Shop refused to mount my tires

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It's an industry norm as recommended by the Rubber Manufacturers of America and the The Rubber Association of Canada. A lot of installers will follow it. Even if they normally would install tires brought in from the customer, they might not if they don't meet at least the speed rating of the OEM tires.

Quote:
http://www.rubberassociation.ca/files/brochures/RidingOnAir.pdf

New tires should be the same
size, and have the same load
capacity and speed rating as
the original tires, which will
have this information printed
on them.


Quote:
http://www.wheels.ca/feature/tire-talk-why-wont-canadian-tire-sell-me-the-tires-i-want/

Canadian Tire has chosen to follow those guidelines, so they will not sell you lower-rated tires. The bottom line is they are probably worried you will abuse the tires and then come back and sue them. So, they have picked the safest option for them.

Other shops will downgrade tires, so deal with them, but be aware that downgrading speed ratings is a slippery slope. Just how far down the scale is acceptable? There are no guidelines, so all risk falls on you. There are reasons why one tire can only be T-rated and another tire W-rated. It has to do with the construction of the tire and the tire’s ability to withstand heat buildup.

Heat can build up at even moderate speeds on tires under a heavy car driven hard through corners. It is not just speed, but also load that causes heat buildup.

When the heat exceeds the tire’s threshold, the construction of the tire degrades and ultimately the tire fails. That failure could occur at 200 km/h on a track or at 50 km/h on a winding road taken too quickly.

Chrysler protected itself, as well as you and your passengers, by specifying very high-end tires for your large, heavy, powerful sedan. Canadian Tire is doing the same.
 
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
It's just utter bunk that in the US with our LOW sustained speeds on highways that a S or T rated tire is failure prone. At all.

Speed limit is 80 in Utah (which means people actually go 90... sustained... in hot desert temps). I wouldn't want a tire that is only rated +10 higher
 
Next thing you know, someone will get sued because somebody installed a higher speed rated sticky summer tires and rolled their car because it had too much dry grip. Lots of pickups flying down the road with S-rated tires passing all the cars with V-rated tires. How can that be safe? According to the requirement, a H-rated primewell must be much safer than a T-rated Michelin. Next thing will be a federal law requiring V-rated tires on everything including trailers. Just buy the best tires you can and keep it under 85 mph. I prefer the highest speed rating I can get for summer tires, but don't think twice about running Q-rated winter tires. So many variables for traction, temperatures, tread depth, conditions, vehicle and the genius behind the wheel.
 
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The posts about lawsuits reminds me of a story that the UPS driver told me several years ago. One day the driver showed up to deliver a package and she was driving a brand new truck. I asked her about it and she said she liked it. She also told me that her old truck had just got a new set of tires a week before the truck was taken out of service. She told me that the entire truck had been crushed, new tires included. UPS is so afraid of a lawsuit that they made sure that nobody would ever drive that old truck again and that they would not put those tires on another vehicle of any kind.
 
If S & T rated tires are inherently dangerous they shouldn't be sold. Since they are not, a shop should install them unless the car is obviously a car that someone may push to the max (Corvette, Mustang, BMW M etc.)
 
Yesterday I installed some much lower speed rated tires on a BMW 535is that had W-rated run-flats with steel cords showing. Surely the non run-flat Blizzaks with a lower speed rating and load index will be much safer. With the old tires, that car was unsafe at 10 mph. Car was driven a year too long on the old tires, and it is scary to see what's been coming at you in the other lane. But it had the right speed rating.
 
Originally Posted By: blackman777
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
It's just utter bunk that in the US with our LOW sustained speeds on highways that a S or T rated tire is failure prone. At all.

Speed limit is 80 in Utah (which means people actually go 90... sustained... in hot desert temps). I wouldn't want a tire that is only rated +10 higher


Nobody's forcing you to buy a tire with a low speed rating, just as no one should be forced to buy tires with a higher rating...bottom line, it's my vehicle and my money paying for the tires and if I want to put "S" or "T" speed rated tires on my vehicle, that should be my decision, not the tire store's. All they need to do is have the customer sign a release that releases them from all liability that could arise due to a lower speed rated tire being installed, then everyone's happy...it's not rocket science...
 
Originally Posted By: Kruse
The posts about lawsuits reminds me of a story that the UPS driver told me several years ago. One day the driver showed up to deliver a package and she was driving a brand new truck. I asked her about it and she said she liked it. She also told me that her old truck had just got a new set of tires a week before the truck was taken out of service. She told me that the entire truck had been crushed, new tires included. UPS is so afraid of a lawsuit that they made sure that nobody would ever drive that old truck again and that they would not put those tires on another vehicle of any kind.


UPS's "Package cars" are a unique chassis that they don't want falling into "other hands" as it would dilute their corporate image.

Though I wonder why they don't park the junk ones in some holding pen somewhere and pick them over for parts. They have a rep of counting every bean.
 
Should have bought an H rated tire.

IF you were in an accident involving another car, you may be sued by the other person and your insurance may drop you all because you drove on tires that weren't rated for your car regardless of the type of accident.
 
Originally Posted By: accent2012
Should have bought an H rated tire.

IF you were in an accident involving another car, you may be sued by the other person and your insurance may drop you all because you drove on tires that weren't rated for your car regardless of the type of accident.

Any examples?
 
Originally Posted By: accent2012
Should have bought an H rated tire.

IF you were in an accident involving another car, you may be sued by the other person and your insurance may drop you all because you drove on tires that weren't rated for your car regardless of the type of accident.


They would have to prove how running an "S" or "T" rated tire (vs an "H" rated tire) caused the accident, which would be so impossible to do that this direction would never be pursued...they couldn't make a case just by simply saying the vehicle wasn't using the recommended tires...that would go nowhere...
 
I really would wonder about the UPS story. Their vehicles are really custom builds. They were early mass users of michelin, early adopter of synthetic fluids, used 6 cyl. chevy engines that ran on a coal slurry mix, control their own maintenance routines, etc. I'll bet that old parcel car was not sold but may well be recycled internally, since I'm sure they know the exact tire history from day one, and always seemed to do everything "their way", and not really rely on a manufacturers plan.
 
Why would a mature person want to replace the OEM tires on their vehicle with a lower load and speed rating which may change the handling characteristics and load carrying ability? The only reason I can think of is to darn cheap. Then they try to condemn dealers who won't install them and try to justify their decision and want me to agree with them. I don't think so.
 
So I guess what Eddie says is, if you don't use OEM tires there is a liability issue for any after market tire, even if they cost more. Even if the tire has the same spec, and not OEM, something will be different from the original tires, and have a negative change about one thing or another. It's like trying to pick outa pair ofshoes someone else would like.
 
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Originally Posted By: Eddie
Why would a mature person want to replace the OEM tires on their vehicle with a lower load and speed rating which may change the handling characteristics and load carrying ability? The only reason I can think of is to darn cheap. Then they try to condemn dealers who won't install them and try to justify their decision and want me to agree with them. I don't think so.


A speed rating from H to T on a Rogue? C'mon...

I can see why a tire store would have this policy (eliminates any critical thinking and discretion an employee might have) but to say this is going to change handling and load carrying characteristics is nuts.

This is why I don't buy tires for carry in install - I don't feel like driving all over town to find a cooperative shop.
 
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