1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

tirerack.com feedback?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by Spindifferent, Sep 16, 2013.

  1. Spindifferent

    Spindifferent Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2011
    155
    79
    0
    Location:
    Central Texas
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Curious to know if anyone has used the tirerack.com process to purchase tires from them and have the tires shipped to a local installer who then installs the tires on your car.

    How did it work out for you?

    My 2010 has 45k on the Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires and am thinking about replacing them with the Energy Saver A/S. Have been reasonably happy with the Goodyear tires, but would like to be even more happy with the Energy Saver A/S. :)

    All feedback good and bad is appreciated.
     
  2. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2006
    1,049
    192
    0
    Location:
    NH
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Tirerack is a going business, won't be shutting down soon, if their price is good for you great, check discount tire, they include shipping and might work better, check your local installer, they might meet any online price, add installation to purchase price and shop around
     
  3. xpcman

    xpcman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2009
    1,302
    295
    0
    Location:
    California - SF Bay area
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    I had trouble finding a local installer the first one quoted me $150 to install the 4 tires. So I saved $50 and spent half the day finding someone to install them. I will use Discount Tire next time
     
  4. sisharp

    sisharp Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2012
    46
    29
    0
    Location:
    South Carolina
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    I used that service last month to buy some continental tires and had them shipped to a firestone. The purchasing part was fine and I received a couple of emails for the purchase and confirmation of the shop and I think a warranty. The sucky part came with firestone. I was tracking the tires so I knew where they were pretty much all the time. When they were delivered I called firestone to confirm and no one had any idea about any tires. The guy on the phone talked to several people and finally after like 20 minutes some guy says that there was some delivery of tires earlier and that they were stacked somewhere. o_O They had unboxed the tires and stacked them. I imagine in the front of the store. So after a while they finally knew that those were my tires and we set the appointment up and had the tires installed. Later I called tirerack and they said that they sent an email to firestone, and I'm sure they did because I received a confirmation too, and that the email was the only notice they send to the shop.

    So if I were and you were me, I would send those tires to a reputable shop that hopefully you've been to before and not to the lowest bidder. I've been to that firestone before and it's a big company so I knew everything would be settled if something were to happen. Also, give the shop a heads up that your tires are on their way just to be sure. Also, don't just talk to a service dude, get the manager so that they track it correctly.

    I can't comment on those tires but I've read some good things here so maybe someone else can comment on those. (y)

    PS I bought those continental essentially because they had a $100 gift card attached which I received like 8 weeks later... Also, this wasn't for my c.
     
  5. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2006
    11,314
    3,588
    1
    Location:
    Northern VA (NoVA)
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I use them for my Prius tires...its worked fine.
    They seem to work with reputable top notch smaller shops that do a good installation job.
    I get the tires shipped to the installer.
     
  6. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2010
    6,035
    3,854
    0
    Location:
    Rocky Mountains
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I use TireRack all the time, but I never buy from them. Discount tire matches their price, and installation is cheap.

    Step #1 is find what you want on TireRack. Step #2 is find that same thing at DiscountTire.com. Print out the checkout cart at TireRack and bring it in to the store. Now you have to find the store around you that stocks those exact tires. If any dimension is different, they don't match. So bring your Tirerack.com printout to a brick and mortar Discount Tire store that stocks that tire, and walk out an hour later with the best deal.

    DiscountTire is one of the very few brick and mortar stores that are seeing the light and matching online prices. I spend maybe $100 a month on stuff intown whereas I spend a few $K a month online. Get exactly what you want the next day for cheaper in most cases. Discount Tire bucks the trend for upcharging because they have a store, and they are rightfully gaining customers.
     
    wjtracy likes this.
  7. SuperGLS

    SuperGLS Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2012
    200
    52
    2
    Location:
    Washington DC
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I've bought tires from Tirerack a few times. Once had them deliver to a local shop (as I lived in an apt and the apt office didn't want my tires taking up all their space.) I coordinated the install with the shop myself, so I can't comment on that part. The rest was very easy.

    Tirerack has a warehouse up the road in DE, so the tires have always been to me the next day.
     
  8. Spindifferent

    Spindifferent Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2011
    155
    79
    0
    Location:
    Central Texas
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks for all the feedback. I'll try Discount Tire first.
     
  9. dhancock

    dhancock 2 Prius Family

    Joined:
    May 21, 2007
    357
    40
    0
    Location:
    Hamburg, NY (Buffalo area)
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    Many tire stores include free rotation for the life of the tire (whatever that is). That can be worth quite a bit in the long run.
     
  10. Reetz

    Reetz Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 27, 2013
    36
    14
    0
    Location:
    Seattle
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    We have used Tire Rack for the last 6 sets of tires and or tire/rim combos. We usually have bought a winter tire(Blizzack)/rim combo and had it shipped to the house. My hubby is a mechanic so changing out tire sets is not a problem. Tires are rotated as we change from summer to winter tires. We have storage for extra tire sets for all of the cars so it works out good for us.
     
  11. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2006
    1,049
    192
    0
    Location:
    NH
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Tirerack...the guys that started the new rubber goes on the back ponzi scheme

    Always put the new rubber on the rear, use twice as much new rubber during the life of the car, put the worn rubber up front where you need the tread to turn and start and stop, and they get away with it...
     
  12. zhenya

    zhenya Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2013
    649
    209
    0
    Location:
    Ithaca, NY
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I've used Tire Rack for years. Fantastic service and very good prices in most cases with low shipping costs. If you ever have an issue, they will go out of the way to make it right. I'm usually very picky about what tires go on my vehicles, so most local chains won't have exactly what I want in stock. If I were less picky and I had better local tire stores, I'd check them too.
     
  13. zhenya

    zhenya Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2013
    649
    209
    0
    Location:
    Ithaca, NY
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base

    Tire Rack may push this philosophy, but it's no scheme, and it certainly didn't start with them. It's common sense if you understand how traction affects a car's handling. More traction on the front than the rear can cause very dangerous handling traits.
     
    sdtundra likes this.
  14. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2006
    1,049
    192
    0
    Location:
    NH
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    "Common sense" right

    Soon someone will post the video of a car switching ends in water, err, a video made by TIRERACK, right...

    It's not a prius(in the video), which has stability control, and wouldn't, couldn't switch ends, even on ice, defeat the stability control on a vehicle and do donuts, on wet or ice, but stability control makes the "problem" moot.
    Luckily, common sense, makes some think about the way insurance companies and manufacturers are melding the world to their portfolio's;)

    So, "common sense" tells me to keep the best rubber on the front for
    Starting
    Stopping
    Turning on ice or in water
    But if other's insist on almost doubling the money spent on rubber, per car, not my problem;)
     
  15. FranklinS

    FranklinS Ach crivens ye scunners!

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2013
    190
    94
    0
    Location:
    Eugene, OR
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    My local America's Tire (same as Discount Tire) said they would match Discount Tire Direct prices. Discount Tire Direct is often cheaper than the sister site Discount Tire.
    Tirerack is also very good.
     
  16. zhenya

    zhenya Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2013
    649
    209
    0
    Location:
    Ithaca, NY
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base

    Snap oversteer from this phenomenon will absolutely not be prevented by stability control. It will be minimized, but not prevented. All stability control systems require the tires to have traction in order to function. It works great in many situations where the driver has merely given too much steering input and tends to overcompensate further in trying to avoid an accident. However, when this phenomenon bites you, it's because there is no traction. In that case, stability control can't help.

    You are greatly overestimating the 'cost' of this practice. The primary concern is when there is a great deal of difference in the tread depth of the front vs. rear tires. If you rotate your tires as often as you should, the tires will wear at roughly even rates, and you'll be replacing all four at a time anyways.
     
  17. elementnomore

    elementnomore Member

    Joined:
    Sep 5, 2013
    136
    44
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I have been very happy with http://www.americastire.com/rebates/ See if the rebate lines up. Make sure you sort out all the fees, taxes mount and balance too. Best of luck!
     
  18. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2010
    6,035
    3,854
    0
    Location:
    Rocky Mountains
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Three

    Ursle you are wrong for the majority of drivers on the road and the above is correct.

    Most people driving on the road are not very well versed in cars or let alone driving. They push the pedal and turn the wheel and it goes vroom. That's the extendt of knowledge of most drivers. Most have never done defensive driving courses, skid tracks, race tracks, obstacle courses, etc. Norway has one of the best drivers tests, that is what should be implemented over here.

    But the point is that and inexperienced driver when faced with an emergency will likely over-correct or just do plainly the wrong thing when they are learning in the moment. If you car starts to oversteer, overcorrecting makes it almost uncontrollable. You have very little room for error when oversteer starts happening and that is very dangerous at high speeds like a highway. If the car starts to understeer, even if you are wrong, the car will try to keep going the same way it was going and is not going to spin around or spin out. If you release the power or smash the brakes you will stop while going the same way.

    Understeer is much safer for the masses and that's where the methodology comes from. I don't know of any tire shop that puts the new tires on the front. And it is all a moot point because you are supposed to replace tires in 4's and rotate so they are always even.
     
  19. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2006
    1,049
    192
    0
    Location:
    NH
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I'm only expressing my opinion, if other's have a different opinion, great...


    But when insurance companies start making policies that might endanger me or mine, because some manufacturer or another can play the system and fool most of the people all of the time, well, something smells.
     
  20. Spindifferent

    Spindifferent Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2011
    155
    79
    0
    Location:
    Central Texas
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    To close the loop on this thread, I purchased 4 Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires from Tire Rack because no local dealers had the tire in stock, and order time was 8-12 weeks.

    Tire Rack had the tires in-stock at their Georgia depot, and ship time to my local installer was only 3 days. Tire Rack was great about order status and shipping; they provided an order confirmation email, a shipping email with tracking numbers, and a delivery confirmation email.

    Local installer is a local family-owned and independent tire/service center that is BBB rated and has been in business since 1975. They said they do about 15 Tire Rack orders per year, and they did an excellent job with the tire install.

    Overall, very satisfied with the Tire Rack process and feel very comfortable recommending it to anyone.