TheSamba.com :: View topic - 165-SR 15 tire shortage?

Fri Jun 13, 2008 6:20 pm

Peek Performance has two 165/80R15 Kumhos in stock on their floor, saw them today...$90 each. They might have more in back, you'd have to call.
http://www.peekperformance.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=2665

Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:16 pm

The Arizonian tires were $59 a piece
Add in all the fees & they were a little over $300 mounted

Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:48 am

I just got those for $253.00 out the door. They are pretty nice for the price. Only took two days to get in. Ordered Saturday and had them Monday.

And that was mounted on the wheels.

Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:55 pm

tirerack.com sells a 165SR15 from Kumho PowerStar...the specs don't look so good as far as wear,etc

Sun Jun 22, 2008 2:49 pm

glutamodo wrote: Those tires will work out to about 26" tall, slightly taller than stock. That wouldn't be a problem for me, I'd previously mentioned those tires in one of the other threads on this topic and that I might try them myself at some point.

Here's what the they look like, in case you were wondering.

Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:25 pm

I have 165R15 Vredestein's on my 79' Vert. Excellent tire at a decent price ($77). You can get them here:

http://www.vredesteintire.com/products/SPRIN.asp

And if you have money, you can buy these instead:

http://store.coker.com/product.php?productid=17679&cat=0&page=1

JP

Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:30 pm

rzepko6194 wrote: I have 165R15 Vredestein's on my 79' Vert. Excellent tire at a decent price ($77). You can get them here:

http://www.vredesteintire.com/products/SPRIN.asp

And if you have money, you can buy these instead:

http://store.coker.com/product.php?productid=17679&cat=0&page=1

JP

I have mentioned the Michelin XZX only available now from Coker for years on this forum... I see they have increased the price again... understandable in a way since the cost of everything is up. I used to think 115- 125 was high LOL... ( I remember the good ol days when even ten years ago I could get them for 60 each! from a local dealer) All in all if you have the bucks they are a fantastic long wearing tire...

Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:27 am

Hope our tire situation doesn't get much worse down the line. Searched and searched for Kumho's and everyone was backordered. Then ordered some Federals. Supposidly in stock but real quick they were out. So ended up with Nexens. Tires-Easy messed up the order but it finally got straightened out a week later. They arrived yesterday and look good. What a runaround. In the past I had gotten tires from Discount. And at one time I had gotten Arizonians from them. Last set I needed they no longer had Arizonians. This time I couldn't get any info from Arizonians about the 165/80's or 165SR's. Discount is on my s**t list these days. They were a dealer for the brand of tires I wanted for my bus last year and all I got was static from them. Couldn't get them, didn't even try. Had to show them in their computer that it was a tire they sold. Then their price was $120 or so higher than what I got them for from Tires Easy. So with these new165/80 R15's for the front of my bug, in addition to the difficulty in getting them, was the surprise of the prices some people had. Exactly double. 100% profit margin? No thanks!

Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:40 pm

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/searchTiresBySize.do?r=TXWINT&cs=165&ar=&rd=15

Been getting these from discount for years...

Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:37 pm

I just got 4 165/80R-15 from Discount Tire. They are the Kumho Powerstar 758. They have to ship them in though, so I'll be picking them up in a few days. $60 each.
The guy there said the nationwide shortage on 165/15's probably means they'll be discontinued soon. I should have bought 8.

Sun Jul 20, 2008 9:53 am

I find it hard to believe that a worldwide discontinuation of production for this size tire would be coming down. Sure some manufacturers might not want to produce them ( low demand/low profit etc) and may be discontinuing them...( only to bring them back later at a much higher cost... very common thing now days with parts for older/"vintage cars") but there must be a shitload of Beetles in Mexico alone still on the road that will need tires.... along with what is left of the US and other markets.

Anyone have any info of what tires are availible south of the border?

Sun Jul 20, 2008 10:00 am

Mid America is showing both Kumho and Nankang tires in stock. Not my favorite brands or place to buy, but it you need tires...

The Kumho's are on sale until the 21st...

Sun Jul 20, 2008 10:37 am

blue72beetle wrote: The guy there said the nationwide shortage on 165/15's probably means they'll be discontinued soon. I should have bought 8.
It's BS. See, that's exactly what shady salesmen want you to think..."better get them now while you still can." Sell more tires that way. The only thing you can really conclude is that tire prices have been going up, like everything else.

Sun Jul 20, 2008 10:54 am

Recently I was on JC Whitney ordering some motorcycle stuff for a friend of mine and thought I'd see what happened if I threw a set of tires onto that order. In stock, and Free Shipping it was, but they added 65 dollars for oversized items. That brought the price of each tire up to about 71 bucks. So I didn't order them.

Sun Jul 20, 2008 8:50 pm

glutamodo wrote: Recently I was on JC Whitney ordering some motorcycle stuff for a friend of mine and thought I'd see what happened if I threw a set of tires onto that order. In stock, and Free Shipping it was, but they added 65 dollars for oversized items. That brought the price of each tire up to about 71 bucks. So I didn't order them.

WTF... oversized? I see tires shipped to some of my friend's high end Mercedes/BMW/Jag etc shops UPS duct taped in pairs with no up charges??? That's a scam there... :roll:

Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:22 pm

I got five "Nexen" tires yesterday, 165/80R-15. They are the equivalent of Kuhmo.

Sat Jul 26, 2008 6:44 am

My Nexen 165/80R-15's for the front might be the smoothest running tires I've ever bought. And it's almost like having power steering. With new tires before it never had felt this nice. Although I have and prefer a little more substantial tire on the rear. The Nexen's felt a little soft on the sidewalls. Did you see where they are made? Hope there isn't cardboard or dog food in the formulation. It's kind of sickening to have gotten so low to have Chineese tires

Sat Jul 26, 2008 2:56 pm

rzepko6194 wrote: I have 165R15 Vredestein's on my 79' Vert. Excellent tire at a decent price ($77). You can get them here:

http://www.vredesteintire.com/products/SPRIN.asp

And if you have money, you can buy these instead:

http://store.coker.com/product.php?productid=17679&cat=0&page=1

JP

I'm definitely a fan of the Vredestein's. Best tire I've had and I've had most of them

.

Sat Jul 26, 2008 3:43 pm

Just a note to anyone who does not know that there are 4 numbers on each tire. the first two are the week the tire was made and the second two are the year they were produced.
If your not careful you could buy new tires that are 6 years old. Not a safe situation.
check out the new info on this.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897

Sat Aug 02, 2008 7:10 pm

Just to throw this in... If your in the West of the US, "Les Schwab" has ordered 16,000 of the 165-15's back in May or June, expecting a rise in older cars getting back on the road for the gas crunch.
The set i got for the wife's '72 Super are "Nankane". They have a block type tread which i like for the NW's rain and sloppy snow we get. Not sure if they have other brands in that size. :o