pricing on tires than Tire Rack, and they have free shipping within the US, and that makes a huge difference. Not only that, you can have them ship to one of the thousands of Discount Tire stores for install. I recently moved halfway across the country and far north of the border however, and it simply doesn't make sense to drive 8 hours to the border to pick up tires; I'd spend more in gas than I'd save. Tire Trends, being in Canada already, is cheaper than buying from Tire Rack or DTD and having tires shipped up here. If you did some research, you'd probably see that as well. Even buying the same set of Conti's that I picked up on sale (in 265/60/17), Tire Trends can get them to my door for $843, shipped, taxes in. Guess how much Tire Rack would be? $1114 US, or about $1200 after the exchange. Buying from the US only makes sense if you're within half an hour of the border.


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## praire_guy

If I did research I'd see tiretrends was a better deal?. Hmmmmmm , let's see: 

Over the past 7 years I have bought tires for 6 vehicles (one for a friend). 

Each and every time I used tirerack, tiretrends , and 1010tires online shopping tools. 

Each and every time tire rack was cheaper than the other two, as well as all the brick and mortar. 

I did, and still do say that tire rack is hands down the best, and that tiretrends is a joke. 

Maybe they have "sales". Who cares. When I needed tires tir rack was the best deal.


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## Blue Horseshoe

Do you live on the border or something? 'Cause I don't, as I've clearly explained twice, and you seem to have difficulty comprehending that. How about providing some proof instead of spouting off bullshit and coming off like a tool? I've compared 8 sets of identical tires from Tire Rack and Tire Trends - shipped, with taxes, to my door, Tire Rack is consistently 20 to 40% more expensive. That's likely to be similar for anyone more than a few hours drive from the border. Either post up or shut up:


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## praire_guy

Hmm I guess my last post was too vulgar and got deleted. Too bad your pissy post didn't. 

Anyway you are the tool. I don't have to put up or shut up. I did my research and found tire rack to be the best deal for me. I don't have to prove a thing. 

Tiretrends is a joke. You are a bigger joke than tiretrends. 

Maybe if you came up from your parents basement you could get a job at tire trends! 

Have a nice day tool.


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## nobleea

I was looking for a set of michelin xice3's and winter steel rims for our subaru. Looked at 1010tires and tirerack, locally at Kaltire and Crappy tire. Unfortunately (for me), crappy tire was the cheapest, but about $200 once all taxes, shipping, and fees were included. But they don't make it easy. I order the tires from auto service. But then the wheels are out of stock, so i have to walk over to auto parts and get them to order the wheels. And then I have to call auto service and let them know when the the wheels come in (when i am informed by auto parts). Kind of silly considering the auto parts and auto service desks are 20' apart in the store.

I've ordered from tire rack before. A winter wheel and rims set. Price was the best, but they installed 3 of the tires in one direction and 1 in the other (directional tread). I had to get the one of the three tires taken off, remounted and balanced locally. I sent them the invoice and they refunded me the difference (I lost a bit on the F/X).


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## andrewf

One advantage to buying from CT is that they will repair punctures for free. So I have heard at least, you should verify with the store.


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## bgc_fan

nobleea said:


> I was looking for a set of michelin xice3's and winter steel rims for our subaru. Looked at 1010tires and tirerack, locally at Kaltire and Crappy tire. Unfortunately (for me), crappy tire was the cheapest, but about $200 once all taxes, shipping, and fees were included. But they don't make it easy. I order the tires from auto service. But then the wheels are out of stock, so i have to walk over to auto parts and get them to order the wheels. And then I have to call auto service and let them know when the the wheels come in (when i am informed by auto parts). Kind of silly considering the auto parts and auto service desks are 20' apart in the store.
> 
> I've ordered from tire rack before. A winter wheel and rims set. Price was the best, but they installed 3 of the tires in one direction and 1 in the other (directional tread). I had to get the one of the three tires taken off, remounted and balanced locally. I sent them the invoice and they refunded me the difference (I lost a bit on the F/X).


Any thought on PMCtires? They're based in Quebec and have free shipping to Ontario and Quebec. I was trying to source some Pirelli winter tires and they had them cheaper than other places.


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## atrp2biz

nobleea said:


> I was looking for a set of michelin xice3's and winter steel rims for our subaru. Looked at 1010tires and tirerack, locally at Kaltire and Crappy tire. Unfortunately (for me), crappy tire was the cheapest, but about $200 once all taxes, shipping, and fees were included. But they don't make it easy. I order the tires from auto service. But then the wheels are out of stock, so i have to walk over to auto parts and get them to order the wheels. And then I have to call auto service and let them know when the the wheels come in (when i am informed by auto parts). Kind of silly considering the auto parts and auto service desks are 20' apart in the store.
> 
> I've ordered from tire rack before. A winter wheel and rims set. Price was the best, but they installed 3 of the tires in one direction and 1 in the other (directional tread). I had to get the one of the three tires taken off, remounted and balanced locally. I sent them the invoice and they refunded me the difference (I lost a bit on the F/X).


Got these tires and rims from Costco about a month ago. They currently have a deal for $70 off a set. Steelies were $40 each and the tires came out to $575 after taxes for 205/70R15 installed.


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## RBull

praire_guy said:


> It also depends if you are buying just tires or tires and rims. I picked up a set of blizzaks and rims from tirerack for just over a grand, all in. Taxes, shipping, duty. Delivered to canada.
> 
> Don't forget you still have to have tires mounted , balanced, etc. 30 bucks per corner in canada.
> 
> Tirerack has always been, and still is the best deal out there.
> 
> Tiretrends is a joke.


In my Canada tire mounting & balancing costs between $12.50 and $17.00 per corner. Most places are $15.00


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## fcyloh82

nobleea said:


> I was looking for a set of michelin xice3's and winter steel rims for our subaru. Looked at 1010tires and tirerack, locally at Kaltire and Crappy tire. Unfortunately (for me), crappy tire was the cheapest, but about $200 once all taxes, shipping, and fees were included. But they don't make it easy. I order the tires from auto service. But then the wheels are out of stock, so i have to walk over to auto parts and get them to order the wheels. And then I have to call auto service and let them know when the the wheels come in (when i am informed by auto parts). Kind of silly considering the auto parts and auto service desks are 20' apart in the store.
> 
> I've ordered from tire rack before. A winter wheel and rims set. Price was the best, but they installed 3 of the tires in one direction and 1 in the other (directional tread). I had to get the one of the three tires taken off, remounted and balanced locally. I sent them the invoice and they refunded me the difference (I lost a bit on the F/X).


I find the service representatives at Tire Rack to be extremely helpful and knowledgeable. A couple years ago, I was helping a friend decide whether he should purchase a cheaper Korean set, or a more expensive Michelin set. The representative was able to point us in the right direction to a few in-house test reports that really covered the important aspects of a passenger vehicle tire, which many of us do overlook: Comfort and predictability. My friend opted for the Michelin's, though more expensive, offered the driving comfort he had wanted. I'm also a big fan of Michelin tires =D


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## m3s

Mainstream shops will typically charge more when you "bring your own parts" ie internet tires.. I either take mine to the autoclub and get an apprentice to help me or I take the rims/tires to a friendly reasonable indy shop when they are not busy. If you have a good relationship with an indy shop they will do it for a good price. Mind you if you have nice rims and don't want them dinged up.. beware where you go..



bgc_fan said:


> Any thought on PMCtires? They're based in Quebec and have free shipping to Ontario and Quebec. I was trying to source some Pirelli winter tires and they had them cheaper than other places.


I used PMCtire when I lived in Quebec and they delievered the tires themself to the door/shop, plus I liked that they are local and competitive with Tire Rack when I checked. If you buy tires from a store they might be older rubber as well. I'm about to order semi-slicks from Tire Rack because they wil even heat cycle them. Pretty much all my American colleagues get their tires from Tire Rack so I will just piggy back on one of their free shipping deals..


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## RBull

^I've had good experience with Tire Rack as well, and had no problem finding a shop that would do mounting/balancing at normal pricing. I've frequently bought near new tires on Kijiji and needed them mounted. Just bought 2 sets in last month.


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## fraser

We buy Michelins from Costco. I like the package. We get the tires rotated every 12K and our flats/slow leaks are repaired. All part of the price. We shop at Costco so it is very easy to make an appointment and take the car in for tire rotation while we are shopping.


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## none

fraser said:


> We buy Michelins from Costco. I like the package. We get the tires rotated every 12K and our flats/slow leaks are repaired. All part of the price. We shop at Costco so it is very easy to make an appointment and take the car in for tire rotation while we are shopping.


I get the from tire rack and get them shipped to Seattle and mounted there. My last set of tires would have been $1200 here but I get them there and mounted for something like $550. Can't beat that.


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## praire_guy

RBull said:


> In my Canada tire mounting & balancing costs between $12.50 and $17.00 per corner. Most places are $15.00


15 bucks a corner in Canada? In 2014? Nope. Kal tire charges 24 per tire. Walmart is maybe a bit cheaper, but since tirerack is free, and nothing is cheaper than free.


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## andrewf

When I bought my last set of tires mounting was included. I bought it from a tire shop offering a group buy.


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## Mechanic

I recently priced a new set of tires at Kal. They didnt have them in stock but the quote showed no charge for install and $31 per tire for balance. I sold tires a long time ago, install and balance used to be free with purchase.


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## RBull

praire_guy said:


> 15 bucks a corner in Canada? In 2014? Nope. Kal tire charges 24 per tire. Walmart is maybe a bit cheaper, but since tirerack is free, and nothing is cheaper than free.


Let me get this straight. Are you trying to tell me what I have recently paid for mounting/balancing and suggest you know tire mounting prices across the entire country? 

I have had 2 full sets of tires mounted and balanced in the past 40 days. The price I stated was what I paid and is commonly the current pricing in my part of Canada-the East Coast. As stated there is also one place approx 25km from me on the way to the city that does them for $12.50 a corner.

Assumptions or broad sweeping claims without any research often leads to incorrect statements.


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## SpIcEz

Lots of places in my area, Montreal, price mounting and balancing by tire size. i.e. 14", 15", 16"...
Ive seen some price it per inch.

So, 14" would be 14$ and 21" bawler wheels would be 21" a corner.

Also, if you buy the tire at the shop, prices per corner could be anywhere (depending on the shop) from Zero to full price...


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## RBull

praire_guy said:


> No, actually YOU are the one who stated "in my canada", meaning YOU know the prices across canada for instal, balancing, etc.
> tone it down *******.
> 12.50 is an exception not the rule.


Being unable to accept you were wrong is no reason to use an unsavory tone and resort to name calling.


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## praire_guy

You are right and I was wrong. 

You are the smartest gosh darnest person ever to grace an Internet forum. 

Kudos to you. 

Thanks for reporting me. Sissy.


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