tC 2005 - 25K miles - zero tire knowledge
I just had tires rotated and the dealer says one of the tires should be replaced due to a "broken belt bead". Is this common, or does this seem like a scam? He said this could be from hitting a pothole or a curb. I'm sure I've hit a pothole on the freeway in heavy traffic, so it wouldn't surprise me.

I checked the tread depth on the remaining tires and they are pretty close to 4/32. He suggested replacing only two of the tires as the other tires are in good enough shape. I've done some reading on here and the consensus seems to be the stock tires (Yokohama S32A ) are way overpriced. The dealer gave me their prices on the original Yokohama ($250/tire) and Hankook 215-45vr17 ($128/tire), but then also suggested tirerack.

What type of tires should I get and where should I get them from? I just need something that will match the two original tires reasonably well in both performance and appearance. I'm looking to keep it under $100/tire.

 

find a good tire shop local to you..

either an America's Tire, (uhm.. can't think of many chain stores right now) but ask around.

yes.. any OEM tire is stupidly overpriced and really not the best out there as well.

depending on your driving habits, a good all-season tire should be sufficient

i like kuhmos, nittos, some dunlops, etc...

just shop around

 

I would change all 4 personally in your case.

If you want an all season tire, I cant say enough good about the Avon TECH M550's. They KILL the stock tires, and most of the other all seasons out there, and run about 100 a pop, so nicely priced as well. Great on the dry, excellent in the rain and hold thier own in the snow for all seasons. I cant personally say much for tread life, because I autox'd on them all last summer. Obviously, all seasons are not a good choice for autox, but they held their own! But, I also only got about 12k or so out of them due to that part. I think I burned off about half the tread during one test n tune :D

I am getting ready to buy two sets, one for autox and one for daily driving, and the daily drivers will be Avons again.

 

^^What he said. Another site that is good (and related to America's Tire) is discounttiredirect.com.
Print out the specs and price of the tire you want and your local (if you have one) America's Tire/Discount Tires will match the 'net price. I got a set of Kumhos for $75 ea. from there.

 

IF they have the brands you want, I HIGHLY recommend tirerack.com. I so far have not been able to beat their prices anywhere. Also, check www.edgeracing.com. They have some good pricing as well, but they focus mainly on summer or track tires. I am getting Azenis from them soon. They have them for about $100 each, which is a very good price. Hell, you can get a set of cheap alloys that weigh in at 5 lbs a piece cheaper than stock, wrapped in azenis, on there for about $900. Pretty good deals.

 

i recommend discounttiredirect.com they have been awesome with me with both orders with them and you cant beat free shipping ALONG with the best prices!

 

No discount or America's tire near me. I did a price comparison between 5-6 brick and mortar stores with tirerack, and tirerack was cheaper by $40-$80/tire.

I only need and want two new all-season tires. I'll check out Kumho as I've seen people on multiple threads recommend them. Any objection to Kumho Ecsta ASX from tirerack?

Will I notice mixing two types of tires?

 

For 4 tires it actually looks like dtd is $20 cheaper.

 

dtd is cheaper and they have FREE SHIPPING :D

i have made a couple orders with them, and when i get tires for my Volks im goin with them