The Winter's Coming Winter Tires Thread

[Jimmy Stang]

+1 for Urban Expressions. I found out about them on this forum years ago, and will recommend them to anyone.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

I think Canadian Tire stores vary from store to store. The one in my town has been pretty good compared to what I experienced in Calgary.

The service shops are all independent, so it's certainly possible for some to be good while others are crap. I simply haven't found a good one yet

[ranchlandsselling]

Looking at some used Goodyear ultra grip ice WRT with good tread remaining.
Manufactured end of 2011. Any thoughts?

[ken0042]

At what price compared to retail? I think many people selling used tires over-estimate their value. I wouldn't pay more than 75% of retail for "like new" used tires, and for 4 year old tires, I'd say maybe 25-33% of retail.

For the saving of a hundred bucks or two- I would just rather buy new. Others may disagree.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by ranchlandsselling

Looking at some used Goodyear ultra grip ice WRT with good tread remaining.
Manufactured end of 2011. Any thoughts?

Anything over 5 years is risky. Rub the palm of your hand over the treads to check how grippy it is. If it slips easily, the rubber has probably hardened beyond a point to be useful as a winter tire.

[OldDutch]

Originally Posted by ranchlandsselling

Looking at some used Goodyear ultra grip ice WRT with good tread remaining.
Manufactured end of 2011. Any thoughts?

I had those tires on my Q5 back in the day. They were new at the time, but they were great.

[Harju]

Originally Posted by ranchlandsselling

Looking at some used Goodyear ultra grip ice WRT with good tread remaining.
Manufactured end of 2011. Any thoughts?

Info on Tirerack says it really depends on how the tire has been used and how they were stored. In general they say most street tires should have a service life of 6 to 10 years from the manufacture date.

[Regulator75]

Anyone need gently (1 season) used 15 inch tires and rims before Winter blows in?

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=149512

[ranchlandsselling]

Originally Posted by ken0042

At what price compared to retail? I think many people selling used tires over-estimate their value. I wouldn't pay more than 75% of retail for "like new" used tires, and for 4 year old tires, I'd say maybe 25-33% of retail.

For the saving of a hundred bucks or two- I would just rather buy new. Others may disagree.

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Anything over 5 years is risky. Rub the palm of your hand over the treads to check how grippy it is. If it slips easily, the rubber has probably hardened beyond a point to be useful as a winter tire.

Originally Posted by OldDutch

I had those tires on my Q5 back in the day. They were new at the time, but they were great.

Originally Posted by Harju

Info on Tirerack says it really depends on how the tire has been used and how they were stored. In general they say most street tires should have a service life of 6 to 10 years from the manufacture date.

Thanks everyone,

Tire Shop is saying 90% tread left. I wouldn't believe that and guess probably 75% at best. People selling tires seem to guess based on how deep the grooves look when some tires (especially truck tires) have a deeper groove to start and are considered bald when there's 2/32 left. So you're really only working with a few fractions of an inch. They're listed for $600, but I was going to offer a bit less.

I also called another tire shop in the summer looking for a different set and was told generally 10 years is when you'd just assume the rubber is old and stale regardless of condition.

Thanks!

[vtec260]

Was going to spend this long weekend to swap out to winters at home, but it's too darn warm. Not complaining here.

[btimbit]

Will swap my wife's tomorrow, but try and push mine to Halloween

[kootenayguy9]

My experience was almost identical to revive I just read.....

I bought tires online, Costco sent me an email that someone from Costco Rockyview would answer the email within 24 hrs. Never happened.....good luck phoning the tire centre....They will never pick up the phone.......

Worst tire center .. When u call they NEVER answer ... The waiting is unbelievable even with an appointment . So I decided maybe it's all Costco tire centres so I call over at the 32 av ne one and they answer on the first ring ... I was speechless almost dropped the phone ... Hands down the lady on the phone at the 32 ave one was awesome ... So now I don't even bother with crossiron ... They have a lot to learn in customer service. And how to answer a phone . I would give them no stars if I could worst service I have ever had ... And I have been driving a long timeBeyond frustrated with the tire centre I had an appointment to get the tires changed I had to wait behind all the people in line that were just looking at tires for 20 mins just to drop off my keys- then my vehicle sat outside untouched for over an hour- I then had to wait in the tire centre because the store closed and they were too long getting to my vehicle even though I made the appointmentShop Costco's ROCKY VIEW location.

[vtec260]

A couple of weeks ago, I called up Zee Tire services in NE and was able to get in quickly to get old winter tires swapped out with new ones. They were done in 1/2 hour to swap out old with the new. While waiting I had one of all seasons leaking from rims look at as well. They kept asking if I was paying cash. So I think you might get a discount with cash deals. Just want to mention this place if anyone is looking for quick, reasonable service without having to wait like Costco.

[ranchlandsselling]

Okay those tires I was looking at didn't work out. Now im looking at another set of winter tires. Transforce winterforce. This is for a 3/4 ton truck. The tires are rated 113s which I think is about 2500 lbs load rating. Normally I'd assume a 3000lbs or E rated tire for a 3/4 ton but since they're winter tires and I won't be towing in the winter nor carrying a load it doesn't seem to matter? Does that make sense?

[jayocal]

Originally Posted by vtec260

A couple of weeks ago, I called up Zee Tire services in NE and was able to get in quickly to get old winter tires swapped out with new ones. They were done in 1/2 hour to swap out old with the new. While waiting I had one of all seasons leaking from rims look at as well. They kept asking if I was paying cash. So I think you might get a discount with cash deals. Just want to mention this place if anyone is looking for quick, reasonable service without having to wait like Costco.

After checking their website, I headed down to Zee Tire and grabbed some new Cooper winters and rims for my Outlander installed for under $850 plus a $50 rebate. They'll be in the shop and ready to install Saturday. Good no nonsense service.

I also fell off the retaining wall in front of the shop but that's a story for another day

[codynw]

It's been so warm lately that I'm not even thinking about changing mine yet. It's gonna be over 20° this weekend.

[Regulator75]

Getting the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV 102R XL tires put on my new Mitsubishi RVR with AWD today, is it wrong that I'm hoping for some craptastic weather?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Regulator75

Getting the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV 102R XL tires put on my new Mitsubishi RVR with AWD today, is it wrong that I'm hoping for some craptastic weather?

Yes you should be kicked in the junk with a frozen mukluk

[me_dennis]

I'm looking at getting some winter tires for our 2015 Audi Q5. I've always had spare winter rims for my winter tires so I could change them out in the garage on all my previous cars, but they were all small cars.

With my current jack, I don't think it will jack up to a proper height for my SUV.
I see that Canadian Tire has a sale this week on jacks. Does anyone know what height I should be getting in order to swap out the tires?

Or should I not even bother with winter rims?

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Regulator75

Getting the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV 102R XL tires put on my new Mitsubishi RVR with AWD today, is it wrong that I'm hoping for some craptastic weather?

Nope, I'm like that every year. Bring on the snow, the more the better.