On a recent vacation with the family I had to replace a tire in our 2005 Chrysler Town and Country. We were out of town, and it was late in the day so I took what I could get and purchased a Pirelli tire as that was my only option for the 2005 T&C at the tire center. I had been thinking I would be replacing all the tires in the near future but planned to purchase at Costco, whioch is why I only purchased the one tire at the time. I am still planning to do that but am wondering if I should jsut go ahead and replace all four since I would be buying BF Goodrich or Michelin tires or if it is okay to just replace the reamining 3 tires. All thoughts are much appreciated.
Thanks!
always replace 2 or 4… and if you do replace 2… always have them on the same axle…
I thought that rule was primarily if the tire that you’re NOT replacing has significant mileage on it. If you have one brand new tire that is the same size and similar tread to the 3 you’re planning to buy, I don’t think it’s be a big deal.
You could get by if the Pirelli tire is relatively new, is the size specified in your owners manual, and is exactly the same size, type of tread, e.g. All Season. Costco should not give you a hard time, as long as you rotate them (free)as per their schedule. Your T & C is not a high performance sports car, so the marginal difference there might be in the performance (traction, etc.) will be unnoticed. I would check which of the 2 brands has the closest tread pattern to the Pirelli. If you have always wanted a full size spare, this is a good opportunity to make the Pirelli your full size spare.
The preivious post is right that buying tires in sets of 2 or 4 is the best way to go normally.
I would at least get another Pirelli to make a match. Then buy the other two at Costco.
My vote is to match the Pirelli on that axle and get a matched set of similar tires (same size, speed rating, type [like all-season], load rating, and similar tread) at Costco. It’s worth the few extra bucks for to sleep better. It’s always better to have the tires on a given end of the car match.
You might get by, but you really want to have the same tyre not just similar as similar may not have the same driving characteristics and that can cause handling problems under emergency conditions which is when you least want them.
BTW keep the best two on the back, even in a front wheel drive car.
On a vehicle that new, why not just get all four the same and be done with it for 70,000 miles. Either get three new to match, or all four new if you don’t like the pirelli? All you would be out is for one tire. I never had good luck with BF and not sure what they sell at Costco. I’m a Goodyear fan myself and rarely get less that 100K on a tire. Seems like a small cost per mile.
The problem with the odd tire is that in emergency manuevers - heavy cornering or heavy braking (or both) the vehicle will tend to pivot around the odd tire.
This is something that you will not likely notice until it is too late.