For the discussion on Walmart service--we concur on those odds. For my beater Equinox, we installed Goodyear Reliants to replace the gravel worn Pirelli's which became very noisy. The Goodyear's were a good deal--$20 bucks off each tire and free install with a one time balance. Install was quick and seemingly well enough; they spent time putting the tire data and the vehicle's VIN into a database, including which tire was mounted in which corner. But, a quick hiway drive showed the balance wasn't satisfactory and we complained the next morning, so they re-balanced. Which lasted until we rotated them, and we presented the vehicle to them again for a 3rd re-balance. This time, we had to pay for their lifetime balance. That work seems OK, so far--the 3rd balance finally was acceptable. However, we wonder if the cheap Goodyear's are actually round--any way for that Walmart shop to measure tire run-out? We think not.
But, any more problems, a re-balance or two are just a Walmart shopping trip away. BTW, the Goodyear Reliants are satisfactory--we don't notice any deficiencies.
Another tire purchase is just around the corner--the Walmart store's have a really very reasonably priced Kumho Crugen HP27, the Discount Tire has a slightly more expensive Nexen N5000 Platinum. Consumer Reports tested the Nexen and it tested very well. So we have some choices on the installation shop for the next round. We can also try the Sure Drive, sold here by both Firestone and Hibdon Tire.
