What passenger tires?

Wow, this thread has caused me to do some tire shopping and boy, have tire prices gone crazy high!!!!  

In my minivan thread, exactly 2 years ago (July 2020) I detailed the buying of Continental True Contact Tour tires.  I wrote that full price was $139 and that discounts for 4th of July special took them down to $113 each.   
I look today, and the same site lists them for $171.99 each and TireRack is same price

$139 to $172 is a 20% increase in price
$113 to $172 is a 33% increase in price!!!

225/50-17

If this turns into a "price focused" purchase, I notice that the site I like has a good price on Yokohama Avid Touring S, a 65k rated tire.  They are the cheapest price tire they have in your size from a brand you've heard of at $113 each.  TireRack has the same tire at $143 each but the TR version comes with 2 yr road hazard.  The $30 each difference (or $120 for the 4) gives you reserve to buy another tire if needed.  

My budget was $150 a tire before I started looking but geez that seems like a task.

My XJR needs tires now and my Expedition will need some before the end of the year. 

I'm not usually a person to go cheap on tires but all the tires that are currently on my vehicles now are averaging $225 a tire if I were to replace them with their twin today lmao

For price shopping, Walmart usually has some cheap tires. I bought some 18" Cooper Discoverer AT tires for my truck this weekend and they were probably 40% cheaper than what I could find anywhere else. They don't have the selection if you want a specific tire but they usually have 2-3 "good" tires for cheap. They were actually much cheaper than Sam's Club or Costco. 

I've never been disappointed with a set of Conti's.  Generals seem to offer a similar experience for a few less dollars. 

Where you buy is probably as important as what you buy.  I got a screaming deal on Michelin PS4's from Costco for the 530i.

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

The "where" definitely has an impact for me, since I don't have the equipment to mount and balance. 

I found the Kia dealer had the lowest price for mounting and balancing (1/2 the tire chain store), and would price match in the tires. 

Now that my son is working for the local Ford dealer I may send my business their way, even if it is a few dollars more. 

TireBuyer is the retail site of ATD (American Tire Distributors.)  I too have found that Walmart has similar prices to ATD, because, guess where WM gets tires from...

John Welsh said:

225/50-17

If this turns into a "price focused" purchase, I notice that the site I like has a good price on Yokohama Avid Touring S, a 65k rated tire.  They are the cheapest price tire they have in your size from a brand you've heard of at $113 each.  TireRack has the same tire at $143 each but the TR version comes with 2 yr road hazard.  The $30 each difference (or $120 for the 4) gives you reserve to buy another tire if needed.  

I would not put Yokohamas on my worst enemy's car.  They grip like cold hockey pucks in the rain, and the start cracking very early in life.

In reply to John Welsh :

Most things, at least in my humble life out here in the sticks, were up by those percentages, as much as a year ago. And have gone up since then. And continue to. While my income has gone down.

Yet up until a week and a half ago, I was still hearing a majority of people bragging about the economic up swing. 

In reply to Lsxus :

Exact tire (and discount) I put on my wife's Highlander about a year (and several dollars!) ago. 
Quite happy with them compared to the less expensive they replaced. 

In reply to WillG80 :

I've been happy with coopers, through the years. If at Wally's, I usually go even cheaper. I've run more than one set of Douglas, along the way. But not on anything as "nice" as the cars we have at the moment. 

In reply to Lsxus :

Has Goodyear ever made a good radial tire?

In reply to chaparral :

Not that I've ever owned or driven on.

chaparral said:

In reply to Lsxus :

Has Goodyear ever made a good radial tire?

The goodyear AT "upgrade" on 2011 F150 4wd, horrible tire. The Assurances... extremely happy with 9000 miles later.
Good year performance tire back in 84 (radial T/A iirc) so so in dry. Like running a slick in the rain. Hard pass. 
So my answer would be... it depends. 
 

In reply to chaparral :

Yeah I would say so, GRM thinks so too. 

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/track-tire-buyers-guide/