Tire Story from Erie

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Well,
I started to get a slow leak in my drivers side front tire. Took it to the Goodyear place and its unrepairable. Apparently, there is a very small wear thru area on the curve.. guy thinks it an alignment problem.

So I ask about pricing of some new F1's.. all I can say is :eek: :eek:

So then I go online to check pricing. Closest Discount Tire is 2.5 hours away. So thats a no go.. I end up emailing the Goodyear dealer back and he is willing to match internet pricing.. so for $245 per tire, mounted and balanced, here I go.. the good news is that Goodyear is running a special and so I get $50 off if I put it on a Goodyear credit card and another $50 debit card comes with them too.. and I get 90 days, same as cash on the credit card. So I get $100 off, kinda sorta and will get it paid off on 90 days.. :banana:

I called last Thursday, and he told me the tires would be here next Thurs :flaming: because they only deliver once a week. :nono: Oh well, I will put the new fronts on but keep the other two tires until next Spring. This way I can burn off the old rears before she goes into hibernation for the winter and have some new meats on the rears next year.. Oh, they will give me some bags to keep the new tires in over the winter too..

Not being able to get tires on a moments notice is something I do miss.

Dana

[Tex Arcana]

Well,
I started to get a slow leak in my drivers side front tire. Took it to the Goodyear place and its unrepairable. Apparently, there is a very small wear thru area on the curve.. guy thinks it an alignment problem.

So I ask about pricing of some new F1's.. all I can say is :eek: :eek:

So then I go online to check pricing. Closest Discount Tire is 2.5 hours away. So thats a no go.. I end up emailing the Goodyear dealer back and he is willing to match internet pricing.. so for $245 per tire, mounted and balanced, here I go.. the good news is that Goodyear is running a special and so I get $50 off if I put it on a Goodyear credit card and another $50 debit card comes with them too.. and I get 90 days, same as cash on the credit card. So I get $100 off, kinda sorta and will get it paid off on 90 days.. :banana:

I called last Thursday, and he told me the tires would be here next Thurs :flaming: because they only deliver once a week. :nono: Oh well, I will put the new fronts on but keep the other two tires until next Spring. This way I can burn off the old rears before she goes into hibernation for the winter and have some new meats on the rears next year.. Oh, they will give me some bags to keep the new tires in over the winter too..

Not being able to get tires on a moments notice is something I do miss.

DanaYou could'a done tirerack or tires.com or one of those vendors, had the tires shipped to you, then you could've taken them to a shop and had 'em mounted and balanced. :D

Also, given that you wore down one edge of the tires: that's gonna happen with bigfatwide tires, and the typical alignment of an L. My solution is to pop the tires off the rims, swap them side-to-side (i.e., left front goes to right front, and vice versa; and left rear goes right rear and vice-versa) on every other rotation--front to rear on the first, then when the next rotation is done, swap 'em side-to-side. That way, you really even out the wear. ;)

[dboat]

You could'a done tirerack or tires.com or one of those vendors, had the tires shipped to you, then you could've taken them to a shop and had 'em mounted and balanced. :D

Also, given that you wore down one edge of the tires: that's gonna happen with bigfatwide tires, and the typical alignment of an L. My solution is to pop the tires off the rims, swap them side-to-side (i.e., left front goes to right front, and vice versa; and left rear goes right rear and vice-versa) on every other rotation--front to rear on the first, then when the next rotation is done, swap 'em side-to-side. That way, you really even out the wear. ;)

The cheapest online was Discount at 209 free shipping and handling with a local vendor charging $30 to mount and balance.. so the $6 difference was worth it to me to have a relationship with a local vendor.
Having said that, I got an email from the vendor .. see below...
I also like the side to side swap idea, never thought of it before.. :tu:

dana
i ordered your tires on saturday and saw this morining that they are on
back order , so i called goodyear to find out the status and founf that
there is no stock in a goodyear warehouse nationwide.

production is scheduled for 07/03/2004 and it will take about three weeks
for the tires to be in my store. i need to know what you want me to do ,
giver the current back order condition?

[Tex Arcana]

The cheapest online was Discount at 209 free shipping and handling with a local vendor charging $30 to mount and balance.. so the $6 difference was worth it to me to have a relationship with a local vendor.
Having said that, I got an email from the vendor .. see below...
I also like the side to side swap idea, never thought of it before.. :tu:

dana
i ordered your tires on saturday and saw this morining that they are on
back order , so i called goodyear to find out the status and founf that
there is no stock in a goodyear warehouse nationwide.

production is scheduled for 07/03/2004 and it will take about three weeks
for the tires to be in my store. i need to know what you want me to do ,
giver the current back order condition?
Toyo makes the Proxes in our sizes, and so does Nitto, the 555, not to mention the Hankook Ventus ST RH06 (tho I've heard some questionable things on the 'kooks). Both are available from TireRack and 1010Tires, and www.tires.com. I"m a little surprised at the Goodyear thing, but then again, they have a "new" replacement that I don't rememebr the name of.

[dboat]

When all is said and done, only the Nittos are available without a 2-3 wk wait.. so Nittos here I come.. otherwise, my first choice was F1's and then the Hankooks for the price.. if the 'kooks werent good, I would have just burned them off and got another set of tires. :nana2
Dana

not really interested in Toyo's or the others..

[Tex Arcana]

When all is said and done, only the Nittos are available without a 2-3 wk wait.. so Nittos here I come.. otherwise, my first choice was F1's and then the Hankooks for the price.. if the 'kooks werent good, I would have just burned them off and got another set of tires. :nana2
Dana

not really interested in Toyo's or the others..
Just out of curiosity, why not Toyo's?? I'm considering them, allong with the Nittos. The 'kooks tend to separate treads, so I won't touch them with a 10-foot pole; and I can only get about 15k out of a set of F1s, so I'm looking for somethign with better treadwear.

[Gonzo]

I bought Nitto's about 3 months ago. Awesome tire that sticks like sh__ to a blanket, even with road is slightly wet. Nitto 555R's for the rear even more so! One additional point is that the sidewalls are almost smooth, they don't have all those pesky radial grooves in the sidewall to sling tire dressing all over the side of your truck. :banana:

[dboat]

Just out of curiosity, why not Toyo's?? I'm considering them, allong with the Nittos. The 'kooks tend to separate treads, so I won't touch them with a 10-foot pole; and I can only get about 15k out of a set of F1s, so I'm looking for somethign with better treadwear.

They do last longer but ride harsher and have lower traction than F1's. I got almost 23k out of my F1's and really loved them. I am also not a Goodyear tire fan, so that speaks volumes for the tires. I really wanted F1's again but there arent any to be had up here or nationwide at the warehouses. Yes, TireRack has them, but at an inflated price to others. I was considering the Hankooks just on price alone. At that price, what the heck, I could just burn through them and get something else later..

So its Nitto's for me because there just isnt anything else out there available, unless I want to wait a few weeks for tires. Which I dont want to..
Dana

[blueoval01]

They do last longer but ride harsher and have lower traction than F1's. I got almost 23k out of my F1's and really loved them. I am also not a Goodyear tire fan, so that speaks volumes for the tires. I really wanted F1's again but there arent any to be had up here or nationwide at the warehouses. Yes, TireRack has them, but at an inflated price to others. I was considering the Hankooks just on price alone. At that price, what the heck, I could just burn through them and get something else later..

So its Nitto's for me because there just isnt anything else out there available, unless I want to wait a few weeks for tires. Which I dont want to..
Dana Humm, it would cost some $$ up front but why not "Warehouse" a full set of F1's or whatever in your new garage. Seems logical since you will need them on-going for your truck.

[dboat]

Humm, it would cost some $$ up front but why not "Warehouse" a full set of F1's or whatever in your new garage. Seems logical since you will need them on-going for your truck.
Not a bad idea.. are you willing to offer free financing to a po folk like me?

Dana

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Conclusion to Tire Story

Went on Friday morning and had the Nittos installed and a front end alignment. The guys were great with the truck and the alignment. They have my future business.. Although, unlike Discount Tire, they took a little over an hour to change the tires. However, they were VERY careful with them to make sure they didnt get scratched.
The Nittos ride nice, no change in road noise from the F1's, and I will have to wait on the wet traction piece. So as of now, I would recommend them to folks that want to buy them, especially since Terry has a local hookup.

Just to recap the other tires. Goodyears would have been 3-4 weeks and the 'Kooks would have been 2-3 weeks. I didnt want to be without the L that long. Especially up here in the summer. It was hot yesterday.. the high was 81.. :evil
Dana

[Silver_2000]

You could'a done tirerack or tires.com or one of those vendors, had the tires shipped to you, then you could've taken them to a shop and had 'em mounted and balanced. :D

Also, given that you wore down one edge of the tires: that's gonna happen with bigfatwide tires, and the typical alignment of an L. My solution is to pop the tires off the rims, swap them side-to-side (i.e., left front goes to right front, and vice versa; and left rear goes right rear and vice-versa) on every other rotation--front to rear on the first, then when the next rotation is done, swap 'em side-to-side. That way, you really even out the wear. ;)
I have never had a problem with the edges wearing down first. At least not any more than I have with every vehicle I drive ...

Get a decent alignment and dont overdrive the front wheels and you will be fine...

Doug

[dboat]

I have never had a problem with the edges wearing down first. At least not any more than I have with every vehicle I drive ...

Get a decent alignment and dont overdrive the front wheels and you will be fine...

Doug

As it turns out, that one wheel was out of alignment, not by much but enough to cause an increase in wear. However, the leak was at the corner where the sidewall meets the tread area. It wasnt a nail, is was more "crackish" in nature.
We got it back in alignment, with it adjusted for the local road crown and it drove great to Land of Cleve and back yesterday.
What do you mean by "overdrive the front wheels"? just not familiar with that term.
Dana

[Silver_2000]

What do you mean by "overdrive the front wheels"? just not familiar with that term.
Dana
It means that I regularly turn the wheel hard and expect the truck to comply....

Our trucks dont understeer as much as many vehicles do so its easy to overdive the front wheels - Punish them by entering corners too quick etc....

[dboat]

Thanks Doug,
I found that to be true and dont drive them too hard.. Again another reason why we have a wonderful truck..
Dana

[Tex Arcana]

I have never had a problem with the edges wearing down first. At least not any more than I have with every vehicle I drive ...

Get a decent alignment and dont overdrive the front wheels and you will be fine...

Doug
With the standard alignment (-0.5 to -1.5deg camber, with nomonal being ~ -1.0), the tendency is to wear down the inside edges faster, especially if you do the normal alignment, front to back. My first set went this way, and I still have the last ones in the garage with the inside edges worn down. The second set is when I started the rotation scheme, and it helped but I still lost them before 15k, so I had the camber set at near 0deg, which worked well, but affects the handling a bit (some straght-line instability).

So, in my book, the scheme works. ;)