Tire question

Tell that the the automakers and the tire companies.

Let me be a little more specific. These PARTICULAR Michelins dont seem to have a long treadlife.

I have had several sets of Michelins of other types, on other cars, and have gotten ca 70K out of them. I am in general a strong supporter of Michelin.

I had looked into buying a Porsche but was put off by the expensive tires which had to be changed very frequently ( 15-20K miles or so). They were that way to give the ride that many Porsche owners wanted. Same for Avalon, I think.

This is surprising. I bought Michelins for my old Camry not too long ago. The original Michelins on the car had 85K+ miles on them. The least expensive Michelins I could find had a 45K mile tread life. I think something else is going on here. Were the tires properly inflated? Did they wear evenly? Do you like to smoke the tires when pulling away from the light? Wait, I take that last question back. I don't think that's possible with an Avalon.

Tim K

####Your old Camry didnt come with this type of tire. (and it IS a fairly expensive tire...I believe they were $185 each to replace) It is VERY possible to buy Michelins that will give you 70-80k for some applications.

####The tires were properly inflated, and were rotated. They wore very evenly and had great traction. I couldnt believe it either, but found them on Tire Rack and other users who reviewed tdhem seem to have similar results.

It would be very possible with this one, but - no - I dont smoke the tires.

That's right. The Michelin Primacy at Costco is about $125 w/ installation. And these have a 600 tread rating (approx 60K miles) with a 60K mile warranty. And if people are saying the cheap Bridgestones last only 15-20K miles then owners shouldn't pay more than $35-50 having a Bridgestone installed (otherwise these cheap tires would cost too much).

If the drive axle tires are sitting on one of those stick-on white stripes, not at all hard. My minivan, with even less power, does it easily.

Tire Rack shows my originals should have been Michelin Energy MVX4s. UTQC is 440. They are now $177 each, plus shipping, mounting, etc.

Toyota uses Bridgestone tires because it is a Japanese company and the Jap only buy from other Japs whenever possible

Your second sentence may be true in general, but I believe that the Prius at least for some years came with Goodyears. Unfortunately, my last two company cars (not toyota) had the same tires, and they're unbelievably awful.

nate

Mike wrote:

Neither of my new Toyotas came with Bridgestones. They BOTH came with Michelins.

Did you find the word 'exclusively' anywhere in that post? ;)

Depends on where the cars are built and end up. Toyota used to send cars built in the US to Japan. I don't know if they still do. In addition, Toyota will use US-sourced parts in the cars it makes in the US, where the parts are available. In fact, besides making engines and transmissions in the US, it gets about $20 billion of parts and services in the US every year (the number used to be closer to $30 billion, but with the recession, it is buying less in the US).

Jeff

You made a blanket statement, although the grammar in the sentence is a little lacking.

"Toyota uses Bridgestone tires because it is a Japanese company" is an independent clause. If you had said "Toyota (often or sometimes )uses Bridgestone tires because it is a Japanese company" your foot wouldn't have gone in your mouth.

Both my cars came with Michelins, and Bridgestone is irrelevant to this thought thread.

Try this: Toyota uses Bridgestone tires because it is a Japanese company and the Jap only buy from other Japs whenever possible, if not they buy Michelins, sometimes, because they are cheaper. LOL

You mean now that Toyota US sales are off over 40%, it still gets about $20 billion of parts and services in the US every year. Primary from other Japanese owned US and Canadian suppliers who return the profits, US federal tax free, to Japan to be redistributed to Japanese Corporations? LOL

Depends on where the cars are built and end up. Toyota used to send cars built in the US to Japan. I don't know if they still do. In addition, Toyota will use US-sourced parts in the cars it makes in the US, where the parts are available. In fact, besides making engines and transmissions in the US, it gets about $20 billion of parts and services in the US every year (the number used to be closer to $30 billion, but with the recession, it is buying less in the US).

Jeff

If you are going to crack on his grammar, you might have noticed that the "it" that is a Japanese Company is non-specific. "Because Bridgestone is a Japanese company" or "because Toyota is a Japanese company" or "because both are Japanese companies" would have been more accurate.

The grammar police should know better.