i went to the local Sam Club to get some snow tires in 185/60/15 because no one stocks 195/55/15, plus you want a narrower tread width in the winter anyway. well guess what, they are saying it's unsafe and not recommended by the tire manufacture as a tire to install...

i tried to explain to them that you want the narrorwer tread and that it will be just fine, and that ive done it before when i worked in tire shops...it was no use, they are not budging at all...

ive never heard of a shop doing this before, especially with winter tires...

has anyone actually ran 185/60/15 on their ITR, id imagine it would be no clearance issues considering i have 205/50/15 azenis on...

i just wish someone would stock 195/55 snows and this could have been solved...

 

Have someone order the tires for you? Why do they have to be in stock?

Only took my usual tire shop a day or two to get from their supplier. *shrug*

 

well also the tires are almost half the price of others...the tires i want are $48.34...they cant get 195/55/15 tires for that brand...

 

Yeah, I wouldn't want/trust tires from the same store than sells peanut butter by the keg.
You would probably save money buying them online from tirerack.com and then having a shop mount/balance them. Tirerack will have a better selection too. Not sure if dropping to 185/60 is such a great idea, but I may be wrong....

 

What specific tire are you looking at?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Doespike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yeah, I wouldn't want/trust tires from the same store than sells peanut butter by the keg.
You would probably save money buying them online from tirerack.com and then having a shop mount/balance them. Tirerack will have a better selection too. Not sure if dropping to 185/60 is such a great idea, but I may be wrong.... </TD></TR></TABLE>

sams and walmart sell almost every brand of tire, bridgestone, dunlop, michelin, etc...it makes no difference; a tire is a tire no matter where you get it from...

in the winter you want a narrower width and a taller sidewall which is what i want to do...i have a quote of sams for $257 installed...the cheapest tire from tirerack is $330 shipped plus i have to pay 50 bucks for mounting at least from any shop...as you can see the price is already almost $100 bucks cheaper than ordering...

i had these same tires on my last car and loved them in the snow...that's why i went back...

every other shop will install it no problem, but then i have to pay double the install fee cause it's not their tire, and i have to make an appointment...

 

Get the tires from Tirerack. Talk to them as to what they suggest. Don't deal with the retards at BJ's or Sams.

I've had the same issues when I replaced tires on my 95 Altima where they said they'd only replace the same speed rating as reccomended by the factory for that POS.

I ordered Wintermasters already mounted on steelies for it from Tirerack, done deal no problems. The mounting jockey's at BJ's and Sams have no idea what they are talking about and are most likely following a sales pitch to make you buy what costs more or something that their company mandates for "liability issues". Whatever.

Besides great customer service and better pricing on a good selection of tires from Tirerack, you can order the tires mounted on steelies or they will provide a location local to you where you can get them mounted at a predetermined price.

 

I would stick to 195/55-15. You have a nice selection of winter tires in that size, including the very best tires on snow and ice (Blizzak WS-50 and REVO, Michelin X-Ice) and others that combine decent winter performance with good high-speed ride quality (Blizzak LM-22 and Michelin Pilot Alpin). Even if it's a few bucks more, you can buy winter tires once and use them for quite a few years.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Doespike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yeah, I wouldn't want/trust tires from the same store than sells peanut butter by the keg.</TD></TR></TABLE>

FWIW, I haven't had any personal experience with getting tires from Sam's or Costco, but I've heard generally good reports from others. I have had significant experience with getting tires repaired and mounted at Wal-Mart, and it has all been positive (and even pretty impressive, in one particularly troublesome case).

I'm not saying not to get them from Tire Rack - that's where I most often buy tires - but hey, shop around and get them wherever you get the best deal on the tires you want.

 

one day im going to splurge and buy my own coats balancer and tire machine...

it may be $6000 bucks, but then i wont have to deal with any knuckle heads...

 

Heres another, Cheaper option from discounttiredirect.com.

http://www.discounttiredirect....ar=55

Another option is to order snow tires in 195/60/15's They are bigger, but they give a little more ground clearance and are usually cheaper. They work fine with stock height. Not sure How they'd work if you are riding really low though.


Modified by Larkin W. at 11:45 AM 11/22/2006


Modified by Larkin W. at 11:45 AM 11/22/2006

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Larkin W. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Heres another, Cheaper option from discounttiredirect.com.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I like Discount Tire, but they're terrible about not including all their options on the website. I'm on my second set of Kumho I'Zen snows. Great tires, very affordable. Discount does not list them, but I got a set mounted and balanced for $215 (185/75/14).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would stick to 195/55-15. You have a nice selection of winter tires in that size, including the very best tires on snow and ice (Blizzak WS-50 and REVO, Michelin X-Ice) and others that combine decent winter performance with good high-speed ride quality (Blizzak LM-22 and Michelin Pilot Alpin). Even if it's a few bucks more, you can buy winter tires once and use them for quite a few years.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree with Ken here, the 195/55/15's would be what I'd go with. I don't find any reason to go much smaller. I do understand the narrower tire to concentrate weight on the footprint. It's what I did for my wifes Trailblazer and it worked extremely well last winter. Leaps and bounds better when combined with a dedicated snow tire for the white stuff on a 16" wheel as opposed to the 17" balloon mud boggers it has for the rest of the year.

FWIW the LM-22's are being discontinued in favor of the LM 25's. Both of which would be more of an urban snow tire to include decent highway performance but not the ultimate in snow like the WS50's. But you might be able to get a deal on the LM22's because of this fact. The Revo's I've heard alot of mixed reviews over and no exceptional high praise.

I had Pilot Alpins for the R 5 years ago and thought they did a decent job.

I just had the WS50's mounted for my EVO in stock size because unfortunately there is no alternative to go smaller for a wheel because the brakes are too big. But after alot of searching, reading and talking to other owners, although a narrower tire would be ideal, stock sizing is not restrictive when combined with my cars AWD capability and the grip provided by the WS50's.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Larkin W. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Heres another, Cheaper option from discounttiredirect.com.

http://www.discounttiredirect....ar=55

Another option is to order snow tires in 195/60/15's They are bigger, but they give a little more ground clearance and are usually cheaper. They work fine with stock height. Not sure How they'd work if you are riding really low though.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

see that's the problem im having, the store wont mount any tires other than the 195/55/15 onto the car...im trying to get in touch with my old automotive instructor to see if i can do it myself at the school...

if i can, ill just return these tires and maybe buy the ones from tire rack since it'll save me 50 bucks from mounting..idk yet...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crxgator &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">one day im going to splurge and buy my own coats balancer and tire machine...

it may be $6000 bucks, but then i wont have to deal with any knuckle heads... </TD></TR></TABLE>

, u are right at this, too many knuckle heads who charges too much and don't know what they are talking about. Couldn't take the trouble and end up buying snow tires with steel rims from tirerack . Mount and balance on the steel rims were free from tirerack..

 

i absolutley hate other people's balancing...when i worked in a tire shop i was **** about it...i would make sure only one weight per side and made it as close to 0 as possile (actual weight not rounded that you normally see) for every customer...

 

Glad you finally chimed in here, it only took you an hour and 10 mins. Great info as always
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">FWIW, I haven't had any personal experience with getting tires from Sam's or Costco, but I've heard generally good reports from others. </TD></TR></TABLE>
I've never had any personal experience with those stores either, but I've heard of alot of minor troubles from them such as mounting directional tires backwards, or improper inflation. On the same token, I've personally had tire shops make the same mistakes. I guess you just have to inspect your wheels before you drive away.

 

I used 195/60/15's with no rubbing issues. They're a little taller, but that's a plus, incase the snow starts to pile up, you've got more ground clearance.

The 195/60's are cheaper, as well (generally).

 

i went back and the ******* guy wasnt there...they installed the 185/60/15s no problem...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crxgator &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">one day im going to splurge and buy my own coats balancer and tire machine...

it may be $6000 bucks, but then i wont have to deal with any knuckle heads... </TD></TR></TABLE>

You can get them from Harbor Freight for under $2000!
http://www.harborfreight.com/c...45656
http://www.harborfreight.com/c...47211