From: kolson@freedomnet.org   
      
   On 12/9/2021 6:44 PM, Wade Garrett wrote:   
   > On 12/9/21 4:32 PM, Andy Burnelli wrote:   
   >> I'm buying tires at SimpleTire and the default sort is "recommended" but   
   >> other options are "highest to lowest" and "lowest to highest" choices.   
   >>   
   >> It got me wondering...   
   >> Who sorts a set of 4 tires by price high to low? Or by brand?   
   >>   
   >> I'm 75 and have replaced my tires for decades where my current   
   >> philosophy is   
   >> that (a) tires are tires, and (if you're replacing all four as a set),   
   >> then   
   >> you (b) you buy that set by the spec and finally, (c), if the specs are   
   >> almost or exactly the same, then you decide by price (lower is better).   
   >>   
   >> Hence I sort tires online by spec first, not by price nor by brand.   
   >> 1. It has to fit (for example, P225/75R15 if buying for all four wheels)   
   >> 2. It has to be right (for example, All-Season, load range 102S or   
   >> better)   
   >> 3. It has to be good (for example, TRACTION=AA TREADWEAR=500   
   >> TEMPERATURE=A)   
   >>   
   >> I know people who buy by warranty, which means that what they care about   
   >> isn't the price performance qualities of the tire itself since   
   >> warranty is   
   >> an artificial marketing component of the tire sale.   
   >>   
   >> Others will tell you that they buy the most well advertised brand (for   
   >> example, Michelin or GoodYear) but they usually don't even know WHERE   
   >> their   
   >> tires are built (Indonesia for example) before that brand is stamped   
   >> on the   
   >> tires (the point being that multiple brands are the same exact tire in   
   >> many   
   >> cases).   
   >>   
   >> And yet, others buy by price, but from highest to lowest, and they're   
   >> often   
   >> the same people claiming that "you get what you pay for" which is never   
   >> correct (you get what others set the price at which is almost always a   
   >> function of brand marketing and almost never of quality in tires).   
   >>   
   >> In the end, the price is a function of the basics:   
   >> A. The cost of the tire (for example, $100/tire)   
   >> B. The cost of sales tax (for example 10%)   
   >> C. The cost of shipping (for example $15/tire)   
   >> D. The cost of mounting/balancing/valves/disposal (for example $20/wheel)   
   >>   
   >> While any online tire seller (Tire Rack, Simple Tire, Carid, etc.)   
   >> will ship   
   >> directly to the tire mounting shop, I mount/balance my own so I save on a   
   >> few things (e.g., SimpleTire doesn't charge for shipping and dynamic   
   >> balance   
   >> DIY tests are free, or if you don't trust your own dynamic balance   
   >> tests, I   
   >> think Costco will check the dynamic balance for $5/tire last I asked and   
   >> they will dispose of old tires for $1/tire plus local sales tax).   
   >>   
   >> Anyway, I was just shopping for tires and wondered why the default sort   
   >> order is what it is, given the default should be lowest-to-highest within   
   >> spec, in my humble opinion.   
   >>   
   >> What's your humble opinion?   
   >> How do YOU choose a set of new tires when you order them online?   
   >>   
   >> (Maybe I can learn something from your experience and acumen.)   
   >>   
   > For the first tire replacement on a purchased-new vehicle, I usually   
   > install the same ones that the manufacturer supplied. Of course that   
   > assumes I liked how they handled and gave reasonable tread life.   
   >   
      
   So far, I like Nokian tires.   
      
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