[zbgirl]

Its been a few years since I bought new tires and I don't remember being charged extra:

I decided to go with the Nok WRG3 at Kal Tire. I decided against the Bridgestone Drive Guard run flat tires for the noise and handling reasons.

So, is this invoice normal or is there some 'padding?"
(Apart from the 216/60R/60 tires at 187.25 x 4)
There is a disposal fee of 20.00 - pretty typical.
Lead free passenger wheel balance $20 x 4
Rubber valve stems! 3.52 x 4
? 4 wheel alignment 114.95 ?

My hubby says KT wants to do a wheel alignment to cover their butt in the event there is poor tread wear due to non-alignment.

I am glad I bought Platinum Tire and Rim insurance for the car. Too bad they don't cover hitting the *&# curb!

 

[JPA]

Valves are usually replaced with new ones when mounting new tires.
I would take my car to 4 wheel alignment check if I would have hit curb so hard that tire gets torn.

 

[NotAPreppie]

It's generally a good idea to get an alignment when you get new tires because you don't want to start off a brand new set of tires with weird tire wear.

That said, it's not absolutely necessary. I'd do it just for the peace of mind.

 

[CeramicCX]

I bought a set of the WRG3s in November from Kal Tire for another vehicle. I'm pretty sure that all I paid for was tires and tax. Maybe the disposal fee. They had a promo including the alignment. I live on Vancouver Island. Wheel balance and stems should be included.

 

[Dean]

My hubby says KT wants to do a wheel alignment to cover their butt in the event there is poor tread wear due to non-alignment.

agree

I would take my car to 4 wheel alignment check if I would have hit curb so hard that tire gets torn.

agree

It's generally a good idea to get an alignment when you get new tires because you don't want to start off a brand new set of tires with weird tire wear.

That said, it's not absolutely necessary. I'd do it just for the peace of mind.

agree




Glad to see you replaced, that was dangerous to drive on.
Hate it when sh.. um stuff like that happens.
New tires is time for zoom-zoom-zoom

 

[zbgirl]

Hey
I went ahead and bought the WRG3's from Kal Tire, and can't believe the difference in ride, noise, and handling.
Granted I was told my alignment was off by a country mile (then why at my last recent service no mention was made of tire wear if such a bad alignment and no tire rotation was done?)

I'm on Vancouver Island too, and where I drive there are lots of gravel driveways. My stock Yokohama Avid S34 would pick up all sorts of crap off the road, literally pieces of stones every where. In the WRG treads, they are a bit wider and don't seem to pick up crap. And the noise reduction, nice.
I don't know about other tire competitors, but KT will cover free all flats, rotations, balancing, and even road debris and hazards (such as the tear in the side wall of my stock tire!). Rotations at the Mazda dealer are $20 so a savings over time. And even with the Platinum Tire Protection I bought at the dealership, KT is in my neighborhood and easy access for me to get to, where the dealer is downtown and one can never get a quick and dirty service done without having to hang around.

I could not find any information about my old stock tires as to how they are in ice and snow. It wasn't "bad" but these new tires look to be the ticket for wet and sub optimal conditions.

 

[NotAPreppie]

I was surprised at how well the stock Yokohama S34 tires did in the snow. I switched them for the old snow tires that I had on my previous car and the difference was barely noticeable. Of course, this lack of difference might have been because those old snows were probably six or seven years old and were about half worn.

I had the WRG2 on my RX-8 many years ago and really liked them overall. Definitely a step-up from No-Season tires on that RWD platform without the rapid wear you get from full-on snow tires.

 

[Dean]

I was surprised at how well the stock Yokohama S34 tires did in the snow. I switched them for the old snow tires that I had on my previous car and the difference was barely noticeable. Of course, this lack of difference might have been because those old snows were probably six or seven years old and were about half worn.

I had the WRG2 on my RX-8 many years ago and really liked them overall. Definitely a step-up from No-Season tires on that RWD platform without the rapid wear you get from full-on snow tires.

I was also very surprised by the OEM tires in 6 inches of snow, slush and even freezing rain.
The problem starts when the temperature drops below -10 C or about 15 F.
The rubber freezes.

 

[NotAPreppie]

I was also very surprised by the OEM tires in 6 inches of snow, slush and even freezing rain.
The problem starts when the temperature drops below -10 C or about 15 F.
The rubber freezes.

Yah, I think my comparison was apples-to-oranges because my snows are pretty old. Plenty of time to harden due to age.

 

[CeramicCX]

Hey
I went ahead and bought the WRG3's from Kal Tire, and can't believe the difference in ride, noise, and handling.
Granted I was told my alignment was off by a country mile (then why at my last recent service no mention was made of tire wear if such a bad alignment and no tire rotation was done?)

I'm on Vancouver Island too, and where I drive there are lots of gravel driveways. My stock Yokohama Avid S34 would pick up all sorts of crap off the road, literally pieces of stones every where. In the WRG treads, they are a bit wider and don't seem to pick up crap. And the noise reduction, nice.
I don't know about other tire competitors, but KT will cover free all flats, rotations, balancing, and even road debris and hazards (such as the tear in the side wall of my stock tire!). Rotations at the Mazda dealer are $20 so a savings over time. And even with the Platinum Tire Protection I bought at the dealership, KT is in my neighborhood and easy access for me to get to, where the dealer is downtown and one can never get a quick and dirty service done without having to hang around.

I could not find any information about my old stock tires as to how they are in ice and snow. It wasn't "bad" but these new tires look to be the ticket for wet and sub optimal conditions.

So far I've been very happy with the WRGs on my Suzuki Grand Vitara. They've been great in our unusually snowy Victoria winter. Hopefully the tread life with be reasonable. The OEM tires on my wife's 2017 CX3 GT have been very good as well. She says it handled the snow "like a boss". Whatever that means. ?