Technical 15” tire prices wtf ?!?

Have you guys priced tires all?

The first thing I did before I bought my previous truck a used 2009 with the stock 18" at the end of 2021 was price the tires, between 2021 and the end of 2022 the prices had tripled!

I run Firestones and ended up buying Coopers because they cheaper but double the price of what the Firestones had been the year before and far more than what Coopers had been in 2021!

These tires were a fairly common size too.

 

Yep. I saw that, about the same time. Nowadays, it seems thar the only place you can get any break on price it all is to watch the online suppliers and grab their specials. I was able to get a nice set of proper 16's for my '99 F150 for less than $100 each with free shipping. I was a little leary about shipping them, but it's pretty hard to break a tire. This year, I'm getting a new set of wide whites for my '51 club coupe. I'm going with a set of the new Kontio's and it;'s still gonna be a grand, which I thought was a lot. Then I looked at Coker's prices. Everywhere I have checked, the Kontio's seem to be well received.

 

Try to get mine online. Install em at work.
Save a ton of $$$ that way

 

I realize it could benefit others but posting anything on Walmart.COM or Amazon.COM to help a Canadian poster find something is useless about 99% of the time. We do not get the same products from either company in Canada most of the time.

 

Post the Canadian prices.

 

Just saw a guy review the Radial T/A knockoff from Gripmax. He said they worked like crap and rounded off, so they got very poor on traction. He said they weren't worth the savings.

 

That is 100% correct, it's often pointless info. Also, people may not be aware that new tires imported into Canada now bear a 25% tariff.

 

Well for starters, you can't buy Gripmax from Walmart in Canada. In fact, it seems like the only way to buy them in Canada is from a US vendor and ship them up.

Like K13 said, there is a big difference in products carried by Amazon and Walmart in Canada and the US, in both cases there are a lot of products we can't get in Canada. For tires, buying from a Canadian supplier is usually our best bet.

 

At that price the ones I bought were about $150 more than used 15s. I needed rollers for the.car during the build. And a little inspiration.
I read a few reviews for the whitewalls and they were mostly favorable.
I only expect them to hold air and roll down the road.

 

I bought some for my '66 Belair, Hankooks from Tire Rack and found them to be quite reasonable.

IIRC, less than $80 per, free shipping and road hazard. I always have them the next day or ship them to my friend's shop.

 

Tubman,
You'll love your Kontio's. Have a set of WWW on my 40 and love them. Mounted and balanced great.

 

Thank you, sir.

Ben

 

Drive the car an hour to the US Walmart super center in Niagara Falls. Their website has 15's plus they can order for you. I got a pair of Goodyear 15's recently here for less than $100 each when they were on sale.

 

Add 30% for exchange and 25% for tariff when you come back and you are at the same price you can buy 15" tires for in Canada. 15" tires are not some holy grail in Canada it just seems the OP has unrealistic expectations as to what they are going to cost. It's been 20 years since I replaced a set of tires on my daily for under $1000 and none have been anything special. Its what it costs here.

 

$1200 canadian a pair of 275/60/15 and pair of 225/70/15 Kaltire

 

BF ta's

 

Seems about right. I would expect to pay a minimum of $200 a piece for a tire made by one of the major manufacturers these days so what now amounts to a specialty size and type for slightly more than that seem perfectly inline with what tires cost in Canada.

As a comparison Diamondback Auburn's were selling in Canada for about $550 a tire three years ago that price is probably about 30% more right now.

 

Canadian tire has Cooper GT radials listed at $800 for a set of four 235 60 r15’s. I didn’t think that was outrageous.

 

I recently bought tires from PMC tire online.
https://pmctire.com/
free shipping in Canada.
Great service and excellent prices.

I have General Altimax on a mustang and they’re an ok tire. 15” sizes are about $150.

 

I waved at Canada once

 

I boughy s det of 15'' red line tires last ywar and they were close to $1000

 

You can get them cheaper from Tire warehouse, but then you still need them mounted and balanced.

 

I still think I'd feel like a jerk dragging new tires into a shop when I bought em somewheres else. And I'd expect em to charge me top $$ to mount and balance.

 

About 30 years ago, I knew a guy that worked at the Walmart tire shop in Douglas, AZ (on the border to Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico). The local Mexicans would bring new tires into Mexico by having them mounted on a car and driving the car through Mexican customs. Sometimes, they would put 4 new tires on the same car 3 or 4 times a week.

I suspect the car did a few miles on dirt roads to take the shiny of of the tires.

 

Find a regular garage that does general mechanical work. I've never seen one without tire equipment and to them it's just another job. I live in Pequot lakes, MN and know of two places like this within 10 miles.

Personally, I bought a cheap Chinese tire machine and modified it for my uses. I was able to change tires until I was 80, and a "Bubble Balancer" produced acceptable results. The only downside is that when it gets out that you have decent tire machine, you will have a lot of new friends.

 

Denny: I have the HF version of that deal, was given to me. I'm only 75, so I can use it 5 more years? I do all my own tires on the old beaters, but haven't figured out balancing yet.

 

Win, on the one I had, the "shoe" on the bead breaker was only a piece of angle iron. When I replaced it with a custom curved piece made of heavier metal, the whole thing "came alive". Actually, I need new tires on my Corvette and the '51, so I'm going to try it myself when I get back this spring. I'm 83 now, but last year, I extended some of the tools and levers a couple of feet to increase my leverage. The problem is my balance is shot, and I'm afraid if something slips, I might get hurt.

I bought a cheap bubble balancer for Northern tool and it works great. The problem these days is getting quality weights, so I save all the old ones I can.

 

When I bought my new2024 High Country last June it had 22's with 4 ply tires. About the only time I use my good truck is pulling a trailer or hauling a load. Went right from the dealer to the tire store for a trade for new 10 ply Michelin's. Good thing they are good for lots of miles cause I needed a jar of Vaseline when he handed me the bill. Other tires I use that are a little heavy on price are Excelsior radials. Probably the most reasonably priced tires I've bought recently were shaved BFG's from Diamond Back. Any thing made of rubber from condoms to big tires has gotten expensive.

 

Everything , no matter what , has gotten outrageously expensive, certainly is not limited to anything in particular .

 

Hello,

There were always two things going for a couple of young 20 somethings. We were left alone after we got married and moved to a coastal apartment. Together, we started our hot rod adventures and move along in our own world. Road trips and overnight camping adventures helped us cope with the family/relative issues. So, as we were looking at the night sky and listening to the waves crashing nearby, it was a mild way to adjust to all of our pressing surroundings.

But, for daily driving and our weekend adventures, there were certain things we needed. One was money which we saved for such weekend adventures or week long road trips. The other thing was to have reliable tires to get us where we wanted to go and back safely. Plus the constant daily driving relying on our cars was the main objective for most people, including us.

So, the cars were always in great running condition. The instant starting of the motor when the key clicked was comforting and noted. Then the actual road trips relied on how well we took care of our car(s). Tires were the second thing after a well tuned, running/starting motor.

Jnaki

The tires were something like a great running motor. If it did not run, then we did not go places required or not. If the tires were flat or ill handling, then a repair or extensive front end workings needed adjusting, including fixing the tire for leaks or wear. If the car handled terribly, then it was usually the tires. The old question of ill handling at speed was usually out of balance tires or possibly needed wheel alignment. It could not be out of round tires as we always had our new tire spun on a machine in the tire truing commercial location.

So, good tires were always the 2nd thing besides a good running car or El Camino in our 20 something case. We put on 1000s of miles going up/down the So Cal coastlines and then the long road trips up the California coast to the S.F. Bay area was always done with our reliable transportation including good tires.


Sure, tire prices went up almost yearly. But, good tires result in good maintenance and then great results in our daily driving and road trip/photo shoot vacations. Reliable tires were the “gold standard” and so the cost was important, but reliable name brand tires were the most important. So, cost was not a problem. For us 20 somethings, we went through plenty of sets of tires due to our constant use and long road trips. But, the good tires we bought, had shaved and then true balancing/alignment continued the safety or our tires for our enjoyment.

When my wife was out on her own driving road trips, it was comforting to know the tires were able to drive well and be reliable enough to have her safe and sound. She was always appreciative that I took good care of our cars for her and me. When our son got his car, the same principles were applied to family safety and reliability.

What more could one ask of our daily driver and road trip assistant? Comfort in long distance driving without any car problems was the key and we enjoyed every moment on the road. No side dirt area for car repairs due to bad tires and we were glad we always got a great set of quality tires, despite the cost.

Why buy or build a $30000+ car or hot rod build, only to buy the least expensive tires because the ones you really wanted were up in cost. It is one thing that needs the best you can buy that will give you satisfaction in reliability and great road handling on your daily drivers. YRMV