I've been researching winter (snow) tires for my SVT.
Can't find take-off or used 16" alloy rims anywhere. 16" stamped steel rims are apparently not made in this bolt pattern and offset. Decided 17" snow tires (215/45/17) are too expensive and non-optimal (too low and too wide). Decided the way to go is get dedicated winter setup: cheap 16" alloys and 16" winter/snow tires.
Ford Dealership wants close to $2,000 for package, inc tax. :o Searched around and concluded the current best deal is at Cheaps Thrills, in Milton. Package consists of:
*Cheap Chinese Alloy Wheels ("Classic Alloy" #112). Rims are "double-drilled" on 108mm circle so bolt pattern can fit other popular cars.
*Hankook Ice Bear W300 tires - 205/55/16 -
http://www.hankooktireusa.com/pdf/uploads/W300.pdf
*Stems, balance, mounting included
Total price - $1,000 out the door (including GST/PST taxes).
By the way, Cheap Thrills is the grungiest tire dealership I've ever seen. Not even a dealership storefront - just a collection of shacks and trailers in a semi-rural setting. Curbside road sign consists of a stack of old tires. But the prices and selection are right, and the staff seem to know what they're talking about.
Except for one thing that very few know about at Cheap Thrills, and I only found this out recently thru a friend in the tire business----------Cheap Thrills only sells seconds. They won't admit it, but they get first shot at the seconds the tire manufacturers make and sell them as the real deal to you. Just a word to the wise.
meford4u,Oct 26 2004, 09:10 AM Wrote:...I only found this out recently thru a friend in the tire business----------Cheap Thrills only sells seconds.
That's a serious charge. I looked at the tire Cheap Thrills specifically wanted to sell to me and there was no indication it was anything other than regular stock. Are you suggesting the Hankook Ice Bear winter tires which Cheap Thrills sells are seconds that other Hankook dealers have rejected or would reject ?
I did ask the salesman whether these Hankook tires have full warranty, and he assured me they did.
They do have a full warranty-thru Cheap Thrills only. You can't go to another national dealer and have your warranty recognized. I went through this with my truck and found out about the "dot" system. Check the colour of the dot that is on the tire at Cheap Thrills. If it isn't blue, then it is a reject. Look into it with another dealer who is selling the tires and notice any paint blotches on the side of the tire. I believe it is usually a pink/red marking on the side of the tire that indicates it is a reject.
No one would honour my Cheap Thrills warranty--not even Cheap Thrills when the tire had it's sidewalls shift and the metal bands in the tire caused the whole truck to shake. Now i've got new tires from the boy at Crappy Tire---same brand, same tire---and they warranty the tire for life---for $5. And it is not a regressive warranty. Lose a tire-free. Oh, and they were cheaper than Cheap Thrills even without the family discount.
well the thing with the dots on the side is completly false...
as far as the deal it's ok
the break down as far as i see it a decent but not name brnad ice and snoe tire maybe around 70 -100 as far as waranty goes dont hold your breath i maybe get 30 -40% of all warranty claims thru usually end up just biting the bullet and giving the customre waranty and hope we get reimbursed...
rims i can get 18" focus wheels for under 200 before tax so i figure somewhere around 125-150 for a 16" alumimun
so the deals is ok and a "reject" tire can be sold as a blem but it WILL be marked in the sidewall with a stamp branding it as a blem either u-blem or just blem
those dots on the sidewall the red one is a q.c. mark goodyear uses lines painted on the tread..... the other dot when there are too is used to indicate a high spot in the tire.... so you can mount it at the valve stem(low spot of the rim) to help balance the tire better.....
hmm, i have red dots on my kumho's. If i check tomorrow, your saying they should be opposite my valve stems?
j3rt,Oct 27 2004, 02:16 AM Wrote:hmm, i have red dots on my kumho's. If i check tomorrow, your saying they should be opposite my valve stems?
Read the post word for word and let me know if I'm conjecturing the right thing myself? Have you heard those GM commercials where they say (or words to the effect that):
"GM service is only good enough for GM cars and only your GM technician knows for sure what tires are right for your GM vehicle"
This may be the answer, a simple red dot.
2001 ZTS,Oct 27 2004, 02:21 AM Wrote:Read the post word for word and let me know if I'm conjecturing the right thing myself? Have you heard those GM commercials where they say (or words to the effect that):
I'm lost. Who's conjecturing what ? :blink:
Kalos,Oct 27 2004, 03:24 AM Wrote:2001 ZTS,Oct 27 2004, 02:21 AM Wrote:Read the post word for word and let me know if I'm conjecturing the right thing myself? Have you heard those GM commercials where they say (or words to the effect that):
I'm lost. Who's conjecturing what ? :blink:
radio commercials
They talk about how "only a GM care specialist" knows what tire is right for a GM vehicle. It may be as simple as what "rubberman" (a tire retailer says) is just a matter of looking for a red dot. It means nothing.
meford4u,Oct 26 2004, 09:10 AM Wrote:...one thing that very few know about at Cheap Thrills...-------Cheap Thrills only sells seconds. They won't admit it, but they get first shot at the seconds the tire manufacturers make and sell them as the real deal to you.
Got my wheel & tire package today from Cheap Thrills and asked about this "seconds-only" comment.
Dealer showed me stacks of Pirelli tires with prominent "BLEM" stickers. He chearfully admits Cheap Thrills sells name brand blemished tires at low prices. These blemishes are of course are not performance defects. I would not have any reservations about buying "blems" if I could save a hundred bucks on a set of tires. While I was there, a couple of expensive European cars were being fitted for blemished Pirellis...
Cheap Thrills does sell "perfect, unblemished tires". Because Cheap Thrills is a discount tire dealer with low prices and no frills, the "perfect unblemished" tires are likely to be brands such as Hankook or Khumo.
Got the winter tire plus wheel package today from Cheap Thrills. Happy with the deal - $1000 including taxes, for wheels, tire, stems, balanicing, mounting.
The "cheap Chinese rims" look better on the car than I had hoped. They seem to be very high quality, with a deep overcoat.
I have some slight reservations about the rim+tire combo sticking out a bit from the fender. It is barely noticeable, but I think the OEM tires and rims were a little more recessed. These aftermarket rims are 45mm offset, whereas the Ford SVT OEM rims are 49mm offset. The 205/55/16 tires are a little taller than OEM 215/45/17 tires, so this reduces the margin a little bit more. Maybe 205/50/16 would be better.
There is about 35mm vertical clearance to the fender. Is this enough for hard braking ?
it's gonn be tight when you brake hard or corner...
KalTire had found some 16" American Racing rims for $85 a piece and they sold 'em on me. I opted for CSA Technique rims that were $130 a piece for my SVT winter tires. Look pretty good I think. Mich X Ice for my tires. My Hakka RSI order never came in. Just gotta find some snow now.
Tire Report:
The Hankook Ice Bears I installed appear so far to be a quiet, well-behaved set of tires - actually quieter than the OEM ContiContacts they replaced. Handling is both stable and responsive - perhaps a bit twitchier at highway speeds than the summer ContiContacts.
Just my 2 cents... i bought my wheel/tire combo from canadian tire last year... The rims are 14" which makes for a lesser price... but when i bought my tires (nordic ice trac) maybe not the best but they do.. it cost me 450$ including tax (rims, tires, balanaceing and install) The tires were 30% off when i bought them, the rims were 5$ off each one, and i had a company discount of 17.5%... and made canadian tire money... I suggest finding someone who works for CT and use their discount... it saves u alot of money. Just my 2 cents.
Paul.
iceblaza,Oct 29 2004, 01:23 PM Wrote:Just my 2 cents... i bought my wheel/tire combo from canadian tire last year... The rims are 14" which makes for a lesser price... but when i bought my tires (nordic ice trac) maybe not the best but they do.. it cost me 450$ including tax (rims, tires, balanaceing and install) The tires were 30% off when i bought them, the rims were 5$ off each one, and i had a company discount of 17.5%... and made canadian tire money... I suggest finding someone who works for CT and use their discount... it saves u alot of money. Just my 2 cents.
Paul.
I was actually just on the phone to CT to order the nordic icetracs, how good are they?
Again its my personal opinion, others maybe have negatives but all last year the traction was great... with my all seaons i would be slipping all over my street, but with the ice tracs im pretty much hugging the road. There is a littile road noise at high speeds, but thats with everything. The wear is good so far, i see no decrease in wear over last seaon.. I bought them because i go to blue mountain once a week, and ive had no problems with sliding out with these tires... for the money its a sure go. Anything else u wanna know just ask.
Paul.
Great! Thanks! I'm going out to buy them right now. :P
Went back to Cheap Thrills today. They pulled one of the new alloy wheels and confirmed it was +45mm. This is 4mm less offset than the 49mm Ford OEM 17" wheel. 4mm is not much, but it does cause this rim to protrude just a shade from the wheel well. (Maybe it is the slightly thicker design plus the offset which makes the wheel protrude a bit). Cheap Thrills had installed 205/55/16 Ice Bear tires (rather than 205/50/16) because that's their standard fitment for 16" Foci. The 205/55/16 has ~5mm larger diameter than the original 215/45/17. The net effect of slightly less offset and slightly larger diameter is that vertical clearance on an SVT between tire and fender lip is sort of tight. I measure two finger width - ~35mm.
I suggested that with a full load, under heavy breaking, the front tires might rub. The Cheap Thrills guy says this is unlikely - and pointed to an Audi on the lot with just about the same clearance.
Recommendation: I'll stay with this setup now, but if I were to do it again, with this 45mm wheel offset, I would install the 20mm diameter smaller 205/50/16 tires.
Other than the tire size issue, I think this wheel+tire package is a good deal. Cheap Thrills will repeat the $1,000 price for anyone, but the actual alloy wheel may change - though it will still be a cheap but high quality Chinese wheel.
j3rt,Oct 27 2004, 02:16 AM Wrote:hmm, i have red dots on my kumho's. If i check tomorrow, your saying they should be opposite my valve stems?
The red and yellow dots on my new Hankook Ice Bears have to do with balance and stem low spots. Talked about it with the Cheap Thrills tire wrangler. He says they are mostly useful in countries too poor for dynamic wheel balancing equipment.