Does anyone buy from Tire Rack anymore? It doesn't seem worth it......

[ARCOgraphite]

Yup for Slo Town's reasons, and since we are sharing pics of niche tires from TR

Seriously, TR has a great selection, quick ship and you may be buying from TR without knowing it as they are a major disti.

View attachment 325486

I saw the sale on the P7 a couple months ago from TR, almost went with them for the Wife's Subaru - but instead got some new model "made in the USA" Yoko's instead - also for a good price. And also from TR.
Exeter Subaru Dealer mount and balance was suprisingly inexpensive.

Years ago I got some humble P4's for my Honda Fit sport and was non -plussed with the overall performance.

 

[grabgears6]

new wheels and tires from TR are on the car... In TR`s choice of TPMS caused me to pay an additional 2 Bills to get the TPMS registered to the WRX. The WRX is a self relearn vehicle since 2022, . so why not send the correct TPMS 433 sensors that do not incur additional cost, well bc this universal although stated for direct replacement of the Subaru sensors are cheaper for them.
Anywho, my gripe is that being 2 wheels/tires came from one warehouse then the other 2 from a set of 4, 2 tires are born in 2024, and 2 are born in 2025. And this is what happens when you buy from these types of tire shops. In the end, it is not worth it to purchase wheel/tire combos since the merger. @ Fk ups in the recent years. Glad Im done playing, lets choose a new wheel combo.

in my last set, I simple purchased wheels from TR, bought the ready to go, pre programmed BH SENS brand sensors from Rock Auto, had the dealer mount and balance (to perfection BTW for 119.00) and the Car communicated in 2.5 miles and done...

I know times continue to change, so after all, TR is not my choice for a wheel/tire package going forward. I`d rather just keep a strong relationship with my purchasing dealer, and they price match. Besides a lot of cool wrench heads there.

 

[The Blur]

I had a skiff with TR. Sent me 2 year tires. Eventually after a 1 week long argument, they gave in with 50% refund.

No one should sell tires more than 1 year old. That's the ethical limit. Legal limit ... there is none in the books, but ethics and reputation is 1 year.

 

[CapriRacer]

I had a skiff with TR. Sent me 2 year tires. Eventually after a 1 week long argument, they gave in with 50% refund.

No one should sell tires more than 1 year old. That's the ethical limit. Legal limit ... there is none in the books, but ethics and reputation is 1 year.

The tire industry seems to think that anything within 6 years old can be sold as new.

The company I worked for tested 3 year old tires and couldn't find any difference to freshly made.

Make of that what you will.

 

[The Blur]

The tire industry seems to think that anything within 6 years old can be sold as new.

The company I worked for tested 3 year old tires and couldn't find any difference to freshly made.

Make of that what you will.

That argument doesn't hold water. Because now, I mount those 3 YO tires on my classic car. My classic car mostly sits in the garage. 6 years from now, those tires are 9 years old. 10 years from now, those tires are 13 years old. That's the difference between life and death.

 

[CapriRacer]

That argument doesn't hold water. Because now, I mount those 3 YO tires on my classic car. My classic car mostly sits in the garage. 6 years from now, those tires are 9 years old. 10 years from now, those tires are 13 years old. That's the difference between life and death.

2 thoughts:

First, the real clock starts ticking when the tires are installed. That's when the warranty kicks in. The only reason we use the date of manufacture is because it's conveniently located on the tire. What people should be using is the install date.

Freshly made tires have waxes and antioxidants that protect the tire while it is in storage. As soon as the tire is worked for the first time, those waxes and AO's flake off. So long as those waxes are in place, the tire ages very slowly. That's why there wasn't any difference found between fresh and 3 year old tires.

 

[Lawnman23]

I bought four new tires from TireRack last fall for the Carnival. They happened to be on sale at the time plus I have a local distribution center nearby so I just pick them up and get a $40 discount. I bring them into Discount Tire for the mount/balance and roll on happy.

I stopped buying tires from Discount Tire ever since they installed one wrong size on our old Equinox, which I didn’t catch right away, and caused the AWD transfer case to grenade itself from the constant slip. Corporate was involved and cut me a check for the full cost of the Chevrolet dealer to replace it.

 

[KEVINK0000]

I do the same at America's Tire - and I tip $20 per wheel. I tell them point blank to give me "your best guy" and that I don't want the rims gouged and I want the weights put on straight. I also ask them to calibrate the Road Force machine before balancing. I remove the weights and clean the wheels in advance to a spotless condition so there is no doubt. I watch them like a hawk and tell them I will inspect every wheel after they're done with them. I always take the wheels "loose". I don't let anyone jack up my car and remove/mount wheels. I won't even let them install my rigid valve stem refresh kits. I have them remove the tire, then I get the bare wheel and do it myself. They're always happy to take my money!

I shop at Costco all the time but doubt they would cooperate with my wheel OCD-ness.

This is my oldest wheel set. This set of BBS CHs are 22 years old and have over 100,000 miles on them. They started life on my 2003 BMW E46. I've since moved them to our 2011 BMW E90.

Scott

View attachment 325489View attachment 325490
View attachment 325493

Those look amazing. Do you have a like solution for a curb kissing driver?
I have been seeing “hot girls hit curbs” bumper stickers all of a sudden lately. Then my lovely wife told me to look at one of her wheels as she curbed it again. I love her because she notices the geometry difference in the e90 steering and wheelbase from our other vehicles. The problem is she notices after the curb reminds her.
If your wheels were in our driveway after 22 years they would no longer bead! Nice job!

 

[slo town]

Those look amazing. Do you have a like solution for a curb kissing driver?
I have been seeing “hot girls hit curbs” bumper stickers all of a sudden lately. Then my lovely wife told me to look at one of her wheels as she curbed it again. I love her because she notices the geometry difference in the e90 steering and wheelbase from our other vehicles. The problem is she notices after the curb reminds her.
If your wheels were in our driveway after 22 years they would no longer bead! Nice job!

For the duration of our 49 year marriage my wife Sue has been fully aware that curbing wheels is not an option. She's always had nice cars and knows that wheels are expensive.

Honestly, I think the last time she curbed a wheel was in our 1982 Volvo DL. We're talking 40+ years ago. I remember she even self reported herself.

This is her car now. 19 inch BBS SXs (and bought from the Tire Rack). She's put 70K miles on it and the wheels remain perfect. She is also acutely aware of door ding prevention tactics.

Sue has always been a very good driver. It's one of the many reasons I married her. I'd never marry a bad driver - and I'm not joking.

Scott

 

[KEVINK0000]

For the duration of our 49 year marriage my wife Sue has been fully aware that curbing wheels is not an option. She's always had nice cars and knows that wheels are expensive.

Honestly, I think the last time she curbed a wheel was in our 1982 Volvo DL. We're talking 40+ years ago. I remember she even self reported herself.

This is her car now. 19 inch BBS SXs (and bought from the Tire Rack). She's put 70K miles on it and the wheels remain perfect. She is also acutely aware of door ding prevention tactics.

Sue has always been a very good driver. It's one of the many reasons I married her. I'd never marry a bad driver - and I'm not joking.

Scott

View attachment 334688

Same. My wife is a great driver, she just has problems with curbs…

Is your wife often late for her class at the gym? It could be the x-factor!

 

[Patrick0525]

For the duration of our 49 year marriage my wife Sue has been fully aware that curbing wheels is not an option. She's always had nice cars and knows that wheels are expensive.

Honestly, I think the last time she curbed a wheel was in our 1982 Volvo DL. We're talking 40+ years ago. I remember she even self reported herself.

This is her car now. 19 inch BBS SXs (and bought from the Tire Rack). She's put 70K miles on it and the wheels remain perfect. She is also acutely aware of door ding prevention tactics.

Sue has always been a very good driver. It's one of the many reasons I married her. I'd never marry a bad driver - and I'm not joking.

Scott

View attachment 334688

I married a 32yr old Asian woman who never drove a car in her life. I asked myself why do I constantly torture myself and be the butt of all those Asian stereotype comments. At the end, she is a better driver than I because she has superior eye hand coordination. She was trained at a special PRC athletic high school. I am very lucky.

 

[wings&wheels]

Those look amazing. Do you have a like solution for a curb kissing driver?
I have been seeing “hot girls hit curbs” bumper stickers all of a sudden lately. Then my lovely wife told me to look at one of her wheels as she curbed it again. I love her because she notices the geometry difference in the e90 steering and wheelbase from our other vehicles. The problem is she notices after the curb reminds her.
If your wheels were in our driveway after 22 years they would no longer bead! Nice job!

I was not aware "hot girls hit curbs" stickers until your post. Thanks. I ordered some. We'll see how this goes......

 

[KEVINK0000]

I’m here to help…

 

[MParr]

Make curb feelers popular again.

 

[Zack1978]

A reputable local shop now charges $55 to mount an balance, but builds it into the cost of new tires, which is typically less than TR (and advantageous to the customer if you're using a mileage warranty discount, recall, etc.)

Seems like they've gotten "tired" of mounting internet sourced tires. They're choosing their customers. Good for them.

Exactly what is happening in my area. The mounting and balancing of the tires truly negates any real savings. I am done with Tire Rack.