I just purchased a set of 4 Cooper Grand Touring CS5 from Discount tire direct. There $105 each, free shipping. Right now there is a $40 web instant rebate and then a $70 mail in rebate. And another $11 if you use ebates to shop through. So after all is done the set for $299. Install for all four is $60, so installed "out the door" price is $359 for four tires. I think the warranty is 60k - 65k on these.

 

These were my second choice when I got my Falkens not too long ago.

 

can anyone shed light on how important it is to change tires? my tires are quite cracked and there is little tread on the front tires. i never rotated them so the rear ones have a lot of tread left. regardless, are bald or cracked tires even that dangerous? my parent's car's tires are entirely bald but I honestly can't tell when driving and we've never had any problems on wet roads. should we get theirs replaced asap?

 

Of course bald and cracked tires are safety concerns. They generally say 6 yrs time wise but you may go a little longer if the tires are good but I would definitely not drive bald/cracked tires for long, especially in wet conditions. Imagine if something happens at high speeds... not worth trying to get more out of old tires. In Texas, we don't even pass the yearly inspection if the tires are bald.

 

The tires connect the vehicle to the road.... braking, steering, accelerating ... all are essential for safety of occupants and every one else. Road condition can further impact the above and the tire treads are constructed to optimize traction, which encompasses the above mentioned items. Simple home test is to use a Penny and slide it into the treads (that is if you have any left). If the head of president Lincoln stands out to the tread, the tire must be replaced. Without traction the momentum and inertia with the center of gravity takes over and the driver looses all control. ABS and traction control built into vehicles automates some of the stuff, but at the end the operator is supposed to the one in control. An expert driver is supposed to know how to bring things back in control once traction is lost by steering into the directions of motion and and then safely guide the vehicle. [to be fair good driving situation can only be applicable if the tires have tread]

Rubber has a tendency to break down with flexing and time. Small cracks indicate that the tire is loosing its structural strength. A potential blowout can happen. The manufacturing date is stamped on the tire (it can be encoded) which a trained tech should be able to read and tell you if the tire needs to be replaced due to age.

Your vehicle will feel and drive totally differently with good/better tires. Analogy is how things sound with different speakers.

Since you asked, please replace the tires that have no tread. A cheap tire with treads is still better than the bald ones.

Salim

 

since i never rotated my tires, the front are at 1 or 2/32 while the rears have a tremendous amount left it's shocking. i wouldn't want to just trash the rears -- would it be a bad idea to start rotating them now at least while it's not raining yet?

 

Rotation gives you even wear (or balanced wear).
If you are old fashioned and RX being front wheel drive (even the AWD is predominantly front drive) then the best treads need to be on the front. Research shows, good treads on the back prevents spin outs on wet roads.

If 2 of your tires fail the (corrected) Penny test then, replace those 2. For the purists who insist on all 4 tires must be the same ... your rig is already running with 2 radically different tires. My advice is purely based on 1st level of safety ... having treads on tires. We have already talked bout the age and age based replacement even if the treads are acceptable ... but that is of lower priority.

If you can replace all 4 that would be the best.

Salim

 

scored some big deals at discount tire this wknd. was going to wait to change my tires but decided to buy them now due to severe cracking. they're so old that it i am unable to decipher their age from the code. all it says on the tires is: dot b34v el2x. they are michelin x radial lt's does anyone know how to find out the age?

ended up getting a set of yokohama yk580's for $300 after rebate. had i gotten them during july 4th i might have gotten the manufacturer's rebate too. i also thought about getting the integritys which were a little cheaper but the reviews were polarizing and my friend said they were bad tires. i decided i should start spending more money to maintain the vehicle as well as ensure safety.

 

Excellent idea. I think you chose wisely.