tire prices are through the roof

[kc7jty]

The tires I paid $40 for 6 years ago are now $95.
NO INFLATION...RIGHT, got it.

[NA4BH]

And the tires don't last near as long as they used to. 80,000 miles my ass.

[PA5COR]

Still waiting for the new tires for my van, 215/80 R16 load index 107.
Not available at the moment, it is not just the prices going through the roof, some ( standard size) tires aren't even deliverable.. luckily i ordered early and i can drive 10 K miles on the old one, but still.....:-?

Someone started up a new condom factory? :mrgreen:

[KG4CGC]

http://www.forconstructionpros.com/print/Equipment-Today/Editors-Perspective/Get-A-Grip-On-The-Tire-Shortage/5FCP557
Apparently we were told that this would happen as early as last year.

[PA5COR]

I knew, one reason i ordered them early, i can wait for another 6 months if need be, but i prefer the new tires installed before autum.
Oh well, i just have to keep on waiting ;) summer tires enough i need all season tires for our trips to Germany in winter, mandatory all season or witer tires there....

[N8YX]

It's for the children.

[KC2UGV]

The tires I paid $40 for 6 years ago are now $95.
NO INFLATION...RIGHT, got it.

It aint inflation.

It's supply vs demand.

Tires are a product that is made from 20% petro (http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=47189). We're running out of oil.

[KC2UGV]

Still waiting for the new tires for my van, 215/80 R16 load index 107.
Not available at the moment, it is not just the prices going through the roof, some ( standard size) tires aren't even deliverable.. luckily i ordered early and i can drive 10 K miles on the old one, but still.....:-?

Someone started up a new condom factory? :mrgreen:

We have prophylactic recycling facilities (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086567/trivia?tr=tr0733275) here.

[ki4itv]

It aint inflation.

It's supply vs demand.

Tires are a product that is made from 20% petro (http://www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=47189). We're running out of oil.

We're running out because we use it for the wrong stuff. Burning a finite resource primarily for energy or transportation seems pretty damn stupid and short sighted.

What most people aren't thinking about during their discussions about oil, are the plastics, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, etc. made from oil. We could probably uncomfortably adjust to being less mobile over time, but we will find it increasing hard to survive without plastics and the other products cracked out of a barrel of oil, if population trends do not change dramatically.

[n2ize]

A friend of mine had his tires robbed not long ago. It was a new set and someone pulled all four wheels and left the car sitting on the ground.

[PA5COR]

Had the van in for the annual mandatory check up, last part of the exhaust some holes, replaced.
Tyres YES!! they had them, Dunlop SP Qualifier TG 20 series M+S 215/80/R16 load index 107 ( 975 kilo per tyre).

Bloody € 139 each, so 4 new tyres... oil change, new oil filter, etc. bank account now minus € 1100, wife's car, 2 new front tyres, € 110 - for 2!!!...:oops:
Maybe i should ditch the van....:chin:

Ah, hell no... :mrgreen:

[WB0LSR]

Well tires don't grow on trees..


Oh wait....

[PA5COR]

:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:^

[W3MIV]

And the tires don't last near as long as they used to. 80,000 miles my ass.

Got 67k on a set of Michelins on the Pacifica and they still are not down to the bars, though they will be replaced by end of summer.

[W7XF]

I rarely get more than 30,000 miles out of set of tires. The West coast's obsession with chip-seal on roads, while traction is excellent, the road surface shreds the rubber off tires.

[W1GUH]

Guess I got really, really lucky buying tires last fall. The Michelins I normally get were discontinued in my size (205/55VR15), and I wound up with a set of Dunlop Direzza's for about $120 a tire -- significantly less than the Michelins I'd been driving on. As it turns out I like the Dunlops a LOT better than the Michelins.

[PA5COR]

New Dunlop tyres do handle better as the Good Year cargo i had on the alu rims, but then they were the 215/65 R16 summer tyres.

These new 215/80 R16 absorb shocks better, and the noise is lower, i expected more noise, but the all terrain tires M+S keep up very well.

Lowering the rpm's was a good thing too, the circumference of the new tires is 12% larger, so the rpm's went down the same of the 2.5 Turbo Diesel.

More and more countries in the EU go for mandatory snowtyres in the winter or at least M+S, so i'm set for that too now.

[NQ6U]

Hey, Cor—you forgot to mention how much better tires are in the Netherlands than they are in the U.S.! ;)

[KG4CGC]

One of the things I noticed in FLA, is that they use broken sea shells in the asphalt mix. Can't be good on tires. Can it?

[W1GUH]

New Dunlop tyres do handle better as the Good Year cargo i had on the alu rims, but then they were the 215/65 R16 summer tyres.

These new 215/80 R16 absorb shocks better, and the noise is lower, i expected more noise, but the all terrain tires M+S keep up very well.

Lowering the rpm's was a good thing too, the circumference of the new tires is 12% larger, so the rpm's went down the same of the 2.5 Turbo Diesel.

More and more countries in the EU go for mandatory snowtyres in the winter or at least M+S, so i'm set for that too now.

And now your speedometer reads low? (Maybe by 12%?)

[KG4CGC]

And now your speedometer reads low? (Maybe by 12%?)
Oversized circumference would read 3mph average higher, thus making the RPMs appear lower.
Am I doing my algebra right?

[W1GUH]

Um...off the top of my head I'd say bigger circumference = tires turn sower = low reading speedometer. But then, I'm home from work and it's after 4:20 so.....

[W3MIV]

One of the things I noticed in FLA, is that they use broken sea shells in the asphalt mix. Can't be good on tires. Can it?

It's even worse for the molluscs.

[NQ6U]

Tire size: Bigger diameter tires travel more distance per revolution (circumference=radius x 3.14159) so you will be going faster at a given engine RPM.

[KG4CGC]

Tire size: Bigger diameter tires travel more distance per revolution (circumference=radius x 3.14159) so you will be going faster at a given engine RPM.
According to the same, unadjusted speedo?

[W3MIV]

According to the same, unadjusted speedo?

The speedo counts revolutions and indicates them as speed units; if the circumference of the wheel is larger, the same revolution will move the vehicle farther -- therefore registering a lower speed than the tread is actually moving along the surface of the road.

[KG4CGC]

OK. I just think it would register a higher reading.

[PA5COR]

Since the speedometer taps its data from the gearbox the rpms in the gearbox are used for speed.
Changing the tyres to a larger circumference makes the wheel/tyre do more distance per revolution, the speedometer only registers the gearbox, not the distance the wheel does.

In my case the old tyres 215/65 R16 and the new tyres 215/80 r16 have a 12.6 % difference in circumference, my speedo at 100 KM/H with the old tyres clocked GPS 95 real KM/H.
The new tyres at 100 KM/H on the speedo now GPS 107 KM/H, meaning i have to watch the max speed.
In effect i lowered the RPM needed for a given speed with the same percentage.
That will also make a difference in fuel use.

So, i can drove slower on the speedometer and still do the max speed, making less RPM's doing that speed, saving noise, and it is a bit more economic, since my van is driven empty 95% of the time.
Max load is 1300 Kilo's or 1.3 metric ton.
Theoretically the max speed should go up the same.

With underinflated tyres, the tyres bulge more, more wear and dangerous for the tyres, and more fuel use, so keep your tyres well inflated, i always use 10% more as advised.

:mrgreen: Don't know if the tyres work better here as in the USA, don't think i'll be using the van there in the near future for a test drive :mrgreen:

[KG4CGC]

That's probably right.