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Followup- Thanks everyone! (long) Posted by IrieTom [Email]  (#1032)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from IrieTom) on Thu, 23 Sep 2004 16:00:17
In Reply to: The concern is only theoretical, J, Thu, 23 Sep 2004 08:03:45 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
After doing some more research (saabnet advice included) and explaining the whole thing to my parents, we've decided to order two H-rated tires from a local tire specialist. The remaining good back tire will eventually get mounted on a junkyard rim to serve as a full-sized spare (kept at home, the donut will still serve as a temporary spare.)
I was a bit angry at the way the Sears sales guy dealt with me- he wouldn't (or couldn't) answer some of my questions, and was very abrupt and non-forthcoming. "We can't put two diffenent speed-rated tires on the same axle." "Why not? They are the same make, model, size, and tread pattern." "Company policy." "What is the reason for the company policy?" "Safety." "You mean that the car would be unstable?" "Yes" "Even less stable than it is now with the donut spare?" "No." "How much less stable?" "I don't know." "Are the two tires constructed differently, or do they just have different rubber compounds?" "I don't know." "Do they check for speed ratings during the state inspection?" "I don't think so." "So you are going to flat-out refuse to sell me one tire?" "Yes." "O.K.- I'll take my business elsewhere." I walked away with my BS-meter sounding alarms and feeling that they were mainly interested in running up the bill.
After I went home and vented my frustration onto saabnet, I took a closer look at the remaining V-rated tire on the back and noticed that it had less than half the tread depth of the H-rated tires on the front (which look nearly new.) If the sales guy had mentioned that fact, I probably would have bought two tires right then. Apparently, the only reason he checked the tread depths was to fill in the little boxes in his chart and trigger a hard sell if they were close enough to failing an inspection. I think that two identical V-rated tires with 100% tread on one and 45% tread on the other would make more difference in traction than a H-rated tire with 100% and a V-rated with 45%.
I appreciate your first-hand account, J. I think reality speaks louder than theory.
I also want to state that I completely agree with the prevailing opinion about snow tires. My first accident ever happened half a lifetime ago when I was driving my dad's '83 900 up to Vermont to go skiing. He had snow tires in front, summer tires in back, and the car spun as I was slowing down due to the rain turning into freezing rain. If there had been oncoming traffic, I might not have lived to see age 19. I have always equipped my cars with 4 snow tires, and rotated them often to keep the tread depth equal.
posted by 24.195.59...
, Wed, 22 Sep 2004 12:57:33, Thu, 23 Sep 2004 16:00:17 <-- Viewing This Message
, Fri, 24 Sep 2004 09:02:54, Wed, 22 Sep 2004 13:58:18
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