Tire question: buy pricier or more often?

I suppose this can apply to any product but in this case I am thinking
of tires:

(1) I can buy a pricier model which will last a long time, but then I'd
have an old tire most of that time.

(2) I can buy a less expensive model but change it more frequently, so
I'd have a newer tire most of the time.

Which is the better way?

Would you buy a new Lexus every 10-12 years , or a new Corolla/Camry
every 4-5 years?

It isn't quite that straightforward a tradeoff as price vs. treadwear.
Tires operate in a rather more complex parameter space than most
consumer goods. The one thing I can say for sure is that buying really
cheap tires is likely to be a poor bargain in the long run, unless your
wear bars are on the pavement and money is so tight that you can't
afford better.

I've found that it's worthwhile to pay a bit extra for a better tire if
you can. Just what that is, depends on your car and weather and
driving style. Quite often a *lot* of tire parameters can be
simultaneously improved by throwing money at the problem.

Best of luck,
--Joe

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005, RPS wrote:
[color=blue]
> (1) I can buy a pricier model which will last a long time, but then I'd
> have an old tire most of that time.
>
> (2) I can buy a less expensive model but change it more frequently, so
> I'd have a newer tire most of the time.[/color]

It's more complex than that. Tires that are extremely durable tend to have
poorer road grip. Tires with better road grip tend to have shorter
lifespans.
[color=blue]
> Would you buy a new Lexus every 10-12 years , or a new Corolla/Camry
> every 4-5 years?[/color]

Not a valid analogy.

What do you drive, where, how, and in what conditions?

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 00:06:21 -0400, "Daniel J. Stern"
<dastern@127.0.0.1> wrote:
[color=blue]
>It's more complex than that. Tires that are extremely durable tend to have
>poorer road grip. Tires with better road grip tend to have shorter
>lifespans.[/color]


Exactly.

I like softer touring tires that are quieter but less long lasting.
Would that make it a bad tire? Not to me, that's what I like baby.

But if money if no object, I wouldn't want to keep ANYTHING for 10
years, I'd be bored of it before then. Tires.... who cares, they are
just 4 black blob thingys. Spend money on cool wheels.

Price has little to do with quality - no matter what the product. I
always buy cheap. The four tires i have on my car right now combined
cost $150 installed. That even includes the damn charge to GIVE them
my old tires.

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 03:22:59 +0000, RPS wrote:
[color=blue]
> I suppose this can apply to any product but in this case I am thinking of
> tires:
>
> (1) I can buy a pricier model which will last a long time, but then I'd
> have an old tire most of that time.
>
> (2) I can buy a less expensive model but change it more frequently, so I'd
> have a newer tire most of the time.
>
> Which is the better way?[/color]

Depends on whether you value your life and the life of others.

Take that LBMHBF guy. He howls and whines every day about others driving
at a reasonable pace but claims to drive an old clunker with clapped out
brakes and horrid cheap tires and thus, if this was true, would risk more
people's lives than someone, who speeds within reason but drives a good
car with good brakes and good tires. Of course he is just a little troll,
who can't afford a car, but you get the idea.

Btw, cheaper tires don't necessarily wear faster, but they usually grip
much worse, and please don't insult our intelligence by claiming that you
don't need good grip.

I prefer better (more expensive) tires, which wear faster, but give me the
edge in dangerous situations. And where this LBMHBF critter would plow
into the other car with his imaginary shrieking cheapo tires and
imaginary iron grinding on iron because of missing brake pads, I can
comfortably stop and watch him get out of his imaginary wrecked clunker
crying the blues about how he can't afford chewing tobacco for a month,
because he has to replace his $150 wreck.

Chris

Ad absurdum per aspera <jtchew@california.com> wrote:

: It isn't quite that straightforward a tradeoff as price vs. treadwear.
: Tires operate in a rather more complex parameter space than most
: consumer goods.

I realize there are different parameters but within a type and brand,
I'd think a tire rated for 80,000 miles would cost more than one rated
for 40,000 miles, is that not so?

> I realize there are different parameters but within a type and brand,[color=blue]
> I'd think a tire rated for 80,000 miles would cost more than one rated
> for 40,000 miles, is that not so?[/color]

Actually, not necessarily true. Many very high performance tires do not have
particularly good tread ratings. Generally the higher the speed rating
(tires are have speed ratings such as S, H, V, etc) the less the tread life.
That is because a tires ability to run at higher speeds depends partly on
using a softer tread compound that wears faster. This is very evident in
motor sports racing, where a very soft, but very high performance tire will
need to be changed several times during a 500 mile race.

Some people think that an S speed rated tire is sufficient because they will
never exceed the 112 mph maximum speed rating for an S rated tire. However,
an H, or V rated tire will almost always have superior handling, breaking,
etc than a S or T rated tire (all other things being equal).

However, there are some newer tread compounds that provide a better balance
between performance and tread life, but they are more costly than
conventional tread compounds. But even these newer compounds will usually
not last 80,000 miles in a high performance V rated tire.

"Laura Bush murdered her boy friend" <xeton2001@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1118986138.375783.131660@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
> Price has little to do with quality - no matter what the product.[/color]

Absolutely not true.

What IS true is that paying a lot of money for something doesen't guarentee
good quality - you still have to do you research.

BUT, it is definitely guarenteed that low price buys you low quality
for every honestly gotten product.
[color=blue]
> always buy cheap. The four tires i have on my car right now combined
> cost $150 installed. That even includes the damn charge to GIVE them
> my old tires.
>[/color]

Without the size you bought such a statement is meaningless.

Ted

"RPS" <rps@null.void> wrote in message
news:160620052223548837%rps@null.void...[color=blue]
> I suppose this can apply to any product but in this case I am thinking
> of tires:
>
> (1) I can buy a pricier model which will last a long time, but then I'd
> have an old tire most of that time.
>
> (2) I can buy a less expensive model but change it more frequently, so
> I'd have a newer tire most of the time.
>
> Which is the better way?
>
> Would you buy a new Lexus every 10-12 years , or a new Corolla/Camry
> every 4-5 years?[/color]

I've kept two Corollas 10+ years and prefer to put better tires on them.
Every time I try cheap tires I find problems.

Leonard

>>but within a type and brand, I'd think a tire rated for 80,000 miles would cost more than one rated for 40,000 miles, is that not so?

all things equal, of course. But do they cost more per x miles driven?

Ted Mittelstaedt wrote:[color=blue]
> "Laura Bush murdered her boy friend" <xeton2001@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1118986138.375783.131660@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...[color=green]
> > Price has little to do with quality - no matter what the product.[/color]
>
> Absolutely not true.
>
> What IS true is that paying a lot of money for something doesen't guarentee
> good quality - you still have to do you research.
>
> BUT, it is definitely guarenteed that low price buys you low quality
> for every honestly gotten product.
>[color=green]
> > always buy cheap. The four tires i have on my car right now combined
> > cost $150 installed. That even includes the damn charge to GIVE them
> > my old tires.
> >[/color]
>
> Without the size you bought such a statement is meaningless.
>[/color]

Unless he has 12 inch tires, that's damn cheap. Size notwithstanding.

I've always gone by the theory that, in the long run, the cheapest tire
you can buy is the most expensive. Cheapo tires are cheapo tires, if
you wanna drive around on "made in taiwan" crap, thats your business. I
prefer to buy the good stuff & drive safely for a long time with no
broken belts or $hitty sidewalls or worn shoulders that you see on
bargain stuff. Plus it's your tires, for petes sake, why comprimise
here. Your wife & kids deserve the piece of mind & safety that comes
with a good set of rubber.

"Ted Mittelstaedt" <tedm@toybox.placo.com> wrote in message
news:newscache$sn28ii$61e$1@news.ipinc.net...[color=blue]
>[/color]
[color=blue]
> Without the size you bought such a statement is meaningless.
>
> Ted[/color]

Only a fool buys cheap (and I am not necessarily limiting the term 'cheap'
to monetary price) tires.

"Plus it's your tires, for petes sake, why comprimise
here. Your wife & kids deserve the piece of mind & safety that comes
with a good set of rubber. "

when I hear that time tested classic sales line regurgitated by a
customer I always think "what a great salemen this guy has, I wish I
could hire him!"