I have a problem that is a complication on these two tires and potentially the source on one. They came with the car and this is the first winter I put them on for; when they were put on, the shop that did it brought me to show, before they put them on, that a good piece of the bead had been stripped at some point before I bought the car (and its tires) by the machine the shops use to remove it from the rim. I agreed with the mechanic that they were lucky to get it sealed this time, but that the next time it comes off its recycle material.
With the instability introduced by using tires with significant wear differences on the same axle, both will need to be replaced when the one with the damaged bead is. To avoid having this issue resurface again, I'll be moving to dedicated summer alloy rims and using my steelies for dedicated winter use so that once the tire goes on the rim, it'll remain on it for the life of the tire.
I suppose the only good news here is that they were included with the car, which was bought for $1,500 under market value. They're also a cheaper tire (a full set can be had for $200 on the sale they often are on for). My back two tires were bought separately and, due to wear, will be used for this winter only.
I'm just trying to get this one coming winter season out of the set, and come spring they'll go to the tire recycle shop and I'll resurface the rims and rust proof them (with POR-15) over the summer in preparation for new winter tires for next year.
Meantime, since discovering the leaks, I've been checking tpsi every couple days and adding air as necessary with the compressor I keep in the trunk. Its a PITA, but the rainbow at the end is that worst case I only have to do this for this winter, then they'll be replaced and I shouldn't have to deal with a stripped bead again, plus the replacements will be warrantied and the rims they go on will be resurfaced and properly rust proofed.
I'd hoped to see a few more seasons out of the front winters than I will, but given their cost and that I got them with the car, its not impacting me like it would be if I'd bought them out of pocket myself and was faced with the same issue I am now. If anything I'm taking something out of the experience to ensure that when I do put down my own hard earned money for some better winter rubber, the problem that developed with one of these, due to seasonal swapping and the half assed way a lot of shops do it, won't be again.
-Spyder
