I like tire shopping! It’s when I have to make the decision on which tire to buy that things get rough, and then worrying about the cost and the installation (and also the alignment, given my recent issues) adds more angst to the process.
And I’m not an angsty person. Except when I’m not fed on time.
The alignment will be the hang-up. In my last post, I mentioned how a bad alignment from Belle Tire ruined a set I had wanted to last another 10k miles. A previous trip to a favorite Firestone shop for an alignment did not leave me all that satisfied–I get the feeling they did nothing, as the steering wheel was still a little off-kilter. Yet I’d been going to them since the 1980s. A neighbor is a manager at an auto service facility, but I didn’t like that they used the hammer-on weights on my alloy wheels–the stick-on weights are what should be used.
I’ve bought from Tire Rack for decades, back when they were advertising in the pages of Motor Trend prior to the Internet becoming popular. I bought a set from Simple Tire since, at the time, they had the lowest price on the Kumho Crugens I am looking to replace. But lately, all the tire retailers online are offering the same price, shipped, for the tires, although Simple Tire has a discount code that takes a percentage off of the price of the order.
Tire Rack, though, has a mobile installation network, and they’ll come to the house to properly mount the tires. Only, it’s a few dollars more than the local shops (about $30/tire, vs. $20-$25/tire at other shops in the area). Still, I picked up the wheels and tires for the TSX at their South Bend facility a couple of years ago, already pre-mounted and ready to install, and the whole transaction was flawless.
Decisions, decisions.
Aside from that, choosing a tire is another issue. I don’t go offroad that often, but I also don’t want to be limited to street-only use by purchasing another all-season tire. The solution for me at the moment seems to be called an On-/Off-Road All-Terrain tire. It offers some off-road capabilities while still offering a quiet, smoother ride like a highway all-season tire. Full all-terrain tires do not ride well on the highway–if they are too tall, they can get bouncy. They are also noisier, and the sidewalls could be stiff to the point of making the ride uncomfortable. The tire style I am looking at still has a tougher sidewall, plus some traction treads on the sidewall to help with grip, especially when aired down.
My choices in the on-/off-road tire I’ve narrowed down to two. The Yokohama Geolandar A/T G015. A year or so ago, I inquired with Tire Rack, who confirmed that these tires can be aired down when going off-road. (I’ve taken the CR-V on street tires through an unpaved BLM road in Utah, and was worried about ripping the sidewall.)
I’ve purchased Yokohama tires since the mid 90s, but in recent years had switched to primarily Kumho tires due to a better price. For the Civic (which blew out a tire on our wonderful Michigan potholes), I found a local deal on Yokohama to replace the old set that had reached its 7-year limit.
I only mention brands since I am looking outside my two preferred brands, and one that keeps popping up to the top is Falken. I wasn’t sure of the brand, but found out that it is a brand produced by Sumitomo, a company whose products I have sold in the past.
The Falken Wildpeak A/T Trail is this second choice, and is within two dollars of the Yokohama.
Both are Severe Snow Service Rated, but that’s kind of a moot point since we see so little snow anymore. The noise rating at Tire Rack is about the same. The only difference is that in Tire Rack’s testing, the Falken had a slightly stiffer ride. That might sway me towards the Yokohama.
Decisions, decisions.
But I have to decide soon. In two weeks and two days, I’m heading out on another road trip. The tires and alignment need to be sorted once and for all.
Stay tuned…