Put New Tires On Today

CapitalTruck · October 31, 2009

So, today I went to the local Goodyear retailer and had Wrangler ST's put on my truck. This is after having Fortera TripleTreds for the past 50k (had 60k warranty, but I didn't want to go into winter with almost worn out tires). I have vague memories of not liking them when I purchased the truck, but I wanted to go back to a baseline to see how the truck rides/handles if setup as new. So, we'll see. I'll tell you one thing, they are about 5 pounds lighter than the Tripletreds, that might help a wee bit with rolling resistance and fuel mileage. Also, they do ride cushion smooth.

Interestingly enough, the tires were on sale at Goodyear for $105 a piece. When I brought in an online offer from www.treadddepot.com that had them for $99.00 a piece (after shipping charges were included) they matched that price.

I took my old tires to a local used tire shop that gave me $10.00 a piece for each of them (in addition to the 10 bucks, this saved me the 3.00 per tire disposal fee at Goodyear).

So, I'm feeling like by hustling a little bit I was able to jack $76.00 from the cost of getting new tires.

Finally, I was pleased to learn that the Goodyear outlet does free rotations AND balancing every 6k miles. I also observed them using torque sticks (they told me that's corporate policy). That made me happy.

Lesson: Always shop around on the internet for the best tire price and bring it in with you when you get new tires so you can haggle on the prices. This allows you to get best price AND lifetime rotations and balancing (which you don't get from places like tirerack.com).

This is interesting:

http://www.gm.com/corporate/responsibility...afety/index.jsp

Stevens03 · October 31, 2009

Sounds like you made out ok. Keep us posted how you like them over time.

Ape0r · October 31, 2009

Wrangler ST = worst wet traction ever.

The only good thing relative to what I replaced them with (Bridgestone Alenza) was that I could do really tight U-turns by giving it a little gas and letting the G80 do its thing when it was wet out...

Porter_ · October 31, 2009

FYI, discount tire will price match any website (+shipping) as well.

cyoung1253 · November 1, 2009

Best deal I found for the Michelins I just put on yesterday came from Sears. They price matched the best local price I found then took off an additional 10%. Also got the $70 mail-in rebate from Michelin and another $15 for applying for the Sears card. Was a little hesitant about getting tires at Sears but they did just fine with the balancing and install. Of course I pulled out my own torque stick and pressure gauge as soon as I got home but all was well.

Good luck with the Wrangler ST's. Had those as OEM and hated them, rode very smooth and quiet but slippery when wet and terrible in snow. The Wrangler AT/S I replaced them with were a decent all around tire just got very noisy the last 1/3 of the tread life.

CapitalTruck · November 1, 2009

Best deal I found for the Michelins I just put on yesterday came from Sears. They price matched the best local price I found then took off an additional 10%. Also got the $70 mail-in rebate from Michelin and another $15 for applying for the Sears card. Was a little hesitant about getting tires at Sears but they did just fine with the balancing and install. Of course I pulled out my own torque stick and pressure gauge as soon as I got home but all was well.
Good luck with the Wrangler ST's. Had those as OEM and hated them, rode very smooth and quiet but slippery when wet and terrible in snow. The Wrangler AT/S I replaced them with were a decent all around tire just got very noisy the last 1/3 of the tread life.

You get those LTX M/S 2's?

Michelins are good, but they can be quite pricey. Plus, hate to pull the card here, but I buy from Goodyear because of their huge American made product line (some import, but much American).

Spurshot · November 1, 2009

Hope you can live with the Goodyear ST's. I dumped my Goodyear AT/S P rated tires at 19,000 with plenty of tread left. I put some Toyo Open Country A/T load range E tires on it. About 6000 miles now and really feel good about them. Seem to be great dry and good in the rain. Quiet and good handling.

cyoung1253 · November 1, 2009

No, LTX A/T2. Yes even with the rebate they are still pricey. These Michelins are also made right here in the USA in one of the many facilities they operate here. I have had Goodyears on several vehicles over the years, my Buick is on it's second set of Assurance Triple Treads and they are great in all conditions. Got 60k mi. out of the Wrangler AT/S's and have no compaints except for the noise during the last 1/3 of treadlife. The Wrangler ST's were the only Goodyears I did not like. Sounds like you got a great deal on them though, way less than what I just put down. Hope they work out well for you and your driving conditions.

Irv · November 1, 2009

Best deal I found for the Michelins I just put on yesterday came from Sears. They price matched the best local price I found then took off an additional 10%. Also got the $70 mail-in rebate from Michelin and another $15 for applying for the Sears card. Was a little hesitant about getting tires at Sears but they did just fine with the balancing and install. Of course I pulled out my own torque stick and pressure gauge as soon as I got home but all was well.
Good luck with the Wrangler ST's. Had those as OEM and hated them, rode very smooth and quiet but slippery when wet and terrible in snow. The Wrangler AT/S I replaced them with were a decent all around tire just got very noisy the last 1/3 of the tread life.

You get those LTX M/S 2's?

Michelins are good, but they can be quite pricey.

Check out this thread, post Number #27, see the guy's penny practically disappear? I just purchased some new Cooper Arctic Claw tires and when I did the similar trick, only about 1/2 the penny disappeared.

Michelins are a bit more money but they last a lot longer so your really not paying any extra for them at all. Compare apples to apples not apples to oranges.

I love them and the only reason I didn't purchase them is because I only wanted a winter tire/rim combo so I could save my 20's for the summer.

As far as the "BadYears" go, I will be replacing them with Michelins probably way before the warranty is up, they are that crappy imo and are wearing fast!

The other day in the rain I could not believe how much I was spinning with them, it was actually scarey that I had my young son with me.

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...03547&st=15

grayghost7 · November 1, 2009

Hope you can live with the Goodyear ST's. I dumped my Goodyear AT/S P rated tires at 19,000 with plenty of tread left. I put some Toyo Open Country A/T load range E tires on it. About 6000 miles now and really feel good about them. Seem to be great dry and good in the rain. Quiet and good handling.

I like the Wranglers until it rains....are those 6 ply tires?

frdfandc · November 2, 2009

On my 2003 I started out with the stock Bridgestone Deulers. Ok in everything but rain, only lasted 30K. Then I switched to the Nitto Terra Grapplers in the stock size, but with a Load Range E. Much, much better than the Deulers. But they only lasted 30k also. I then installed a set of Firestone Destination A/T's in the 285/75/16 stock load range. These are 1 of 2 of the best set of tires I've used. Period. They grip in the rain, snow, mud, dry. Very little wheel spin. The other set that I would go back to is the BFG All Terrains that I had on my F-150.

I should be getting a (new to me) 2007 NNBS Silverado quad cab Z71 this week if everything pans out. It only has 24k on the clock with the Goodyears on it. I don't know if they will stay on the truck or not. We will see. But when its time for replacement, I'll be heading over to Firestone again for the Destination A/T's.

CapitalTruck · November 7, 2009

I don't know if it's just the standard new tire thing, but these Wrangler ST's do give a cushy, muted ride. I'm sure their rain prowess is below average though.