I don’t do mail order tires, ever since JC Whitney. I use the local Goodyear store. I have bought several sets of Generals there and several sets of the Goodyear Weather Ready for the good car which are good in snow and ice, rain, quiet, and handle well. When I need tires I talk to the people that sell them.
Thanks, finally got Tire Rack to load. That Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ ZP does not look like is going to be available before the third week of Jan, by which I hope to be back (end of second week of Jan). I don’t know if that tire will be easy to find.
You only need a ZP tire if your car has no provision for a spare tire. Some vehicles did this because they had different size tires/wheels front and rear and used directional tires. For that, you would need 2 to 4 spare tires so they just spec’ed ZP tires instead.
Correct, I do not know if a spare tire can fit here, because of the Bluetec fluid.
Btw, what is the difference between Staggered and Not Staggered tires (tire rack asks this question).
Different size tires front/rear, wider tires in the rear. Those vehicles can come with a compact spare tire if there is enough space.
OK, the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ ZP appears to be unavailable anywhere (even on Amazon). Bummer! I like Michelin tires, have always had them on my Volvo. Any other suggestions I could look at? Thanks!
One other thought. Look to see if what it would cost to rent a vehicle with the appropriate equipment. I have rented cars for long journeys just to keep the miles off my own car. Running your car costs quite a bit in wear and reduction of value and life expectancy so if you’re planning to pack 3 or 4 thousand miles into 2 or 3 weeks, check it out. I use Costco for my quotes.
Yes, true, and good point. However, the car for us is for long distance hauls. We bike to work:-) OK, I looked at Costco for tires, however they do not appear to have run-flats for the car. Thanks again!
This whole conversation amuses me. I probably did not have matching tires on any car until I was in my 50s except for the two I bought new. Ther is more different handling from different driven tires because of driveline torque than tread pattern unless you have a snow tire on one side. Nationwide common carriers care nothing about matching tires as long as the tread depth is legal. They don’t even balance of align the trucks.
Now is not a great time to be buying tires - they’re one of the products that are starting to see shortages due to the supply chain problems.
I do not find these arguments persuasive. They boil down to “I survived doing it this way and therefore we should all do it this way.” When I was a kid I used to ride in the bed of my neighbor’s pickup truck. That was not safe. I would not want a kid today to do that. Yes, I made it through childhood without dying by being ejected from the bed of a pickup, but that was a factor of luck, not prudence.
From what I can tell, nationwide common carriers care nothing about anything but maximizing profits. Nationwide common carriers also think it’s OK to schedule drivers so tightly that they can’t even stop to use the bathroom, and have to pee in jugs while underway. If the state patrol weren’t doing random safety inspections of the trucks, nationwide common carriers would be happy to put rolling wrecks on the highway. Who cares if a few people get killed, look at all the money we saved in maintenance!
As such, I certainly wouldn’t base my personal tire maintenance practices on what nationwide common carriers do. 
do not stop in Donner pass. Did not end well for one group that did that, although they did get a Pass named after them…
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@shadowfax, given the lack of tires, should i simply install the DriveGuard on the rear left wheel. They both rear wheels would be new, the rear right has about 1200-1300 miles on it, and the front wheels would be the old Touranza wheels (at their half-life, in terms of mileage).
@eddo, I have no intention of going anywhere near the Donner Pass. I do note that chains are required on I90 (hear Snoqualamie at the very least). We are sticking as far down south as possible to reduce the chances of our encounters with snow: and holing up for a day ot two if not so.
Smart move good luck also while you are in the comfort of your car [ heat or AC when needed ] traveling at speeds of 50 to 70 MPH think about the hardship’s the people from the 1800s had traveling by covered wagon endured with no roads to speak of and no roadside services and no way to call for help.
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They may have had Click and Clack though…
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Not Click and Clack but very posable their ancestors. 
Oh, I meant the Click and Clack of their wagons:-P
But, back to the tires, should I get chains or the tire socks just to be sure? Since I can not get the Michelin tires?
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If it was me I would just make sure the tires were decent and save the money that you would spend the chains or whatever to use if you would have to hole up.
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being you never had chains and never put them on a vehicle I would not use them. if you put them on wrong they can come flying off. you would need to take them off as soon as you hit dry pavement. there is always a chance of one of the chains breaking and doing damage to your vehicle if you do not stop right away. I have never tried the socks, but would rather see you use them. they look like they go on very easy.
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