Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Wow. I just had a rude awakening from Discount Tire this morning. After receiving my new Superlite wheels yesterday (still in the boxes - can't open them 'till Christmas), I thought it'd be a good idea to go over to Discount Tire and order the new Falken Azenzi RT-615 tires (195/60/14) since they would likely need to be ordered from one of their warehouses and I wanted to get a headstart. Well, after buying ALL my tires from Discount for more than 15 years, I decided to purchase these tires elsewhere. Discount quoted $476 (tires, mounting/balancing, tax and some minor fee). Whoa! That seemed like an awful lot, so I passed, went home and got on the web. 20 minutes later, I had my tires ordered from Vulcan Tire. Total cost, including shipping - $288. Note that Vulcan wasn't the absolute cheapest price per tire, but based on my location, it was the cheapest total price since I had to include the shipping. I figure it'll cost me about $15 per tire to have them mounted and balanced somewhere (I wonder if Discount will do it?) So, total cost will be about $350 - quite a big difference. Discount has always offered fantastic service (if you don't mind the hour and a half wait times), but I just couldn't justify it for a 25% premium in price.

Just my .02 cents

Merry Christmas All!

Shannon

I have never bought from Discount, but they always offer to match prices if I can find a better deal. I used to buy tires at Costco for a great all-in price, but now they only carry Michelin tires. The last set of tires I actually bought from TireRack because they had a $100 rebate which made their price competitive, otherwise those guys are typically too pricey for me.

Check out Edge Racing @ www.edgeracing.com
I've purchased 3 sets of Azenis tires (RT215 & 615) from them...

I had checked w/ edgeracing.com too, but w/ shipping cost, their total came out to $313. Since I hadn't had any prior experience w/ any of these companies other than Discount Tire, I just went with the lowest total price I could find (after making sure they were in good standing w/ the BBB).

BTW, I would have preferred to go w/ Discount since they are local and do have great service, even if it would have cost a little bit more, but the difference was too great. Not to mention, when I went into Discount, I asked them to give me the absolute best price. I suppose if I'd gone in prepared w/ my Internet quotes, I may've gotten them to reduce the price, but I sometimes resent playing that game. And since their 'best' price was $476, I wasn't in the mood to go back and give them a 2nd chance. I guess my inner Grinch came out.

Shannon

i have bought from edge racing before, great price. Looks like the falkens are $299 shipped (including tax) i know what im getting after the first of the year...

Steve

Not to beat a dead horse here, but in this case I assume we're interested in the best deal. Steve, you should consider buying them from highperformancetire.com. They have a $20 discount available until Dec. 25th. So if you ordered today, it would cost you about $269 (based on shipping to Deltona). (I didn't order from them because there shipping to my area would have been a higher total cost than what I got at Vulcan tire). Just a consideration to save a few more bucks.

Shannon

I ordered two falkens from Edgeracing.com, $42 per tire, $7 per tire for shipping. Mounting/balancing was $15 at the local firestone for both.

Evan, at that price, I think you purchased the RT-215, not the RT-615. The 615 is their newest tire and costs about double the 215.

Howard R wrote:Evan, at that price, I think you purchased the RT-215, not the RT-615. The 615 is their newest tire and costs about double the 215.

oops!
you are correct...
why did they go up in price? thats what I loved about the falkens. Stickiness for cheap.

Hey Shannon.

I ordered my falkens from Vulcan Tire as well. For the RT-615 it was $61 a tire. Tires showed up in only 2-3 days.

The 615s are better than the 215s. I don't know if they are $30 each better, but they are better. They are lighter, have more heat cycles, and dont get greasy when they get hot. I wish the side walls were a little stiffer, however the trade off is weight. I think I will get a set for the Alfa when I get some wheels that are worth putting a set on. They hold up when lots of negitive camber is present, and stick like glue until they suddenly don't have any grip (long after they should have been replaced.)

I can't say anything bad about them, aside from the higher price.

Will

I found some 215's for $47 each and some 615's for $63 each online. I took the quotes to Discount and they matched the price of the 615's with shipping included. They didn't match the 215's because they were discontinued. I could have purchased them online and mounted them myself because I've got a Coats 4040 but I don't have a balancer and would just as soon pay the $11 to have them mounted and balanced. Note that you can order from the Tirerack and have the tires delivered to your local Discount Tire store. They have an agreement between them. I think the shipping is free that way. Too bad Tirerack doesn't sell Falken.

After the local Sears did my balancing, 3 plus POUNDS of wheel weights, Not the machine, the kid didn't know how to use it and was chasing weights. I got a refund on the balancing and I took it to the local hotrod guy, still boxes his own frame rails, and aligns straight axles, NOT high tech. He uses a 50 year old Snap-on bubble balancer, static type. Said he never had a problem or a complaint. Bring them back if they vibrate. About 2 or 3 ounces a wheel this time. Took it up over 90 MPH, not a wobble, nothing in the "usual" 50-60mph vibration range either. Low tech strikes again.