Question: When Is It Cheaper To Buy Tires?

[D.T.]

I've purchased a _lot_ of tires (both street and track) I've used TireRack.com, DiscountTireOnline.com, 1010Tire.com, multiple companies who sell aftermarket parts (some who do full builds/tuning), walked into B&Ms like Discount Tire, Tire Kingdom, etc.

It really just depends. My last set was a semi hard to find setup (285/35-20 front, 305/35-20 rear), I wound up getting a nice set of Nitto NT555 G2 for a good $300 less than the next best online price, $400 less vs. local B&M, from an online store that sells aftermarket parts for modern domestic performance cars. There's a killer small tire shop in town, excellent work, exceptional prices, did an M&B (no disposal I took the NIB wheels directly up), for under $80

 

[Huntn]

I see tires get discounted on TireRack.com right before a new revision comes out. Sometimes they will have a rebate if you buy four tires. If you are lucky, you can find both. That is how I purchased my last set of snow tires, the Continental snowtires were being replaced with a new design, and there was also a rebate for continental tires.

I highly recommend TireRack.com, they have decent prices, sometimes allow pickup from their warehouse if you are close, and are very helpful for questions and custom purchases.

I have purchased 4 sets of wheels from them over the years, and they have always had great service.

Are you asking if his summer tires are all season tire? or asking if the winter tires he is referring to are all season?

I live in Maryland and have snow tires sets for two of my vehicles. I also have summer tires for two of my vehicles and all season for two of my vehicles.

I'm saying what I've purchased for decades are "all season tires". This are not the same as dedicated winter, heavy tread tires. I'm not sure if there is a "summer" category of tire.

 

[Juicy Box]

I'm saying what I've purchased for decades are "all season tires". This are not the same as dedicated winter, heavy tread tires.

You are right, they are not the same. But, winter tires don't have to have really heavy tread. Stud-less snow tires have a similar tread-depth to all season tires.

I'm not sure if there is a "summer" category of tire.

Sure there is, and I have been using them for years.

There are a bunch of different categories and sub-categories for tires. Here is a link with a bunch of them.

The basic ones are:
Summer Passenger
All-Season Passenger
Winter / Snow Passenger Tires
Temporary/Compact Spare Tires
Track & Competition DOT Tires
Summer Light Truck/SUV Tires
All-Season Light Truck/SUV Tires
On-/Off-Road Light Truck/SUV Tires
Winter / Snow Light Truck/SUV Tires
Trailer Tires

But there are like 20 or more sub-category such as Grand Touring Summer, or Performance Snow.

The MR2 on my avatar photo has Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec tires, which are in the Extreme Summer Performance category.