Sams Club or Costco and comparing michelin tires?

I'd like to know as well....I know Costco has been mentioned alot here but I dont have a membership with them, only Sams Club. Course most of my tire purchases have been from Discount Tire as well.

 

From Oct 13 through Nov 5, Costco offers $60 off a set of four Michelin tires.

 

Choosing between Sam's and Costco is an absolute no brainer. The Costco Service makes all the difference in the world. And I actually enjoy shopping at a company that pays its workers a living wage....

 

And they use nitrogen!
[oops, opened that can of worms for the naysayers ]

The way I see it, they pay you $10 to try a Costco membership for a year.

When I was single I would join Costco only when I needed new tires. Now I just NEED Costco. :blink:

 

i'm with Costco. i was a member of Sam's for a year but never renewed. I still bought more stuff from costco. they also have the cheapest gas here! :lol: oh yeah, i got my X's from costco...

 

Costco seems to have a much easier return policy and to me a higher quality product. They will special order tires and the service has always been good. It's also a great place to take a date if you don't want to spend to much on a meal. Hmmmm... don't those chicken nuggets in the shape of dinosaurs look good?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Oct 13 2006, 12:50 AM) [snapback]332130[/snapback]</div>

I dragraced motorcycles and we used Nitrogen to fill the tires. I saw first hand the difference temp/pressure effects on air vs. Nitrogen. Nitrogen is far more stable with temp changes and helps keep the tire pressure right where you want it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Topgas @ Oct 13 2006, 06:57 AM) [snapback]332170[/snapback]</div>

Air is almost 80 % nitrogen. This is just a selling pitch to attract you the store, hoping you'll end up buying stuff you don't need.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Oct 13 2006, 06:07 AM) [snapback]332165[/snapback]</div>

I got tires from Sam's for my previous vehicles as well as my Prius. I've never had any problems with the service. Although I did laugh my nice person off when I took the Prius in for new tires and the guy just sat in it for a few minutes trying to figure out where to put the key. The key was actually for my wife's Corolla. My wife finally went out and showed him how it worked.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mdiguy @ Oct 12 2006, 11:09 PM) [snapback]332096[/snapback]</div>

Don't ignore BJ's (an East Coast membership warehouse club). I replaced my OEM Integrity tires at 45,000 with Michelin MXV4+ Energy Saving (LRR) tires and was quite pleased with their service. They have rotated and balanced them twice for me (now at 70,000 miles) for free and the total installed cost was about $450 (Michelins were on sale).

JeffD

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jamarimutt @ Oct 13 2006, 04:11 AM) [snapback]332173[/snapback]</div>

If nitrogen in car tires is nothing more than a sales pitch, why would the Rubber Association of Canada say nitrogen is a good thing? If they wish to sell more rubber, wouldn't they say nitrogen is all hype? :huh:
http://www.rubberassociation.ca/pdf_docs/nitrogen.pdf

So what if approximately 80 percent of air is nitrogen. It's the other 20 percent . . . and humidity . . . that causes all the problems.

An equally dumb argument would be that man-made pollutants in the atmosphere are way less than one percent of the total volume and are measured in parts per million or billion, therefor, we have no problems with air pollution. :blink:

I had two new tires put on my Prius two months ago at Costco. They inflated all the tires with nitrogen. Two months later, all tires are within ½ lb of full. I think I am loosing more pressure with the loss associated with checking the pressure weekly than what time alone does.

For those who like to over-inflate your Prius tires, using nitrogen makes even more sense . . . less heat and associated pressure increases. Your over-inflation with AIR may be causing your tires to reach dangerous pressure levels while being driven.

 

I thought I read in some post that Sam's had discontinued their free rotation/balance service. I got X-Radials at Costco recently and put 2,500 miles on them last week. They behaved beautifully, but I can't say whether or not they have affected my mileage since I'm on a road trip. By the time I get home (at around 5,000 miles), they should be broken in. Consumer Reports rated the Xs excellent in rolling resistance, and they're (supposedly) better at hydroplaning and cost less than the Hydroedges.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Sufferin' Prius Envy @ Oct 14 2006, 02:12 PM) [snapback]332843[/snapback]</div>

That rubber association article has little credibility. It refers to the "AIR" molecule... and the last time I checked, there was no such thing. The issue of moisture and its sensitivity to air temperature (condensing all the way to a liquid and later evaporating and expanding into a hot gas) is credible - but really only in very cold climates like Canada or regions with large temperature swings and then only if your wheel is chock full of water (I am talking 1/4 cup)

Other concerns sited, such as oxydation are possible. In totality, I would say the effects are negligible for most cars... and will not provide any measurable benefits.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(John in LB @ Oct 19 2006, 01:29 PM) [snapback]335238[/snapback]</div>

You're ignoring the fact that tire stores now have access to New and Improved Nitrogen ™. It's a special version whose behavior does not follow the Ideal Gas Law. :lol:

I've never had to replace a tire due to wear/degradation that occured on its interior. Seems to me that treadwear and UV/weather exposure to the exterior are going to be much larger effects than whatever occurs on the inside.