[Philosophy]

Hi,

I'm about to take a ~5,000 mile road trip with my Insight this Christmas and wanted to replace the bargain bin (some off brand) tires that are on my Insight from the previous owner. I don't recall the old tires' name off the top of my head but they need to be replaced; from what I've heard the high pressure high strength sidewall OEM tires are really a great fit. I called my local dealership and they gave me an estimate of $400 for the set, and I thought that seemed high from what I had heard whispers about on here. If you have had yours replaced relatively recently, how much did it cost incl labor? Thanks in advance.

-Philo

 

[Rick]

Deffinitely a rip off. I had mine changed some months ago at Costco. They're still the same price:

http://www.costco.com/Tires/Product.asp ... &Width=165

They might be on backorder again, I don't know. When I had mine done they had them to my local Costco in a day. Total should be around $250 mounted, ballanced, valve stem, road hazard, blah blah blah.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

http://www.tirerack.com $49.00 ea + shipping & installation.

For $400.00 I'll come to your location and mount them myself! <VBG>

HTH!

 

[Insightful Trekker]

If your happy with your current MPG you may rather stick with the softer non LRR (Low Rolling Resistance) tires.

The OEM Bridgstones are somewhat harsh in compairson. A good Michelin in one of their LRR styles might be a happy medium.

Tirerack.com and Google makes searching for an LRR spec tire easy.

HTH!

 

[Philosophy]

I currently get about 55-65 mpg depending on conditions when I'm driving. They handle well but because they're the only tires I've ever had on my Insight I'm not sure what's car and what's tire when I'm talking about handling. Thank you for the awesome hints, I'm glad I didn't take them up (pun intended) on their offer. It is a 5 spd, I've noticed the cold has really affected my gas mileage.

I had an interesting experience last night. My car had been sitting outside in approximately 40 degree weather for 16 hours before I drove home from work; I stopped for gas after about a 15 minute drove on the way home (getting 55 mpg) and after I refilled I got 72 for the rest of my drive home (separate from 55 mpg segment). I do not have one of those radiator blocks installed yet but I'm planning on it for my trip. The terrain was similar on both of the aforementioned segments. Do you think the temperature of the fuel (and obviously internally of the car itself after warming up) is what made such a big difference in fuel economy?

Thanks in advance,
-Philo

 

[Rick]

While tire rack is deffinitely a good source of tires, I will point out that their price does not include shipping even. The $59.99 price from costco is everything except tax. That price includes shipping to your closest costco, installation and everything.

 

[jsanford]

Not to repeat what people have said elsewhere...

...but be sure wherever you get them, the factory balancing weights are used.

$400, labor included, doesn't sound so bad to me, but then again, bicycle tires usually cost a lot more.

 

[Philosophy]

There are no costcos anywhere near Frankfort, KY. It seems they are mostly a Western states company or just have a thin distribution in Indiana/KY/Ohio. I would have definately been interested otherwise.

-Philo

 

[Guest]

Hi Philosophy:

___It sounds as if you might have already checked but if not, there are Costco’s in both Indiana and Kentucky. Is Avon, Deerfield Township, Mayfield Heights, or Springdale in Ohio or Castleton, or NW Indianapolis in Indiana anywhere near close enough for you? Merrillville won’t be but maybe NW Indy?

___The following w/ links will help with exact directions if needed:

US Costco locations

___It might be worth the trip given they do offer the best prices on a set of RE92’s installed that I have seen anywhere. IIRC, you had to have a membership but they had a 1-day pass setup the last time I was at the store in Phoenix a few years back?

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___[email:34unzx33][email protected][/email:34unzx33]

 

[Philosophy]

I checked their state listings and I didn't see any in KY. I didn't immediately recognize any of the other locations in Indiana / Ohio, not to say they aren't there, but they weren't at any recognizable larger cities (my knowledge of ohio/indiana is not very good though). It might be worth finding out if it's not too far out of the way to go ahead and get them there on the way out of town. I also thought about having studs put in my old set of tires so I could have them around for the winter months, has anyone tried that with these smaller tires? Just having them put the studs in?
Thanks,
-Philo

 

[Resist]

Why would anyone want to purchase tires from a dealership? I guess if you like spending more money than you have to it would be okay.

Dealerships = Overpriced

 

[hack123456]

Re: Not to repeat what people have said elsewhere...

...but be sure wherever you get them, the factory balancing weights are used.

What's special about the OEM weights?

 

[Resist]

Nothing is special about the OEM wheel weights.

 

[Yves M.]

The original balancing weights are the sticky kind you put inside the rim. Some shops use the clip to the edge lead kind. Those last ones usually make some electrolys with the alloy and damage the rims.