Posted: May 27 2004 at 4:06pm | IP Logged

Just wanted to let everyone know about a good deal I found on tires.  There's not much selection out there in the stock 265/70-18 size, but I found an alternative that should work well.  I was surfing on Tire Rack's site looking at reviews of various tires, trying to find a tire that was better than the stock Goodyear SR-A.  I came upon the Michelin Pilot LTX (they make performance rubber for cars called the Pilot Sport) and noticed they had one size that was on special for less than half price: 275/65-18.  It's only $87 (+ S/H) and it comes very close to the stock size diameter (32.1" versus 32.6" stock).  Our 8" wide rim is also perfect for this size.  So I went ahead and ordered 4 and will just store them in the basement until it's time to replace the stock tires.  The other sizes in the same size range are $180+.  If you know someone with a wholesale account, then they are only $76 each + S/H.  Note that shipping is not cheap since these tires are pretty big and heavy.  Shipping for 4 came out to about $82 to ship to Georgia, but still less than $100 each shipped to my door.

This isn't regular price, so if you wait until you need tires, they're going to cost a lot more.

The other size that seems to be widely available is 285/60-18.  8.0" is the minimum recommended rim width for this size.  If you don't go offroad (like me), then this would be a good size to look into in the future.  I haven't looked behind the wheels to see how much clearance is available, but since the offroad package has 285/70-17's, I figure clearance will be fine.