OK I need your help! I was at my dealer this past weekend getting an Oil

Change and they said that I only have 15% thread on all my tires and

they need to be replaced. They gave me a quote of around $700! for all

four replacements with an alignment, and labor. This seems a little high

to me, so I was wondering if I could get a better deal somewhere else?

What tires do you recommend for this Saturn? Thanks!!

<WGRG3@webtv.net> wrote in message

news:17165-487BDFE1­-1323@storefull-3313­.bay.webtv.net...

You can (should) inspect your own tread depth using the wear indicators in

the tread grooves, but it is better to buy a simple tread depth gauge for

~$5, and use it to measure the tread remaining yourself. I bet you will

find you have a lot more than 15% remaining. Measuring across the tread

will show if you should be raising or lowering your inflation pressure and

will allow you to keep the best tires on the front.

If you have a local DIY auto wrecker, go buy tires on rims with air. My

local yard sells these for $17 ea. Most of these tires have much better

than 75% tread remaining and are great for summer use at least. I have

found lots of tires that were much closer to 90%. If you can find good

winter treads, then save them for winter use, then summer when they are

more worn. This will give you a spare set of rims so if you need to buy

new tires you can use the newest ones for winter and then mount the

poorest to wear them out in the summer. If you do not have any DIY (Pick

& Pull) yards then call the normal wreckers but expect to pay more. The

benefit is you get a spare set of rims and do not have to pay for mounting

which in my area is ~$25 ea.

You will save a lot of money by doing your own tire rotations and will

tend to better monitor both the air pressures and wear. I suggest buying

a spare jack ~$5. (or better yet two) and wheel wrench just so you don't

need to dig out your jack mounted with your small? spare. Having spare

tires mounted on rims is great if you do have a flat as you can take your

time getting the flat repaired without needing to drive on a small spare.

If you have a DIY wrecker you will probably not bother to repair a flat as

the tread remaining will not be worth the cost of a repair (~$25) which

will probably be more than you paid for the mounted used tire and rim.

Good luck, YMMV

Good advice from Private ... Adding another two cents here ...

You can use a simple Lincoln head penny to check remaining tread. I seem

to recall you replace when the tread is less than Abe's head.

Shop around and do not be afraid to use competitive pricing for identical

tires and services. You should be able to find a set of decent name

brand tires for that car for $300-$400.

Bob

"Private" <please@dont.bother­> wrote in message

news:g5h2o9$f79$1@a­ioe.org...

With respect and IMHO, the penny tool is just another example of 'the

dumbing down of America'. It may be better than nothing but just barely,

it does not tell you anything your eyes can not see in relation to the

tread wear indicators cast into the tread grooves. A real tread depth

guage is cheap, easy to use and very accurate, a plain old common caliper

with depth guage is more accurate but requires conversion from decimal to

the fractional inch measurement found in tire secifications. Accurate

measurement of tread wear, combined with visual inspection and a simple

running of your hand over the tread surface to detect feathering is IMHO

the best way to detect both inflation and alignment deficiencies.

"Private" <please@dont.bother­> wrote in message

news:g5ic9v$13a$1@a­ioe.org...

Private,

While most people do not own a tire tread depth gauge, they should

undoubtedly have access to a penny. The penny is a simple (and cheap) way

to supplement visual inspection of the tread wear indicators.

Bob

Thanks for all the information! I know the dealer is out for buying new

tires so who do you guys reccomend? Who will give me the best deal for

the money, Costco, Big O, Walmart, etc? And what brand do you think

will give the best ride for this model Saturn? Dunlop, Michelin,

Goodyear, etc? Thanks!

I do not disagree, the point I was trying to make is......

Tires are a very important safety critical item and deserve careful

attention to maximize safe operation. They are a costly consumable that

is second to only fuel and aprox equal to oil changes in total cost.

This significant cost can be minimized by careful monitoring of inflation

and wear and by frequent rotations. Tire maintenance does not require

extensive experience or significant time and is well within the

capabilities of most any car operator. Tire inspection and rotation does

not require a significant investment in tools nor does it require a

workshop. The only tools that are required are a quality tire pressure

gauge and a tread depth gauge, both of which can be purchased for $10-25

total, a second set of 4 rims will cost $20-150. These small investments

will easily pay for themselves during the service life of any car and

normally much sooner.

Many people will claim they are too busy and prefer to have tire

maintenance performed by others at time of oil change but I submit that

DIY will be both cost and time effective and give the added benefit of

allowing inspection of brakes, suspension and exhaust systems at the same

time.

We both know that the primary cause of both tire failure and short tire

life is underinflation. I suspect we will agree that the most common

cause of engine damage is failure to check oil and coolant levels and that

the easiest way to obtain good engine life is frequent oil changes. Our

cars are a big investment and a substantial yearly cost, simple

maintenance will substantially extend service life and minimize total

cost. IMHO depending on others to do this maintenance leads to missed oil

changes and maintenance, depending on a garage or dealer to do all this

work is IMHO a guarantee of over paying for this work.

Good luck, YMMV

"Private" <please@dont.bother­> wrote in message

news:g5jc3q$mg5$1@a­ioe.org...

Private,

Agreed on all points made. Underinflation is a major factor in both tire

wear and reduced fuel consumption/mileage­. All tires and oil/other fluids

need to be checked at regular and frequent intervals. Back in the old

days of full service gas stations, the driver had some help with doing

this at the recommended intervals of every fill up.

On getting more miles from the tires, I've found that running them higher

than the manufacturer's placard on the side door is a good practice. Most

newer tires are max cold pressure 44PSI, and I run them 35PSI or so even

if the manufacturer recommends 26PSI. For max cold 35PSI tires, I run

them at 32.5PSI. This can take a slight toll on the suspension components

and give a slightly harder ride, but pays dividends with fuel mileage,

longevity and wear.

I generally use Michelin tires and regularly get 60,000 miles on some

fairly heavy vehicles that are hard on tires. For the Saturn, less

expensive tires seem to last fairly long too as long as they are

maintained and the vehicle is properly aligned. These cars are so light

that they are not as hard on the tires. This is my experience. YMMV.

Bob

Thanks for all the information! I know the dealer is out for buying new

tires so who do you guys reccomend? Who will give me the best deal for

the money, Costco, Big O, Walmart, etc? And what brand do you think

will give the best ride for this model Saturn? Dunlop, Michelin,

Goodyear, etc? Thanks!

OK I need your help! I was at my dealer this past weekend getting an Oil

Change and they said that I only have 15% thread on all my tires and

they need to be replaced. They gave me a quote of around $700! for all

four replacements with an alignment, and labor. This seems a little high

to me, so I was wondering if I could get a better deal somewhere else?

What tires do you recommend for this Saturn? Thanks!!

tires so who do you guys reccomend?