Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Tires -- again
I don't get the problem with tire companies. Recently we bought four Goodyear tires for my wife's car this time at Discount Tire. In the past (last year) I bought my Goodyears at Northwest Tire. The main reason for me trying a new dealer this time was the experience I had at my last shopping trip at Northwest. This time the prices were about the same with both outfits saying they'd match the other's prices. I decided to spend my $400+ at Discount Tire this time.
Naturally, they didn't check the spare. OK, this time I didn't ask. However, you'd think a tire company would check on the spare. If it was missing or in crappy shape, they'd have another possible sale on their hands. At least checking it would keep me from cussing them out if I did have a flat at 1 a.m. on a back road and found a flat spare. It wasn't close by the way either, it was 10 pounds low. Now to my pet peeve - tire pressures.
The invoice states the inflation pressure should be 32 p.s.i. Naturally, that's not what the car plaque says. It says 29 p.s.i. for normal driving and 32 p.s.i. if the car's load is maxed out. OK, even here, I can understand them getting it too high, it would increase mileage, shouldn't affect handling too much, and is still within specs. However (of course there's a however) they didn't even follow her own specs. Two tires had 32 and two tires had 35. I could kind of see that if the difference was front/rear, but it was driver/passenger side. The driver's side had 32 p.s.i. and the passenger side had 34 - 35 p.s.i.
Why do tire companies say tire pressure is so important (Discount Tires even gave me a free tire gauge) when they never follow the specs? On the Goodyear Web site it says in one place, "Visit your local Goodyear store and get your tire pressure checked for free. Proper tire maintenance is the key to maximizing the life of your tires." and on another page "Air Pressure Check - You may be able to improve your gas mileage by more than $1.50* simply by keeping your tires properly inflated. The recommended tire pressure for your vehicle is located on a sticker inside the driver-side door jam or glove box." The Discount Tire site says, "Air Pressure— The most important item " and on another page in their site, "If you consider the liabilities of not maintaining the correct air pressure -- poor gas mileage, loss of tire life, bad handling (perhaps even loss of control), and potential vehicle overloading -- then the need to routinely add air to your tires will become clearer." I wonder if these companies ever read their own PR?
