# Caution on the 19" Journey Rims/Tires



## Steveaut (Sep 16, 2010)

I had a Dodge Journey R/T with 19" Rims before this Routan. The Rims look great. But you need to know in advance that when it comes time to buy new tires, you will have very very few choices, no mileage warranties and you will pay a lot for the tires. I spent $990.00 in tires at Costco and got no warranty whatsoever. I was at a point where I was considering down sizing to 17" rims and tires in a package for less than the price of the 19" tires alone. And with the 17" tires, you get a mileage warranty. I absolutely loved the look, but for me, the price was ridiculous for tires. And, very few companies make that size. In fact, I had to order the tires and wait two weeks before they even had them in stock. Most places turned me away and said they couldn't get the tires. Funny thing, every tire shop I called, Discount, Les Schwabb, Goodyear shops, all said they could get the tire no problem, beat anyone's deal, claimed I would get a warranty. Then when I got to the shop and they actually looked up the tire, they said never mind. Discount was the only one that could get the tire, but at a high cost and had to order it. I put too many miles on our cars every year so it was simply too much money for the look. And don't buy the Kumho (sic) brand. They wear very fast, 20-25K, and have poor traction. If you are going to do it, get the Michilens, I forget the model, but they only have one choice. They handled and wore much better. Costco had a $70.00 off for four deal. I think they are each $235.00. So around a $1,000 out the door. Good luck!


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## luckeydoug1 (Feb 11, 2001)

The Routan will take a 245/50 R19. Pirelli makes a PZero Nero all season tire in that size with a 104W rating. Tire rack has these for $157.00. This is about what I had to spend to replace the tires on my Eurovan. The PZeros have decent reviews.


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## Steveaut (Sep 16, 2010)

*$1085.32 for 19" tires versus $604.50 for 17" and Warranty*

That's great if you can find deals on those tires and in other sizes. But that is not the norm. I'm just saying that folks need to know what they are getting into if they buy the 19" Journey rims. They should expect to pay around $1,000.00 for replacement tires, unless they get lucky and are willling to order them for delivery to their door. They will still have to pay mount and balance and I doubt most people do that who own vans. I just ran this size through Discount Tire and they are a $234.00 each and there is only one make/model of tire available at this size. The out the door price at Discount Tire is $1,085.32.

By comparison, there are over 30 tire choices at Discount for the 17" Rountan tires. Most have mileage warranties. The total price for the Routan 17" tires are $604.50. And they don't have to be ordered. 

If money was no issue, I would buy the 19" Rims and Tires. They look great. But if money were no issue, I would own an Audi Q7 with a Diesel and 7 Passenger seating.


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## luckeydoug1 (Feb 11, 2001)

You are absolutely correct and your warning was a good one. There are not many choices out there for this size. Hopefully anyone contemplating this switch will have done their research before buying these wheels. I am having a difficult time finding good 19" wheels. The plastic/chrome ones seem to be readily available, but not the alloy ones.


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## 58kafer (Jun 27, 2007)

Tire warranty, has anyone ever challenged this?

This is from discounttiredirect.com

The mileage warranty of a tire indicates the number of miles that a tire is estimated to last. If a tire fails to last for the number of miles indicated by the warranty, the customer will be given credit toward a new tire based on how many miles short of the estimate the tire fell. Some restrictions apply.

My brother in law is facing this right now, he has 35K on a set of 60K tires on his SUV (rotates every 5K and overly monitors his air pressure). When he called they said it would be on the *same* tires he currently has (he wouldn't buy them again if he had to:banghead In my eyes that warranty isn't worth the paper it's written on. Even the UTQG rating is B.S. because it's based by each manufacturer not an industry standard. Research the user feedback on a particular tire and sort by vehicle will help, different manufactures cars wear tires differently.

Just my 2 cents.


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## Steveaut (Sep 16, 2010)

Re: Tire Warranty

You are right that a tire warranty is no guarantee of life, but it is a very good indicator of the confidence a manufactuer has in a particular model and a good indicator of a competitive tire size. The 19" has no warranty partly because there is little competition. Your likelihood of buying another Kuhmo, which is stock on the Journey, is nearly guaranteed. Most folks will have no choice due to time constraints and simply wont waste time looking around. 

That said, I have used tire warranties before to my benefit. Especially at Costco. They are great for it. You get a freakin expensive Michelin with a good warranty, 60K, and your next set of a great tire is half or thereabouts of the original price. And with a 17" versus a 19", your savings is huge. 

My point is, that if you buy a 19", you need to be prepared for great looking Routan! But you better also be prepared to pay a hefty cost, by my standards, for that look and it is a recurring cost to surface every two years or thereabouts (they are higher speed rated and wear faster as a result, more high performance rather than longevity/weather).


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## TCM GLX (Jan 2, 2000)

Hey guys, some things to keep in mind, there are several sizes you can use on the routan. Although the caution is appropriate these tires will be more expensive, it does not have to be a $400 price increase and many places will indeed warranty them.

First off, Costco is NOTORIOUS for not warrantying anything that is not the OEM tire size. Most other places, not so much. I bought from Americas Tire, and had ZERO issues, and they are warrantied for 40 or 45k miles. 

As for tire sizes, you can do plenty of sizes that open up options.
Here are some that work
245/50/19 ( I have them in the PZERO mentioned before, paid $750 out the door, including lifetime road hazard. And they will warranty if I have any issues, not sure why your dealer wont)

225/55/19 
255/45/19
235/55/19

Several tire choices, all ranging between 130-180 per tire, close to what the 17s would cost.

Last but not least, going with larger wheels and tire sizes means you will spend more on tires!! Its simples and its a given, if not, everyone would be spending on it. You also get a better looking van, and one that handles better.


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## jettago (Sep 18, 2002)

"Gotta Pay to Play" or in this case "Pay to have a Hot Looking Routan"


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