SHOULD THE REPLACEMENT TIRES BE THE SAME EXACT TIRE THAT CAME ON THE CAR? I WAS TOLD THAT NEW CARS COME WITH A LOWER GRADE OF TIRE ? THE DEALER TOLD ME THAT THEY NEEDED REPLACING ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE LESS THAN 25,000 MILES BUT HE WAS LOOKING FOR OVER $400 DOLLARS EVEN THOUGH THE LITTLE BANDS IN THE TREAD WERE WAY BELOW THE SURFACE,I TEND NOT TO BELIEVE DEALER SERVICE MANAGERS…I DO NOTICE THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO BE ALL SEASON TRACTION, I;VE LOST TRACTION IN THE RAIN? WHAT TIRE SHOULD I USE FOR HANDLING AND PERFORMANCE?
Same exact tires.NO! Most cars come from the mfg with different brands of tires. You can change brands and even change tire widths a few mm. Typical high performance tires will wear in the mileage you mentioned. The wear bars you see below the tread depth are the absolute minimum, so replacing before the tires wear is at to the wear bars is not necessarily a bad idea. Any good shop or tire dealer can help you, no need to stick with the dealer, although your dealer doesn’t sound too bad at $400 for all 4!
The Tire Rack is a great site for all things tires and what sizes will fit your car.
Effect on tread depth on stopping in rain: http://www.tirerack.com/videos/index.jsp?video=5&tab=tires
I agree with checking the Tire Rack site. There’s a lot of good info there and they’re also good to deal with. My family has used them a dozen or so times depending on the tires wanted and as a matter of fact, have a set on order right now.
THe price you were given does not sound too bad at all but could possibly be overpriced depending on the type and grade of tire.
When buying tires read up on the UTOG ratings and make your decision on those. UTOG is explained on the Tire Rack site and involves tread wear, temperature, and traction ratings.
Get thee to a tire store! Others are suggesting Tire Rack, certainly a viable option. Anyone other than the dealer, I’d say.
thanks i will check out the tire rack site…so if my tire are p215 65r i could go a little wider on the 65r part? i already know i want at least a rating of AA OR A on the temp and traction ( my tires now are A AND B)…
I agree with the others. No need for OEM tyres, and you are not likely get the exact same tyres from the dealer anyway.
I like tirerack and use them myself, but you might want to give a local tyre store at least a look. They may have a good deal and even if you buy from tirerack they will need to be mounted.
The reason I would suggest checking prices and choices with at least one tyre store is to verify the dealer’s recommendation. Some dealers often recommend services and add on’s like tyres when they are not really needed. If the tyre store also recommends replacing them now, that would be a good indication that they do need replacement.
By the way, ALL CAPS is difficult for most people to read and it is considered shouting. Using normal case is a better idea.P215/65R15:
"P " is Passenger tire,
“215” is tread or section width in millimeters, “65” is aspect ratio or height of sidewall in percent often call series (50 series, 60 series etc)-- the sidewall is 65% of tread width or approx 140mm tall,
“R” is radial construction
“15” is rim diameter in inches.
You may be able to go to a 225/65R15 if you wanted to. There is a whole other concept of “Plus 1” and “Plus 2” that allows you to change the wheel diameter while maintaining the overall tire wheel height. There are whole books written of tire and wheel packages. Research the Tire Rack for want you want. All tires are a compromise to ride, traction, handling wear, cost, etc., etc.
I started buying tires from the Tire Rack back in the 80’s! There other competitors out there as well.
The tire store, like the dealer, has a vested interest in selling you new tires. So, if you ask the tire store, “Do I need new tires?”, what answer do you expect to get?
Sorry about the yelling i guess i just get excited when i type, i trully appreciate the help, i wish i knew about this site when i had my 1969 firebird i learned to work on that car by doing and i did alot!this mustang is the first new car i’ve ever owned and. being 51 its been alot years of reading manuals and hunting down parts. thanks to everybody for responding and i’m sure i will have more questions in the future…
One of the national chains…the answer will almost certainly be YES. But I deal with a local tire dealer…Very honest. I’ve seen him in many occasion while I’m there getting new tires or having them rotated where he tells some prospective customer that their tires are fine and should last another 10-20k miles. They were there because the dealer or some other place told them they needed new tires.
Instead of changing tire width, I’d go with a higher-performance tire in the original size. Tire Rack has lots of reviews and tests to help you with that choice.