General Altimax HP ???

[97tbird]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
I'd want the Yoko TRZ. As for the Generals, imo get the RT because of wear.

I just wish the RT's survey for light snow and wet weather was as strong as the HP...or am I not gonna see that much of a difference...?
Looks wise, the RT looks pretty much the same

 

[97tbird]

well the RT is T rated, and the tires for the Elantra have to be H rated I think, so the RT is a no go I guess ???

 

[wbwanzer]

The tires don't have to be H rated. I had an '03 Accord that came with V tires and I replaced them with Yoko H rated. No big deal. As long as the your installer doesn't give you a hard time, it doesn't matter. Your wife isn't going to be pushing these tires.

 

[tangojetta]

Great tires, I have almost 12,000 mile on them and they are wearing like iron. Great wet traction.

 

[97tbird]

OK. Now the new problem is:
The tire places I called around quote about $20.00 MORE per tire than the tire rack price !!! wth? one place wants $430 for 4 altimax HP installed/mounted/balanced (205)!!! TR has these for $62/tire.

(I still have a few places to call)
...I wonder if I should go the tire rack route. I did that once long ago, and all went ok...
But I don't know how things have changed ...several recommended installers for TR in my area ...

any thoughts?
wonder how much s/h at tirerack will be...
gonna have to do some more research ...

EDIT: called TR:
$292 incl s/h for 4 Gen Alt HP 205/60/15...so, It's cheaper it looks like, but depending on the amount the tire place charges for mounting etc etc, (and they probably won't offer free lifetime rotating/balancing either with TR stuff, so that means I'll have to pay at least another $40 to get that), it may not be THAT much cheaper...
hmmmm....what shall i do ?

 

[BrianWC]

Tough call. I have a tire rack warehouse in town so it's a no-brainer for me. Plus there's a tire shop across the street from them that mounts and balances for $5-10 a tire.

 

[ChiTDI]

I bought at TR and it was like it should be. 10k miles later, the tires have performed flawlessly and show no wear. Just pulled them to put on the snows.

 

[wbwanzer]

I bought from TR a few weeks ago. Ordered late Monday afternoon and had the tires on Thursday morning. Shipping was about $37.
It's a no brainer. BTW I had mine installed at NTB (same as Merchants and Big O) for bout $20 per tire and it's lifetime rotation. (Don't remember about balancing)
Don't think about it too much. It'll make your head hurt.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Buy a aluminum racing jack and a breaker-bar with the money saved and DIY them.

 

[Audi Junkie]

The ASX would be fine on the Elantra. They ride quiet & soft plus they are cheap. Grippy and predictible, good for a woman driver. Check treadepot's shipped price.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Treadepot has both Altimax HP and RT at $56/ea, the shipping cost for RT is $9/ea and HP depends on location. The total at Treadepot should be about $30 less than TR for 4 tires shipped.

If the car is usually driven at more than 120 mph on highway then you need H speed tires, otherwise T speed rate is adequate for Elantra.

For tire installation, you can have it done at Walmart for less than $15 per tire, it includes life time balances and rotations. valve stems and disposal old tires.

The total including installation should be about $320 for 4 General Altimax HP or RT.

 

[97tbird]

Yeah, I'm just wondering about the hassle of getting the tires to WM if TR ships them to my house....will 4 tires fit in an Elantra Trunk? ....i guess I can always take my car along with wife's and put 2 tires in each trunk...

 

[HTSS_TR]

I had 2 tires in the trunk and 2 in the rear between front seat backs and rear seat cushion.

If you buy from TR, they have preferred installations in most states and they can ship tires directly to those stores.

 

[wbwanzer]

You can make it work. I had one tire in the front seat, two in the back seat and one in the trunk. Remember, they're new tires, not dirty old tires. And as someone else mentioned, you can have the tires sent directly to the installer if you want.

 

[97tbird]

Thanks; good to know it's doable if I went TR route and shipped to home.

NOW the problem is: wifey is so used to going to the dealer and getting EVERYTHING done incl tire rotations during oil changes, etc at ONE place, she's a bit whiny about having to make a trip to some new place which would be an EXTRA trip to just have tires rotated, etc.(she's not spoiled, she drives a long way to work, and works a lot, so a trip like that CAN be kinda pita with her schedule, esp if it's out of the way)

( I guess she doesn't HAVE to get them balanced and rotated at the tire installer...she can just have the dealer do it during OC, right ?? they just have to be advised that they're directional, etc...but then i guess we lose the FREE rotation/balance the tire place would offer!!! that's a bummmer, too ...)

this is gonna need some brain work and some compromising !!!
i guess ALL problems are solved if I just went with dealer's HK16 Kumhos...but I want want want something better/new/different/cool ...(yeah it's me, wifey doesn't care) oh AND the dealer would NOT install 205/60/15s !! (oem is 195....)

WWYGD?

OK i thought of another route:
what if get the tires from TR, and somehow convince/beg the dealer to put them on, (while reminding them that the car is NOT under warranty anymore, so the 205 wouldn't matter!!), and have them rotate like usual...? They shouldn't care that the tires are not from them or that it's a different size from oem when the car is not under warranty, right??

 

[Quattro Pete]

You can try, but in my experience, a dealer is not going to go for it. They'll feed you a story that they can't guarantee their work unless the parts (tires in this case) came from their own source (own supplier), whether the car is under warranty or not.

Same thing with the non-standard size. Most shops will not mount a non-standard size for liability reasons.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Walmart has two prices for balancing the tires, about $4/ea for one time only, for an extra $3.5/ea the balance is life time warranty and free tire rotations.

If your wife wants to have OC and tire rotations at dealer, then have Walmart install the tires with basic balance of $4/ea instead life time balance of $7.50/ea.

 

[tangojetta]

Well I finally got try them out in the snow and they work great for a all season tire.

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
You can try, but in my experience, a dealer is not going to go for it.


In today's economy, most dealers are absolutely starving and will do whatever you ask, as long as it is not patently unsafe or illegal.

I've had dealers install drop-shipped tires no problem on several vehicles over the years. The non-standard size might be an issue, however. A smart SA should green light a +0 or +1 fitment if properly explained. Load and speed ratings significantly below OEM spec are the dealbreakers.

Better play is to find a good local tire shop. The good ones won't mind a TR drop. Some might even beat the TR price.

 

[97tbird]

Just ordered 4 General Altimax HP tires from TR. went with OEM size though...don't feel like taking any risks...I don't want wifey to blame me (she really won't, she's not like that, but I don't want to FEEL responsible either) if some problems occur, although i was 100% sure that they would've worked fine
...anyway, saved $20.00 (total) too by going with oem size. (0.2" less wide than what I was thinking of).

Total came to (incl. s/h) $284.00
not bad for 4 tires that are the 2nd in its category at TR.

shipping them to an installer; they'll charge $18.99 per tires for mounting and balancing, and that'll include life time rotation/balancing.
all in all, I think we ended up with a good price at the end.

We'll drive to Knoxville TN from NC on the 24th...would be the 1st real test for these...I hope there will be a bit of snow/rain over the smokey mountains along the winding/steep roads near NC/TN border...I love driving throug there, and will be great to tell how these tires live up to the reputation...

will post some pics soon and also update after the TN trip...

Thanks, all.