moral dilemma -- tires

[striz923]

So I am the guy that didn't check all of the tires before buying the car. I glanced at the front ones, which had full tread. little time later I noticed that the back tires looked different that the front ones, but couldn't place the difference. Turns out they are all GY/Eagle RSA's, but the front tires look brand new and the back tires are very low on tread (haven't measured). Now the dilemma, I was just going to buy a new set of new GOOD tires a few weeks ago. Got busy never pursued it. Last week had major ice storm here and had a MASSIVE tree lose about 80% of it's limbs, which now needs to be cut down completely. I am looking at about $2k or more to get this beast cut down so it won't fall on my house/car/child/me in the next few years.

So do I:1) Hold off a little longer on my fairly worn tires and get 4 new ones?2) Buy 2 new RSA's (GASP) and be sure all is safe now? 3) Sell body on Craigslist to get new rims and tires?

Darn kids (and wife... see #3 above) make these dilemmas hard to figure out...

[lawman12]

So I am the guy that didn't check all of the tires before buying the car. I glanced at the front ones, which had full tread. little time later I noticed that the back tires looked different that the front ones, but couldn't place the difference. Turns out they are all GY/Eagle RSA's, but the front tires look brand new and the back tires are very low on tread (haven't measured). Now the dilemma, I was just going to buy a new set of new GOOD tires a few weeks ago. Got busy never pursued it. Last week had major ice storm here and had a MASSIVE tree lose about 80% of it's limbs, which now needs to be cut down completely. I am looking at about $2k or more to get this beast cut down so it won't fall on my house/car/child/me in the next few years.

So do I:1) Hold off a little longer on my fairly worn tires and get 4 new ones?2) Buy 2 new RSA's (GASP) and be sure all is safe now? 3) Sell body on Craigslist to get new rims and tires?

Darn kids (and wife... see #3 above) make these dilemmas hard to figure out...

you don't have to sell your body on craiglist....just some body parts like an arm or a leg....

If the tires need to be replaced, than I would replace. From your post, I am not sure if they do need to be replaced. If you have a friendly car guy, shop owner, etc take a look, without a sale in mind that may help. But for me, tires = safety - so no brainer, get the new tires.

and deal with the tree as well...cause that is another saftey issue...

sorry to hear about that tree man....

[M4T5]

Go buy a tread depth gauge at your local auto parts store. Then measure the tread depth in your rear tires all the way across the tops of the tires in more than one spot. Do not count out the very outer and inner edges of the tires. These are usually the places they tend to wear the most...sometimes. If your tread depth is 2/32 or above in all places in both rear tires you will be ok, but border line. That is usually the tread depth you would replace them at, but doesn't mean they are unsafe to drive on. Yes, your snow and rain driving will be diminished, but if you can avoid it and or drive slow if you encounter this , you "should" be fine. Try to avoid hard take offs as you don't have much tread left to ride on.

I tell you what, if your rear tires are 2/32 or above in tread thickness, then rotate them to the front. For rear wheel drive vehicles, you are supposed to have your best tires on the rear anyways. This will save you some time before you need to place new ones on your car.

Hope this helps to maximize your remaining tire life.

J

[striz923]

I have the AWD, so I was thinking about keeping them on the front so I can stop faster if needed. I can always start slower if needed

[M4T5]

Ah, I missed that. Either way, get a tread depth gauge and report back with your numbers.

J

[szh]

A separate important point with the AWD (Nissan's ATTESA system): you really do need to keep the tires the same - front axle to back axle. Differences in rolling diameters can degrade the life of the system.

So, do not mix and match brands and models from front to rear axle, of course!

With regard to tread: if it is at or near 2/32", drive very, very carefully and change the tires as soon as you can! There is a thread here that shows what happens in rain and with braking distances - video at Tire Rack - when the tread drops below 4/32".

My advice (please take it for what it is worth - only you can assess the risk here!):

If the tree is not in imminent danger of falling, get the tires first. You drive daily (I assume) and in snow or rain, the worn tires are more likely to cause you to be in serious trouble. Of course, if you think the tree could come down any moment, and funds are tight, then tree first!

Remember: what stops your car is not the size of your discs, the rim diameter, the wheel looks or even whether you have the best Wilwood Big Brake system! It is the contact patch between your tires and the road. That is where it all happens ... any skimping there, and you could be endangering lives.

Z

[M45Caliber]

Have you checked with your insurance company yet? That tree removal may be covered by your homeowners policy. I'd argue that to see if you can get some coverage there.

[07sportm35]

If your wheels are 19" then you're in luck. Right now, "Tirerack" has them for only $97.

Unfortunetly, the 245/45/18's are $236.

[antzrus]

So I am the guy that didn't check all of the tires before buying the car. I glanced at the front ones, which had full tread. little time later I noticed that the back tires looked different that the front ones, but couldn't place the difference. Turns out they are all GY/Eagle RSA's, but the front tires look brand new and the back tires are very low on tread (haven't measured). Now the dilemma, I was just going to buy a new set of new GOOD tires a few weeks ago. Got busy never pursued it. Last week had major ice storm here and had a MASSIVE tree lose about 80% of it's limbs, which now needs to be cut down completely. I am looking at about $2k or more to get this beast cut down so it won't fall on my house/car/child/me in the next few years.

So do I:1) Hold off a little longer on my fairly worn tires and get 4 new ones?2) Buy 2 new RSA's (GASP) and be sure all is safe now? 3) Sell body on Craigslist to get new rims and tires?

Darn kids (and wife... see #3 above) make these dilemmas hard to figure out...

RSA'a are duds and even dangerous in my opinion. Get a new set of 4 ContiExtremeContacts. They are only about 150 per tire @ Tirerack. Your family-your life depends upon where the rubber meets the road.

No one wants your ugly old body. But a set of kidneys or your liver, now there you could make some money!!

[szh]

RSA'a are duds and even dangerous in my opinion.

Agreed.

Z

[M4T5]

If your wheels are 19" then you're in luck. Right now, "Tirerack" has them for only $97.

Unfortunetly, the 245/45/18's are $236.

Homeowners insurance covers your home and dwelling units (garage and buildings/ structures your ins. co. knows about). It does not cover your actual property and landscape damages. If the tree falls on your house, they will cover the home damage, but not for the removal and disposal of the tree....understand (catch 22 right?). That's just how it works. How do I know? I was in the middle of Hurricane Ike this past year. This is what a lot of home owners came to find out after the damage was done. There were a lot of people that could not afford the $2,500.00 minimum cost of a single tree removal. The bigger the tree, the more the cost. It was price gouging at its worse, but what choice did they have if they could not do it themselves.It was very sad to see so many people receive severe home damages, total loss of home, and the worse of it all....the loss of a loved one.

I was very reluctant to not get any damages. Just a big mess of limbs and leaves to clean up around and on top of my house.

I feel for you if that tree has to come completely down. What is wrong with the tree that would possibly make it fall?

J

[M4T5]

Agreed.

Z

I agree with your agreed!! My RS-A's have 8/32 and 9/32 of tread life left to them. Just the other day I was driving along around 55mph, and went to accelerate slightly to speed up.... and the rear end began coming around on me. Yes, the road was damp, but it was not raining. There was hardly any water on the road. I just let off the accelerator pedal and it snap back in shape. These tires are dangerous, because I barely accelerated and they lost traction. I seen the slip light come on, but why didn't the VDC stop and correct my car??That's the only thing I've really been wondering about.

J

[marlin29311]

Homeowners insurance covers your home and dwelling units (garage and buildings/ structures your ins. co. knows about). It does not cover your actual property and landscape damages. If the tree falls on your house, they will cover the home damage, but not for the removal and disposal of the tree....understand (catch 22 right?). That's just how it works. How do I know? I was in the middle of Hurricane Ike this past year. This is what a lot of home owners came to find out after the damage was done. There were a lot of people that could not afford the $2,500.00 minimum cost of a single tree removal. The bigger the tree, the more the cost. It was price gouging at its worse, but what choice did they have if they could not do it themselves.It was very sad to see so many people receive severe home damages, total loss of home, and the worse of it all....the loss of a loved one.

I was very reluctant to not get any damages. Just a big mess of limbs and leaves to clean up around and on top of my house.

I feel for you if that tree has to come completely down. What is wrong with the tree that would possibly make it fall?

J

Depends on who you are with, and what your contract states - who is your insurance carrier?

Land is never covered in an insurance policy - a plot of land is a permanant entity that cannot move or be destroyed, therefore having no reason to be insured.

However, landscaping and trees are things that are covered up to certain limits, depending on your insurer. The problem with Ike and coverage from a CAT event like that is that your policy most likely excluded coverage due to the high winds and storm conditions. In a regular situation, where a lightning bolt hit a tree or something of that sort, coverage will exist, depending again on your insurance company.

[M4T5]

Insurance co is Farmers. Coverage states that damage of trees due to mother nature is not covered. Where does yours state it would cover the replacement, removal, or disposal of a damaged tree?? I never said that the damage inflicted to your house from a tree would not be covered. I stated that the removal and disposal of the tree(s) are not covered.

J

[marlin29311]

Chubb - it's where I work (I'm a personal lines underwriter, hence why I'm pretty darn good with this).

Here are a couple of 'extra coverage' clauses that are built into all of our homeowner's contracts (limits may vary state to state per filings, but the general coverages all exist).

LandWhenever there is a covered loss to your house or other permanent structure and the related repair,replacement or rebuilding requires excavation, replacement or stabilization of land under or aroundyour house or other permanent structure, we will also pay up to 10% of the amount of the coveredloss to your house or other permanent structure for the excavation, replacement or stabilization ofthe land.

LandscapingWe cover trees, shrubs, plants, and lawns at your house against certain kinds of perils. These arefire, lightning, explosion, civil disturbance, vandalism, malicious mischief, theft, and loss caused by avehicle or aircraft.We will pay up to a total of 5% of the amount of coverage for the house at which the loss occurs,but not more than $5,000 for any one tree, shrub, or plant. If your payment basis is extendedreplacement cost, the 5% is applied to the increased amount of coverage.This extra coverage applies only if you begin to repair or replace the lost or damaged propertywithin 180 days of the date of loss.

Tree removalUnless covered elsewhere under this policy, we will pay the reasonable expenses you incur up to atotal of $1,000 for each occurrence to remove trees fallen due to wind, hail, sleet or the weight ofice or snow. These payments apply only to fallen trees at a location shown in the CoverageSummary.

[M4T5]

Hmm, maybe I need to investigate my policy further. The ins companies did not however cover the removal or disposal of the trees from Hurricane Ike. This was all over the news during the clean up of the aftermath. Does that hold true? Your statements above did not mention anything about hurricane or tornado damages. So you work for Farmers Ins as an underwriter?

J

[marlin29311]

Chubb - it's where I work (I'm a personal lines underwriter, hence why I'm pretty darn good with this).

Lol - I work for Chubb.

Again, clauses like these might not be in your contract (these were pulled from a Chubb contract)- not every insurance company places things like these into their contracts, but can sometimes be added onto the policy be endorsement - I would ask your agent about it.

It usually does hold true with the hurricanes and such because of exclusions to certian perils - such as wind. Many policies exlude damages that come from wind, earthquake, and flood, and these need to be endorsed onto your homeowners contract, or need to be purchased through a separate company.

It does become disheartening when you hear about people complaining that they did not have coverage for a certain event, but people really need to understand their insurance contracts and what they have purchased - not all insurance is created the same (this is true for your home and auto....sometimes saving on premium means you lose out on coverages that would have very helpful to you...). I would recommend calling your agent and having them do a policy review with you before you ever accept a renewal or a new line policy, simply so that you understand completely what you are covered for.

[striz923]

LandscapingWe cover trees, shrubs, plants, and lawns at your house against certain kinds of perils. These arefire, lightning, explosion, civil disturbance, vandalism, malicious mischief, theft, and loss caused by avehicle or aircraft.

i kind if chuckled at the aircraft part of this, but I live very close to a regional field and a small cessna landed in this guys yard about 300 yards from my house and snapped a tree in half in the process. (he lived)

Tree removalUnless covered elsewhere under this policy, we will pay the reasonable expenses you incur up to atotal of $1,000 for each occurrence to remove trees fallen due to wind, hail, sleet or the weight ofice or snow. These payments apply only to fallen trees at a location shown in the CoverageSummary.

I am trying to call my ins. agent now that you said this, but as you can imagine his lines are a little busy now lol.

I think the tree won't come down itself for a while, but there are at least 4 branches that are 30-40 feet up and about 6-8 inches in diameter that are hanging until the wind blows too hard. If I have to pay someone $500-600 to clean that up, I might as well incorporate that into the cut-down costs and do it all at once.

[M4T5]

Lol - I work for Chubb.

---> Funny guy! I thought you were calling me names! I never heard of an ins. company called Chubbs!

J

[sr79labrat]

ROFL! I have a chub!

Anyways...just sell you body to me and lets buy life insurance for the kids-wife. They will need it anyways once the tree falls on them...then we can run away in the M. Live happily ever after. LOL

Get the 2 tires first then the tree. I see tires causeing more than 2k in damage pretty quick. Even check out craigs list as there are specials. I think a good mud and snow tire does well through out the year though you will lose handles.

Good luck!Kyle

[F1SportsFan]

You can always find RS-A's on eBay for next to nothing. Here's an example for a used set of 2: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ories $93.90 to your door. That's probably the cheapest way to make it a bit longer before shelling out for a decent set of tires.

Like everyone else said, the RS-A's are pretty horrible. I really like the Yokohoma tires that I have, and the price was pretty reasonable also.

[striz923]

---> Funny guy! I thought you were calling me names! I never heard of an ins. company called Chubbs!

J

I thought he was calling you Chubbs also! very confused lol. Chubbs needs to do some advertising, but you have to be careful "Get Chubbs" could either be a p0rn store slogan, or your company.

[marlin29311]

I thought he was calling you Chubbs also! very confused lol. Chubbs needs to do some advertising, but you have to be careful "Get Chubbs" could either be a p0rn store slogan, or your company.

We don't do mainstream advertising - costs a lot of money, and we rely on our agents to sell the brand instead of a Gecko or something like that. Every now and then you'll see an ad in a high end magazine or a tidbit on NPR/Bloomberg or something, but that's about it. We focus more on providing the best service with the best products.

[striz923]

For anyone who was following my dilemma...There was a guy form out of town working on trees next door and he came over and said the tree would be fine and he could make it safe (cutting down all of the "hangers" that snapped) for $550. He seemed competant at my neighbors so I pulled the trigger. So instead of the >$2k I was thinking, I have peace of mind (until the next stupid storm) as well as I can get all 4 new tires now.Some pics of the event, branches started breaking at about 2AM, this is after the first night:

After the ice melted, so day 3 maybe. I didn't have power or heat and it was 20 degrees outside, so pics of day 2 weren't a priority.

In the background you can see the Ford Focus station wagon that my companywas gracious to lend me since both of my families cars are stuck in the garage shown in the first pic. Short version, no power + detached garage w/ no doors or windows = no car.

Sorry for the off topic, but I feel better now lol.