89magic98

I need to get some tires to make sure I pass inspection in Illinois.

So, I decided to get these tires from Costco:

"Bridgestone Potenza RE930i P195/65HR15 All-Season Performance"

They seem to be a decent value ($85 a tire), and HR rated means that they are good for 130MPH - I think the top-speed of a new 924s was something a little above that - not that I plan on going faster than 80MPH on the highway.

Anyway, the salesperson will not sell me this tire. He only wants to sell me a VR rated tire, for which there is only one choice (at $146 a tire):

"Michelin® Energy MXV4+ P195/65VR15 Luxury Touring"

He states that "generally" a VR rated tire is a softer compound, so it would perform better on my "high performance" car. I thought the treadwear rating is the indicator of how hard a tire compound is.

I could understand if he refused to sell me an R-rated tire, but I thought this was pretty ridiculous.

Using his logic, could he sell me snow tires? They don't perform well on dry pavement, either.

Any thoughts on this?

Porsche-O-Phile

You're the customer, it's your money. Go elsewhere.

Yabo

Email this guy.. i had asked if he woudl still have some over the summer, he said yes. I've read good reviews on these.

auction

89magic98

Costco was convenient because their "lifetime" services (balancing rotation) would be honored anywhere in the US, I believe.

I didn't expect them to refuse to sell me the tires - it was quite a shock.

Chris_924s

That's idiotic. Try Sam's or buy what you want from Tire Rack and have someone mount and balance them for you.

When I replaced my Eagle LS's in the front I got the same tire, but T rated instead of the V rated ones that were not available. (Tread is a little different and I swear the new ones are narrower)

If all else fails- dismount the wheels in pairs and bring in the rims alone without centercaps. It will also save you the expense of them Impact wrenching and killing the lugs and "losing" the centercaps.

Where are you at in Illinois Kevin? I know some people who may be able to help you.

89magic98

Chris,

I can't tell you how torqued I was. I'm moving from San Diego in 3 days, and I needed to get this done in a hurry.

I am moving to Chicago. I plan to re-title the car out there, then store it in NY at my parent's house. I can only keep one car where I'm going.

I think I may go to a local tire chain instead - which is the last thing he said to try to do instead. The sales associate next to him was just complaining to another customer about how they never close on time (because they get too many cars to do). Maybe they were just trying to turn me away.

I have used Tire Rack. Shipping is cheap, no sales tax, but they take a long time to get the tires to you (about a week, because they call you back 1-2 days later to make sure you are not using a stolen credit card).

Flight_951

Check the tire description tag (on the back of the gas cap door IIRC) for the speed rating of the tires that were mounted on your car from the factory. If it's VR rated, Costco is likely mandated by their legal office to sell that rating of tire for that particular car for liability reasons. If it's HR rated, see the Costco manager and tell them to sell you the tires or you will file a formal complaint with the regional office. Good luck.

89magic98

The OEM tire was VR-rated. I don't think an HR-rated tire existed in 1987.
The only way this car is getting to 130+ MPH is if it was dropped off a cliff.

But he did not state that the speed rating was the problem. If this was the case, why does the Costco web site let you search for tires by size - it should only let you search by model only then.

Tony K

1) Chain stores/shops are all stupid. When I got a nail on the corner of the tire and had to replace it in a hurry, Discount Tire would not mount a 225/50/15 on my rear 15" Fuch because the measured width of the "15x8" rear fuch is actually about 9", and they would not mount a 225/50/15 on a 9" wheel . . . puh-leeze . . .

2) Don't buy tires at Costco. They are not a deal at all. They basically have "leftover" tires from old designs/molds. I bought Bridgestone Potenza RE930 tires for my 83 944 back in 1998 for $71 per tire from TIRE RACK. That was when the 930 series was a CURRENT tire; it has been dropped from Bridgestone's lineup for some time. Try Tire Rack - shipping is only from Indiana, so it should be pretty quick to IL. Also try Vulcantire.com for good prices on Falkens and Pirellis. . .

3) Don't get an H-rated tire. Get a V- or Z-rated tire. The most important advantage of a higher speed-rated tire is the strength of its casing - it is resistant to centrifuge, so the tire keeps its shape better at higher speeds. You can expect grip to be better, too, generally. When I switched from the RE930s to Dunlop 8000s on my 83, the difference was like night and day. The ride was so smooth, stable, and controllable AT 70 MPH compared to the H-rated tires. You don't have to be going the tire's maximum rated speed to benefit from its advantages. If you have any feel for the car when you drive, you will notice. There are plenty of V-rated tires out there for the same price as H-rated tires. Equip your Porsche with what it was designed/intended to have.

4) Just my opinion: I have bought and tried Michelins for other cars in the past, and have been routinely disappointed. They have ALL been one or more of the following: loud, out of round, squeally, offered poor grip, and I had two separate and blow out on the freeway (properly inflated and aligned..). And all were current models at the time and relatively new. My Lotus had V-rated MXV-4s on it when I bought it, and granted they were over 4 years old when I got the car, they had about as much grip as glazed doughnuts. I have known plenty of other people who have been disappointed with Michelins. I'm sure Michelin makes some great tires, but I haven't seen any yet - not on my cars or cars I have driven that belong to friends. I have yet to see any justification for why they are so EXPENSIVE.

5) With snow tires, it is assumed that you will not be doing any 'high performance' driving, so the stupid chain stores will throw out their textbook sales pitch.

Cheers,

M758

Discount Tire...
Yoko ES100's

IceShark

I left IL, Chicago in specific, about 5 years ago. I never heard of them checking tires and failing you. There was no check to get the car titled, just stand in line and pay your fees.

They do have emissions testing which is on some sliding scale as to frequency. All they do is stick the sniffer up your tailpipe and look for the cat with a mirror. That is it.

If you are going to store the car in NY, why are you even getting it titled in IL? In a perfect world you are going to need to bring it back to IL every couple years to pass emissions. You can get waivers if the car is not being driven or located out of state but they won't keep doing that forever.

As far as not selling you an H rated tire that is probably some policy dreamed up after all these tire failure lawsuits, Firestone in particular. Again, if you are going to store it why not leave the old rubber on unless you are going to drive it from CA to IL to NY and you don't think the old ones will make it.

peterjcb

I have 5 vehicles and I buy tires all the time. I usually deal with Sears Auto because I like the folks that work there and they are a nationwide service.

The last time I needed Michelin's for my Ford 350 Super Duty, I priced them at Costco and got the lowest price there. I went back to Sears and asked them to match the price I got at Costco. They did and they also offer lifetime balance/flat repair on their tires. Most any Major tire chains will be happy to match the lowest price that you find. Just ask them.

89magic98

IceShark

In CA they just do an emissions test. Is there a safety inspection in IL as part of the inspection? How often are the inspections in IL?

I will be an IL resident, but I don't have a place to store a second car. I don't think I can get NY plates on the car as an IL resident. I should say that the car will be driven occasionally in NY as well, so it wasn't exactly correct to say that it will be stored.

The car will be trailered to IL, then driven from IL to NY. If I was driving myself, I would not worry. But my parents are driving it back, I don't want to take any chances.

Thanks for the feedback!

Porsche-O-Phile

Exactly. Why the heck would you trust some Costco / Sam's / WalMart monkey pseudo-mechanic who's really just a high-school dropout that took a couple of shop classes with your car? Let them have the Honda Civics and Toyota Camrys of the world. Take your Porsche elsewhere.

UDPride

How in the hell can they not sell you the tires. They are for sale arent they? What if you wanted to buy them to make a playground set out of. Would they still refuse to sell them to you? "The Michelins are by far the better tire for playgrounds. Better compound. Kids will enjoy the ZR rating."

If they are going to start refusing sale on items why dont they start refusing to sell 100-paks of Twizzlers and Mr Goodbars to the people who could stand a little more fruit in their diet.