Tyres For Sale

Through our Freight partner we can now deliver from Whangarei to Wellington and most of the major towns in between. ( Via New Plymouth ). The cost for this is normally 80 dollars a set subject to confirmation and not to rural areas. Please check with us first before committing to purchase.

Note this is for car tyres and small 4WD Tyres only.

I noticed one of our clients used a company called shipmytrade.co.nz which appear to specialize in delivery options for trademe traders. Could be worth a look as well if you are thinking of shipping small goods around the place.

We are interested in your feedback as to which delivery options you prefer so please share.

Based in Milan, Italy, Pirelli is the 5th largest Tyre manufacturer in the world.

The company was founded by Giovanni Battista Pirelli in 1872. They started out specialising in rubber and derivative systems and the formerly made scuba breathing equipment.

Today Pirelli’s primary activites are the production of cables and tyres ( for telecommunications and energy )

Pirelli are almost as famous for their yearly calendar as they are their tyres. The calendar is not sold and is given as a “VIP” gift to a small amount of Pirelli’s most important and valued customers.

In NZ Pirelli Tyres are imported by a company called YHI.

If you are a Tyre Dealer looking to advertise the fact that you are selling Pirelli Tyres please contact us via a comment on this article and we can look at helping you promote that fact and list your store below as a recommended dealer. ( for a small monthly fee ) .

Recommended Dealers ( Coming soon )

We have had to weather a few price increases lately however can still supply tyres for well under retail prices.

We have been able to lay our hands on a few sets of 245/45 18 Bridgestones and are flicking these off for around the $1200 mark. These normally sell for between 1500 – 1600 from a tyre store for a set. So if you are looking to buy a set of tyres and save a few bucks in the process then check out our listings on trademe. Other Sizes in stock include.

225/65 17 ( Bridgestone )
225/60 16 ( Bridgestone )
205/60 16 ( Bridgestone )
195/65 15 ( Bridgestone )
205/70 15 ( Bridgestone )
245/70 16 ( Bridgestone )
205/55 16 ( Michelin )

We look forward to doing a deal with you soon!

Check our listings here.

The American Company was founded by Harvey Firestone back in 1900. Supplying pneumatic tyres for buggies, wagons and other wheeled vehicles common to that time Firestone soon realised the massive potential for marketing Tyres towards automobiles.

Harvey Firestone was friends with a man that is a familiar name to many of us – Henry Ford. Harvey made the most of this relationship and became the original equimpment Tyre supplier to the Ford Motor Company. They also became active in the replacement market.

The Japanese Bridgestone Corporation brought the company in 1988.

In NZ the first Firestone Office was set up in the 1920′s. Firestone state on their website they are the largest Tyre Retail Network in NZ.

If you are looking to advertise the fact that you are a Firestone Tyre Dealer please contact us via a comment on this article and we can look at helping you promote that fact and list your store below as a recommended dealer. ( for a small monthly fee ) .

Recommended Dealers ( Coming soon )

Falken Tyres are car tyres manufactured in Japan by the Falken Tire Corporation. In 1983 the Falken Brand was created for the Ohtsu Tire and Rubber to market their performance lineup of Tyres under.

In 2003 Sumitomo Rubber Industries acquired Ohtsu, and Falken became part of that company. In present times Falken is now paired with SRI Brand Dunlop Tyres and that forms Dunlp Falken Tires Ltd. That is the parent company of Falken Tire Corporation.

In NZ Falken Tyres are imported by OTR International Limited. If you are a Tyre Dealer looking to advertise the fact that you are selling Falken Tyres please contact us via a comment on this article and we can look at helping you promote that fact and list your store below as a recommended dealer. ( for a small monthly fee ) .

Recommended Dealers ( Coming soon )

At your next visit to a Tyre store you may be asked if you would like your Tyres filled with Nitrogen.

This appears to be a much debated subject with two sides to the argument. Tyreshops charge extra to do this in most cases and it is an additional revenue earning service for them.

The Tyre store will inform you of the following reasons for doing this.

• You will get better fuel economy, because Nitrogen contains larger molecules than air the tyre pressure in your tyres will remain more constant.
• You will get a longer Tyre life because the Tyres will run at a lower pressure.
• Your wheel rims are less likely to rust, as there is less moisture in Nitrogen than what is in Air.

There are plenty of arguments as to whether or not these claims add up or not, so we would like to share with you our opinion, which is based on the research we have done, as well as the outcomes of the experiment undertaken by Consumer Reports in the US.

Our research showed that although Nitrogen does slightly slow down the pressure loss from tyres, the difference is only slight. Consumer reports tested 31 pairs of Tyres over one year. Those filled with air lost an average of 3.5 psi, the Nitrogen ones lost 2.2 psi.

We also found out to our own surprise that compressed air is around 75 – 78% Nitrogen anyway. Your tyres already have nearly 80% Nitrogen in them for free from the local gas station!

In some applications e.g Heavy Trucks, Formula One racing etc the small percentages can help. However we would suggest that as a car motorist unless you feel like watching your hard earned cash disappear in a puff of hot air that you keep your money in your wallet and instead check your tyre pressures REGULARLY.

Our research shows that the pricing of nitrogen inflation can vary from $5 to $12 per tyre.

Often you will see comments about people getting their tyres filled with Nitrogen and suddenly noticing better mileage and handling etc, however we would like to suggest that the same things can be achieved just by inflating them to the correct pressure!!

Source: Consumer Reports US

Following up from our article covering how much does a wheel alignment cost we decided to check the prices for a wheel balance.

Firstly lets explain exactly what wheel balancing is and isn’t and then how much you should be expecting to pay for it.

Wheel balance is the art of measuring a wheel and tyre assemblys heavy spot and counter acting them with small lead weights.

If your wheels/tyres are out of balance you will likely get a vibration at speed ( 80km + ). The steering wheel may shake if its a front tyre, the whole car normally shakes if it is a rear tyre. A good tyre fitter will ask you what your symptoms are before ripping in and just balancing your wheels.

Wheels are balanced when new tyres are fitted, the wheel is spun up on a wheel balancing machine and the tyre fitter then bangs on small lead weights and then rechecks, until it spins up perfectly.

Things to watch out for..

• Too much weight – a good tyre would normally only need a smallish weight, if the fitter is attaching enough weights to sink a small boat, it would be a good idea to ask why!
• Weights should be all in one place on each side of the wheel. i.e you would not have weights opposite each other as that is counter productive.
• If you get a shake or wobble at slow speeds, you may have a buckled rim or out of round tyre. Occasionally the tyre may even be seperating which is where the tread and casing start warping out of shape

For pricing here are some examples we found from calling around.

Standard car/alloy wheel balance averaged out at around $12 to $13 per tyre.

RV/Light truck wheel balance $16 per tyre

One place offered us a special high precision wheel balance for $19 a tyre, this involved a back cone and studs at the front of the wheel, to spin it up much like on the actual vehicle itself. This is the kind of thing you could look at doing if you had a slight annoying shimmer or vibration that a basic wheel balance didn’t rectify.

Well there you have it, if you would like to share your experiences good or bad to do with getting your wheels balanced please share with us!

One of those questions where everyone thinks they know the answer but it is actually the opposite of what many believe. The short answer is – if mixing new and worn tyres the new ones should go on the REAR of the vehicle.

For those that want an explanation for this here it is.

Oversteer

Oversteer is when a vehicle is cornering and the rear tyres run a higher slip angle than the front tyres. This means the rear can spin around which is a very dangerous situation for a driver to attempt to control. Oversteer can be caused by having tyres with the highest level of adhesion on the front of the car. For safety reasons this should not happen!

Understeer

Understeer is when the front tyres have a higher slip angle that the rear tyres. Interestingly most car manufacturers have a certain amount of this built into the dynamics of their vehicles as this is safer than Oversteer. Understeer can be caused by having the tyres with the greatest amount of traction on the rear of the vehicle.

The Verdict!
So here it is again just so you don’t forget. New tyres on the BACK of the vehicle for MAXIMUM safety. Often people think that the new tyres need to go on the front as they are less likely to blow out, however this is a false concern.

Finally we have got our forum up and running. We created this so that people can put out tenders for the tyres they want to buy, can share their experiences and ask questions.

Please join us – we welcome you!

The Tyre Forum

We are often asked how much a Wheel Alignment should cost and as with most things in this world there are a few different scenarios and answers to that question.

We decided to find out how much one could expect to pay for a basic 4 Wheel Alignment on a Toyota Corolla from a couple of places in Auckland.

Firestone
Firestone do not have a price listed on their website so we had to get inventive and pick up a telephone. The guy on the phone asked what sort of car it was, and we mentioned it was a Toyota Corolla. He then advised that although normally they charge $85 he could do a full four wheel alignment for us and it would only cost $69

Beaurepaires
On the Beaurepaires website at the time of writing this article they have listed “the average price” of wheel alignments, for cars that is $89, for RV’s its $99.We rang the guys at the local Beaurepaires and they said for a Corolla they could do it for $70.

With that in mind we would definitely recommend ringing around, and who knows if you catch them on a quiet day you may find yourself a bargain.

What exactly do you get for your money?
Here at Tyresforsale.co.nz we think that for the price of a wheel alignment you should get your car adjusted to its manufacturers specificiations, and also your Tyre pressures checked and adjusted.

Wheel alignment machines need calibrating on a regular basis so make sure the Tyre Store you get your pride and joy aligned at is the type of place that calibrates their wheel alignment machine.

Should I get my wheels balanced as well?
If you are experiencing any vibration symptoms ( especially at higher speeds ), a wheel alignment is not going to fix that, you may need a balance as well. If your tyres have just been fitted however they should already be balanced and getting your alignment checked will help ensure you get the maximum value out of your tyres.

How do I know my car has been aligned correctly? Our belief is that the following should be expectations after getting your vehicle aligned.

A straight steering wheel - No wheel alignment technician with any kind of pride will let a car go out after a wheel alignment with a crooked steering wheel.

Even Tyre Wear - Although there are exceptions as long as your tyres are aligned to your manufacturers specifications, the tyres are rotated regularly and the car is driven in a decent manner your should get reasonably even tyre wear.

Straight Driving - On New Zealand Roads your car should drive fairly straight or have a slight tendency to veer to the left ( our roads are sloped to the left ), it is very dangerous to have a car that has any tendency to pull to the right as that means if you lose concentration you can veer into oncoming traffic! Often a tyre can cause a slight pull to one side or the other, and the simple fact of changing them from side to side can negate the issue. Don’t expect tyres that are worn on one side, to drive in a straight line however!

If you have any questions, or comments/stories to share about getting a wheel alignment done on your vehicle, or recommendations as to where our visitors could go then please share with us.