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Sams Club or Costco and comparing michelin tires?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by wombat1, Oct 12, 2006.

  1. wombat1

    wombat1 New Member

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    Having read the discussion in other tire threads on PC I've pretty much
    narrowed my most of the year tire choice down to one of the following
    Michelin all season radial tires: Hydro Edge, MSV4 and the X. Do any
    list members have any practical experience directly comparing these
    tires and if so which did you prefer for handing and stopping.

    Also there has been discussion of purchasing tires at Costco and Americas Tires
    what about Sam's Club? It seems inpractical to become a member of Costco
    when I'm already a member of Sam's Club, however, I've never purchased
    tires from them - any experience?
     
  2. New Revelation

    New Revelation The Master Captain

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    I'd like to know as well....I know Costco has been mentioned alot here but I dont have a membership with them, only Sams Club. Course most of my tire purchases have been from Discount Tire as well.
     
  3. IsrAmeriPrius

    IsrAmeriPrius Progressive Member

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    From Oct 13 through Nov 5, Costco offers $60 off a set of four Michelin tires.

    [​IMG]
     
  4. wombat1

    wombat1 New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Oct 12 2006, 11:45 PM) [snapback]332115[/snapback]</div>
    However, if you're not already a Costco member its realy only $10 off. Since (at least
    in southern New England) Costco membership is a minimum of $50.
     
  5. sl7vk

    sl7vk Member

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    Choosing between Sam's and Costco is an absolute no brainer. The Costco Service makes all the difference in the world. And I actually enjoy shopping at a company that pays its workers a living wage....
     
  6. Sufferin' Prius Envy

    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    And they use nitrogen!
    [oops, opened that can of worms for the naysayers :D ]

    The way I see it, they pay you $10 to try a Costco membership for a year.

    When I was single I would join Costco only when I needed new tires. Now I just NEED Costco. :blink:
     
  7. eak354

    eak354 Member

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    i'm with Costco. i was a member of Sam's for a year but never renewed. I still bought more stuff from costco. they also have the cheapest gas here! :lol: oh yeah, i got my X's from costco...
     
  8. koa

    koa Active Member

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    Costco seems to have a much easier return policy and to me a higher quality product. They will special order tires and the service has always been good. It's also a great place to take a date if you don't want to spend to much on a meal. Hmmmm... don't those chicken nuggets in the shape of dinosaurs look good?
     
  9. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I purchased my HydroEdge from Sam's. You order online, they call you when they arrive at the local dealer. $7.50/tire I think it was to mount and balance and then that includes lifetime road-hazard warranty and rotations ever 7500 miles--which you can have done at any Sam's or Wal-mart. The process was quite painless and the price, due to savings on shipping, was cheaper than TireRack and the process very simple since I never had to touch the tires.
     
  10. Topgas

    Topgas New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Oct 13 2006, 12:50 AM) [snapback]332130[/snapback]</div>
    I dragraced motorcycles and we used Nitrogen to fill the tires. I saw first hand the difference temp/pressure effects on air vs. Nitrogen. Nitrogen is far more stable with temp changes and helps keep the tire pressure right where you want it.
     
  11. jamarimutt

    jamarimutt New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Topgas @ Oct 13 2006, 06:57 AM) [snapback]332170[/snapback]</div>
    Air is almost 80 % nitrogen. This is just a selling pitch to attract you the store, hoping you'll end up buying stuff you don't need.
     
  12. Skwyre7

    Skwyre7 What's the catch?

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 13 2006, 06:07 AM) [snapback]332165[/snapback]</div>
    I got tires from Sam's for my previous vehicles as well as my Prius. I've never had any problems with the service. Although I did laugh my nice person off when I took the Prius in for new tires and the guy just sat in it for a few minutes trying to figure out where to put the key. The key was actually for my wife's Corolla. My wife finally went out and showed him how it worked.
     
  13. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mdiguy @ Oct 12 2006, 11:09 PM) [snapback]332096[/snapback]</div>
    Don't ignore BJ's (an East Coast membership warehouse club). I replaced my OEM Integrity tires at 45,000 with Michelin MXV4+ Energy Saving (LRR) tires and was quite pleased with their service. They have rotated and balanced them twice for me (now at 70,000 miles) for free and the total installed cost was about $450 (Michelins were on sale).

    JeffD
     
  14. Sufferin' Prius Envy

    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jamarimutt @ Oct 13 2006, 04:11 AM) [snapback]332173[/snapback]</div>
    If nitrogen in car tires is nothing more than a sales pitch, why would the Rubber Association of Canada say nitrogen is a good thing? If they wish to sell more rubber, wouldn't they say nitrogen is all hype? :huh:
    http://www.rubberassociation.ca/pdf_docs/nitrogen.pdf

    So what if approximately 80 percent of air is nitrogen. It's the other 20 percent . . . and humidity . . . that causes all the problems.

    An equally dumb argument would be that man-made pollutants in the atmosphere are way less than one percent of the total volume and are measured in parts per million or billion, therefor, we have no problems with air pollution. :blink:

    I had two new tires put on my Prius two months ago at Costco. They inflated all the tires with nitrogen. Two months later, all tires are within ½ lb of full. I think I am loosing more pressure with the loss associated with checking the pressure weekly than what time alone does.

    For those who like to over-inflate your Prius tires, using nitrogen makes even more sense . . . less heat and associated pressure increases. Your over-inflation with AIR may be causing your tires to reach dangerous pressure levels while being driven. :eek:
     
  15. mcbrunnhilde

    mcbrunnhilde Opera singin' Prius nut!

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    I thought I read in some post that Sam's had discontinued their free rotation/balance service. I got X-Radials at Costco recently and put 2,500 miles on them last week. They behaved beautifully, but I can't say whether or not they have affected my mileage since I'm on a road trip. By the time I get home (at around 5,000 miles), they should be broken in. Consumer Reports rated the Xs excellent in rolling resistance, and they're (supposedly) better at hydroplaning and cost less than the Hydroedges.
     
  16. John in LB

    John in LB Life is good

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Oct 14 2006, 02:12 PM) [snapback]332843[/snapback]</div>

    That rubber association article has little credibility. It refers to the "AIR" molecule... and the last time I checked, there was no such thing. The issue of moisture and its sensitivity to air temperature (condensing all the way to a liquid and later evaporating and expanding into a hot gas) is credible - but really only in very cold climates like Canada or regions with large temperature swings and then only if your wheel is chock full of water (I am talking 1/4 cup)

    Other concerns sited, such as oxydation are possible. In totality, I would say the effects are negligible for most cars... and will not provide any measurable benefits.
     
  17. priusenvy

    priusenvy Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(John in LB @ Oct 19 2006, 01:29 PM) [snapback]335238[/snapback]</div>
    You're ignoring the fact that tire stores now have access to New and Improved Nitrogen ™. It's a special version whose behavior does not follow the Ideal Gas Law. :lol:

    I've never had to replace a tire due to wear/degradation that occured on its interior. Seems to me that treadwear and UV/weather exposure to the exterior are going to be much larger effects than whatever occurs on the inside.