Where can I buy new 12" summer tires in Seattle?

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

A tire dealer here in Anchorage wants $71.50 each (just for the tires, not including mounting) for 12-inch summer tires. Everything is too expensive up here, like lettuce for $4.

Does anybody know a current source in Seattle or Eastside that might have them and be a lot cheaper? I've paid as little as $20 in years past down there.

If I can find some (I really only need two, and have to get off my front studded tires up here by May 1), I can strap two of them together and call it my "1st bag free" on AK Airlines when I'm down there anyway. Two tires weighs less than 50 pounds, right?

[milehighbear]

check with discount tires. They have 155 80 12 in most their stores or can get them. You can buy them online or from store for about 35-40 each. I live here in Denver and they are available here. I'll check and see what it would cost to send them to Anchorage. Will take couple days. Let me know if you can get them yourself. I was in alaska for year at Galena, 100 below for long time while i was there. I heard they closed it thou.

[BigWheel]

Tirerack.com did have 165/70/12 Yokohama's for about $45 a tire (memories bad but this is close). Check with some of your local tires shops to see what they would charge to mount/balance for you if you bring your own tires. Some around here are as low as $30 for that service.

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

The same place here in Anchorage quoted $25 to mount & balance two customer-supplied tires on rims. They refused, however, to actually bolt wheels with "mismatched" tires onto the car, which is no big deal, since I can just take it home and do that myself.

Interestingly, their definition of "mismatched" is strict -- with my 145SR12's on the back, they said they wouldn't even put new 155SR12's on the front. Heck, down in Seattle, my 88LX has wide 13" on the front and narrow 12" on the back and drives just fine.

What is a little dicey here in Anchorage on the ice is what I have now -- 12" studs on the front and summer tires on the back. Unless you're careful, the back end tends to let go on 90 degree in-town turns. As long as you're turning into a 3- 4-lane one-way road, there's plenty of room for it to spin around! I did one a few weeks ago that was a full 1.5 turns!

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

I found two "Kumho Power Star 758" 155SR12s at Discount Tire in Seattle today for $49 each. When I asked about a box for checking them on Alaska Airlines, they gave me a box for ONE 22" SUV wheel. BOTH 12" tires fit nicely in the one box. I can still add 25 lbs of other Festy stuff in the hole in the middle up to the Last Frontier w/o paying overweight charges.

The manager said they have more coming in next week. Apparently they sell quite a few of them here. I'll be hauling more back up on my next trip down.

[25Horseplay]

Tirerack.com has Kumho's on clearance for $35 each right now.

[spiko]

FB71 is trying to get a group buy on tires in this thread:

http://www.fordfestiva.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20229