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Need a Saab Authority-Expert to Chime In Posted by rmgman [Email]  (#334)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from rmgman) on Wed, 1 Nov 2006 08:06:38
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Fellow Saab enthusiasts, authorities and experts:
I am writing to seek advice on some confusion I experienced yesterday concerning the mounting of some new tires and rims on my 2000 9-3s.
Let me preface by stating that I am far from being "auto-savvy". I know how to keep the car maintained and clean and take good care of the Saab, but when it comes to the mechanics and tech talk and nitty gritty of parts and such, I get lost.
After attending the 2006 SOC up in Lake George and after talking to many Saabers, I decided to purchase a set of snow tires and rims. Even though I live in New Jersey, the roads can get pretty nasty around here and there actually are some hills and valleys I need to drive through. Also, the street I live on is a hill and the town makes it a habit of making our road the last to be plowed during a storm. Even with all-weather tires on the car, the Saab manages just fine. But, I wanted the extra comfort and reliability of snow tires. And like most people, it's not our own driving we need to be careful about, it's having to avoid the other drivers and dangers on the road that worry me.
So, back in the beginning of September, I purchased from my Saab dealership, JMK Saab in Springfield, NJ a set of four tires and rims. The new sets are Goodyear Eagle Ultra Grip and they are mounted on Saab 7 spoke rims. The tires have the code # M+S 215/55R16 93H GW-3 on them. The part number when I purchased the sets from the dealership are 02-93-431 and 02-93-449, both followed with the description SNOW 9-5 7 SPOK. I assume the different numbers is due to left and right rotation.
At first, I thought it was odd that the part description had 9-5 listed, and when I got the set home, I saw a 9-5 label on the tires. As I stated above, I drive a 2000 9-3. But, i figured I bought the tires from a Saab dealership, and they actually put the tires in my trunk after an oil change, I assumed they knew what they were doing.
Fast forward to yesterday. It's the last day of October and I'm on vacation this week, so I figure it's time to put the snows on. JMK Saab is about a 35 minute drive from my home, so I opt to go to my local tire expert, STS Tire, which is about 10 minutes from home to put the tires on. They said it would only cost $20 to make the exchange, and something they could do in a few minutes and save me the trouble of attempting it myself and taking a few hours.
Well, when STS went to put the tires and rims on, they noticed a difference in size between the tires coming off my car and the new ones. The ones on my car were 195-60-15 (a combination of 2 Pirrelli's and 2 Gislavid) and the new tires are 215-55-16. They said that the new tires were too big. I noticed the difference and had them mount one of the new rim/tires on the front to see. Yes, it appeared larger and tighter, but there was still turning room. STS looked up in their computers and made a few phone calls and everyone they talked too, claimed and advised me not to install these new tires on my car. They even called another Saab dealership in NJ.
Needless to say, I was confused. I called JMK Saab and talked to the parts department, and they assured me the sets I purchased were fine to go on my car. But, the STS people kept shaking their heads and advised against it.
So I told STS to put the old tire back on and then I drove down to JMK with the four new tires and rims in my trunk area. Down at JMK, they were perplexed that these other people were advising against what I purchased and claimed they have been installing these snow tire packages on 9-3 Saabs for years now without any problem or complaint. Then they assured me I was doing the correct thing and they went ahead and put the new tires/rims onto my car. To cover myself, I had them type a disclaimer into my bill and it reads:
"Install supplied snow tire package.
Installed pre-mounted snow tires.
Advised customer this size tire and wheel package properly fits this vehicle. This car comes from the factory with 15, 16, and 17 inch wheels. The aspect ratio for each wheel is sized accordingly at either 60, 55 or 45. The tire widths vary from 195, 215 and up to 225mm."
I went back to STS to show the manager this information, and still he disagreed with the Saab people. Everything he looked up on his computer advised against it.
So, I guess I am posting this lengthy experience to find out what you people, who know Saabs better than most people, think of this situation. Did I do the correct thing? Are these tires/rims safe for my car and JMK is correct. Or is STS correct in advising me against using these tires? I need some kind of information to ease my concern and also to go back to both JMK and STS with what I found out.
Thank you in advance.
See Ya 'Round The Edges!
Russ Goodman
, Wed, 1 Nov 2006 08:06:38 <-- Viewing This Message, Thu, 2 Nov 2006 07:53:43
, Thu, 2 Nov 2006 09:25:32, Wed, 1 Nov 2006 10:55:55, Wed, 1 Nov 2006 14:47:19
, Wed, 1 Nov 2006 10:50:40, Wed, 1 Nov 2006 14:44:00
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