[MBZ] Tire Purchase DIY

[John Berryman]

On May 21, 2006, at 10:34 AM, Kaleb C. Striplin wrote:

> I bought a set of kumhos from tire rack to install on my 85 300D, have
> not done it yet.  Everyone here says they are great.


	Yesterday I had the Falken Ziex ZE512 185-65R15 88H-speed rated  
tires mounted and balanced at our local Sunoco station. I was going  
to get them mounted at Wally-World but my buddy, the gas station  
owner, had the time and an empty lift. Wal-Mart was going to charge  
$3.75 ea dismount, $3.75 ea to mount, $7.50 ea for balancing and  
$4.00 ea for disposal ($81.32 for all 4).
	I could have just done the work myself for free at Sunoco but I  
opted to have them do it for $60.00, no tax and I dropped the worn  
out tires at the town dump, which usually charges $2.00/tire, for  
free because they love me.
	I chose the Falkens after doing some research and upon road-testing  
in torrential rain, I am very satisfied with their wet road-holding.  
I also had the opportunity to put them through their paces on dry  
twisties and I am impressed with the dry handling too. I ran the car  
to about 110mph and the balance was perfect, not even a hint of  
vibration at any speed.
	New tires almost always feel great, when compared to the worn-out  
tires that come off. I'll report my driving impression after 10,000mi  
or so, to be fair.
	FWIW, these Falken Ziex ZE512s are made in Japan and although they  
are shown on   www.tiresavings.com   for $48.00ea I was only charged  
$43.00ea, shipping was $35.36. It seems they knocked off $5.00/tire  
because I bought 4 of them. All told, I paid $267.36

Johnny B.
I Mac Therefore I am