I recently purchased new tires for my wife's Camry at Costco. They would not sell me the tires that I wanted which were Michelins at $84 each and had a better treadwear life rating. Instead I had to buy the same size Michelins at $93 each. The reason, I was told, has to do with liabilities. One tire supposedly is designed for the car and the other isn't. The only real difference that I could see is the higher speed rating of the $93 tire. Amazingly, both speed ratings were well above the ability of the car to go that fast.

Has anyone else heard of this, or was I BS'ed? Is this the way of the future? Am I too stupid to pick my own tire?

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Bob McCormick
69 Malibu project

[This message has been edited by BobMcC (edited 03-26-2002).]

What kind of car?

Bob,
I hate to say it but sounds like you got ripped. Just something to consider... we're talking Camry here, not a Vette or Viper, ect... Speed rating doesn't mean diddly. Why would mounting one style Michelin and not another expose them to liabilities??

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Bill Burke
TC#613
ACES#3920
'67 El Camino "SS"-SOLD
'80 Camaro RS Vortec
'68 Corvette L-79

'67 El Rat (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/BillsElky.JPG)
'80 Camaro RS (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Bills80CAMARO.JPG)

I suppose COSTCO is now hiring the best and brightest in the field of tire fitment and performance. It was a load of bull.

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TC# 1458
1971 El Camino
SB350/TH350
12 bolt posi
"If the car doesn't kill you, I will"

Yeah, I'm amazed at all this. I called the local Big "O" Tire place and they said the same thing - you can no longer choose which tire you want. You can only have a specific tire designed for the car. Maybe this is a California thing? Prior to this purchase, I have not heard of any new law or anything else.

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Bob McCormick
69 Malibu project

Bob, does your car have low pressure warning sensors ?
That could maybe, have something to do with it, or maybe I'm just trying to make you feel better.
Awh, screw it $28, aint enough to worry about. I figure an hour of my time is worth what my gross pay is. So don't waste your time fretting about it.

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ACES member:#3722
68 Corvette (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/68vette.jpg)
68 SS-396 (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/thad68velle.jpg)
68 SS-396 (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/thad68velle2.jpg)
1st Car (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/thads68bu.jpg) 1984-86

Thad -
Nope. No sensors. It's just a Camry. I'm more curious than pissed. I tried to contact Costco via E-mail, but got no response. You're absolutely right, $28 ain't worth worrying about (neither is $36). I just would like to know what the scoop is. http://www.chevelles.com/forum/confused.gif

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Bob McCormick
69 Malibu project

[This message has been edited by BobMcC (edited 03-27-2002).]

The same thing happened to my buddy when he took the car to Sams Club. But with his car it was a little bit worse. Apparently someone put a higher speed rated tire than even came stock, and they would not even replace with the stock speed rating, only the same as was on the car at the time.

I think it's pretty lame, especially considering the maximum speed limit is far below any tire speed rating.

Guys, It's all about liability. Being a tire dealer myself we have to be very careful what type of tire we put on these new cars. look at the sticker on your door post and that usually tells the info needed about what type of tire the manufacture recommends. You know everybody is sue crazy these days ,thats why we have to be careful about speed ratings. Hope that helps you guys.

Tanner is right. You cannot put a lower speed rated tire on a car than what the manufacture calls for. You should be able to go to a higher speed rated one but then your wear mileage will most likely be reduced.

I know people do it all the time but they probably purchase the tires over the counter with out installation. Then pull the wheels and take them to a hack tire installer for the remount and then reinstall them on their own car.

Keep in mind any big car maunfacturing companey spends big bucks, more than we could ever imagine engineering the suspension and selecting the correct wheels and tires for it to work properly and safely for our families. Not a good idea to second guess them.

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FastSS396Man
Brian

Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manflqtr3.jpg), Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manflqtr2.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manrrqtr3.jpg),
Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manint1.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manint2.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396mantrunk2.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manfrchassis.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manexh.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manengine1.jpg),Fastss396 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/fastss396manrchas1.jpg)
69' SS396 Chevelle
L78 396/375hp
M-21 Close Ratio
Cortez Silver
10 year Resto
It's brand new again!
02' Harley FatBoy, Diamond Ice Pearl.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by fastss396man:
Tanner is right. You cannot put a lower speed rated tire on a car than what the manufacture calls for. You should be able to go to a higher speed rated one but then your wear mileage will most likely be reduced.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
But as I said earlier, both of the tires exceeded the car manufacturer's recommendations, and both tires far exceeded the capabilities of the car and the speed ratings of the car. It seems to me that someone is going overboard on this. Since I could buy a $25 tire from Pep Boys for my Camry, which is clearly an inferior tire, why can't I buy a tire that is superior and exceeds all recommendations? It doesn't make any sense to me as a customer.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by tanner:
Guys, It's all about liability. Being a tire dealer myself we have to be very careful what type of tire we put on these new cars. look at the sticker on your door post and that usually tells the info needed about what type of tire the manufacture recommends. You know everybody is sue crazy these days ,thats why we have to be careful about speed ratings. Hope that helps you guys.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Tanner -
Has there been a law change lately, or is this a result of the Ford/Firestone fiasco??


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Bob McCormick
69 Malibu project

I bet you are right that the Firestone/Ford has made people overly cautious. I used to have an '87 T-Bird Turbocoupe. It actually required Z-rated tires. But since I rarely spent time over 130mph (I wouldn't know since the speedo only went to 90mph anyway), I bought cheaper, lower speed rated tires. At some point we have to stop helping stupid people survive. If I got into an accident due to tire failure, it would have been my fault. We have a saying in the Navy, "the stupid shall be punished." Wished that applied to the outside world. Have you seen the warning on commercials lately (e.g. Don't try this at home, not designed for driving under water). Its ridiculous. No wonder we can't fill out ballots correctly.

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TC# 1458
1971 El Camino
SB350/TH350
12 bolt posi
"If the car doesn't kill you, I will"

[This message has been edited by rwthomas (edited 03-27-2002).]

Bob, As far as I know there is no law change. the problem is the manufacture sets the speed rating and that's what should always be put on the car. the problem comes in when people mix match tires and this could cause the vehicle to wonder all over the road.And I know this will probably raise alot of eyebrows but it can really effect a proper wheel alignment. Especially on the cars with independant suspension which covers just about all the newer cars today. It can also have an effect on the cars that we all restore. Tires should always be of the same make on an axle. I better stop or I'll go on for hours about tires and suspension.

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65 SS
70 LS6
T C # 902
ACES # 03691
M.C.C. # 492

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rwthomas:
Have you seen the warning on commercials lately (e.g. Don't try this at home, not designed for driving under water). Its ridiculous. No wonder we can't fill out ballots correctly.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You said it. Have you seen the Mazda commercial with the guy riding the bike? At the bottom it says "Professional bicyclist on a closed course." You wouldn't want someone watching to get the wrong idea and think THEY might be able to ride a bike. http://www.chevelles.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

There is something seriously wrong with our legal system if someone can sue because they saw a clip of a guy on a bicycle and there was no warning label at the bottom.

Dave

One more thing I just found out about. If you buy only two tires, they will only put them on the back - never on the front. This is another thing that does not make sense especially with front wheel drive cars, which eat up front tires a lot faster than rear tires. I know that a blowout on a rear tire is worse than on a front tire, but to make it mandatory is ridiculous. Ah well - it's great to vent.

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Bob McCormick
69 Malibu project

UPDATE !!
Through several E-mails, I finally got the attention of the Costco US Tire Director (the guy in charge) and explained what happened. His response was that it is NOT Costco's policy to force anyone to buy one tire over another as long as they meet or exceed the car manufacturer's tire recommendations for the speed ratings and basic design (bias vs. radial). He apologized and offered to refund the difference in the prices of the tires. All's well that ends well.

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Bob McCormick
69 Malibu project