HI!
I need some help???
My car (05 Limited turbo PT cruiser), takes P205/55R-16 tires. The original tires (Goodyear) are coming a part at 25,000 miles. I want to replace all of them this weekend with Michelin HydroEdge. But, they (DiscountTire) are out of stock. And they are offering the P215/55R-16 size, claiming that it will actually be a better tire size for my car.
Is this true???
Should I go for this bigger tire???
How it will affect my car???
And that is why you never buy a Chrysler or GM product! But honestly…I strongly suggest you contact your local Goodyear tire factory rep. You may have the beginnings of Ford Explorer vs. Firestone situation, so others may have this problem at 65 MPH (+). And, think about this: if you go to a shoe store and ask the salesman if you need new shoes, of coarse he is going to say yes. Tires should last more then 3 years IF they’re maintained and you drive it within intended speed which is rated and labled on the tire per make of tire, the tires should last more then 3 years. But be careful, the factory rep can make replacement conditional on your maintenance records, and if a teenager is driving the car - you ain’t got a chance. Factory reps, or any mechanic can tell at a glance if a car has been driven outside recommended speed ratings of the tires.
Go to Sams Club or another “big box” and buy Michellins, even if you have to buy a membership you will get a great deal. The ride and durability is matchless (Next time you see a police car look to see what brand of tire is on the car). If you go crazy on going up a size, which you aren’t, you are going to alter fuel efficiency, ride, and speedometer accuracy.
Visit www.carbibles.com to see the difference in size. It’ll be 10mm wider section width, 11mm larger in diameter, and 34.55mm larger circumference. In short, larger. That’ll mess up your speedo, your odometer, and may rub inside your wheelwells.
Any shop that tries to sell you a larger size claiming that they’ll be better simply because they’re out of the correct size should be avioded. Go elsewhere.
I don’t understand the comment “that is why you never buy a CHRYSLER or GM product”. That’s a stupid comment. It has nothing to do with it, the tires are from GOODYEAR not CHRYSLER.
The beef he has is with GOODYEAR not CHRYSLER.
PACOJD… these tires could be covered under the GOODYEARS workmanship and material warranty. Depending on how much tread is left you could get a new set of tires free or at a reduced cost. You don’t have to get the same tires either, you can move into a different style of GOODYEAR tire as long as it’s a tire of equal value or higher.
If you are not interested in GOODYEARS then by all means check other tire dealers and get price quotes to find the best deals.
I agree. Most tire shops of any merit can get out of stock tires same day or next day no problem. That’s what warehouses are for. I would go to a Goodyear store though and have them take a look. That’s all I’ve ever used for years now and get 90-100K per set.
I personally prefer to go up one size when replacing tires. All of the increases cited by mountainbike are a 1.7% increase. Normal changes in diameter and circumference are about 2% as a tire wears down from new to normal replacement. As the 215 tires wear down, they will actually be smaller than new 205’s at some point.
What if he drove the treadlife of the tires. So if I drive 150k miles in two years I should have a beef with the corporate GM/Chrysler?
Your a bit clueless on speed ratings, at a minimum the worse tires are S-rated which means 112MPH. The likely case on this vehicle is at least 130MPH given a performance model.
Three years is normal for performance oriented tires if driven average miles of American driver(15k/year). They give up treadlife(last 40k-50k) for decent dry/wet traction.
a professional tire shop has the written documentation which confirms which size tire/ rim combo fits on your car. you already have the larger rims (16") on your car, so i am not sure how big the tire can be. go to the tire place, and look at the book. ask them to show you the info.
also, go to a second store to ask the same info. make sure you are getting the straight info.
The tires used on new cars are usually cheap and only last long enough to get you off the lot. I had a similar experience. The tires on my new car were Dunlop. So now I don’t want Dunlop tires of any type, but that is a mistake. If you buy another set of Goodyear tires or I buy another set of Dunlop tires, we will both find that the tires we buy are much better than the ones that come on new cars.
Don’t walk, RUN from Discount Tires to any other tire store and find the right tires for your car. The PT Cruiser is popular enough that someone will have the right tires in stock.
They can’t ORDER the tires??? Most of time when I buy new tires they ALWAYS have to order them. Usually 2-3 business days. Your owners manual should spell out what tires will fit. The 215’s may fit, but there’s no gurantee they will.
I also agree with mountainbike. I’d avoid anyplace that gives you a line like that. There MUST be other tire places around that the tires you want.
I have two similar experiences, one with Goodyear, the other with Goodrich. I went so far as to contact Goodyear and they responded saying that their next production run was 8 weeks out and that distribution channels would mean the tires could be there for me in about 16 weeks! Needless to say, I went to a different manfr. for that tire. Just recently, I have been looking to replace the OEM tires on my Trailblazer. They are out of stock at all but one place which showed LIMITED inventory in Arizona (gotta love the e-commerce information age). Popular tires can be in short supply. As one might expect, manufacturers appear to gear up for a production run not necessarily cranking them out constantly. If you have a popular size they didn’t anticipate the demand for, you may be caught short. Of course they can order them, if you can afford to wait…
True, but they still might rub on U-turns. And you’re someone who knows about tires and cars and has made a conscious choice. The OP is being told something that I don’t like hearing from any shop. I still think he/she should go elsewhere and get the OEM size.
I think those who don’t understand tire sizes and rating should stick with the original size.