[xcskier]

Even though I'm not yet an owner, I have been researching tires for the Acadia. I know for sure that I will get a second set of wheels (hopefully "takeoffs" from a dealer) and permanently mount true snow tires (not all season) for next winter. I live in the mountains and will need the snows. I do this on my awd Subaru with great success, and expect the same results from the Acadia.

I just got off Tirerack, and was surprised to find almost no selection of tires. I keyed in both the OEM 18 and 19 inch sizes:
255 65-18
255 60-19
and the only hits I got were the OEM tires on the vehicle: Goodyear Forteras or Goodyear Eagle RS-A.

I also surfed a few other tire brands' websites, and got the same result: "we don't offer that size".

Are these some new and uncommon size? Will we be severely limited when it comes time for tire replacements? This is especially concerning to me regarding my snow tire purchase, as choices there are limited in the first place, even for "standard" sizes.

I assume that with awd, there is some warning about keeping tire diameter for all 4 positions near the same measurement. I have this issue on the Subie; if you have to replace one tire, you sometimes have to replace all 4 so the diameter matches. Luckily, this hasn't happened yet to me in 5 years of ownership. Anyway, a year from now, some unlucky soul is going to be dealing with this issue. I hope there are some reasonable tire choices by then.

BTW, the Tirerack price for the Fortera HL Edition (255 65-18) is $179 each! Ouch...
The Goodyear Eagle RS-A (255 60-19) is $135.

 

[Denny]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

I discovered the same problem only OEM Goodyears are available!!! As of now anyway. I am getting excited my dealer called Saturday March 9th my Brown Mettallic Titaninum interior SLT 1 is sitting in rail yard at Janesville Wisc. waiting for a truck to La crosse Wisc.. Was ordered Jan. 26th not too long a wait. Will post some pics when it arrives.

Denny

 

[jrocco001]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

Not that this answers your question....but ****! We passed on the 19" wheel option as I assumed the 18s would be much cheaper to replace with wear....are you saying the 19"s are cheaper per tire? I thought they would be crazy expensive.

 

[coloradoGM]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

They're probably just a new tire size and will become more common, you will probably see snow tires for that size by next fall and every manufacture will have that size by the time you want to replace them, unless of course you put 50,000 miles a year on your vehicles. I have 45,000 on my Grand Am and I've had it for 4 years and it still isn't ready for tires.

 

[kjf]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

This is not unusual for a new vehicle, particularly where it is built on a new platform. When I purchased my MDX in 2002, I had the same problem. It can take a couple of years for manufacturers to develop much depth to the line of available tires.

The problem will come when you need a replacement due to a flat. It may be difficult to find a replacement on the road, especially in a small town. This is compounded by the fact that the Acadia only comes with a temporary "donut" spare, and the owners' manual says you cannon put a full size tire under the vehicle where the spare goes.

Kelly

 

[xcskier]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

Not that this answers your question....but ****! We passed on the 19" wheel option as I assumed the 18s would be much cheaper to replace with wear....are you saying the 19"s are cheaper per tire? I thought they would be crazy expensive.

Yup. The 19 inch were $135 and the 18 inch were $179. This is just the exact OEM tires on Tirerack. I wouldn't expect this to continue a year from now. Logically, I agree with you that the 18s should be lower in price.

 

[sunshadw]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

Could it be that the 65 series has more rubber? The 19's just have a bigger hole.

Wayne

 

[RedRocker]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

When I bought my G35 (one of the first owners...like many of us are w/ the Acadia), size 215/55 17's, the only company that carried that size was Bridgestone...so only one choice. Same situation as we have w/the Acadia right now.

I called Tirerack and they told me that by August a few other manufacturers would be in the market competing w/Goodyear for our 18's and 19's for the Acadia.

My take on it is that the car company (GM) gets together with the tire co (Goodyear) to develop a ride/handling combo that will work for the new auto (Acadia).

Goodyear offers up development dollars to fine-tune the ride and GM agree's to offering a size that only Goodyear will have (for a few months) so they get all the sales, replacements for blowouts, etc.

With the large number of sales of the Lambda lineup that is a large number of tires!!! There will be competition soon...are probably better tire selections out there by the fall.

 

[toastyz71]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

the $$ difference inbetween the 18 and 19 also has to take into account that the 18" fortera's are a better tire & newer design than the eagle rs-a

 

[joey]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

Im still in awe that the spare is not a full size tire. My Envoy had a full one, and I dot see how you could drive very far with the spare tire they give you with the Acadia.

And not having the new tire size out in most tire dealers doesnt make me comfortable either.

I guess I better carry a few cans of that tire inflator stuff, HUH???

Cheers,
J. 8)

 

[GerryL]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

Im still in awe that the spare is not a full size tire. My Envoy had a full one, and I dot see how you could drive very far with the spare tire they give you with the Acadia.

And not having the new tire size out in most tire dealers doesnt make me comfortable either.

I guess I better carry a few cans of that tire inflator stuff, HUH???

Cheers,
J. 8)

The real problem with the tire inflater stuff is that you basically ruin your tire when you use it. Most tire repair shops will tell you that that tire is no longer fixable and there may even be issues with cleaning up your wheel afterwards depending on how long you leave it in there. With the price of these tires, its a shame to have to toss one, or a pair (to be balanced) for a minor nail puncture that might be a simple repair otherwise.

 

[sandman]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

Even though I'm not yet an owner, I have been researching tires for the Acadia. I know for sure that I will get a second set of wheels (hopefully "takeoffs" from a dealer) and permanently mount true snow tires (not all season) for next winter. I live in the mountains and will need the snows. I do this on my awd Subaru with great success, and expect the same results from the Acadia.

You may not have to get snow tires. There have been several posts by people this winter of doing some serious snow driving in the AWD and not having a bit of trouble. The Acadia is a heavy car and it doesn't seem to be stopped by much.

 

[RedRocker]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

The Fortera's also have a much higher treadwear rating than the RS-A's...so the 18's should last longer than the 19's.

 

[foggy]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

I cant imagine any need for snow tires with an awd acadia. I drove mine extensively this past winter (got mine in Jan) in alot of Minnesota snow conditons with the 18s and I thought the traction was outstanding. Its hard to get a wheel to slip. Now I dont live in the mountains....but still....I have driven the mountains with my prior suburban with similar treads.....this is better on normal (hard surface) roads......I cant imagine a need for better traction or driving control unless your driving pikes peak regularly.
Just my two cents worth. ;D

 

[FunkD]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

I understand that in most cases that snow tires would not be needed on the Acadia, but let me assure you that there are some cases that do. I'll be buying a pair as soon as they become available, hopefully they'll make studded tires as well!

FYI, I did the same search on Tirerack a couple of weeks ago. It makes me kinda nervous! I hope you're right and they come out with winter tires by this fall!

FunkD

 

[xcskier]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

Foggy, I have to agree with FunkD about the need for snow tires.

I lived in the Twin Cities for 15 years before moving to Utah.

I never had true snow tires while in MN, and always found all-season tread to be plenty adequate. I even got by with all season tires on a couple of full-size 2wd (rear wheels) pick ups with sand bags in the bed. It wasn't fun on a few slippery days, but it was manageable.

Here in the mountains, true snows are pretty much mandatory. Even with awd, they are a big help. As an example, just about every Subaru Outback I see in the winter (and they're everywhere!) has snow tires. About half are just soft compound rubber, and the other half are studded.

Many days they are not needed at all. Like anywhere in snow country, it depends upon the weather, roads, terrain and how well they plow. However, for some roads and conditions (perhaps 10-20 times per winter) you would definitely be stuck without them. Or you would have to alter your travel plans and not attempt to climb that steep, winding pass.

I plan to purchase 4 snow tires for the AWD Acadia as soon as they are available, and hope I have them by this coming winter.

If no one makes them, I guess I'll be forced to give the all-season tires a try. Who knows, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised! (I'd rather not have to find out)

Enjoy the Acadia ride!

 

[sandman]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

Isn't the Outback a pretty light weight car? Having the 5000 pound Acadia is like having an extra ton of sandbags in your trunk

 

[johnway]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

Here is a link to an article/review of the Acadia and the tester was driving a FWD thru heavy snow - good results!
http://news.windingroad.com/body-stylesmarket-segment/crossovers/wr-fleet-2007-gmc-acadia-slt/

Forgot, he has the 19's with the performance tires.

 

[zielinab]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

Even though I'm not yet an owner, I have been researching tires for the Acadia. I know for sure that I will get a second set of wheels (hopefully "takeoffs" from a dealer) and permanently mount true snow tires (not all season) for next winter. I live in the mountains and will need the snows. I do this on my awd Subaru with great success, and expect the same results from the Acadia.

I just got off Tirerack, and was surprised to find almost no selection of tires. I keyed in both the OEM 18 and 19 inch sizes:
255 65-18
255 60-19
and the only hits I got were the OEM tires on the vehicle: Goodyear Forteras or Goodyear Eagle RS-A.

I also surfed a few other tire brands' websites, and got the same result: "we don't offer that size".

Are these some new and uncommon size? Will we be severely limited when it comes time for tire replacements? This is especially concerning to me regarding my snow tire purchase, as choices there are limited in the first place, even for "standard" sizes.

I assume that with awd, there is some warning about keeping tire diameter for all 4 positions near the same measurement. I have this issue on the Subie; if you have to replace one tire, you sometimes have to replace all 4 so the diameter matches. Luckily, this hasn't happened yet to me in 5 years of ownership. Anyway, a year from now, some unlucky soul is going to be dealing with this issue. I hope there are some reasonable tire choices by then.

BTW, the Tirerack price for the Fortera HL Edition (255 65-18) is $179 each! Ouch...
The Goodyear Eagle RS-A (255 60-19) is $135.

If you're going to buy wheels anyway, how about some 17's? You probably don't want such a low profile snow tire anyway. Bridgestone Blizzak and Michelin X-Ice both come in 255-70-17, according to tirerack, and should be around the same overall diameter as the two stock sizes (18,19).

 

[toastyz71]

Re: OEM Tires - Odd Size?

Even though I'm not yet an owner, I have been researching tires for the Acadia. I know for sure that I will get a second set of wheels (hopefully "takeoffs" from a dealer) and permanently mount true snow tires (not all season) for next winter. I live in the mountains and will need the snows. I do this on my awd Subaru with great success, and expect the same results from the Acadia.

I just got off Tirerack, and was surprised to find almost no selection of tires. I keyed in both the OEM 18 and 19 inch sizes:
255 65-18
255 60-19
and the only hits I got were the OEM tires on the vehicle: Goodyear Forteras or Goodyear Eagle RS-A.

I also surfed a few other tire brands' websites, and got the same result: "we don't offer that size".

Are these some new and uncommon size? Will we be severely limited when it comes time for tire replacements? This is especially concerning to me regarding my snow tire purchase, as choices there are limited in the first place, even for "standard" sizes.

I assume that with awd, there is some warning about keeping tire diameter for all 4 positions near the same measurement. I have this issue on the Subie; if you have to replace one tire, you sometimes have to replace all 4 so the diameter matches. Luckily, this hasn't happened yet to me in 5 years of ownership. Anyway, a year from now, some unlucky soul is going to be dealing with this issue. I hope there are some reasonable tire choices by then.

BTW, the Tirerack price for the Fortera HL Edition (255 65-18) is $179 each! Ouch...
The Goodyear Eagle RS-A (255 60-19) is $135.

If you're going to buy wheels anyway, how about some 17's? You probably don't want such a low profile snow tire anyway. Bridgestone Blizzak and Michelin X-Ice both come in 255-70-17, according to tirerack, and should be around the same overall diameter as the two stock sizes (18,19).

you've got to find wheels in the right bolt patern, and then no guarantee if a 17" wheel will fit over the suspension/brakes.....