Why are 18” tires so expensive!?!?!?!
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Id like to know also.......
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6,181 Posts
Good point spoonman.
I was looking at the Toyo AT Warranty today ...
Makes me wonder if tread life is that much worse on an 18 than a 17. Strange.
I was looking at the Toyo AT Warranty today ...
- P-metric sizes 50,000 mile.
- Light Truck to 17" 40,000 mile.
- 18" and above materials and workmanship
Makes me wonder if tread life is that much worse on an 18 than a 17. Strange.
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235 Posts
I was looking at this myself when I priced my tires. If you are looking at the 285.65.18's they are all 8 and 10 ply tires. Those are heavy load tires, more than our titans really need unless your towing often. It's probably a supply and demand thing too like spoonman was suggesting. Not only are the tires in this size heavy duty, there aren't too many manufactures making them, I think I was only able to compared 3 or 4 brands. Looks to me like there is an opportunity for a tire manufacture to build a light duty truck tire in this size. You could look at the 275.70.18 size too if you want to try to save $, The Terra Grapplers in that size are around $235 shipped (@discounttiredirect). They are 10 ply also, I almost bought those but I decided I wanted them a little wider.
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You are also all neglecting that there is a lot of freakin' rubber on these tires. The sidewalls on a 285/65R/18 are pretty large and the tires are pretty wide. So it is not surprising that the more rubber on the tire, the more expensive it will cost.
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I paid 650 a tire for my 22's(40's Toyos) I know what u guys mean..it hurts the wallet, but the should last at least 2 years
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I would think it's more a supply/demand thing as previously stated. When a new tire size is made, and especially up around the 22" and 24" realm, you not only pay for the tire, but have to pay a portion for the engineering, the machining, the tooling, etc.... They need to make new lines to make a small amount of tires = expensive.
Don't forget, you're talking about centrifugal forces and lateral strains here. The bigger the tire, the more rubber, the more it weighs, and the easier it flexes sideways and the more the centrifugal forces make it want to blow apart. All that needs to be considered in the design of bigger tires and therefore additional technology, strengthening, and new procedures need to be developed.
As the prominence of larger tires spreads, don't expect the prices to come down, either. Have 17" tires gotten cheaper than when we all had 15" wheels? I think not. Time, inflation, world issues, price of fossil fuels... it all plays into the equation of "You gotta pay to play"....
Don't forget, you're talking about centrifugal forces and lateral strains here. The bigger the tire, the more rubber, the more it weighs, and the easier it flexes sideways and the more the centrifugal forces make it want to blow apart. All that needs to be considered in the design of bigger tires and therefore additional technology, strengthening, and new procedures need to be developed.
As the prominence of larger tires spreads, don't expect the prices to come down, either. Have 17" tires gotten cheaper than when we all had 15" wheels? I think not. Time, inflation, world issues, price of fossil fuels... it all plays into the equation of "You gotta pay to play"....
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I have done a lot of patent work for companies that supply materials to tire manufacturers. And by increasing the tire size, the tires cannot be made in the same way to provide the same sidewall strength, etc. There is a lot of science involved not to mention the various materials costs have skyrocketed in the last five years. So use of increased amounts of the materials in different, more technologically complex processes could easily increase the tire cost $100 or more per tire.
Also, somebody has to pay for the high price we IP lawyers cost to protect these materials and processes. Guess that would be you guys. I suppose a Thank you is in order.
Also, somebody has to pay for the high price we IP lawyers cost to protect these materials and processes. Guess that would be you guys. I suppose a Thank you is in order.
YOU GET WHAT U PAY FOR!!!!!! tThe bfg's are by far the most durable tire on the market. They wear like steel. My tire guy told me there is about 7-10 more pounds of rubber in a bfg 285/65/18 depending on the sidewall 8 or 10 ply compared to other brands that are the same size.
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941 Posts
Don't forget that the 265/70r18 Revos are a P metric rating versus LT rating in the larger sizes. Ditch those 18s and get some 17 inch wheels, I bought LT285/75R17 TerraGrapplers for $200 each installed out the door.bbomar said:
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I buy the we are paying development and tooling costs argument, but not the more rubber argument. A tire with the same overall dimensions is more expensive in a 18" as opposed to a 17". Since the 18" has a larger rim.....bigger rim = less rubber. I also believe this industry is a lot like the fuel industry, any excuse to raise prices, whether real or not.
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What was told to me is that the 18" size tire that the Titan uses is not a widely used OEM size. I think there is only 2-3 other vehicles that use the size, hence why the 18" tire is expensive. It cost the mfg too much to run a small supply of 18" tires when they don't sell that many. Compare that to the 20" tires that now come standard on most of the luxury SUVs/trucks, they make a ton.
Supply/demand.
Supply/demand.
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235 Posts
what ever the reason is, you can save $50.00 on a set of 4 right now from Discounttiredirect.com, they are having a sale again starting tomorrow, I noticed they were offering it early through another forum I am on, Call them up and mention the deal and you will get it. I think its $50.00 off any 4 wheels and $50.00 off any 4 tires so thats $100 off any package.
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