Hey guys, been a while...
Beautiful day in Kansas City so figured I'd take the D off the trickle charger and use it to run errands. It's been about a month since I drove it last. I barely got down the driveway before I realized something was very not right with the steering. Pulling back up into my drive I got out and found the pass side front tire was 100% flat. I rolled the air compressor out and filled the tire, then pulled into the garage and lifted the front up, taking the wheel off. No nails or anything. Hmm.
I took it to Discount Tire, thinking they could dismount it and figure out what happened - probably the valve stem? They said they wish they could help but the tire is over 10 years old and their policy says they can't touch it. But they can definitely sell me a set of tires - Uniroyal Tiger Paws in 195 and 225 for $511 out of the door.
I then took it to Big O where we realized that the schrader valve is the problem - a new schrader insert and I was good to go once again. I then drove all day with no issues.
Anyway this got me thinking - You can't get good tires in a matching factory size set like the Michelin XGT's (which is what I have) anymore. I only have about 10K on my set and they still look new, but true, they are getting old and while they don't show any sign of failure now, I'm probably getting close to borrowed time.
What's the consensus these days on tires? Are the Tiger Paws seriously the best we have now? Does anyone make the bigger wheels in factory style anymore?