Buying new tires...anyone done this already

Drove over a a screw, to close to the side wall so not reparable (30k miles)
Got 4 Michelin Defenders from my local american tire depot.
They quoted me $145 per tire plus mounting, recycle & other fees.
90K mile warranty and 36 months up to 3/32" thread warranty
I mentioned the sears (online) price of $593.
They matched and gave me $13 off.
$580 out the door (after a $70 mail in rebate from Michelin )
The car drives so much nicer.
The stock tires are really cheap first fits

I'm going to see how good the Michelin Defenders handle Laguna Seca this weekend!

Ordered new tires and wheels for the rav last week. They will be installed next week. Got the Bridgestone ecopia L/H 422 Plus tires. Going to be putting on Konig oversteer 18 x 8 Wheels.

I spoke with Bridgestone about the difference between the standard Dueler ecopia and the Plus versions and they said the fuel economy/ LLR should be identical or better. The difference being the Plus do not carry a mileage warranty but they are about $40 per tire less expensive on sale tire rack but Discount Tire is matching their price.

Originally I was going to install Continental purecontact with ecoplus tires. I like the specs with higher tire pressure reading of 50 psi but after reading reviews from people here they seem to like the ecopia and they were on sale again so much cheaper.


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Time for me to get new tires. Seems the frontrunners are Michelin Defender or Bridgestone Ecopias, and since the current Costco $70 off is for Michelin, I was thinking I'd get the former.

The problem is this: The Defenders apparently come in speed rating 'T' (118 mph), while the OEM speed rating is 'H' (130 mph). Now obviously I don't plan on driving 120+ mph anytime soon, but I've run into Costco being a stickler about this in the past. It says clearly on their website that they won't install tires with a lower speed rating than the original, and if you select the Rav4-EV on the site no Michelin tires show up at all.

Those who installed Defenders, how did you do it? I guess other shops aren't such sticklers about these things? Do you think any shops out there will match Costco's price?

Costco has been a PITA in my past. It doesn't matter to them if the car has a max speed of 100, ect. They will only INSTALL tires in accordance with what is on the door sticker.

My suggestion.

Look at tirerack.com for local installers and their prices, then talk to the tire shop about price match vs bringing your own tires.

Buy the tires at Costco, pick them up. They will refund you the installation charge. You'll pay a little more for installation and maybe lose the warranty, but you'll likely still save money and a large chunk of time

fooljoe said:

Time for me to get new tires. Seems the frontrunners are Michelin Defender or Bridgestone Ecopias, and since the current Costco $70 off is for Michelin, I was thinking I'd get the former.

The problem is this: The Defenders apparently come in speed rating 'T' (118 mph), while the OEM speed rating is 'H' (130 mph). Now obviously I don't plan on driving 120+ mph anytime soon, but I've run into Costco being a stickler about this in the past. It says clearly on their website that they won't install tires with a lower speed rating than the original, and if you select the Rav4-EV on the site no Michelin tires show up at all.

Those who installed Defenders, how did you do it? I guess other shops aren't such sticklers about these things? Do you think any shops out there will match Costco's price?

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I would personally not be concerned with T vs. H speed ratings. I would be more worried about the load rating. However, the Defenders have a higher load rating (102 vs. 101) than the factory rating. The panel inside the driver's door does not list the speed rating, however the owner's manual does specify the tire as "225/65R17 101H", so I can see why a vendor like Costco would want to adhere to that.

I plan to price out the Defenders from Tire Rack with local installation, then ask the same local shop to match the total price. What I have found for other cars is that the main difference is that you don't pay sales tax on the tires shipped from Tire Rack. I've done that twice before for my prior cars, once shipping to a tire shop and once to my independent repair shop.

Running into the same issue at Costco on the T vs H speed rating. Costco has been great in the past with flat repairs and replacement so I'm still inclined to go with them. They have a Michelin Latitude Tour HP (225/65 R17 102H which meets all of our specs (including load and "H" rating) at about $155/tire. These get a great rating from Consumer Reports too. Has anyone else tried them?

oldtimer said:

Running into the same issue at Costco on the T vs H speed rating. Costco has been great in the past with flat repairs and replacement so I'm still inclined to go with them. They have a Michelin Latitude Tour HP (225/65 R17 102H which meets all of our specs (including load and "H" rating) at about $155/tire. These get a great rating from Consumer Reports too. Has anyone else tried them?

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The Latitude Tour HP has a low 440 Treadwear rating and is not LRR. So, I would not get those. If I had to choose from Costco, I would choose one of the Bridgestone Ecopias, but they are still lower treadwear than the Defender. Also, Costco shows the Defender XT, which I cannot find full specs for.

I ended up going with the Yokohama AVID Ascends at $110/tire from a local tire shop. Put a couple hundred miles on them for a weekend trip to Santa Barbara (got some great use out of my JDEMO while I was at it!) and so far so good.

The yokohamas we have are also not LRR. You can only improve on that. I would take better traction over a few miles anytime

Weekdayskier said:

The yokohamas we have are also not LRR. You can only improve on that. I would take better traction over a few miles anytime

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Absolutely. The factory Yokohamas are easy to surpass. In fact, I would venture to say that unless you throw a dart blindfolded to choose, you will end up with replacement tires better than the factory ones.

ive had the Continental CrossContact LX20's on my vehicle since around 38K miles (I have 12K on them now) and i love these tires (especially compared to the original ones which i thought were borderline unsafe). *MUCH* less squeeling, and i've even gotten down from my house in the mountains in the snow with them "ok" (I wouldn't advise driving on snow at all with the original tires. i almost couldnt get to my house one time because it had snowed like 3 inches...)

Loss of range is < 3% with these tires (for sure, it might be less than that, i cant really measure it better than that esp since the battery is also getting older at the same time).

I ordered Michelin Defender XT online at Costo.com and had them installed this weekend.
Even though the speed rating is different, didn't have any issues with the install.

Got close to 36K with the original tires.

I just had Costco Sunnyvale install 4 new tires. I went with the Michelin Defender XT 225/65R17 102T. There was not a problem on the speed rating. They explained they could install since it was just 1 rating lower, not 2. The cost for all 4 with tax, balance, disposal was $715. They also explained that if I waited until Sept, I could get a $70 discount. Very impressed with their professionalism.

I have 41,500 miles on the first set of tires. One tire was almost bald (I think I had a slight leak and it wore unevenly).

Loving this car!!

Costco.com currently has a sale on Bridgestone Tires with a $130 discount if you are an Executive member.

You have to order online, offer is not good in a store.

They will ship to the Costco store of your choice (shipping is free) and the tires will be installed. You may have to pay $12 at the store for TPMS, but everything else is included.

I ordered the Dueler Ecopias for a total cost of $534 on Saturday. Expect delivery and installation later this week.

The offer is only good through the 18th (although the store said it is good to the end of the month)

Promo code is TIRES60C - for some reason they neglected to include this code on the website, and I had to call them to get it.

Michael,

Let me know how you like these tires, I had Duelers along time ago and they were the worst thing I've ever put on one of my 4x4's but that was 20 years ago.

I'm contemplating between the Ecopias (I've had 0 issues with then on the Leafs and they are quiet!) and the Conti ProContact EcoPlus.

Thanks!

Jason:

Its really too early for me to give an opinion as I just had them put on a week ago. They seem quieter and better handling but that is subjective and maybe wishful thinking. The miles/kWh seems less, but that is hard to tell as I have been running my AC almost continuously for the past few weeks. The test will be when I try to ride to LA and find that I can (or can't) still make it.

Although Bridgestone does list an Ecopia Plus in the correct size for the RAV4, neither they nor Costco will list it if you say you are looking for a tire for the RAV4. My tire says on its sidewall Dueler H/L 422, but in the literature from Bridgestone it is listed as Dueler Ecopia H/L 422 (eco). The sticker on the tire didn't mention the word Ecopia.

Perhaps there is a tire expert around who can explain this nomenclature.

Mike

I got the Michelin Defender tires at America's Tire for $671.31 all-in. Their initial price was higher, but I told them I had a quote for locally installed tires purchased from Tire Rack for $685 after $70 mail-in rebate card. They did a price match and I don't have any rebate hassle.

My initial reaction is that the steering feels more responsive and the wheel is easier to turn. This may just be taller tread squirming more over the pavement, but I don't think that would make much difference at 30mph as when maneuvering in a parking lot.

Michelin Defender XT are available on Costco.com for Executive members for $154 each plus disposal, environmental and installation fees, minus a $130 coupon. Coupon code is TIRESEPT16. For delivery to the Goleta Costco, total cost is $602.08. If you purchase with the Costco Citi Visa, you get a further 2% cash-back reward at year end.

Costco also carries the 225/65R17/101H Michelin Defender. Thus the speed rating is not reduced, but the load capacity per tire is reduced from 1874 to 1819. Considering the load rating will not come into place, the H rated tire seems like a better choice.

What bothers me is that two of my tires (currently on front) are not worn as my two rear tires. I would like to replace just the worn rears, but am told I need to replace them in sets of four.

Suggestions welcome,
Ferenc