Oh! I see them. But these are rubber. Looks like you can choose the hardness for these donuts while the SuperSpring don't even list that specification. They don't specify either if their urethane is bonded or not with rubber.
I'll probably get the Longacre.. way cheaper then the SS. After all, the car is a 2007 at 185K. I *hope* to drive it 3-4 years (touching wood -- just did my first repair on the car last month: water pump.) I assume the rubber of the Longacre will last that long. Otherwise, I can still get two another pairs and I'm still under the SuperSpring price for a single pair.
dragon64 wrote:I bought one of the last sets of Falken Ziex ZE-912. In the size 225/50-16"I bought there are to P/N# one had a 91index and when normally stocked and the other had a 96XL which was not a normally stocked P/N# just after christmas Falken was blowing out the 912 at under $40 cost to make way for the new ZE950
Next time you see that deal, let us know. If you don't have the chance, buy their stock and sell them back to us. You'll certainly make a few bucks and we'll still have a deal! ;)
dragon64 wrote:Hankook are good tire but have really bad customer service if you get a tire with a manufactures defect. BTW I run Toyo GSi-5 on my car in the winter
Well, life is busy enough without that risk. I bought the Michelin at Canadian Tires because of three factors. One, they are Michelin and I never heard of issues with them. Second, CT offers a no-hassle repair/replacement policy. Third, mail-in rebate that they actually honours.
I'll check out the Falken tho. The 912 225/50R16XL (P/N: 28922672) seems still available at a few places.. but not at the price you paid. :( And the 950 does not have any XL. Btw, Michelin Defenders are rated quite good on threadwear, which was another part of my decision to get them. How are the Falken in this respect? Reviews are mixed.. Looks like people having issues with threadwear are heavy footed.
I saw some Achilles. Looks like their customer support is even worse then Hankook. :)
Oh yeah, Toyos.. I used to have a set of Toyo Observe G-02 on my Altima 2000 before my Vibe. They were awesome. Also had Open Country H/T (M/S) on my 4WD 98 MPV. Could not locate a good deal when I was looking for some winter tires last autumn so I went back to the Nokians that I've been using since I started driving. I was able to get a very good deal on a set of Hakkapeliitta 7 195/65R15XL. Interestingly, I just realised that they are a set of 95XL! :)
dragon64 wrote:A 205/50-16" would be under diameter for the Vibe correct size should be 205/55-16 or 225/50-16. A tire being under sized will cause the speedo to be out and increase the the numbers of revs per mile/ km which can increase the tire temp.
Sorry, I meant 225/50R16, I know about tire sizing. :)
I wish that in tire rack or similar sites, you could enter your target size and it would display all "compatible" sizes. I've made a few tests and for 16 tires, looks like it's either the stock 205/55 or your 225/50. Anything else throws the speedo off and I hate that.
BTW, your 225/50R16XL are 9-10% larger. Any issue with that? I understand why they need to be that large to get to 96XL and why we can't find 94+ for 205/55R16.
dragon64 wrote:The air pressure recommended on the car is for comfort with an average load with the OE tires. If increase the load, Air pressure needs to be increase to compensate. If you look at the side of the tires you will see that the max.load is at an air pressure higher that 32psi. If you are have 94XL load index for normal driving you would have to lower your the air pressure to around 26-28 psi instead of the stock 32psi because of the stornger sidewall and to max tread life. When unloaded I usually run the rear tires 2psi less that the front.
Adjusting pressure relative to the load makes sense indeed. But, wow.. how can a laymen like me be expected to be able to know the right tire pressure given the tire specs and the load? I'm so cartesian.. :)
For example.. I've got these 91T that I'd run (unloaded) at 34-35 PSI. Looks like it's not a good idea since it's a bit stronger then the stock 89. So I'd assume you'd probably run then (unloaded) at 32 front and 30 on the rear. Or does this apply only to XL tires?
dragon64 wrote:This is a good question, I believe that rating is per each wheel. Let me contact a few friends in the industry next week.
Thanks! I've found this since:
According to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS 571.120):
The sum of the maximum load ratings of the tires fitted to an axle shall not be less than the gross axle weight rating (GAWR) of the axle system as specified on the vehicle’s certification label (tire information placard).
So if I interpret this correctly, the bare minimum load capacity of a tire would be GAWR divided by the number of wheels on the axle (two in most case.) Consequently, to support a GAWR of 1852 lbs, we'd need a tire with a load index of... 78 (937 lbs!) Following that standard, the stock 89 would be adequate, my 91 quite enough and your 96XL, overkill. Confusion ensues. :)
That being said, I loaded my rig on a scale the other day and I was surprised to see that the front axle had 810kg, the read 890kg (!) and the pop-up trailer 620kg (1786, 1962, 1499 kbs respectively.) That's with a 20lbs propane tank that's probably not quite full. So I'm definitely over the specs on the read axel. I'll move the battery which weights around 55 lbs (AGM) from the front to the compartment behind the trailer axle where the charger is located. I wish the axle of that trailer would be a wee bit more in the front.
The odd part is, that I had a custom 2 hitch receiver installed to be able to get a WD system. Unfortunately, I neglected to consider the weight of the.. weight distribution system (~60lbs.) Prior to this, my last trip to that scale showed 840, 840 and 620 (1852, 1852 and 1367lbs.) I was better off but the rear sagged too much and the bottom of the hitch was scraping a bit when passing over the camping speed bumps.
With the WD in place, I have 3 inches difference between the front and rear fenders and the trailer is almost level.
2007 Vibe 1.8L Automatic 185K, B&M 70264 Transmission Cooler, Custom 2" hitch receiver.