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reputable tire dealer near NYC, and tire question

Last night I blew out my right rear tire, and it's unfortunately time to buy a new set of tires (I had Michelin Rainforce MX4's with about

65,000 miles on them, so I was probably due for new tires anyway).

I normally get my service work done at Dan Perkins Subaru in Milford CT -- I've had excellent experience with them and trust their work. Under normal conditions, I would have bought my tires there (or near there) and have the dealer do the balancing and alignment. However, I'm now running the space-saver donut tire on which I have already travelled 35 miles. Driving an additional 100 miles up to Milford is obviously a bad idea.

Can anyone recommend a reasonably-priced tire dealer within 20-30 miles of NYC that they would trust to do a proper job of alignment and balancing? I live on the lower west side of Manhattan, so any dealers in New Jersey within 20-30 miles of the Holland or Lincoln tunnels would be great.

Also, that age-old question, any recommendation for replacement tires? I'm looking for all-season tires, something reasonably priced; my priorities are long-wear, good handling (wet/dry) and quiet/comfortable ride in that order. I don't get a lot of snow (unfortunately), but do get up into the mountains maybe twice each winter. I've always had good experience with Michelins, but they are expensive and their all-season tires seem to be less comfortable on snow than the competion. The other contenders seem to be the Bridgestone Turanza LS-T, Yokohama Avid Touring, Goodyear Regatta 2, or Pirelli P400. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance, Zack

1990 Subaru Legacy Wagon AWD 155,000 miles
Reply to
Zack
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Zack,

If you _don't_ have a limited-slip differential on the rear , and you _do_ have an automatic transmission, install the "FWD" fuse and drive to Milford (in fact, you could drive to the moon and back without damaging the drivetrain as long as the "FWD" fuse is installed). If you have a limited-slip diff on the rear and/or a manual transmission, find a closer tire dealer.

As far a tires go, I recommed the Continental ContiExtremeContact. They're excellent in the wet and dry, and not to shabby in the snow. Haven't had them in the ice yet.

Reply to
Verbs Under My Gel

I got "Futura Plus Touring SE" tires from PepBoys just before last winter. Pretty good tires with 75K warranty. For set of 4, with installation, geometry, balance, and free "life time" tire rotation I paid about $330. Since last year I have about 20K on them and had no problem.

Reply to
Guest

I just bought the Bridgestone Turanza LS-T. According to the ratings at tirerack.com these are the BEST all season tires around. I had the Pep Boys Futura tires in the past (they are made by Cooper). The Futura weren't bad tires but good enough if your budget is limited. Personally I stick with major brands.

~Howard

Zack wrote:

Reply to
Howard R. Silverstein

obviously a bad idea>>

carefully driven (i.e. no Petter Solberg like stunts on the way), there should be no problem at all. Call the dealership to get their verification of the idea if you wish.

Reply to
mac

There seems to be lots of confusion on the question of driving with the donut. The manual for my '90 Legacy AWD (no limited-slip differential, which I don't think was an option for that year) says nothing about using the front wheel drive fuse in this situation. When I called the Subaru dealer whose service dept I trust completely and explained the situation, they said don't use the FWD fuse and -- even though they knew it meant that they would lose the sale of 4 tires to me -- told me not drive more than 50 miles on the donut if I could avoid it.

Another Subaru dealer which is decent but which I trust less than the one just mentioned told me to use the FWD fuse with the spare, but again not to drive more than 50 miles on the spare if at all possible.

So I called Subaru USA, spoke to the tech person who answered the phone and asked about using the FWD fuse with the donut spare. She said she would check and was off the phone for a long time. When she returned, she apologized and explained that she had gotten conflicting responses from the people she consulted! (though everyone agreed on not driving more than 50 miles). She asked me to wait a bit longer and she would track down the senior tech person and get his advice. She eventually came back this person's final explanation: Subaru had initially declared that the FWD fuse should not be used while driving with the donut in the rear on '90 Legacies (hence the lack of mention in the manual); however, a few years ago they changed their minds and now recommend using the FWD fuse while driving with the spare in the rear. In any case, they recommend not driving further than 50 miles before replacing with a full size tire. I assume (though I didn't ask) that this answer would apply to all first generation Legacies.

And of course the 50mph speed limitation on the tire should also be remembered!

Zack '90 Legacy Wagon AWD automatic 155,000 miles

Reply to
Zack

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