Sand Sled Tire Shopping Question... - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

fishweewee · 01-07-2003, 09:33 AM

I'm in the process of getting the tires on my 4WD replaced.

Thinking of getting 235 Toyo's to replace the 235 Michelins my truck (99 Series I Rover Discovery) came with. I was advised not to increase the tread to 255 by the manufacturer.

I went to a fairly large New England chain - Town Fair Tire - for a quote. Including installation, balancing, and disposal, the bill would be north of $600. I was told subsequent rotations would be free.

Should I keep shopping around for a better deal, maybe from a smaller mom-and-pop type of place? I haven't checked out Goodyear yet, but something tells me they will be similar in price.

It's so easy to overspend on this car.

Thanks in advance!

-WW

JohnR · 01-07-2003, 11:30 AM

First off, you are buying 4 so make sure you check for nationally advertised deals, buy 3 get 1 free...

Secondly, go to tirerack.com and look at what people have commented on various tires. Then check out BJs if you are a member...

I found the set for my tires at BJs and basically paid less thatn a comparable buy 3 get 1 free deal. But never settle for full whack on a set of tires. Hard to do with 2 but easy with 4...

Slipknot · 01-07-2003, 12:41 PM

What is wrong with Michelins?

$600 is a lot of coin but aren't those Toyo's gauruteed for life? I guess that's why the free rotating.

I bet Michelins ride better on the hiway.

fishweewee · 01-07-2003, 12:56 PM

John-

Thanks, I'll check out BJ's Warehouse (am a member.)

Bruce - the Michelins are great tires, but they don't directly sell the 235's for my truck anymore. They distribute through the dealerships - and all they want is "just" $1,000 to install them.

*sigh*

redcrbbr · 01-07-2003, 03:12 PM

bj's had a better price than town fair for my michelins, i didn't give town fair a chance to beat the deal.. should have

fishsmith · 01-08-2003, 11:20 AM

I like Sears, they usually have a some % off coupon in the weekend circulars, plus they offer free rotation for the life of the tires. I like that because Sears are in malls and with kids you can kill the time easier in a mall than in a waiting room.

gf2020 · 01-08-2003, 11:32 AM

I have purchased tires on-line from the TireRack in the past but now I think you can do better at the local Mom & Pop tire store.

I used to live in Lynn, MA and my in-laws did business with a place called Bennett Street Tire (781-598-1613) - http://www.bennettstreettireglass.com. These guys buy up odd lots of tires when they can at considerable discount and pass the savings on to ther customers.

I was shopping around for new tires for my Chevy truck (P265/75R16). I was looking at the Bridgestone and Michelin dealers, but they wanted over $160 per tire. Bennett Street hooked me up with Goodyear Wrangler RF-A (Rotation Free Aquatred) tires for $90 per tire installed. NTB or the Goodyear dealer would have been around $140 for the same tire.

The tires have worked great so far. They look sharp and ride better than the original P245/75R16 Goodyear Wrangler RT/S tires too.

It pays to shop around!

Karl F · 01-09-2003, 01:21 PM

That was a great deal gf2020.

I have had great luck with the Cooper HTs
265-75-17 on the pickup, set of 4 mount, balance, tax, old tires left behind $525.00
Great on the beach, nice and quiet on the highway.

I have a set on my motorhome as well, 4 seasons on the beach,
and NO troubles. Good sidewalls, I've seen some horror stories out there sidewall wise with michelin, and BFG's.

JohnR · 01-09-2003, 01:34 PM

Karl - you inspired me to recall what I did for my Bronco. Is that an Off-Road F150 you have

? I had that size tires on my 98 ...

I got Uniroyal Laredo AWP 31 x 10.50R15 tires for about $400 with M/B, new stems, and rotation (I think) at BJ's. Decent tire for the coin. Michelins can be overrated and don't fare as well as people think in comparison tests - they are good tires just not incredible like perception has them.

Karl F · 01-09-2003, 02:41 PM

John R..... yes, off road f150 green xcab, you must have esp, didn't even mentionit was a fahd in my post?

I had them uniroyals on an old cj a few years ago, wore like iron,
and went great on the sand.

JohnR · 01-09-2003, 03:47 PM

Karl - I had the same truck 98 F150 XLT Offroad SuperCab (with a 5 Speed

) and I think that's the only truck that used that size tire from the factory - Mine was green too - road like an M1 on the sand

and I miss it but the 5-2 wife had trouble loading a baby into the child seat...

fishweewee · 01-09-2003, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JohnR
Karl - I had the same truck 98 F150 XLT Offroad SuperCab (with a 5 Speed ) and I think that's the only truck that used that size tire from the factory - Mine was green too - road like an M1 on the sand and I miss it but the 5-2 wife had trouble loading a baby into the child seat...

...which is why my wife won't let me get one of those.

fishweewee · 01-10-2003, 12:33 PM

Hay GF2020-

I just called Bennet Tire & Glass in Lynn.

They quoted me $95/tire (installation, balance, tax) for Michelin 235/70 S 16 Cross Terrains! That blows away just about anything I've looked at, including Sears.

Guess I'm driving up to Lynn....

gf2020 · 01-11-2003, 09:59 PM

Congratulations! Tell Gary I said hi. We have those Cross Terrains on my wife's 2002 Ford Explorer. They seem like a pretty good tire.

fishweewee · 01-12-2003, 09:26 AM

GF, I drove up there yesterday.

I don't spend that much time on the North Shore, so I got lost trying to find the place, but it was well worth the effort.

Lady behind the counter was shocked that I drove up all the way from SW CT and got there at nine a.m.!

Place was packed. It took a while to get the work done, b/c Saturdays are half staffed and they only work until 1 p.m. But the savings were well worth it!

Thanks for the info - we're going to do the wife's tires there too! She'll love that b/c we can combine a shopping trip in Boston with the tire change.

-WW

p.s. Only $10 for a rotation!!!!!