There are a number of things that probably everyone in the world knows 
how to do, except me.  Or you.  Or whoever.  Grex is a place where you 
can hide behind anonymity and find out how to do such things.  Here is 
where you can ask.

129 responses total.

Naturally, I am like anyone else in that I'd never enter an item like 
this unless I had an immediate need.

For fun, I'll just point out I picked someone else's name under which 
to post my question.  That could become a convention in this item...

The question itself is serious, though.

How do you buy new tires for a car?  My pickup truck blew out a tire 
yesterday, and that led me to notice they probably all need 
replacement.  My spare was unfixably flat as well, so I got a used 
replacement for it.  Now I want to find out how to buy new tires with 
aplomb and without getting ripped off.

Also, while I'm at it, how do you tell when your tires need 
replacement, other than when they suddenly lose air and start 
going "thwop, thwow, thwop"?

For most of my life, I've driven old cars for which it was not 
worthwhile to replace tires.  I've never gone out and bought new tires.

I take my car to Discount Tire periodically and ask them to evaluate the
tires.  They tell me how much life is left on them and whether they need
rotation or replacement.  Apparently, if you bought your tires there, or
if you ever plan to buy tires there, rotation is free.

How much should it cost for 4 new tires for an F-250 pickup?  The place 
where I got the used tire told me it would run about $100 each, but 
that seems awfully high to me.

BTW: Starbuck, you only have to hide behind a pseudo in this item if 
you're embarrassing yourself by your question.  I don't think your 
answer should have embarrassed you.  It's the sort of answer I will 
probably use when I get the new tires.

Why not get four USED tires for the truck?  New ones might outlast the
vehicle.  Discount Tire stocks used tires, pretty cheap.  Like $10-20 each.
Or just replace them with used tires as the old ones go bad.

My father suggested I not do that.  The truck has about 140,000 miles 
on it, and should last for quite a while.  My father suggested I go 
ahead and get good tires that will last and be reliable.  I'm never 
going to drive this truck a lot, as in make it my regular vehicle, but 
my son loves it and we'll use it quite a lot this summer for vacations 
and weekend trips around Michigan.

John, I get my tires at Spartan Tire in Ypsilanti but I have heard good 
things about Discount Tire too. I like the people at Spartan Tire and 
they rotate my tires for free whenever I take the car in for an oil 
change there. They also can do minor repairs and seem to be very 
honest. I dont imagine they would be convenient for you but I'll bet 
there is a tire place near your home or office where you can go for 
regular rotation. 

Ok, here is my stupid question: I have a cordless phone that is less 
than a year old but it doesnt work. It actually never worked but I 
bought it online so returning it was a pain. (I actually tried but then 
they sent me another one with the exact same problem) It keeps losing 
its connection with the base. It is a really nice phone though and has 
some features that are hard to find in cordless phones so I would like 
to fix it rather than just getting a new one. Is there a place around 
Ann Arbor/Ypsi that fixes things like cordless phones and doesnt charge 
a whole lot? I wouldnt be willing to spend more than $30 fixing it. 

Have you a new battery in it and if not bring it by and we can replace the
battery and see if that works.  We have oodles of cordless phone batteries
and Jim likes fixing things.  It might just be a dirty connection or loose
wire.  You have to either come by bike or public transportation, or have some
other urgent business in Ann Arbor, and if Jim fixes it you can feed him
something or organize his room for an hour.  

By losing its connection do you mean that the sound fades out?  It might just
not hold a charge for very long if it is a small handset (with small battery).

$100 isn't ridiculous for a set of tires, but there are cheaper ones.  I
think the last set I put on my Honda cost me $70 each, and they were of
middling quality.  Really cheap tires can cost half that, but you lose
out in handling, longevity, noise, and sometimes safety.  Light truck
tires for your pickup may be a bit more expensive than the passenger car
tires I put on my car, though.

Legally speaking, once a tire is worn to the point that wear bars
appear, it's no longer roadworthy.  The wear bars will appear as bare
horizontal strips across the tread.  A worn tread results in poor
handling in snow and wet weather.

There's not really anything too complicated about buying tires.  Usually
they'll charge you for a few extra items, like valve stems, mounting,
and balancing.  Ask ahead of time if that's included in the price
they're quoting you, to avoid any unpleasant surprises.  Make sure you
keep your receipt and get the warranty documents for the tires you buy.

If you're looking for a bargain, ask about "take-offs".  These are tires
that were put on a new car as original equipment, that the owner had
replaced with a different brand.  They're usually as good as new, with
only a couple hundred miles on them at most, though they don't always
carry the same warranty.

Incidentally, some tires shops have their air wrenches set to the
"really frigging TIGHT" setting.  That can result in lug nuts that seize
to the rim, really unpleasant if you get a flat.  It's not a bad idea to
take a lug wrench and break each lug nut loose, then retighten it by
hand, after you get the car back home.

Thanks for the offer but I cant ride my bike because it is broken too! 
I'll think about the public transportation angle. 

Re: Tires: I go to the library and check Consumers Reports.

        jep, don't you watch sports?  Plenty of tire ads for some reason.

Re 9:  "F-250 pickup".  Bigger tires than Honda typically puts on their cars.

Oops, forgot to  change my name.

re:  "#5 (keesan)  Why not get four USED tires for the truck?"  And I suppose
you think she should fill them with USED air, too.

Blow hot, blow cold.

Holy shit.  I missed that.  Used tires are terrifying.  Figures keesan would
suggest something that saves money at the expense of safety.

This response has been erased.

What aruba said. The Discount Tires on Stadium got pretty sloppy before I
stopped going there (I lost a couple of wheel covers they didn't put on
securely). However, I've been quite happy with the one on Washtenaw. And
please don't go with used tires unless you are sure of the tread quality. Your
contact patch is your entire interface with the road and is one area where
you cannot skimp. Not only do you put your life at risk, you also put the
lives of your passengers and other vehicles, pedestrians, *bikes* (hint,
hint), etc. at risk.

Another vote for Discount Tire, though I usually deal with the one 
in Okemos; have only been to their outlet on Stadium twice.

There's enough votes for Discount Tire that I'll give them a call.  
What are they going to ask me?  Tire sizes?  Or can I just tell them I 
have an F-250 and they'll know what I need?

I won't buy used tires, except the one I already bought which as I said 
I intend for the spare.  I don't know anything about tires, and 
wouldn't know good ones from bad ones.  Of course, that goes for new 
tires, too, hence this item.

re #11: I thought I'd just use their WWW site, but it's a subscription 
site.  Maybe I'll subscribe to it.

re #12: I see tons of ads on TV for Belle Tire.  Anyone have comments 
about them?

Let me give anohter vote for Discount Tire.  I've about split my time between
the two stores in Ann Arbor

Re #20: They'll either look up the proper tire size based on the make
and model of your truck, or they'll look at the tires already on it. 
They usually get it right, though I did once have a tire shop in Hancock
want to sell me passenger car tires for a VW van, instead of the proper
light truck tires (which are admittedly hard to find in the right size
for that vehicle...and it had passenger car tires on it when I brought
it in, too, which probably threw them off a bit.)

I went to Belle Tire on Carpenter and didn't have any problems, but I
don't consider that enough experience to make a recommendation.  My only
quarrel is they aren't always good about telling you when they're done
with your car, you need to keep an eye on the lot.

        I've had great results buying used tires at
        Goodyear and Discount. From a safety standpoint,
        consider that the tires being replaced were in
        very bad shape, so the used tires were a tremendous 
        improvement. And $15 dollars apiece? So with the
        other charges for balancing and mounting and whatever,
        I still got back on the road for under $100.

        And rubber is cheap. On my old Cutlass I have
        two sizes bigger than stock, just slightly
        oversize not baloonish. That extra rubber really
        makes a difference in the ride.

I've dealt with Discount Tire a lot, without problems (well, they did put my
M3 wheels on the wrong positions, but I hadn't told them that the wheels were
different widths, it's kind of subtle, and they switched them for free).

After you buy them, all tires are used.  Many people replace all their tires
at once and they are not all bad, so there are lots of only slight-used ones
around, in better shape than a lot of what is on the road.

Slynne, stick your bike on the bus and bring it along!  What exactly is the
problem with your phone?  Perhaps it is behaving as intended and you are
expecting it to work for longer or to maintain a connection when the handset
is farther away from the base than intended.
The closest bus stop to my place is on Miller at Spring St., a couple of
blocks downhill and an easy walk with a bike that needs fixing.

Hmm. I do need to get the bike fixed anyway...

The phone loses the connection with the base even when it is right next 
to the base. Sometimes it will work fine for 5 minutes or so but then 
it just fades out and the phone says "out of range." Sometimes this 
happens immediately. It doesnt seem to be an issue with the battery not 
having enough charge. 

I use Firestone for tires; their Road Hazard Warranty is really worth the $8
or so it costs per tire.  (If your tire is damaged they repair it for free
or replace it at a pro-rated cost depending on wear instead of full cost.)

So does Discount Tire, except that they don't charge a pro-rated cost if it
is still under warranty (unless they have changed their policy since I last
had to have a tire replaced for damage).

The penny test works well.  Does anybody remember how *that* works 
with tires.  Jon did it once on ours but I don't remember the details.

I called Discount Tire; they have tires for my truck for $88-141.  How 
do I know which I should buy?  I don't know anything about different 
types of tires.

The $88 tires are Dominator Radial All-Season tires made by Cooper, 
with a 35,000 mile warranty.  There's a $1.50 additional charge; I 
don't know if that's per-tire or overall but it doesn't matter much.

They have a $10/tire extended warranty; should I get that?

My wife always goes to Sam's Club (and always took care of tires for 
the cars).  Before I got married, my cars never outlasted their tires 
anyway; I drove a lot of bad cars.

I'd try Sam's Club.  Costco has good deals and Sam's is very similar to
Costco.

Re #29: The penny test:  Insert a penny into the tread, with Abe
upside-down.  If you can see the top of his head, your tires don't have
a legal tread depth.

Re #30: If you won't be doing offroading, the less expensive tires will
probably be fine.  Generally when you pay more for tires you get one or
more of the following:

1. A longer warranty (and longer tread life)
2. Better off-road traction
3. Better cornering grip on pavement

(3) doesn't go along with (1) or (2), incidentally.  Tires designed for
better cornering have softer compounds, which make them wear out faster,
and a more closed tread pattern, which gives them less off-road
traction.  If you aren't driving your truck like a sports car, you
probably don't care much about (3).

  re #29:  I believe the traditional test is that you stick a penny in
  between the treads and if you can see the top of Abraham Lincoln's
  head you're running out of tread.  (for the overly literal minded,
  who may object that whether or not you can see the top of the head
  depends on which side of the penny you put into the crevice, the relevant
  distance is between the top of Lincoln's head and the "top" of the heads
  side of the penny..)

  (gull slipped in..)

re #32: Thanks for all of your comments.  I very much appreciate them.

Another factor that influences price is tread pattern & performance in
rain and snow.  Exactly *how* it influences price is complicated -
paying more doesn't necesssarily get you better performance in rain.
There is generally a better relationship with snow tires - which do work
better in snow but don't last as long.

Yet another factor for tires is speed rating.  If you plan to make long
trips at 100+ mph, you definitely want different tires, that can better
handle the heat build-up and stress that you would get at this speed.
For most folks, even at legal speeds on the expressway, this should not
be a factor, unless you are a policeman or plan on racing.  However, if
you were doing lots of expressway driving in texas, this might be of
some slight validity.

Yet another factor in tire longevity is how you treat them.  You can
significantly extend their life by always keeping them properly
inflated, and by not abusing them.  Your car may have 2 tire inflation
pressures.  Generally the higher one is best -- the lower rating
sacrifices longevity, mpg, and load in favor of a softer ride.  Tires
that are low on pressure build up heat, and that's one of the big things
that shortens tire and tread life.  Abuse is pretty simple -- if you
screech around corners, skid to a stop, or enjoy drag races at traffic
lights, you are abusing your tires, and they won't last as long.  Less
obvious forms include spinning your tires in an effort to get out of
ice, or failure to correct mechanical problems such as wheel alignment
or balance that cause uneven or premature wear.  Scrubbing your tires by
turning them while the car is not moving will also cause more wear,
though doing this occasionally is no big deal.  Generally, anything that
leaves black marks is bad.

John probably doesn't need tires with a high speed rating, but Marcus' comment
on speeds is oversimplified.  People often *do* want a tire with a high speed
rating even if they're not planning to travel at those speeds because those
tires have stiffer sidewalls and improved handling characteristics even at
lower speeds.  At least in warm weather; you don't want them in the winter
because the rubber is harder and gets poor traction in the cold.

Despite the marketing around "all-season" tires, you can get substantially
better performance by having a warm-weather set and a cold-weather set.
"All season" tires are a compromise.

My pickup shakes terribly if I go faster than 60 mph.  Someday I'll try 
to get that fixed, but I don't want to drive it any faster than that 
anyway.

I'm not planning on using it other than as an emergency backup vehicle 
and for pleasure trips with my 5 year old son (who loves it).  If I 
drive it 10,000 miles per year, it would surprise me.

I'll try to avoid driving it in snow or other bad weather, but it's 
possible I might take it down some two-tracks occasionally.

I can't imagine what circumstances would cause me to leave skid marks 
from this truck, but it's safe to say if it happens, I wouldn't be 
concerned about the impact on the tires.

I'm not much concerned with "performance" unless you can tell me what 
tires would raise my gas mileage from 11 mph to 15-20 mpg, which would 
save me enough money to make it worth paying quite a bit more for tires.

I am getting an education about tires which will probably be worth more 
to me than the truck, and which I appreciate.

Re the phone - it sounds to Jim like the battery is not getting a full charge,
which means either the battery is not able to take a full charge (did you
leave it 24 hours first?) or the charger is not charging it properly.  Jim
can check the battery with his meter and also check the charging circuit for
voltage or something.  Do you have a battery checker?  We have lots of
batteries that you can try if yours is the problem.  Let us know when you
might show up by bus/bike with the phone and we will arrange to have the
meter, charger, and batteries at my place (unless you prefer to get off near
Zion Lutheran on Liberty).

- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss