Can't believe Sams Club did me this.

[MossRoad]

I had a tire fail when I was visiting in Indiana. 255/45-19, not your average Walmart tire size. South Bend was 65 miles away so I ordered (4) new tires to be installed at the warehouse.

Found the production line for mounting tires to be interesting. They had people lift the vehicle using (4) common floor jacks. The wheels were placed on a conveyor belt. One guy dismounted tires. Another inspected the rims. Yet another mounted the new tires. Another did nothing but balance tires. Then the vehicle crew put the wheels back on.

Interesting observation about the Tire Rack and people that work there.

If you drive on the roads anywhere near that warehouse in South Bend, and you encounter an aggressive driver around 7:30am, 9 out of 10 times you can follow them to Tire Rack.

Similarly, 9 out of 10 cars that come out of the street that their entrance is on around 5-6pm leaves aggressively and at a high rate of speed.

There are also a lot of burnout marks on the road in front of their warehouse.

Driving enthusiasts, I guess.

 

[sd455dan]

I had a tire fail when I was visiting in Indiana. 255/45-19, not your average Walmart tire size. South Bend was 65 miles away so I ordered (4) new tires to be installed at the warehouse.

Found the production line for mounting tires to be interesting. They had people lift the vehicle using (4) common floor jacks. The wheels were placed on a conveyor belt. One guy dismounted tires. Another inspected the rims. Yet another mounted the new tires. Another did nothing but balance tires. Then the vehicle crew put the wheels back on.

edit
Oops I posted the response without checking.. wrong thread

Carry on.

 

[tallyho8]

The amount of tire sidewall is the second set of digits. example: 275/35R21. A larger sidewall would be 275/45R21

 

[dstig1]

Interesting observation about the Tire Rack and people that work there.

If you drive on the roads anywhere near that warehouse in South Bend, and you encounter an aggressive driver around 7:30am, 9 out of 10 times you can follow them to Tire Rack.

Similarly, 9 out of 10 cars that come out of the street that their entrance is on around 5-6pm leaves aggressively and at a high rate of speed.

There are also a lot of burnout marks on the road in front of their warehouse.

Driving enthusiasts, I guess.

Free tires for life a company perk, perhaps?

 

[sd455dan]

The amount of tire sidewall is the second set of digits. example: 275/35R21. A larger sidewall would be 275/45R21

Right
actually the second number is the aspect ratio
dividing a tire's height off the rim by its width.


a higher aspect ratio would be welcome as well.

 

[tradosaurus]

Right
actually the second number is the aspect ratio
dividing a tire's height off the rim by its width.


a higher aspect ratio would be welcome as well.

I usually downsize the tire when I buy a new vehicle.

2014 F250 went from 20" to 18". Overall diameter stays the same.
2018 Mazda 3 went from 18" to 16". Overall diameter stays the same.

 

[sd455dan]

I usually downsize the tire when I buy a new vehicle.

2014 F250 went from 20" to 18". Overall diameter stays the same.
2018 Mazda 3 went from 18" to 16". Overall diameter stays the same.

Yes Exactly. The tire wheel combo on the car I am buying needs to go from 21" wheels to either an 18 or 19 inch diameter wheel and could lose around an inch in width of the wheel and increasing the aspect ratio from 35 to 40 or even 45 and then checking overall tire diameter to fit, picking that diameter to cause the MPH reading to display just slightly low if error is introduced.
With pot holed roads the factory choice of tire wheel combo could be better. Same goes for ride quality and an effective tire wheel for snow/winter use.

 

[tallyho8]

On a nice family car, I would prefer to have high sidewalls due to the smoother, quieter ride, but on a sports car like mine, the low profile tires are necessary in competition for better handling in curves and the thicker, lower sidewalls make it much safer if you have a blowout at high speeds.

I tried calling Walmart claims services again today and got no answer again. I will phone back Monday and if my adjuster doesn't answer, I will escalate matters.

 

[sd455dan]

On a nice family car, I would prefer to have high sidewalls due to the smoother, quieter ride, but on a sports car like mine, the low profile tires are necessary in competition for better handling in curves and the thicker, lower sidewalls make it much safer if you have a blowout at high speeds.

I tried calling Walmart claims services again today and got no answer again. I will phone back Monday and if my adjuster doesn't answer, I will escalate matters.

I have never been able to completely buy that short side wall to make a car handle explanation, because of Indy car tires and wheels which are close to a 60 series aspect ratio and run on 15" wheels.

 

[RustyA]

Open wheel racing cars don't have to contend with fitting the tire and wheel inside the fenders. Only way with fenders to widen the contact patch on the ground is lower the aspect ratio. That's where the Z45 and Z35's come into play. You end up with same circumference but wider contact area, larger wheel, lower sidewall for stiffness. Also Indy car tires are super soft compound that is disposed of every 250-500 miles.