[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by mzbk2l

Note that my comments referred to 11R22.5 tires, which can weigh 200 lbs when mounted on steel wheels.

That's a whole different ball game

[geeteeohguy]

I worked for Goodyear from 1982 to 1996. The tires were mounted dot-to-valvestem and rarely needed more than 2 ounces of weight per side. Usually an ounce or so. Back then, the tires would eventually wear out, but would never crack or rarely, separate. I had a set of Eagle ST's on my '67 GTO for 22 years. No issues. We used to sell Custom Polysteel radials and they were so good and lasted so long, there was no profit to be made on selling a second set of tires. They simply went on and on and on.
Today, with the 'green' rubber formulas, tires rot out in 6 years or less, and separate and explode, taking out bodywork. This never used to happen. Now, it's the norm. As are out-of-round tires that, even when balanced with a ton of weight, still vibrate. New rubber products just plain suck.

[Greg Reid]

I bought a set of Cooper Cobras a few years back to replace the worn set on the car. They had been good to me so I went back for more. The WORST set of tires I ever had. They mounted seven tires before I could get a reasonable set and they still never balanced right. They were so bad that I took them off of my GTO and put them on my truck. One of them had a sidewall balloon out before I even drove the car. I won't even get into how quickly the RWLs turned brown.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by gtohunter

I was pleasantly surprised by the last I put on my truck...Mastercraft, made by Cooper. Required very little weight, run quiet, aggressive looking tread, very reasonable.
I'll certainly buy them again.

This is what I have on my truck;

I have eight total (four on summer wheels, four on winter wheels).

K

[Schurkey]

Modern rubber is a disaster.

Tires don't last, wiper blades don't last. So far...so good on belts and hoses.

I don't know what changed--"synthetic" rubber, I suppose, and they found a way to make it cheaper.

[Greg Reid]

And when did wiper blades get so expensive? The cheapest I could find for my tiny little 2002 Toyota Tacoma was $18 a blade!

[chevymad]

Originally Posted by Don 79 TA

holly cow..... i guess if that is the standard, then i'll stop complaining about my issue

i personally don't recall needing 8 oz or 12 oz

i want to say mine were tad under 3
but i'd have to look, i just know there are some really long weights that were put on, and reminded me of my old truck rims. i know i've never had to do that on any of the aluminum wheels (mostly Honda/Nissan/Toyotas, and typical GM/Ford cars and Jeeps)

If you are just going by the physical size of the weight, alot of state's require iron or non lead weights now. So they are physically much larger then the old lead weights.

[ta man]

I barely get 200 miles on my M/T and they are worn out. All kidding aside all the et streets and et pro's have been great..I also have a set of Nitto 555's that are a good tire. When it comes to truck size tires its hit or miss for wear..my work vehicles I used to run Michelin LTZ's and they were a good tire and lasted.

[Don 79 TA]

Originally Posted by Greg Reid

And when did wiper blades get so expensive? The cheapest I could find for my tiny little 2002 Toyota Tacoma was $18 a blade!

OK..... i'm not the only one who had sticker shock picking up another set of blades.... it's like you need to take a mortgage out
Safelite wanted another $180 to put on wiper blades....

ohhh and the price of oil filters.... OMG....
I paid so much less for an OEM Nissan Filter, was $4, aftermarkets were $8+
and paid over $15 for the KN filter for the TA now, man i remember when they were around $5 or so
now, they are hitting $20
maybe you can tell how long it's been since i've bought filters and parts.... but much like food prices, whatta ya gonna do

[Don 79 TA]

Originally Posted by chevymad

If you are just going by the physical size of the weight, alot of state's require iron or non lead weights now. So they are physically much larger then the old lead weights.

i will keep that in mind
i need to do a brake pad change this weekend so i will check them all when i dismount all of the tires. i want to snap some photos too
my brakes are in very good shape, just feel like doing them now instead of later

[Elarson]

Both of my GMC Canyon trucks (2015 and 2022) came from the factory with Goodyear tires and they were great. Got 60K+ miles out of them and they ran smooth. I got the exact same replacement tires twice and both times there were 3 decent tires and the fourth was horribly out of round. Tire Rack made good on the returns. My conclusion is that the OEM's get the best tires and the aftermarket gets the leftovers. In other words, the tire manufacturers know which ones are junk and sell them to the aftermarket anyway.

My observations over the years are that an out-of-round tire will always ride terrible regardless of how well it's balanced and a nice round tire will ride good regardless of balance. Long story but I had a couple tires mounted on the front of a duallie and had to drive on them for a week before balancing. Nice tires with almost no runout. Balancing took about 4 ounces each and there was no noticeable improvement in ride.

Eric

[srmmmm]

Originally Posted by track73

This tells you how old I am. When I taught auto mechanics in high school the tires would have marks either on the bead (an indentation) or a paint mark on the sidewall which would tell the lightest side of the tire so it could be mounted on heaviest side of the wheel. That was where the valve stem would be. It made balancing somewhat easier. (I think that was the way)

This is still the case. The yellow paint dot on the tire indicates the point that should be lined up next to the valve stem. We had optical sensors in the assembly plant that spun the tire and wheel automatically prior to the mount that lined them up. It was something to see 500 tires per hour being mounted for the Vega assembly line. Remember - we had to do the spares as well.

I have had to explain the yellow dot to the techs almost every time I get new tires.

[srmmmm]

Originally Posted by nas t eh

On my wife’s car I have Michelin Pilot Sport 3+ and they are also a very very good tire, they are perfect for the car and lasting much longer than the Pirelli run flats they replaced. But that is not much of an accomplishment since those runflats last about 15,000miles. After the car went through 2 sets in first 30,000miles of ownership, I had to find something else or risk financial rune.

My wife's 428i came with Pirelli run flats also - terrible tires. You're right. No tread life and they never met a wet road that didn't feel like being on ice. I went to Bridgestone Drive Guards and found them to last 30,000 miles, have a smoother ride and much better wet road traction, and they cost about 15% less. In addition, a tread puncture cane be repaired on a Bridgestone. Pirelli does not approve any type of repair on their run-flats.

[srmmmm]

I've been purchasing my tires from Discount Tires exclusively since 1986. Brands have included Goodyear (2 sets), Bridgestone Drive Guard (3 sets) and Yokohama (16 sets). My wife and I average 40,000 miles per year between our vehicles.

Her car requires the Bridgestones since there's no spare and they have performed well considering the 45 series profile and run-flat construction. I have never been disappointed with the Yokohama tires, always running the model "exclusive" to Discount Tire - currently the YK740GTX. They are some of the best wet traction tires I've ever had and consistently deliver very good tread life and low noise levels for a good price.

I have never had a new set require more than 3 ounces of weight to balance on aluminum rims. I did have one set of the HTX series in 235/65R17 size that would take slightly more than 3 ounces to balance, but that was at the 40-50,000 mile mark.

You have to make sure to advise the person mounting the tires that the yellow paint dot on the tire needs to be lined up with the valve stem hole on the wheel though.

[David Jones]

My 2016 F150 came with 275/55/20 Michelin's from the factory. I replaced them last year at 96,600 miles, they were not quite to the tread wear bars. Seemed like good tires.

[HWYSTR455]

Always check the manufactured date, many tires are old, especially in areas that don't sell a lot of tires. They can sit on a shelf in a distribution center for years.

I always get my tires from tire rack for some time now, because of said problem.

lately I've been running General tires, they have a wide range of types & sizes, pretty much something for everyone, but, they are a subsidy of Continental, and I have had very little luck with that brand.

I ran a bunch of Dunlop tires and their' subsidies for years, those I've had the best luck with.


.

[HWYSTR455]

Another thing to keep in mind is tire size. 14s, 15s, and 17s are pretty much done, and the selection/quality sucks. These days, if you run those sizes, your best bet is to go to Coker. Hold on to your wallet tho...

If you're performance-oriented, or drive your car a lot, it just makes sense to go to 18s.


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[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Another thing to keep in mind is tire size. 14s, 15s, and 17s are pretty much done, and the selection/quality sucks. These days, if you run those sizes, your best bet is to go to Coker. Hold on to your wallet tho...

If you're performance-oriented, or drive your car a lot, it just makes sense to go to 18s.


.

Ooooof, not an 18" fan on classic cars, and not really 17's either for that matter.

I still find 15" selections and sizes that I need and use without any hassle. Both of our dailys still use 15's.

With one exception now, my sons 89 5.0 which is factory with a 15" wheel and 225/60-15 Goodyear Gatorbacks that are only available at Kesley for $445 a piece. The problem with that particular size is very few brands make it anymore for what ever reason. So for years he's run Uniroyal or BFG, about all that's out there. Can't see spending $1800 on tires for what is more of a driver than a show car. As luck would have it, it's time for tires and LMR just came out with a nice reproduction 10 hole wheel for the car in 17"
This opens up literally dozens and dozens of tire choices. I was leery at first putting a 17" wheel on such a small car but they did so good on the proportions of the wheel design that you almost can't even tell them from the 15's. Now he can run 245/45-17's that are the same height at the originals, only slightly wider, and provide at least some sidewall so it doesn't look like a rubber band. He was able to pick some Nitto 555's, a very nice performance summer tire for only $150 a piece. I have to admit, on this particular car I really like the 17's. The funny part is the 17" Nitto's were cheaper than the other brand 15's he was running on the car, and the Nitto is a WAY better tire.

[MatthewKlein]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Always check the manufactured date, many tires are old, especially in areas that don't sell a lot of tires. They can sit on a shelf in a distribution center for years.

.

What problems arise from the tire sitting in a warehouse?

[srmmmm]

Originally Posted by MatthewKlein

What problems arise from the tire sitting in a warehouse?

Ozone and UV exposure still occurs in storage that starts to breakdown the sidewall and tread compounds.