What tires are you running on??? Its been 8 yrs.

[novadmc]

I jack the car up and take the wheels to a shop and have them put them on the rims, balance and put them on myself. Once, a installer jacked the car and cracked the fiberglass under the battery area. Another I gave specific instructions to put the weights on the inside of the wheel. Of course they put them on the outside cracking off very rare dark grey paint sending me into a rage.

Yep. That was exactly my plan. Once the tires get here and I have some free time I’m just going to get the car up on jack stands and throw everything into my suv.

Sucks about what happened to your car!

[Shep]

Kumho Solus KR-21. Full set. Look fantastic, I've been running them since about March of 2012. Still looking sharp!

http://www.kumhotireusa.com/tire-cat.../49/solus-kr21

Also, I don't get too, what's the word, adulterous? on the tires to the point of jealousy on another guy's. Some guys do -- a LOT of some guys -- but I'm not one of them, so I base usability on sheer usability, not on looks. Some guys like a lady's bosom (holla!), some like the legs or the butt (neither my cup of tea), other guys go for other areas. Not my flavor of joe, ya know? Anyways.

Kumho is brand new, straight from the manufacturer, none of that "discount tire overstock, been sitting in a warehouse aging without you" type of sales here. (Other brands also still sell new, I'm not saying Kumho is alone in that one, bear with me.) Discount outlets have their uses (snow tires is one of them -- I desperately need to grab some for my daily), but if you're not daily driving the car, and you replace the tires on age rather than wear, buying discount is only going to cause more frequent replacements by default of a shorter lifespan. If you do, on the other hand, drive a lot, and frequently have to test the depth of your tires to gauge replacement, it's not a bad option, but do remember, they sometimes hold onto their inventory a really long time, I've seen a 5-year-old inventory on tires at times (known only by the fact that the same tires had been "end-of-life" by the manufacturer for that duration). But it's not always done that way either. They buy in batches, it's the volume discounts that they pass onto the consumer.

Also, just to address a point that I hope to god nobody is dumb enough to make here: don't retread. Just don't, not on a DeLorean anyways.

[mr_maxime]

I wanted the Kumhos but they proved impossible to find. That's what eventually led me to the General Altimax RT43.

[Shep]

I wanted the Kumhos but they proved impossible to find. That's what eventually led me to the General Altimax RT43.

DPI carries them, he installed mine while it was there. NTB might be able to source them too, especially since they're still being made.

[novadmc]

... but do remember, they sometimes hold onto their inventory a really long time, I've seen a 5-year-old inventory on tires at times (known only by the fact that the same tires had been "end-of-life" by the manufacturer for that duration). But it's not always done that way either. They buy in batches, it's the volume discounts that they pass onto the consumer....

even buying from a local tire shop can have this issue. that said, I agree, tire age of a "new" tire should be looked at when purchasing. simplifying it to "discount tire shops = poor choice for our cars" is not entirely accurate. a simple solution is to simply check the date code once you get a set of tires, and return them if you feel they are too old for your liking (tirerack in particular allows this return).

that said, i checked my new Generals, oldest MFG date is 1317 (13th week of 2017, so last week in March, 2017). 8 months since being made. not brand spanking new, but not 5 year old inventory by any stretch. barring any issues, I'm expecting an additional 8-10 years out of them.

[ssdelorean]

195/60/14 Cooper Touring in the front and 235/60/15Cooper Cobras in the rear. Drives great! Tread patterns are not the same but at least the brand is matching.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you want a closer sidewall look & tread pattern you can go with Cooper CS3 (front) & CS5 (rear). Been running those since July 2017. Tiny bit of more info on them from me here.

[Shep]

even buying from a local tire shop can have this issue. that said, I agree, tire age of a "new" tire should be looked at when purchasing. simplifying it to "discount tire shops = poor choice for our cars" is not entirely accurate. a simple solution is to simply check the date code once you get a set of tires, and return them if you feel they are too old for your liking (tirerack in particular allows this return).

"sometimes" in my post needed more emphasis, that's not a generalized statement, but definitely sounds like one re-reading it.

Discount Tire is a volume buyer, low-quantity seller. Most discount tire shops are, but if you have a strange tire size, and he tires aren't being produced anymore, and they have it in stock, it's likely from a very early order in the tire's run. As DeLorean owners, we get the double whammy of TWO strange tire sizes, and an even further whammy of only needing two of each. This is why the problem is so prevalent -- it's literally just a byproduct of the business that, unless someone's actively producing tires, is unavoidable.

I'm glad you mentioned Tire Rack, I couldn't find any snow tires in stock anywhere at all and I've been quite confused as a result, I will check them out as its almost Christmas and nobody knows what snow is?!

[novadmc]

"sometimes" in my post needed more emphasis, that's not a generalized statement, but definitely sounds like one re-reading it.

Discount Tire is a volume buyer, low-quantity seller. Most discount tire shops are, but if you have a strange tire size, and he tires aren't being produced anymore, and they have it in stock, it's likely from a very early order in the tire's run. As DeLorean owners, we get the double whammy of TWO strange tire sizes, and an even further whammy of only needing two of each. This is why the problem is so prevalent -- it's literally just a byproduct of the business that, unless someone's actively producing tires, is unavoidable.

I'm glad you mentioned Tire Rack, I couldn't find any snow tires in stock anywhere at all and I've been quite confused as a result, I will check them out as its almost Christmas and nobody knows what snow is?!

it's all good. I do fully agree. the oddball OEM tire sizes does add a greater burden to finding replacement tires nowadays. and matching tread patterns even harder.

update to getting my Generals installed: finally too the car for a drive. what.a.difference.

my assumption was correct that my right front had lost its weight and was out of balance, so having new rubber that isn't flat spotted, plus balanced wheels again made a huge improvement. wheel no longer shakes at highway speeds and feels super smooth under acceleration. the new tires definitely have more grip than what was on the car before. car felt much more glued to the road in aggressive turns. makes driving the car so much more enjoyable (and safe).

[mr_maxime]

I finally had to drive in some pretty bad rain and the Generals did have much better grip than my Toyos did near the end. Before it was my daily driver I avoided driving in the rain with it so I don't exactly remember how it felt.

[spaceboyusa]

I just put new tread on 11749 three months back. I soul-searched through all the issues mentioned in this thread (go bigger, go smaller, go different makes/models to match OEM size). In the end, I went with the BFG Radial T/A RWL 245/60/15s on the back and 215/60/14s up front. My main reasons for doing this: I wanted the same tire on front and back (couldn't do the CS3/CS5 as they simply look too different), and didn't want to knock the back down to 225 to get matching fronts/backs. So far, no regrets: I like the bigger tire filling up the front wheel well more, and the RWL grows on me each day.