installation of 195/60 tires

[Drifter]

I just got back from sams club. They refused to install 195/60/15 hydroedges on my prius. And of course they didn't mention that when I ordered them a week and a half ago. So I got my money back for the tires and now I need to find a new tire place. I'll probably check out the places near my house over the next few days, but I was wondering if anyone in the northwestern suburbs of chicago has had this size tire installed for them anywhere.

[ACORNBLUES]

Costco's policy is that they will not mount tires that do not meet or exceed the oem tire load. Have you tried showing Sam's club the specs? Try writing to corp customer care.

[FireEngineer]

Why the wider tires Drifter, going to make that snow driving more of an adventure. Besides the MPG hit.

Wayne

[Drifter]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FireEngineer @ Oct 25 2007, 08:36 AM) [snapback]530197[/snapback]</div>

Why the wider tires Drifter, going to make that snow driving more of an adventure. Besides the MPG hit.

Wayne
[/b]

Most of the threads I've read on priuschat seem to reccommend going to the wider tire. I'm not really that concerned over a couple MPG if its a trade for better handling and safety. And while the 195 hydroedges might not be as good in snow as the 185s, they should be much better than the OEMs I have now. My dad's been pretty happy with the hydroedges he got a few months back so I thought I'd give them a try before the weather gets bad. But I still haven't made it out to check if any local stores are willing to install them.

[priusenvy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ACORNBLUES @ Oct 24 2007, 06:07 PM) [snapback]529966[/snapback]</div>

Costco's policy is that they will not mount tires that do not meet or exceed the oem tire load. Have you tried showing Sam's club the specs? Try writing to corp customer care.
[/b]

I don't think that's it. If the specs on their web sites are accurate, the 195/60R-15 Hydroedge has a higher load rating than the 185/65R-15 Goodyear Integrity.

I thought I read somewhere that Costco will not install any tire that is not the same size as was available on the car as OE or as a factory option. The reason given was that their liability insurance required them to do that.

[Boo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Drifter @ Nov 1 2007, 04:28 PM) [snapback]533537[/snapback]</div>

Most of the threads I've read on priuschat seem to reccommend going to the wider tire. I'm not really that concerned over a couple MPG if its a trade for better handling and safety. And while the 195 hydroedges might not be as good in snow as the 185s, they should be much better than the OEMs I have now. My dad's been pretty happy with the hydroedges he got a few months back so I thought I'd give them a try before the weather gets bad. But I still haven't made it out to check if any local stores are willing to install them.
[/b]

No need to get up off the sofa to find a willing installer. Check out tirerack.com (they might have the best price anyway) or other online retailer, punch in your zip code to see their list of local recommended installers and their prices, and then call the installers you choose to confirm that they'll install the 195s. My bet is that all or almost all of them will gladly take the $10-$25 per tire installation fee. That's what I did. I ordered my 195s from tirerack.com and instructed them to drop ship the tires to the local recommended installer I chose. And when the tires came in I went to the installer and put the new tires on.