Finally getting wheels refurbished

[matt8]

8 minutes ago, Stuart Aspey said:

Costco do tyre fitting.... Very interesting to know. I'll check them out for prices. 

They do indeed. Give the Costco tyre centre a call, their in-store prices are cheaper and they have more options.

Their current brand on promotion is Michelin, so maybe look at the Pilot Sport 4s.

I did exactly what you're doing with a refurb of the wheels. But instead of having old tyres fitted and balanced on brand new rims, I ordered my tyres and collected then from Costco. I then took to the refurb place. If anybody is going to be careful about not damaging the newly refurbished tyres in fitting, it's the refurb place themselves.

Balancing tyres involves sticking those weights to the rim too. When you put new tyres on, the fitter will just bash them off. You won't want that doing with your shiny, newly refurbished rims!

[200h]

below is a quote for my last IS300h F Sport 255/35/18 & 225/40/18 tyres

at £418.81 is a pretty good price and then there is a 5% discount code TY5NTADV

that is to be applied so the price would be just under £400

[Stuart Aspey]

15 minutes ago, matt8 said:

They do indeed. Give the Costco tyre centre a call, their in-store prices are cheaper and they have more options.

Their current brand on promotion is Michelin, so maybe look at the Pilot Sport 4s.

I did exactly what you're doing with a refurb of the wheels. But instead of having old tyres fitted and balanced on brand new rims, I ordered my tyres and collected then from Costco. I then took to the refurb place. If anybody is going to be careful about not damaging the newly refurbished tyres in fitting, it's the refurb place themselves.

Balancing tyres involves sticking those weights to the rim too. When you put new tyres on, the fitter will just bash them off. You won't want that doing with your shiny, newly refurbished rims!

Completely understand, but I only purchased my tyres back in November, what with lockdown, I doubt if I've even done 500 miles on them. 

[matt8]

29 minutes ago, Stuart Aspey said:

Completely understand, but I only purchased my tyres back in November, what with lockdown, I doubt if I've even done 500 miles on them. 

Understood. In which case, it'd be sore buying another set so soon. Sad to see it cost you £75 a corner though.

Good luck with the refurb!

[Stuart Aspey]

When the next tyres are needed, I will of course look to pay extra for better quality and road handling. 

[LenT]

On 1/21/2021 at 9:26 PM, Stuart Aspey said:

Yes, this is simply curbing

You might like to consider having a set of Alloygator Rim Protectors fitted.  My local Chips Away guy did a splendid job on my first kerbings, but I soon realised that Alloygators would pay for themselves.

Now the odd scrape is simply a reminder of what could have happened to the wheel rim instead!

 

[Linas.P]

13 hours ago, Stuart Aspey said:

Budget tyres are always an arguing point and one I'm not going to spend much time defending. 

Despite being budget tyres, they set me back £250 fully fitted and balanced. 

Yes, I completely understand that Dunlop / Bridgestone / Pirelli are better tyres, but £150+ per tyre sure hurts my head. Lol. 

That is false economy... and it only hurts your head because you looking at the cost upfront, rather than comparing cost per mile.

Almost any premium tyre I ever had paid for itself twice over just on mileage alone. First of all, they do not cost £150/tyre.. yes you can spend that much, but equally I appreciate that not every one needs Michelin PS4s... fairly reasonable Dunlop SportMaxx RT2's costs ~£80 for fronts and ~£110 for rears (just checked now and in Blackcircles and price is slightly up, but you get £25-off when you buy 4, so total of £385 for 4 tyres fitted) . Yes that is £380 fully fitted over £250, but they are much quieter, have better fuel economy, have excellent wet and dry grip and covered nearly 40k miles. I am quite sure that by the time you do that mileage on those cheap tyres you may need to replace them twice.

So what we are really comparing is 2 sets of cheap tyres which are definitely worse in all comparable ways for £500 vs 1 set of premium tyres for £380 which are as well better.

Dunlops are just example, because I had them myself, but Goodyear and Continental have very similar tyres. Pirelli and Michelin are little bit more expensive - so add £20-30 per tyre on them. As it happens I had Michelin PS4 fitted on my old car for free and therefore the cost was not a factor to consider, but again after 26k miles they still had good 6mm of thread left... I haven't driven them to point of replacement so cannot say if they actually do 50k+ miles, but if that the case even at higher price they still worth it.

Finally, I understand some people my think "I am careful driver, I am not speeding, I am not one of thus dumb youngsters racing on the public roads and therefore I don't needs these fancy premium tyres, budget will be just enough considering my driving etc."... Well think again - when some idiot is going to cut in front of you, that 1 or 2 metres of extra braking distance can be 1 or 2 metres past when your face hits the airbag (doesn't sound as bad as hitting the wheel, but at least our cars are relatively safe).

p.s. there is one trick if you on the budget - you can consider Debica, Sava (mayde by Goodyear/Dunlop) or Uniroyal (made by Michelin). They are much cheaper because they are not considered "branded or premium", but they are made on exactly same lines and using very similar if not the same rubber compounds and manufacturing process. Sure, they won't last like "true" premium tyres, but at least they won't out you in the danger like chinesium brands.

[Brechin Slate]

Why do Lexus put the Bridgestone Turanzas on as OE? Is it just that they've negotiated a good deal or do they really believe that they're the best tyres for our cars?

[200h]

i'm guessing its price based and not whats best for the car,

the yokohama tyres lexus use to fit are so noisy i could never

understand why they would fit a noisy tyre to a car from

the quiet revolution (kylie tv advert)

[Malc]

I remember with the original Ls400 and Dunlop actually developed the DZ8 tyre for the " new " car

Malc

[Linas.P]

3 hours ago, Brechin Slate said:

Why do Lexus put the Bridgestone Turanzas on as OE? Is it just that they've negotiated a good deal or do they really believe that they're the best tyres for our cars?

Lexus fitted S001 or S005 Potenzas, all Turanzas and all Yokohamas are hopeless. In fact I no longer consider Bridgestone or Yokohama as premium brand, I rather class them in "mid-range" together with Toyo, Kuhmo, Avon, Falken and similar. Certainly Uniroyal Rainsport is better tyre than anything the rest of the bunch can offer combined. The only reason I cannot recommend Rainsport 5 is the price, which now approaches Goodyear/Dunlop and Continental.

So yes, must be just a price Lexus gets and support for "fellow Japanese brand", but overall Brigestones are terrible tyres for road car. The only exception are RE050 which actually quite decent for light track use and fast road. Not great fuel economy or noise, but grip and feel is not bad. When it comes to replacement I would never buy Bridgestone or Yokohama.

I sadly still have two Potenzas S001 on the rear because they were brand new when I bought my RC and I barely done 5000 miles now. The only excuse not to throw them away is that at least they are not dangerous like chinesium tyres. But as soon as they get to like 5mm or I have puncture in one of them they will go.

[Stuart Aspey]

17 hours ago, Linas.P said:

That is false economy... and it only hurts your head because you looking at the cost upfront, rather than comparing cost per mile.

Almost any premium tyre I ever had paid for itself twice over just on mileage alone. First of all, they do not cost £150/tyre.. yes you can spend that much, but equally I appreciate that not every one needs Michelin PS4s... fairly reasonable Dunlop SportMaxx RT2's costs ~£80 for fronts and ~£110 for rears (just checked now and in Blackcircles and price is slightly up, but you get £25-off when you buy 4, so total of £385 for 4 tyres fitted) . Yes that is £380 fully fitted over £250, but they are much quieter, have better fuel economy, have excellent wet and dry grip and covered nearly 40k miles. I am quite sure that by the time you do that mileage on those cheap tyres you may need to replace them twice.

So what we are really comparing is 2 sets of cheap tyres which are definitely worse in all comparable ways for £500 vs 1 set of premium tyres for £380 which are as well better.

Dunlops are just example, because I had them myself, but Goodyear and Continental have very similar tyres. Pirelli and Michelin are little bit more expensive - so add £20-30 per tyre on them. As it happens I had Michelin PS4 fitted on my old car for free and therefore the cost was not a factor to consider, but again after 26k miles they still had good 6mm of thread left... I haven't driven them to point of replacement so cannot say if they actually do 50k+ miles, but if that the case even at higher price they still worth it.

Finally, I understand some people my think "I am careful driver, I am not speeding, I am not one of thus dumb youngsters racing on the public roads and therefore I don't needs these fancy premium tyres, budget will be just enough considering my driving etc."... Well think again - when some idiot is going to cut in front of you, that 1 or 2 metres of extra braking distance can be 1 or 2 metres past when your face hits the airbag (doesn't sound as bad as hitting the wheel, but at least our cars are relatively safe).

p.s. there is one trick if you on the budget - you can consider Debica, Sava (mayde by Goodyear/Dunlop) or Uniroyal (made by Michelin). They are much cheaper because they are not considered "branded or premium", but they are made on exactly same lines and using very similar if not the same rubber compounds and manufacturing process. Sure, they won't last like "true" premium tyres, but at least they won't out you in the danger like chinesium brands.

Yes, I completely understand the logic vs upfront costs, my arguments are that I have spent £250+ less than months ago and the tyre wear is less than 500 miles. I simply cannot justify changing the tyres this soon. 

 

Yes, while the tyres are being taken off the rim for them to be refurbed would make sense to have new tyres fitted, but the tyres coming off are effectively new anyway. 

 

When the tyres need to be changed, I will certainly look at the Michelin and Bridgestone and other premium tyres as the increase in cost is not that much more than what I have paid for silly name budgets. This I am not arguing with. 

[ColinBarber]

4 hours ago, Brechin Slate said:

Why do Lexus put the Bridgestone Turanzas on as OE? Is it just that they've negotiated a good deal or do they really believe that they're the best tyres for our cars?

Good enough for a price, and able to supply in the quantities and locations required. They typically use a Japanese supplier for obvious reasons.

When you get into the higher end then performance is put higher up the priority list and possibly the requirement for bespoke tyres  (F series vehicles, LFA etc.).

[Linas.P]

45 minutes ago, Stuart Aspey said:

Yes, I completely understand the logic vs upfront costs, my arguments are that I have spent £250+ less than months ago and the tyre wear is less than 500 miles. I simply cannot justify changing the tyres this soon. 

Yes, while the tyres are being taken off the rim for them to be refurbed would make sense to have new tyres fitted, but the tyres coming off are effectively new anyway. 

Yes, I appreciate that - actually I noticed they look quite "meaty" still. So indeed considering the circumstances your position makes sense. In some way I am in similar position with my rear tyres.

And again you right - when refurbishing wheels you can simply get "mail-order" price rather than "fitted", which is usually another £8-12 cheaper per tyre. So if you could save £25 on set + £48 for fitting, then suddenly new tyre price becomes much more affordable.

Which probably brings me to another point - all considered maybe delay the refurbishment until tyres needs changing? I am sure you will not be bit fan of this option and I understand why (your wheels really desperately needs refurbishment), but it is an option nonetheless 😁

[LenT]

3 hours ago, 200h said:

the yokohama tyres lexus use to fit are so noisy...

So true!

They were on my IS250 when I acquired it and I took the first opportunity to replace them - which came surprisingly early.

I was going to fit Michelin CrossClimates, having put a set on my Honda Accord just days before the car was written off on the M25!  But Michelin only did one of the two sizes I needed.  Fortunately Goodyear had just launched the Eagle F5 Asymmetric which have proved to be an excellent choice - not only in all round performance but also in restoring a sense of quiet calm to the interior.

 

[Stuart Aspey]

16 hours ago, Linas.P said:

Yes, I appreciate that - actually I noticed they look quite "meaty" still. So indeed considering the circumstances your position makes sense. In some way I am in similar position with my rear tyres.

And again you right - when refurbishing wheels you can simply get "mail-order" price rather than "fitted", which is usually another £8-12 cheaper per tyre. So if you could save £25 on set + £48 for fitting, then suddenly new tyre price becomes much more affordable.

Which probably brings me to another point - all considered maybe delay the refurbishment until tyres needs changing? I am sure you will not be bit fan of this option and I understand why (your wheels really desperately needs refurbishment), but it is an option nonetheless 😁

It is an option, but the car was dropped off on Friday. 🤣

[Linas.P]

so it rather "was" an option 😁

Anyhow, I hope the wheel refurbishment will workout great for you! good luck and drive carefully on those tyres... 

[Stuart Aspey]

Picking the car up tomorrow morning. Photos will follow. 

[Stuart Aspey]

[Stuart Aspey]

[Stuart Aspey]

[Stuart Aspey]

[Brechin Slate]

I think you can safely change your signature now! 😀

[Stuart Aspey]

I couldn't see my signature on the mobile version, just switched to desktop view and yes, I need to change my signature. Lol

 

Also, I haven't used Fuelly in a while...   

Edited January 27, 2021 by Stuart Aspey
Added additional text

[200h]

 the only thing that spoils the wheels are the rusty locking wheel nuts

 i had some silver wheel paint and gave my nuts a quick paint they look great now