The Joys Of Properly Balanced Tires

Ever since winter started, and I have been driving the Jaguar, I have been aware that there was a tire balance problem.  But I knew that the tires needed replacing soon anyway, so why waste the money on rebalancing tires, especially because they were low enough on tread that the tire store might decline to do so anyway?

Wednesday, the right rear tire was flat in the parking lot.  I limped over to Commercial Tire, who declined to repair it because of tread depth.  They pumped it up, and I drove home.  Thursday morning, the right front tire was flat in my garage.  I pumped it up, and decided that it was time.

I usually buy tires for the Corvette through TireRack.com; especially on specialty tires, they are dramatically cheaper than the average retail tire store.  But this was one of those cases where the advantage was pretty small.  I ended up with some Fuzion UHPs, which are only $64 per tire at TireRack.com.  But by the time you pay for shipping and installation (which is typically $23 to $25 per tire), it was only a few dollars a tire cheaper than buying them from Commercial Tire, a block from where I work.  And Commercial Tire had them in stock; with TireRack.com, it would have been at least Monday before they arrived.

The Fuzion UHPs are a W-speed rated tire (168 mph, which the Jaguar might reach, falling off a cliff, straight down, for several thousand feet), with a less than impressive treadwear rating.  Often poor treadwear means a sticky tire, good for braking, cornering, and traction. So far, I have been pretty pleased.