Tire price shocker.

[David2011]

April of 2020 I bought tires for my 2000 F-150 4x4. I replaced off road mud tires that were starting to crack with street tires. I’ve moved from a more rural area where I drove off road a lot to the suburbs. It’s main purpose now is hauling lumber and other large items. The truck is probably not driven more than 1000-2000 miles per year and it’s always my choice when to drive it so I generally avoid driving it in bad weather.

It got cheap Coopers. At that time I paid about $450 for four, drive out. They will probably still look near new when they rot from sun exposure. High end tires wouldn’t hold up any better.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

We have 18" tires on our Toyota Avalon. It has Continental all seasons on it. Bought 8/20. they were shocking too. Hanging that middle class shingle out is going to be quite costly going forward.........

[georgerkahn]

On my Toyota pickup I run Blizzak tires. Of highest importance for any snow/winter tire is the Alpine designation -- a requirement for winter tires in Canada which meet stringent specs. The Blizzaks are admittedly a tad louder as well as a tad rougher ride than the Kevlar summer tires... But, their performance in snow and on slippery pavements more than makes up for it. What was, in the old days, a "hundred dollar ding", or a slide ending up requiring a $400.00 bumper replacement.... *NOW* that same "ding" might run $2,000.00 to repair; and -- forget bumpers as they're mostly painted material attached to the vehicle's body. By no means an inexpensive fix either.
The M+S (Mud and Snow) rating is subjective, too -- not as good as Alpine. The M+S comes from designer intent; the Alpine needs meet and/or exceed government standards.
geo

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

So I have a set of Michelin Ice-X (225/60 R17) studless with MB alloy rims listed locally for $550. Lot of looky lews buy no takers. Would swap them on the Subaru Outback for the winter so they are in excellent condition with hardly any wear showing.

>>>SNIP

I have been looking for something just like that for my Toyota Rav4.
Problem is, Toyota's (and I assume other manufacturers) put different lug bolt patterns and wheel offsets on all the different models...and some same models but different years. There is so many combinations, you almost have to find a buyer with same year/model of vehicle.

I've responded to countless ads for used snowtire/wheel sets. I end up being a looky lew, because after I research the actual dimensions of the wheels for sale, I learn they are different than my vehicle.
...with that said, I did find a set a few days ago, but they are over 300 miles away (near Roseau, MN). They are working out a way to get them closer to me, so I can buy them...time will tell...lots of hassle for them to sell me 4 rusty wheels with half worn snow tires mounted.

[megasupermagnum]

Siping definitely helps a lot, but that is nothing to what a purpose snow tire can do. All it does is essentially turn a mud tire into an all terrain. I've got two sets of tires for the truck right now. Cooper Discoverer STT Pro, which are a purpose mud/offroad tire. They dig like you would not believe, and are great for gravel roads, since they hardly kick up any rocks, other than the occasional really big stone that gets your attention. The problem is they are death traps on any kind of ice. They are a relatively hard rubber, and while they will go through snow, any hard surface is scary. Siping would not help that much, and would shorten their already short lifespan.

I just put on the Cooper Snow Claw tires, and they are unreal. Saturday we had a blizzard, and I could hardly move in the driveway with the mud tires. I put the Snow Claw's on, and I barely even worried that the roads were pure ice. It must have been really bad, as everyone else seemed to struggle to do 20 mph. Both sets I bought 2 years ago. The Discoverer STT Pro is 31x10.5r15, the Snow Claw is 265/75R16. The Snow Claw's I think were cheaper. I remember about $800 for 4 of the STT Pro, and about $700 for 4 of the Snow Claw, all mounted and balanced. This was from Andy's Auto in Annandale, MN, great place if you are anywhere near buy. I never found any way to beat their prices. Even the tires alone were more from tire rack or other places.

The big problem I found was getting rims. It wasn't that long ago you could buy steel rims for practically nothing from a junk yard. I don't know when or why that changed, but now even steel rims everyone wants top dollar. It was actually cheaper for me to buy a set of used mounted tires and rims, then sell the used tires after I put on the Snow Claw's.

[rockrat]

I have been getting my tires from Walmart.com and having them shipped to the house. Out of the city limits, so tax is less. Walmart will mount them for free. Did pay for lifetime balancing and tire hazard, $95 IIRC. Local tire place wanted $400 more for a set than what I paid altogether.

[richbug]

Since you are in Florida, I can see where you don't find much use for siped tires. I, on the other hand, live in NW Montana, and they have a definite use in this area! Big difference on icy mountain roads.

Are you allowed studs? Sipes help in packed snow, but I have never seen they do any good on ice. We run studded true snow tires(which are siped) from November till march here in the snow belt.

[Kraschenbirn]

My buddy just dropped almost $4K on a set of Continentals for his Porsche 911 Cabriolet...and that didn't include install and balance.

Bill

[Bmi48219]

Since you are in Florida, I can see where you don't find much use for siped tires. I, on the other hand, live in NW Montana, and they have a definite use in this area! Big difference on icy mountain roads.

We left the gravel roads of rural Michigan when I semi-retired. Prior to that I averaged 55K a year to & from work. No mountains but plenty of ice & snow. First I heard of siping was when I bought tires for the younger daughter’s car. I couldn’t see the logic in cutting razor thin slits in the wear portion of a tire’s tread but if it works, it works.
I don’t imagine tire manufacturers are too keen on the concept.

[tinsnips]

Bought 2 sets of 10 ply pickup tires for my 3/4 work pickups 2200.00 that was before the price increase.

[megasupermagnum]

We left the gravel roads of rural Michigan when I semi-retired. Prior to that I averaged 55K a year to & from work. No mountains but plenty of ice & snow. First I heard of siping was when I bought tires for the younger daughter’s car. I couldn’t see the logic in cutting razor thin slits in the wear portion of a tire’s tread but if it works, it works.
I don’t imagine tire manufacturers are too keen on the concept.

On the contrary, siping is LOVED by manufacturers. Just look at snow tires. They are all siping, no solid blocks at all.

@richbug, we are allowed studs here, but I don't see anyone running them. I've never tried them myself. It seems to me that you will not beat a snow tire on snow. Minnesota for example gets snow on the roads, but the uber taxed system has them plowed in no time flat, and salted like the ocean. Here in SD being flat and windy, low taxes, it can be days for roads to be plowed, and a lot of rural roads don't seem to be salted at all except at certain intersections. The wind blows the snow away, but leave the roads a sheet of ice. That's another advantage of snow tires, they come with the intentions of having studs. I'm not sure if I'll add them to mine or not.

[Idaho45guy]

Broke down and bought a set of tires from Discount Tire. Bought the relatively new Goodyear Wrangler Ultra Terrain AT. They have the mountain snowflake designation and were the best deal I could find. With my military discount and Discount CC discount, I paid just under $900 for 4 tires delivered to my door.

Local Midas Muffler will install them for under $90.

I spent hours doing research and reviewing videos from tire experts and normal consumers. Second place was the Firestone Destination XT.

I can sell my current set of tires for $500, so will be around $500 to get a brand new set of highly rated snow tires. Very happy.

Attachment 292844

[megasupermagnum]

That's not bad, Goodyear wranglers are often considered one of the best AT's around. I forgot to expand on my previous comment on rims. Things have changed drastically in the last 10 years on rims. For decades the 15" rim was the gold standard. Now all of a sudden they are hardly seen. Less and less tires are even made for a 15" truck rim every year. For a few years 17" rims meant you had to take it in the wallet. Now I don't even know. It seems 17" tires aren't that bad anymore, 20" rims are common now, but a 19" rim means you had better have deep pockets. It's all over the map. I wish we could at least halfway standardize on a rim size again.

[waksupi]

Are you allowed studs? Sipes help in packed snow, but I have never seen they do any good on ice. We run studded true snow tires(which are siped) from November till march here in the snow belt.

Studs are legal here. When I got my current pickup, the tires weren't siped, and I couldn't make the last curve to my cabin on the ice. Went and had them siped, made it in, more or less in control.

[popper]

Wait till you have to buy a battery.

[memtb]

Got another price quote......I was wrong! The price for 4 was a bit over $1800.00! ! memtb

[SSG_Reloader]

I read this and shuddered a bit as I know I'll need to be ordering some new tires for my f350 soon. They are 37" and that price tag is atrocious, especially for a good tire. At least I have a first born son I can sell to help pay for them.

That being said, anyone run 37" tires that have performed exceptionally well? Preferably all terrain.

[Idaho45guy]

I read this and shuddered a bit as I know I'll need to be ordering some new tires for my f350 soon. They are 37" and that price tag is atrocious, especially for a good tire. At least I have a first born son I can sell to help pay for them.

That being said, anyone run 37" tires that have performed exceptionally well? Preferably all terrain.

Some pretty good choices in that size. All are between $400 and $500 per tire.

These are getting some good reviews...

https://www.4wheelparts.com/p/mickey...e+Height_PQ=37

[rockrat]

Bought some tires late this Spring. Went down to the Flatlands for Niece's graduation so waited till I got back home to order them. wished I had ordered them before I left as they went up $50 per tire by the time I got back home.