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We put on the new tires today! Huzzah!!!
235-70-R15s. Cooper Discovery dual purpose truck tires...451.00 out the door. I was going to put on Goodyear Tracker 2 tires in the same size at Walmart, but Walmart wouldn't put that size on my Astro since they are bigger than stock...so I waited in line for 2 hours until they finally told me that...idiots! They said they could only put tires on that were specified for the vehicle, which would be tiny 205-75-R15s...no thanks! We load this vehicle down, and bring it down a lot of dirt roads...I needed bigger tires with a greater load capacity and a more aggressive tread pattern. I told them I would sign a waver, but they said no dice...ah well! I love the Coopers!
So I took it down to Gator Tires in Clermont, Florida, and they sold me 4 Coopers for less than the Wallyworld tires, and they are a better tire with a better tread (better off road traction, a quieter road ride, and a 60k warranty as opposed to 50k from wallyworld). The 451.00 price included mounting, balancing, disposal of the old tires, new valve stems, tax, and road hazard. Wallyworld wanted 467.00 for all of the above, but that price was before taxes, so I made out. Then I went down to a used tire place and got a decent 235-70-R15 tire as a spare for our extra fullsize rim for 35 bucks mounted and balanced...we can't use a donut when the van is loaded down.
Gator tire even checked my alignment for free, although they charge for actually aligning it...and they said it was dead on! Yay!
Another thing that Gator tire told me is this, and its not only disturbing, it was the deciding factor in what tires I bought: There are only TWO major tire manufacturers left that make all of their tires in the USA...Goodyear, and Cooper. That's it! Now, this shop sells Goodyear, Cooper, Michelin, Firestone, Kelly, etc...so they aren't biased, but that is what they told me...only Goodyear and Cooper still make all of their tires in the United States...every other major tire company, even BF Goodrich, are farming out the work to other countries and importing most of their tires! Since I will only buy American whenever possible, that narrows my choices down to Cooper and Goodyear.
Anyhow, before I go off on a tangent about imports...lol...I took the new 235-70-R15s on a long road ride, and they ride awesome! I even did some hard braking at full steering wheel lock in a parking lot, and there is no rubbing whatsoever...yippee!!!
Then of course I had to fix another broken stud on a front wheel...the tire shop said it snapped when they took it off, and I believe them, since one snapped on ME when I took it off without an air tool...so I got another one and installed it.
I had them installed white letters out, and with the rally spoke rims I just painted white, they look awesome on the van! I am very happy with them, and the appearance. And the ride really is awesome!
I'll post pics as soon as I find my camera cable!!!
Kev
235-70-R15s. Cooper Discovery dual purpose truck tires...451.00 out the door. I was going to put on Goodyear Tracker 2 tires in the same size at Walmart, but Walmart wouldn't put that size on my Astro since they are bigger than stock...so I waited in line for 2 hours until they finally told me that...idiots! They said they could only put tires on that were specified for the vehicle, which would be tiny 205-75-R15s...no thanks! We load this vehicle down, and bring it down a lot of dirt roads...I needed bigger tires with a greater load capacity and a more aggressive tread pattern. I told them I would sign a waver, but they said no dice...ah well! I love the Coopers!
So I took it down to Gator Tires in Clermont, Florida, and they sold me 4 Coopers for less than the Wallyworld tires, and they are a better tire with a better tread (better off road traction, a quieter road ride, and a 60k warranty as opposed to 50k from wallyworld). The 451.00 price included mounting, balancing, disposal of the old tires, new valve stems, tax, and road hazard. Wallyworld wanted 467.00 for all of the above, but that price was before taxes, so I made out. Then I went down to a used tire place and got a decent 235-70-R15 tire as a spare for our extra fullsize rim for 35 bucks mounted and balanced...we can't use a donut when the van is loaded down.
Gator tire even checked my alignment for free, although they charge for actually aligning it...and they said it was dead on! Yay!
Another thing that Gator tire told me is this, and its not only disturbing, it was the deciding factor in what tires I bought: There are only TWO major tire manufacturers left that make all of their tires in the USA...Goodyear, and Cooper. That's it! Now, this shop sells Goodyear, Cooper, Michelin, Firestone, Kelly, etc...so they aren't biased, but that is what they told me...only Goodyear and Cooper still make all of their tires in the United States...every other major tire company, even BF Goodrich, are farming out the work to other countries and importing most of their tires! Since I will only buy American whenever possible, that narrows my choices down to Cooper and Goodyear.
Anyhow, before I go off on a tangent about imports...lol...I took the new 235-70-R15s on a long road ride, and they ride awesome! I even did some hard braking at full steering wheel lock in a parking lot, and there is no rubbing whatsoever...yippee!!!
Then of course I had to fix another broken stud on a front wheel...the tire shop said it snapped when they took it off, and I believe them, since one snapped on ME when I took it off without an air tool...so I got another one and installed it.
I had them installed white letters out, and with the rally spoke rims I just painted white, they look awesome on the van! I am very happy with them, and the appearance. And the ride really is awesome!
I'll post pics as soon as I find my camera cable!!!
Kev
