Any tire experts here?

billcu

billcu

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Staff member
I had a front tire go bad so, I decided to get 2 new fronts because the rears are still good.

They are Goodyear Eagle GA's stock size.

The new ones made the car shake and groan on the expressway. I jacked the car up and spun them and I could see that they were out of round.

The tire guy ordered some new ones and I went down there today to get them mounted. The new ones were just as bad. When he spun them on the balancer, you could see the treads "move" side to side as the tires spun. You could also see the tires weren't very round either.

He said it was my wheels but I looked while they were spinning and no way were the wheels bent. I have a hard time believing I have two bent wheels but, he had a hard time believing that he had 4 bad tires.

I asked him to try another brand tire on my wheel. The treads did not "move" like the Goodyears, although it looked like it wasn't perfectly round either, but not as bad.

I didn't want these Goodyears and the tire guy gave me back my money and my wheels.

I was talking to a different tire guy there and he said that Goodyear recently went through a labor strike.

I've been buying Goodyears for years and never saw this before.

Is this a just a quality issue or is this normal for some tires? Has anyone had trouble like this with Goodyears?

Also can anyone recommend a good American tire?
 
Hmm I am no expert with tires but I have had my share of bad balances etc.

Also you can't just "look" at the wheel/tire combo and make assumptions about the tire being out of round etc. They have machines for that. There is one particular machine called the Hunter 9700. You need to have a road-force-balance done on your tires and the machine will tell you if it is the wheels/tires that are at fault. It is not as pricy as it sounds either I think I paid $60 to get it done on my Mark VIII.

But one thing is certain the Mark VIII is incredibly sensitive to tire/wheel problems. Mildly out of spec wheels/tires immediately result in a steering wheel shimmy and other vibrations.

In regards to tires, I can't recommend anything American because I have little experience with those tires.
But Bridgestone tires are excellent.
Also Yokohama makes excellent tires as well.
I would suggest going with those brands.
 
Best way to avoid this is to buy a tire with a high speed rating, like W, Y, or Z. The way they qualify for that rating is to actually run at that speed on a treadmill for 72 hours straight. Any tire that can run at 150+ mph for that long and not fall apart has to be very well balanced.

I personally have bought several different tire models mounted on my stock rims and balanced on a "mickey mouse" machine at a little shop down the street from me. ZERO vibration. It's all about the speed rating.
 
Well the Mark VIII calls for a V speed rating stock. Any reputable tire shop is going to refuse installing anything less than that. I went through this with Costco where they refused to install my W rated tires.

Sears only goes down 1 rating I believe.
 
maxmk8 said:
Well the Mark VIII calls for a V speed rating stock. Any reputable tire shop is going to refuse installing anything less than that. I went through this with Costco where they refused to install my W rated tires.

Sears only goes down 1 rating I believe.
Click to expand...

I didn't know that. But I thought the W rating was 168 mph and V was 149. Why did they refuse W?
 
My bad, the tires were an H safe up to 130mph... which is more than I'd ever go in the Mark VIII anyways, with a one time exception. You are absolutely correct W is safe up to 168.
 
There's nothing wrong with the balancing part.

The tread was not straight on the tires when they were spun. The cheap (I forget the brand) tire that they put on my wheel spun straight.

It's getting harder and harder to buy American products. I try to buy American when I can though.

Even those Goodyears were made in Canada.:(

These tires were T rated.
 
billcu said:
There's nothing wrong with the balancing part.

The tread was not straight on the tires when they were spun. The cheap (I forget the brand) tire that they put on my wheel spun straight.

It's getting harder and harder to buy American products. I try to buy American when I can though.

Even those Goodyears were made in Canada.:(

These tires were T rated.
Click to expand...

Yes, but when the wheels have to spin on a car going 60mph, the crooked tread can cause vibration as they try to track with the road.

Do you want items designed in the USA, or manufactured in the USA? They are two different things. "American" cars are designed in the USA, but built in Mexico. "Japanese" cars are designed in Japan and built in the USA. This is one reason why "Japanese" cars are more reliable than "American" cars - they are being built by more capable folks.
 
Yes, that was my point, the tread was causing the vibration, not the balancing.

If I can't get a tire made in America or by an American company, it's no big deal.

A few years ago, I bought a Sony TV because there is no American company that makes them anymore.

It's the same thing with my floor jacks and jackstands.

My hand tools are mostly Craftsman though, and the last I checked, they were made in the US.:)
 
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