Tires for a van not driven much?

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nthach

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We have a van that sees <5K a year. It’s a project van, also used for camping and diving trips by me. The Michelins on it now are getting a bit dry rotted and weather checked and they’re 6 years old. Otherwise, there’s 5/32nds of meat on them. One was replaced with a X Tour 2 under Costco road hazard. I don’t see a reason to get another set of Michelins or go Conti. We don’t drive this thing on a daily basis and know that Costco/America’s doesn’t like servicing old tires.

America’s Tire can sell me a set of Pirelli P4 AS Persist for $550 OTD, Costco has the BFG Advantage Control for $612 before tax installed. Of course, I can break my no Chinesium rule and get Sentury/Mohave/Milestar or roll the dice with a mom and pop and hope they have something besides LingLong/Leao/Atlas or Advanta/Sailun. Thoughts?
 
In my area Walland has a Black Friday and an annual tire clearance (about now)
I look at the cost per year for the cheapest tire on its life through 10 year age out.

Gotten lots of clearance treads at wallland for $25 2-5 years old on shelf, still the lowest cost if they have tires that fit.

In many cases I end up with snows or 4 seasons which in your case are no doubt fine for limited miles, unless it’s 120F there
 
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I certainly would not buy for treadwear. Taking that out of the equation may get a softer tire that can hold wet better without worrying about long life. Consider the Kelly brand, which I think is a Goodyear brand. You may be able to find a good deal on those.
 
meep said:
I certainly would not buy for treadwear. Taking that out of the equation may get a softer tire that can hold wet better without worrying about long life. Consider the Kelly brand, which I think is a Goodyear brand. You may be able to find a good deal on those.
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Yea, the Pirelli is a 800 treadwear tire, the BFG is 700ish.

I wanted to get the Falken SN250AS, not on promo at DT/AT. I’m seeing a Doral for $70 at Walmart, made by Sumitomo in Thailand or Indonesia. Not much more than Chinesium.
 
I have Dorals on the Prius my kid drives and they're certainly "meh."

Are there Starfires in your size? WM carries them and they're made by Cooper. Or maybe Deans or Mastercrafts, same deal.
 
I see a lot of Sailun tires on customers cars they seem like a pretty good budget brand but I don’t have any personal experience with them. For our budget tires at work our biggest sellers are Mastercraft and Ironman.
 
The_Jeff said:
I have Dorals on the Prius my kid drives and they're certainly "meh."

Are there Starfires in your size? WM carries them and they're made by Cooper. Or maybe Deans or Mastercrafts, same deal.
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I’m checking. My mom did tell me to proceed with the Pirellis, but they have a preference for Costco.
 
AutoMechanic said:
I see a lot of Sailun tires on customers cars they seem like a pretty good budget brand but I don’t have any personal experience with them. For our budget tires at work our biggest sellers are Mastercraft and Ironman.
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My dad didn’t like the Sailuns on his Prius. I thought they were decent tires.
 
Sailun can make some pretty good tires. I lucked into some used motomaster hydra edge "all-season" tires, that are rebranded Sailun Atrezzo SVA2 UHP, and they are quite impressive!
If the size for your van is common, I would look for some good used tires, and make sure they aren't in direct sun if possible.
 
One thing I learned from my Canyon, that lives outside 24/7, is that it is possible for weather cracking to be the primary reason you have to ditch a set of tires. The new set of identical Goodyears get treated with 303 at every wash and so far this set (installed Summer 2022) are resisting weather cracking far better than the previous set.

Buy the cheap set and take really good care of them.
 
Wylie6G72 said:
One thing I learned from my Canyon, that lives outside 24/7, is that it is possible for weather cracking to be the primary reason you have to ditch a set of tires. The new set of identical Goodyears get treated with 303 at every wash and so far this set (installed Summer 2022) are resisting weather cracking far better than the previous set.

Buy the cheap set and take really good care of them.
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Yep, my Jeep is parked under the shed in front of my shop - it catches the intense afternoon sun. 303 has kept the 5-1/2 year old spare like new
 
Wylie6G72 said:
One thing I learned from my Canyon, that lives outside 24/7, is that it is possible for weather cracking to be the primary reason you have to ditch a set of tires.
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That’s the story of this van’s life. Hood clearcoat failed as well. Michelins love to weather crack. Else, I would have been happy to run these down to the wear indicators.
 
Something to consider is that tire technology has increase significantly over the years. I was having a conversation with ChatGPT, and according to them, because of the progression of tire technology, those cheap Chinese tires are approximately equivalent to top tier tires from approximately 15 years ago. Yes, top tier tires of today are head and shoulders above current Chinese tires, but don't discount those lesser name brands. They are not that bad, when you look at the big picture.
 
VegasIsCalling said:
Something to consider is that tire technology has increase significantly over the years. I was having a conversation with ChatGPT, and according to them, because of the progression of tire technology, those cheap Chinese tires are approximately equivalent to top tier tires from approximately 15 years ago. Yes, top tier tires of today are head and shoulders above current Chinese tires, but don't discount those lesser name brands. They are not that bad, when you look at the big picture.
Click to expand...
I’ve been pricing out Sailuns on Amazon, they’re not much cheaper than the Pirellis of the Discount Tire instant savings(and the Walmart-exclusive Goodyear Reliant) is accounted for. They would be a contender elsewise.
 
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