I went to Walmart to buy new tires for my wife's 2002 Dodge Stratus 4 door sedan. The attendant started to list the choices and one was 205/65/HR-15. I said fine, I'll take two. Then the attendant informed me the HR series tires had sidewalls that were "too stiff" and I couldn't buy them. I left before my head exploded.
Stiff sidewalls?
- Thread starter redbone3
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What a turd burglar!
Thats the dumbest thing ive ever heard!
Thats the dumbest thing ive ever heard!
unless they were a different speed rating, H in this case (which could have an effect on sidewall stiffness) than what is on your car now. You say you wanted two. If your two "good" tires were that of an S or T rating, you really want to match the two new ones to what you have. Tires should be the same across the axle, and the high speed rating tires need to be on the rear of the vehicle. That is the only guess I could have as to what may have been going on there at wally world. If that is the case, he sure did do a poor job in explaining it.
What a dummy.
Did you go to Walmart for tire expertise or price.....
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted By: redbone3
I went to Walmart
I would expect nothing better.
I went to Walmart
I would expect nothing better.
We can't just buy tires anymore.
Some computer says if it is OK or not.
Some computer says if it is OK or not.
i had 3 places that wouldnt even quote me for t rated tires on a 2010 accent... they kept saying it required H rated tires...
The car DID come with H rated tires... but some other other option packages came with S-rated..
and the manual and door placard dont require a speed rating...
defenders are going on this week.. Winter is over... enough.
The car DID come with H rated tires... but some other other option packages came with S-rated..
and the manual and door placard dont require a speed rating...
defenders are going on this week.. Winter is over... enough.
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I used to buy tires at Wal-Mart and Sam's... until they (or their computer) started telling me what I could and couldn't buy.
Now, I buy what I want, at the price that I want, from whoever will give me the best deal, and then take them to my mechanic to have them mounted and balanced.
It's a lot cheaper than Wal-Mart as well.... and a lot less stress.
Now, I buy what I want, at the price that I want, from whoever will give me the best deal, and then take them to my mechanic to have them mounted and balanced.
It's a lot cheaper than Wal-Mart as well.... and a lot less stress.
The whole idea was supposed to be a good thing - helpful, but it backfired and messed us up in many cases.
Originally Posted By: Rand
i had 3 places that wouldnt even quote me for t rated tires on a 2010 accent... they kept saying it required H rated tires...
The car DID come with H rated tires... but some other other option packages came with S-rated..
and the manual and door placard dont require a speed rating...
defenders are going on this week.. Winter is over... enough.
If anything you should be applauding any tire store that wants to install the correct tires for your vehicle. All to often it is the other way around, where shops will install anything on a vehicle that they have in stock. The OEM put that speed rating tire on the vehicle for a reason. The industry standard to use at least what came from the factory, if not something that exceeds it. That being said, Michelin says it is ok to drop one speed rating on a vehicle as long as the owner is informed that the vehicle may not react the same way as it did before. And it is with only the Michelin tires. Does not apply to BFG, Uni. Most other manufactures say to stick with the original speed rating.
You are more than welcome to do whatever you would like. Everyone thinks they have the correct answer as far as what their car should have, what the air pressure should be, what weight oil should be used, etc. I guess all of the r&d and engineering money that is spent on vehicle design is just a waste of money, since joe blow knows how things really should be.
And as far as your Defenders go, they are a very nice tire. If it were my car, I'd prefer that they were H rated and not T rated, however I would gladly take a 90k T rated over a 50k H Rated tire. On the Kia, I kept the H rated that came on it, but chose a Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus, which carries a 80k warranty and is at least 4x better handling tire than the defender.
Sorry for the long message, but I was started off just stating that it isn't fair to get an attitude or black list someone for doing the right thing instead of bending the "rules"
i had 3 places that wouldnt even quote me for t rated tires on a 2010 accent... they kept saying it required H rated tires...
The car DID come with H rated tires... but some other other option packages came with S-rated..
and the manual and door placard dont require a speed rating...
defenders are going on this week.. Winter is over... enough.
If anything you should be applauding any tire store that wants to install the correct tires for your vehicle. All to often it is the other way around, where shops will install anything on a vehicle that they have in stock. The OEM put that speed rating tire on the vehicle for a reason. The industry standard to use at least what came from the factory, if not something that exceeds it. That being said, Michelin says it is ok to drop one speed rating on a vehicle as long as the owner is informed that the vehicle may not react the same way as it did before. And it is with only the Michelin tires. Does not apply to BFG, Uni. Most other manufactures say to stick with the original speed rating.
You are more than welcome to do whatever you would like. Everyone thinks they have the correct answer as far as what their car should have, what the air pressure should be, what weight oil should be used, etc. I guess all of the r&d and engineering money that is spent on vehicle design is just a waste of money, since joe blow knows how things really should be.
And as far as your Defenders go, they are a very nice tire. If it were my car, I'd prefer that they were H rated and not T rated, however I would gladly take a 90k T rated over a 50k H Rated tire. On the Kia, I kept the H rated that came on it, but chose a Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus, which carries a 80k warranty and is at least 4x better handling tire than the defender.
Sorry for the long message, but I was started off just stating that it isn't fair to get an attitude or black list someone for doing the right thing instead of bending the "rules"
so because we opted for the 14" upgrade that came with H tires they are magically required over the 13" standard S-rated ones?
Not buying it.
the manual doesnt require H rated. nor does the Door Placard.
This is a cheapo econobox.. some T rated defenders are fine.
Not buying it.
the manual doesnt require H rated. nor does the Door Placard.
This is a cheapo econobox.. some T rated defenders are fine.
Originally Posted By: Rand
so because we opted for the 14" upgrade that came with H tires they are magically required over the 13" standard S-rated ones?
Not buying it.
the manual doesn't require H rated. nor does the Door Placard.
This is a cheapo econobox.. some T rated defenders are fine.
And 4cyl Honda Accords come with V Rated tires... Do you think the OEM would just say "Ok, lets just install more expensive tires on this vehicle just so owners will have to spend more on replacements"
According to the TIA, within the next few years 90% of all oem tires will be H rated and above.
so because we opted for the 14" upgrade that came with H tires they are magically required over the 13" standard S-rated ones?
Not buying it.
the manual doesn't require H rated. nor does the Door Placard.
This is a cheapo econobox.. some T rated defenders are fine.
And 4cyl Honda Accords come with V Rated tires... Do you think the OEM would just say "Ok, lets just install more expensive tires on this vehicle just so owners will have to spend more on replacements"
According to the TIA, within the next few years 90% of all oem tires will be H rated and above.
Originally Posted By: Johnny248
And 4cyl Honda Accords come with V Rated tires... Do you think the OEM would just say "Ok, lets just install more expensive tires on this vehicle just so owners will have to spend more on replacements"
According to the TIA, within the next few years 90% of all oem tires will be H rated and above.
and the manual or door placard requires v rated tires.....
not apples to apples comparison there.
And 4cyl Honda Accords come with V Rated tires... Do you think the OEM would just say "Ok, lets just install more expensive tires on this vehicle just so owners will have to spend more on replacements"
According to the TIA, within the next few years 90% of all oem tires will be H rated and above.
and the manual or door placard requires v rated tires.....
not apples to apples comparison there.
My old BMW came with H rated tires when new, I put on V rated, put 63,000 miles on them and now going back to H rated as the ride should be a bit better.
It is my understanding that generally the higher speed rating the stiffer ride the tire will have.
It is my understanding that generally the higher speed rating the stiffer ride the tire will have.
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
We can't just buy tires anymore.
Some computer says if it is OK or not.
Insurance company for their corporate, not computer.
We can't just buy tires anymore.
Some computer says if it is OK or not.
Insurance company for their corporate, not computer.
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