I have bad news and I have more bad news. For everyone interested, I need to know what tires and sizes. I will also tell you that at this time, your choices are going to be VERY VERY VERY limited. It is starting to look like a lot of winter tires are no long available in the common subaru sizes. What I have been finding is that some "places" might have the tires you are looking for ONLY because they are last years tires. I have found RSI's in a few sizes, and the R's are pretty much $100 a set more than the RSI. So at this point, I am asking for everyone to research what they are looking for a bit more. Just posting up I want Revo's will not work either. The revo line is all truck tires now and the winter tires are a new line. And unfortunately, the xxx/45/17 stuff is taking the biggest hit. I will relay more info as I get it, but here is a small idea of what we are dealing with. Mount/balance/tax included in price. In the 205/50r16 - Blizzaks WS60s are $139.50 each, total = $635.00 And the Nokians are the RSI, they are $122.50 each, total = $562.00 (special price!) In the 215/45r17 - Blizzak WS60s are $165.00 each, total = $757.00 and the Nokians are the RSI, they are $175.00 each, total = $799.00 In the 225/45r17 - Blizzak WS60s are $$179.00 each, total = $817.00 and the Nokians in that size are the Rs - they are $199.00 each, total = $899.00 There are no Hankooks or Firestone Winterforce in these sizes, or Blizzak Revos. THESE ARE NOT THE FINAL PRICES. This was just a quote, but most answers so far have been close to the same info. Russ
Really? Discount Tires have the Hankooks iPike W409's for the 17" rims, but they're 215/45R-17XL 91T DSB for 120 each. http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/tires/hankook/product/submitProductSize.do?r=MNMINT%7Cpc%7C55104&pc=11464 :: EDIT :: Then again, I guess I shouldn't really say anything since I have no idea what kind of Hankooks people are looking for >.<
Well, I have heard the same story from 2 places now, so either they do not want to sell 20-25-30 sets of tires, or there is some truth to it. Also, the tires you could have listed could be left overs from last season. Part of the quote I posted above was with Hakka RSI. The did quit making them last year, so those are left overs that did not sell last season. Russ
According to the on-line tire websites I've been visiting an 02 WRX takes a 205/55/r16. They make a winterforce in that size. On a simple internet quote without any volume discounts I can get a set from my local Firestone for $423.88 installed.
I need 215/45/17 Interested in Bridgestone Blizzaks, or Blizzak LM-25's. Or anything else you can find. Hoping to keep it under $500. If thats not possible I'll probably go tirerack.
russ i pm'd you. I have a friend who can price some winter wheels, not saying I can get a better price than u but its worth a shot.
Hmmm, not good news indeed.... In the 215/45r17 - Nokians are the RSI, they are $175.00 each, total = $799.00 $800 is pushing it for the RSIs, especially since I drive the car 2x a week. On the fence about whether or not I go with this or save $200 on Continentals.... Russ, what kind of commitment do you need?
i contacted my buddy Eric and he quoted me for 20 sets total in two different sizes (205-55-16 and 225-45-17). I just gave him ballpark sizes (obviously this can be changed) just too see what sort of prices he could get. This is what he came back to me with. This price does not include mounting/balancing. These prices are if 10 people bought sets in each size (10 buy 16s, 10 buy 17s, 20 total). I dont know alot about tires so Im not sure how these compare to the ones listed previously 205/55R16 Nitto NTSN2 Snow $70.99 each. 225/45R17 General Altimax Arctic $103.00 each. Nitto NTSN2 in this size is $107.49 if everyone who was interested in 17s got this.
At this point, I am almost ready to say screw it and everyone can fend for themselves. Like I stated above, those are NOT final prices, those are just for my first quote. There is no done deal, if you think you can do better, go for it. /rant As I get more information, I will post up what I find. I have found that the mount/balance/discard has become the biggest deal with the prices. I have already been quoted $100 PER TIRE, over and above the cost of the tires themselves. So ya, quick math bring that into the realm of 1k+ just for 4 tires. Russ
I am looking for the best price and definetly trust your judgement and expertise so I can wait for more info, for shizzle!
Russ: Did you contact West Side Tire in Hamel? I know that they are the main distributor for alot of the metro tire places (including discount IIRC). They also carry Nokian. I think I might give them a ring just to see what they are looking for on prices.
Russ I see you posted about a price for tire discard. I want to keep my dimounted tires. I'll need them next summer.
I would consider this....how much is the 'other junk', though? Like Russ mentioned, tire shops have inflated their mount/dismount charges as a fight against internet pricing. They can use the excessive charges to convince someone to buy overpriced tires from them...
Don't spend it then. You can get 225/45/17 from here for 560 and get them mounted by Jeff for another 60 bucks or so. You can also get a set of WS-60s from Tirerack for about the same price. I had both on my car last winter and loved them about equally.
Ok, I just talked to Kevin from Venburg. Looks like they are willing to do wholesale pricing like they did last season. Kevin said that he will shoot me a price list on some random sets of tires so we can get some pricing to compare with what I have already received. I also know that everyone has their boy that has a hookup. You do not need to fill my PM box with people to call. You have figured out how to use the internet to get here, you can make the call yourself. The big thing to remember is mounting/balancing/discard of old tires. Certain places are charging $100 PER TIRE, so that is a additional $400 above the tires. So don't fill this thread with "my boy can hook us up with tires but mounting/balance is on you" posts. I am trying to make this as clean and easy as possible. Russ
^sorry russ, didnt know this was your thing, i perceived it as being a "who can get the best deal for the forum" sorta idea. Looking forward to pricing info!
Its not just you. My pm box exploded with pms from randoms telling me about how their boy has a hookup. Russ
Hey russ. Is there any word yet on if they also have a deal for winter rims. I am going with a whole winter set up and would like to get tires and rims for my car this year. let me know. Thanks for all of your work.
Sorry, quit honestly, I haven't even asked about rims. I would hit up Subydude (or wheeldude or whatever the hell he is this week) for rims, or just use the stock rims for your winter tires and look for a summer rims. Russ
I'm looking for a set of Blizzak LM-60s or Blizzak WS-60s in 245/40-18 to mount on my STi stock five spoke winter wheels that currently have no rubber on them. ie; nothing to dispose of. Blizzak LM-60s or Blizzak WS-60s in 245/40-18 I guess the difference between the LMs vs. the WSs is the tread depth, heavier, weight/speed rating, and the price of course. LMs are less tread depth by an inch, 2lbs heavier, can handle 1609lbs per tire and 130mph, and cost $40 more. (When am I ever gonna be doing 130mph in the snow?) Russ, thank you for doing all the foot work. Don't over do your self though, if it gets too crazy cut bait and let it go.
At this point, it looks like Venburg has been the best deal. This is the same place that we worked with last season. Here is their quote to me. Their quote is for whole sale pricing. This is just a sample of some of the prices so I can compare who is giving us the better deal. They can get other tires and other sizes, this is just a sample quote of some of the more popular ones. 205/55R16: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R = $149.18 Nitto NTSN2 = $73.99 General Alti Artic = $72.72 215/45R17: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R = $157.75 General Alti Artic = $114.33 225/45R17: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R = $189.67 Nitto NTSN2 = $100.99 General Alti Artic = $113.34 225/55R17: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R = $166.00 General Alti Artic = $114.56 195/65R15: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R = $110.70 Nitto NTSN2 = $70.46 General Alti Artic = $72.05 This is strictly tire pricing. Labor charges would be $20 per tire for 15†and 16†tires and $25 per tire for 17â€. There is a $2 disposal fee if anyone would be getting rid of the old tires but generally in the past they have all kept the summer tires. Obviously the Nokian R is the best tire out of the 3 but we’ve had very good luck with the General tire in the past also. I do not have a lot of experience with the Nitto winter tire. Retail prices on all these tires would average about $20-$30 more per tire. Let me know if you need anything else. In the past most people from the club have just called and spoken with myself. Thanks again and I look forward to doing business with you guys again. As of now, I am waiting to hear back from one other place. So far, Venberg has been BY FAR the cheapest on everything and they have also been the most upfront with mount/balance/disposal prices. The way it worked last season was that YOU would call Venberg and talk to Kevin about getting size and price for what you are looking for. So far in this thread alone we have had less then 5 sets of the same thing, so trying to get everyone on board to drop 800 on a set of tires is not going to happen. Their policy has been the most open so far. They will also just have a open door policy for us. So if you can't afford the tires now, its not a big deal. They will leave our pricing in place most of the winter season. As for the Hankooks. It has been comfirmed with me that the only way to get them is to buy a container of them at once. That is why the large discount shops have them listed and the only small shops that will have them are the ones that are pooling their resources with other shops/large distributors. So my gut feeling is that if my last quote doesn't come in under Venburg, we will be working with them again this season. Russ
Thanks Russ, you da man... Now, what do I want to do? Anyone know how the new tariff is going to affect tire prices? It goes into effect on 9/26, but it isn't clear to me how/when tires will be affected. I assume that anything already in the country will be unaffected, but I haven't found any details online, yet.
Kevin at Venburg Tire is a stand up guy. Last year we had a fair amount of success with him and the company.
The group buy will go through Venburg again. Here is some more of the details. http://www.mnsubaru.com/forums/showthread.php?p=658473#post658473 If you have any other questions, let me know. Russ
