Helping Hands
 

The good people here have been *very* helpful to me, in both parts and how to correctly repair things .

I understand that co$t is a serious issue, the correct Michelin 'defender' is 175/70R14 91H and it's list price is $107.99 + tax, installation, disposal fee of your old tire and you really should get a new valve stem as they age out and tend to slowly leak air & low inflation pressure is the # 1 killer of tires .

Most tire shops will try to goose you for extra "road hazard insurance" ~ this means you wa$te S I'd never spend .

The mounting, no balancing (balancing is for cheap tires and those who race) including a new tire stem should come in at $35 or _less_ ~

There is a Federal excise (luxury) tax that seems high to me but you'll have to pay it on any new tire .

If you can possibly swing it, I'd shop around and find who can get you in and out for under $150 with a new Michelin Defender, a good all 'round tire that lasts a long while and can be repaired if you get a flat ~ very few Chinese tires can be repaired once they get a flat .

Take this $15.00 =/- price and shop around, it -can- be done, it depends on how honest / greedy the shop is .

GO IN PERSON ~ the telephone / internet jazz is just that : jazz, I use Globe Tires in Los Angeles because they're honest and cheaper than COSTCO .

I help out an 82 year old woman I know from high school long ago, they're always ready to cheat any woman who darkens their door, sad and wrong but that's how it is .

A few of the good people here are honest Mechanics, I'm one but I'm retired and too far away to be of any help .

Khumo tires are O.K., not great, I tried them and they lasted about 30,000 miles and as soon as they ran low on air pressure usually because of a small nail or other tiny puncture, they were ruined beyond any repair before I could get the car off the highway so to me not good dollar value .

Nate -curious where you got the 165/70/r14 number?

The original tire was an aspect ratio free 175 SR14 which had a diameter of 25”.

If you run those numbers through a tire size calculator the closest modern equivalency is 195/70/r14... 24.8

175/70 are around 23.8
165/70 are around 23.1

GAH
 

Thanx for catching my mistake ! .

I meant 175/70R14 ! :( .

What is the tire brand name? Maybe someone can comment. As I posted before, I went with Matrix by Milemaker. They have good reviews. US made, too.

I called around and the tire shops are about $90 for one tire and installation.
The brands are the Nankang CX668, Doral SDL, Westlake, and Goodyear for
a bit more. I see these brands places with free shipping for half the price...
So I'm going to call my mechanic and see what he would charge to put the tire
on. I might save a bit of money if I bought the tire first...I did read that Westlake
tires are not good...maybe none of these....

Maybe one of the other members in the SF area can recommend a tire. Goodyear is the only one off your list I have heard of. Cooper and Mastercraft are good tires. Should be less than Goodyear.

I always chime in on tire threads.

I have General Altimax RT43
195/70R14 91T

I love these tires and I was out the door with 5 mounted/balanced tires with new stems at Sears for like $420. From a visual/design standpoint, they also look just as good as Michelin Defenders.

And I'm still behind my 4 Starfire Solarus AS radials. These are made by Cooper which is a quality brand with a 50,000 mile warranty. These are easily better than the tires these cars were equipped with from the factory as tire technology has improved a bit in the past 40 years. They seem to be quiet, but who would be able to tell in a 240D? They stick surprisingly well in wet, dry, dessert and frozen conditions. I honestly cannot believe how hard I can push the vintage Benz through a corner on these skinny tires, it's really fun to just not slow down for an on ramp in the car.

While I do put Michelin or other pricey tires on my newer cars, these old cars have a knack for losing a bushing, coming out of alignment or one of my teenager's stuffs the old girl into a curb. The last set of tires on the 240D were the victims of a bad shocks that shortened the life span, and me never slowing down in corners that just tore them up. But at $209 for all four there are no complaints here.

$209 out the door for all four mounted, taxed, recycle fees... Everything. If the old Benz has some sort of a fail or the kids whack a curb it just doesn't hurt as much as it did when I lost two Defenders on the wife's minivan due to unrepairable sidewall damage a couple of years ago.

Koop...
Someone is selling this Starfire Solarus AS 195/7014 tire for $51 on ebay...

That will come in handy the next time a Sara Lee truck dumps a load of cheesecake on the highway.

It's too early to make a decision; keep in mind that you have only been at this for a couple of weeks now. Plus, you still have to make other important decisions, like how much air you want in the tire.

Tango you are very funky...funny

Clearly I was thinking about frozen strawberry cheesecake.

Siri knows everything!

Can anyone tell me what these terms mean:...I've got it down to 3 tires, and they
are different in these areas.
UTQG:
Load Index:
Speed Rating:

Tire Brands
 

I've used Cooper passenger and General light truck ties to good effect , reasonable price and long life, good grip so on and so forth....