Need to retire the parent's van...

[nthach]

My parents have a 2005 Toyota Sienna in need of some new tires fairly soon - there is a set of Michelin X Radial DTs from Costco that were installed back in 2007, and the front tires are almost worn to the need of replacement, they were rotated every OCI but Costco doesn't touch tires more than 5 years old so I stopped rotating them in 2013. There is minute weather-checking that is a common Michelin scourge.

I was thinking about either going the easy route with Costco and getting the Defenders which would make like easy on my me and my parents in case they need to use road hazard replacement, or I can seek out a set of 4 General Altimax RT43s or Conti TrueContacts. Which ones will hold up to a heavy minivan, as I've heard Siennas and Odysseys eat through tires quicker than their Chrysler counterparts.

 

[HangFire]

Giving us the size would be nice. Sometimes some brands of tires simply aren't available in all sizes. According to tirerack there are 16" and 17" options for the FWD version, 2 more tires for the 17" than the 16", I didn't check the AWD sizes.

TrueContact's in 225/60R17 are available in H or T speed rating, both have a high 800 wear rating. Do your parents prefer a softer ride or tighter handling?

Is price much of an issue? There's about a $100 per tire spread just within that one brand.

 

[Kuato]

Why buy new tires if you're needing to retire the vehicle?

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: Kuato
Why buy new tires if you're needing to retire the vehicle?

I meant retire as in replacing tires.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: HangFire
Giving us the size would be nice. Sometimes some brands of tires simply aren't available in all sizes. According to tirerack there are 16" and 17" options for the FWD version, 2 more tires for the 17" than the 16", I didn't check the AWD sizes.

TrueContact's in 225/60R17 are available in H or T speed rating, both have a high 800 wear rating. Do your parents prefer a softer ride or tighter handling?

Is price much of an issue? There's about a $100 per tire spread just within that one brand.

The tire size is 215/65-16, it's a FWD LE version. Parents want a quiet ride, I would like better handling.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: nthach
Originally Posted By: HangFire
Giving us the size would be nice. Sometimes some brands of tires simply aren't available in all sizes. According to tirerack there are 16" and 17" options for the FWD version, 2 more tires for the 17" than the 16", I didn't check the AWD sizes.

TrueContact's in 225/60R17 are available in H or T speed rating, both have a high 800 wear rating. Do your parents prefer a softer ride or tighter handling?

Is price much of an issue? There's about a $100 per tire spread just within that one brand.

The tire size is 215/65-16, it's a FWD LE version. Parents want a quiet ride, I would like better handling.

I have the Premier A/S on my car - they handle decently well and fairly quiet. My set has about 14k and the treadwear seems decent. I would go with the Premier A/S or Premier LTX depending on what's available in your size.

 

[mrsilv04]

I have a set of Defenders on a 2011 Town and Country Touring-L.

They're noisier than they should be, and the ride isn't all that impressive.

Nor is there any way in heck that they will they make the advertised 90,000 mile rating. I'll be thrilled if I get 50,000 out of them.

If they want a quiet, smooth ride, consider the Goodyear ComforTred Touring. I had two sets of those on two different vehicles, and was not disappointed with them on either vehicle.

 

[slug_bug]

I'm 35k into the Michelin Defenders on my 07' Grand Caravan minivan. I like the tires a lot and they have a lot of tread left. I recommend you get the defenders.

 

[Oldmoparguy1]

I just went with DT conti control contacts, Same as true contacts on my 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan.. . Very nice tire, smooth and quiet.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I don't like buying tire at Costco, their prices are not good and their customer service in auto dept is not so good either. I would get the lowest price of a tire I like then have America's Tire price matches it. They have much better customer service than Costco, fast rotation/balance with online appointment and they also have free flat repair even you don't buy tire from them.

Their limits are less than 10 years old and more than 3/32" tread remaining for rotation/balance/flat repair. They also are easy to claim tread life warranty.

Low price plus excellent customer services, where else do you like to go ?

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I don't like buying tire at Costco, their prices are not good and their customer service in auto dept is not so good either. I would get the lowest price of a tire I like then have America's Tire price matches it. They have much better customer service than Costco, fast rotation/balance with online appointment and they also have free flat repair even you don't buy tire from them.

Their limits are less than 10 years old and more than 3/32" tread remaining for rotation/balance/flat repair. They also are easy to claim tread life warranty.

Low price plus excellent customer services, where else do you like to go ?


Nearest America's Tire is in Walnut Creek or Concord, they would rather not go there. I did some dirty calculations, and Big O for the Contis/Generals is more than Costco. I'll call up a local tire shop and see if they can order them, even though he kind of pushes Hercules and Ironman tires.

 

[surfstar]

Originally Posted By: nthach
Originally Posted By: HangFire
Giving us the size would be nice. Sometimes some brands of tires simply aren't available in all sizes. According to tirerack there are 16" and 17" options for the FWD version, 2 more tires for the 17" than the 16", I didn't check the AWD sizes.

TrueContact's in 225/60R17 are available in H or T speed rating, both have a high 800 wear rating. Do your parents prefer a softer ride or tighter handling?

Is price much of an issue? There's about a $100 per tire spread just within that one brand.

The tire size is 215/65-16, it's a FWD LE version. Parents want a quiet ride, I would like better handling.


"handling" its a minivan and its theirs. Go with a quiet ride.

If you can wait for labor day sales, discount tire direct / America's tire cannot be beat. If you don't like to use them for the install, then buy from DTD, ship to home or a store of your choosing for the mount/balance. The deals after rebates are by far the best time to buy tires, when price is a concern.

 

[JHZR2]

I was looking forward to a thread on retiring one van and buying another...

I see a lot of truck and SUV-oriented tires in the sizing range our odyssey takes. Not sure what I'll pick in the future, but I'd look at such options!

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: nthach
Nearest America's Tire is in Walnut Creek or Concord, they would rather not go there. I did some dirty calculations, and Big O for the Contis/Generals is more than Costco. I'll call up a local tire shop and see if they can order them, even though he kind of pushes Hercules and Ironman tires.

I didn't know where in California you're, so I could not see that you don't an America's Tire nearby.

The main reasons I don't like buying tires from Costco (I buy gas and many other items there) are: their tire choices are very limit and their prices are not so good and long wait time(up to 2-3 hours) for simple service such as rotation/balance.

 

[Blokey]

For a quiet running, good handling tire for that minivan, consider the Definity HP100 from Pep Boys.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: nthach
Originally Posted By: Kuato
Why buy new tires if you're needing to retire the vehicle?

I meant retire as in replacing tires.

Just joking around... "re-tire", check!

I prefer Michelin.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR

I didn't know where in California you're, so I could not see that you don't an America's Tire nearby.

My parents are 20 minutes north of Berkeley. The nearest America's Tire shops are in Concord and Walnut Creek, a good 20-30 minutes southeast of them. The only other tire choices they have are Sears, a crooked Goodyear shop, Firestone and Big O.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: nthach
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I didn't know where in California you're, so I could not see that you don't an America's Tire nearby.

My parents are 20 minutes north of Berkeley. The nearest America's Tire shops are in Concord and Walnut Creek, a good 20-30 minutes southeast of them. The only other tire choices they have are Sears, a crooked Goodyear shop, Firestone and Big O.

I would not do any business with these outlets.

I'm lucky to have several America's Tire stores around, the closest one is about a mile from home.

I can make appointment online for Saturday morning, making a cup of coffee then drive there to have my car serviced, finished coffee and the car is done.

 

[nthach]

I took it into Costco, threw on a set of Defender XTs on it. It drives like a minivan should.