New tires, they rock.

[randomness]

I decided it was time to buy four new tires instead of just replacing the one that had blown. Why? Well, the tire that actually blew was one I picked up to replace one which failed in Santa Maria, CA, back in the summer of '01, whose sole purpose was to get me back East. Well, it certainly did that, and probably 50k more. No complaints.

And it was the newest one on the car.

So, when I limped on up to Maynard and Lesieur, up in Nashua, NH with three old tires and one donut spare (newly acquired from Holland Used Auto Parts in North Billerica, MA for the princely sum of $10, wheel included) I told them to swap out the two failed tires--the one which had blown, and the one which had had a tread separation on 128 a while back--hand me back the newest of the remaining tires as a full-sized spare, and put four new tires on the car.

Efficient bunch, Maynard and Lesieur. (Thanks for repeating the pointer, frotz.) They had the new tires on and torqued down within 25 minutes of my walking in the door to ask about tires. (And the next day, they retorqued them to make sure everything was tight.)

Boy, does having new tires with actual tread ever make an incredible difference. It's almost like driving a different car. Driving through the downpour we had the last few days was easy with brand-new tires. Hydroplaning rarely happened, and the grip, wet or dry, was impressive. With the old tires, I often used to spin the tires when coming off the line; now I just accelerate cleanly when I let out the clutch, regardless of how hard I push it.

Of course, now I have seven wheels (two donut, five full-sized) and six working tires (five full-sized and one donut) for the car. I wonder what I should do about the extra donut wheel. I imagine should probably just dump the bad donut tire, but that would require removing it from the donut wheel.

Comments

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

totally off-topic...

so, where are you this week?

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Right now, in Somerville, but I need to be back in CT midweek to help my Dad with something; end of this week I should be back.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

I'm waiting for new tires for my car to arrive, and just hope to get the same results as you did. In any case, I have ordered something with a better rating for driving on wet or frozen roads. (Ben took the car in for an oil change last week, and was told that it was unsafe to drive on account of damage to both front tires, probably from hitting curbs or potholes.) I don't know where he will take it to put tires on, but it might be the same place.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Best of luck!

My impression is that M&L generally install tires they sell themselves, although they certainly wouldn't turn away business. :)

[frotz.livejournal.com]

They will install random tires, but I've found them usually cheaper than mail-order on the tires they sell.

[ishaa.livejournal.com]

Let me know if you figure out that there is a clever Internet site for people to trade such things? I have a big box of useful bits and pieces for a 1996 Ford Taurus that is long gone.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I'll let you know if I do, definitely, although unless it stumbles over me I probably won't find it.

[amarysta.livejournal.com]

i am in boston now.
you are near boston i think?
will you be at colby's?
we should have dinner sometime :)

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I'm in West Somerville, near Davis Sq. T, along with most of the rest of the Somerville Alpha Delts. Nearly all of us will be at the luau, yes. (Personally, I have no excuse. I'm helping.)

I just talked to midsummernd, who said that a whole bunch of recent folks--JK, JR, and she herself--would be there, too.

And yes, we should have dinner sometime!

[(Anonymous)]

Doesn't a used full-size tire have the big disadvantage as a spare of having a "handedness"? I thought that once modern permanent tires had been driven for more than a few miles, they were unsafe to switch sides of the car with. Am I wrong? Or are you using the tire just as a spare for one side, with the donut tire for the other side? Or something else?

--Adam, who can't be bothered to log in.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

Nope, that was a problem when radials first came out, but (according to various sources) that issue has not been a problem for some years (decades?).

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

From an article on the California State Automobile Association site:

"An old myth is that radial tires should only be switched front to rear on the same side of the car. Manufacturing technology in the 1970s wasn't what it is today. Tire molds weren't as precise, and radial plies were known to acquire a rotational set, or direction. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, many carmakers recommended keeping radials continuously on the same side of the car. That hasn't been the case for years, however, except for high-performance directional tires."

[(Anonymous)]

Huh. Cool. Thanks for letting me know. :)

--Adam

[(Anonymous)]

New tires (http://spaces.msn.com/fordparts2dmax/blog/cns!2A7EBF83EBAD8F10!295.entry) also help you out decrease your chances of experiencing rollovers.

[candle-light.livejournal.com]

Hey! You were like a mile or two from my house and you didn't say hi. :-(

Anyways, yes ain't Holland Used Auto Parts grand? I'm glad you got new tires, it really makes a world of difference.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I was, but I'm not exactly sure where your house is anymore. :(