Radar Dimax AS-8 225/55R19 103V Tires Finally Installed

Maybe something to do with container shortage?

I think you got a good deal. Are yours speed rated?
 
Maybe something to do with container shortage?
Supply chain is only part of problems. IMO the root cause is too many dollar bills been printed, and much higher import duty imposed due to the trade war.


I think you got a good deal.
Yes, no complaints on the cost. With installation、disposal fee、sales tax、and DT 10% promotion, my actual total cost is $427.95 for a set of pretty decent new tires.


Are yours speed rated?
225/55R19 103V, 103 XL Extra Load and V speed rated.

E8063735-F045-4AC2-B8C8-38C0B53F3D5D.jpeg
 
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IMO the root cause is too many dollar bills been printed, and much higher import duty imposed due to the trade war.
Assuming you purchased the tires around the time of your original post just a few weeks ago, neither of those causes are plausible. I read your post to mean the rebate was two years old, not the purchase.

There have been no recent increases in import duties. The printed dollars that matter are the ones flowing into mailboxes, stimulus checks and federal unemployment supplements, and those are in the rear view mirror.

The US market for replacement light truck tires is strong, but other replacement categories are showing only modest increases over 2019 pre-pandemic levels. OEM sales are weak for obvious reasons. In the aggregate 2021 total sales are expected to be only modestly ahead of 2019 pre-pandemic levels despite pent up demand from 2020. The data is here, USTMA's last update in August:


The more likely causes of the outsized price increases, not just the Radar brand but across the board, are in no particular order:

1) Increases in raw material costs
2) Increases in shipping costs
3) As we see with chips, a few months of capacity underutilization (slowdowns and shutdowns) can take a long time to right itself in a just-in-time world, constraining supply.
4) Tires are precisely the kind of product, high weight and size per $1 value, that would be tied up at ports and in warehouses constraining retailer supply. Unloading ships is just the first step which doesn't do anything to resolve the truck driver shortage.
5) Psychological component of inflation. We don't know if we're there yet but if you've lived long enough you've seen that movie. Manufacturers pad the price increases to get ahead of the curve, expecting even higher raw material and shipping costs. Retailers pad price increases to get ahead of the curve expecting the next order to be more expensive still. Consumers get acclimated to inflation with an inclination to buy now before the price goes up further. Are we there yet? Perhaps in the first inning.
6) The outsized increase in your Radars could be because that manufacturer was slow to increase prices earlier in the year and are catching up. Goodyear recently announced their 4th. increase in 2021, for example. Or perhaps a favorable review by @yrwei52 at Mazda247 has generated a spike in demand. [A smiley face would go here if this software would let me].
 
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Assuming you purchased the tires around the time of your original post just a few weeks ago, neither of those causes are plausible. I read your post to mean the rebate was two years old, not the purchase.

There have been no recent increases in import duties. The printed dollars that matter are the ones flowing into mailboxes, stimulus checks and federal unemployment supplements, and those are in the rear view mirror.

The US market for replacement light truck tires is strong, but other replacement categories are showing only modest increases over 2019 pre-pandemic levels. OEM sales are weak for obvious reasons. In the aggregate 2021 total sales are expected to be only modestly ahead of 2019 pre-pandemic levels despite pent up demand from 2020. The data is here, USTMA's last update in August:


The more likely causes of the outsized price increases, not just the Radar brand but across the board, are in no particular order:

1) Increases in raw material costs
2) Increases in shipping costs
3) As we see with chips, a few months of capacity underutilization (slowdowns and shutdowns) can take a long time to right itself in a just-in-time world, constraining supply.
4) Tires are precisely the kind of product, high weight and size per $1 value, that would be tied up at ports and in warehouses constraining retailer supply. Unloading ships is just the first step which doesn't do anything to resolve the truck driver shortage.
5) Psychological component of inflation. We don't know if we're there yet but if you've lived long enough you've seen that movie. Manufacturers pad the price increases to get ahead of the curve, expecting even higher raw material and shipping costs. Retailers pad price increases to get ahead of the curve expecting the next order to be more expensive still. Consumers get acclimated to inflation with an inclination to buy now before the price goes up further. Are we there yet? Perhaps in the first inning.
6) The outsized increase in your Radars could be because that manufacturer was slow to increase prices earlier in the year and are catching up. Goodyear recently announced their 4th. increase in 2021, for example. Or perhaps a favorable review by @yrwei52 at Mazda247 has generated a spike in demand. [A smiley face would go here if this software would let me].
The title:

“Radar Dimax AS-8 225/55R19 103V Tires Finally Installed”,​

And I started the thread by saying:

Bought these Radar Dimax AS-8 225/55R19 103V tires for $84.49 each (price match to WalMart.com) and DT Independence Day Event 10% gift card rebate from my local Discount Tire Store more than 2 years ago and finally installed them today due to a puncture at right front tire strangely by a metal tubing and there’s not much tread (3/32” ~ 2/32”) left to worth the flat repair.”

So I thought it’s obvious that I bought these tires more than 2 years ago, with price match and DT 10% gift card at the time. No promotion on tires can be lasting for 2+ years long. From $84.49 to $135.70 on the same tire in 2+ years, it’s obvious that the inflation is severe world wide.

And have you checked the food price and consumer goods lately?
 
The title:

“Radar Dimax AS-8 225/55R19 103V Tires Finally Installed”,​

And I started the thread by saying:

Bought these Radar Dimax AS-8 225/55R19 103V tires for $84.49 each (price match to WalMart.com) and DT Independence Day Event 10% gift card rebate from my local Discount Tire Store more than 2 years ago and finally installed them today due to a puncture at right front tire strangely by a metal tubing and there’s not much tread (3/32” ~ 2/32”) left to worth the flat repair.”

So I thought it’s obvious that I bought these tires more than 2 years ago, with price match and DT 10% gift card at the time. No promotion on tires can be lasting for 2+ years long. From $84.49 to $135.70 on the same tire in 2+ years, it’s obvious that the inflation is severe world wide.

And have you checked the food price and consumer goods lately?
Actually not so clear. It sounded like you were holding on to the rebate card for two years, while having new tires laying around for two years seemed implausible.

I never questioned that inflation is happening, only the causes. It's pandemic induced supply side constraints driving inflation not outsized demand.
 
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Did the 4 wheel alignment 3 weeks ago on my 2016 CX-5 GT AWD with new Radar Dimax AS-8 225/55R19 103V tires even though I knew the alignment should be fine based on the tire wear on my stock Toyo A23's. I had an excellent experience with the Brakes Plus near by when I did the 4 wheel alignment about 3 years ago on my 1998 Honda CR-V the first time at 183K miles. The young tech was really good, and I had no complaints after the alignment.

Unfortunately that young tech went back to California where he is coming from, and a different tech was working on my CX-5. The store has upgraded to a newer Hunter HawkEye Elite® Alignment Machine this time and the obvious thing to me is the tire hook-up sensors used to be clipped on the wheel edge, now they're attached to the tires directly. This definitely prevents any possible scratches to the edge of expensive alloy wheels.

The whole alignment process is fast as advertised by Hunter website. It took only about 20 minutes and it's done. But I went back after I test-drove my CX-5 and asked for re-adjustment the toe-in as I felt the steering wheel is off-center to the left more than before. And this time the store manager did the alignment and the result is satisfactory.

Mazda CX-5 4 Wheel Alignment @ Brakes Plus_20211019_032.jpg

Mazda CX-5 4 Wheel Alignment @ Brakes Plus_20211019_01.jpeg

Mazda CX-5 4 Wheel Alignment @ Brakes Plus_20211019_02.jpeg

Mazda CX-5 4 Wheel Alignment @ Brakes Plus_20211019_04.jpeg

Mazda CX-5 4 Wheel Alignment @ Brakes Plus_20211019_05.jpeg
 
Although I usually want to watch the alignment closely just in case, but this time I chose to let the tech at the Brakes Plus do his job without asking anything. The tech initially said the left-front toe-in is off a bit, which requires some adjustment and the free alignment check is gone. He said he's going to put more toe-in at left-front in to meet the spec where the Hunter machine showed a bit toe-out. As I mentioned in previous post, after the alignment I really hated the off-center feeling on the steering wheel especially it's more to the left. I also noticed from the print-out that the CX-5 actually missed merely 0.01° toe-out at the left-front which will be within the spec if the tech positioned the steering wheel a bit to the right before the alignment as the total toe is within the spec. I felt my money is wasted for something which is actually getting worse on steering wheel centering, I decided to take my CX-5 back after I test-drove the car. The store manager was nice and put my CX-5 on the machine again. He agreed the tech should adjust the right-front having it more toe-in at the first time with the steering wheel centered properly, so that my steering wheel will be more towards right while driving straight. And he did it based on my suggestion adjusting the toe to the right-front. And the result is good on steering wheel centering position but I "donated" $64 to my local Brakes Plus store as my CX-5 definitely didn't need any adjustments on alignment at beginning!

I understand the alignment is sensitive as we can see the "Actual" data on the first print-out and the "Before" data on the second print-out are not the same although they're supposed to. Each time the car been put on the machine the readout can be different than the previous time. Luckily the camber and caster at front and the camber at rear are all within specs as these can't be adjusted.


Wheel Alignment Brakes Plus_20211019_012.jpg


Wheel Alignment Brakes Plus_20211019_022.jpg
 
Cringed a bit when I saw the pic of how far down the tread went on your stock Toyo tires. Were they even able to still stop well if it was raining?

Yeah everything seems to be going up. Not shocked at all about the tires going up to $130. How are they treating you so far? For kicks and giggles, I looked up to see what my General Altimax RT43 tires were going for these days (in 225/65-R17) and they are now up to $143 a tire. If I recall, I bought mine for $110/each.
 
Cringed a bit when I saw the pic of how far down the tread went on your stock Toyo tires. Were they even able to still stop well if it was raining?

Yeah everything seems to be going up. Not shocked at all about the tires going up to $130. How are they treating you so far? For kicks and giggles, I looked up to see what my General Altimax RT43 tires were going for these days (in 225/65-R17) and they are now up to $143 a tire. If I recall, I bought mine for $110/each.
Honestly we don’t rain that much, not to mention the snow. The primary driver drives the CX-5 like a grandma. She and I didn’t feel any problems to stop the CX-5 with stock Toyo A23’s although the tread depth is approaching to legal limit 2/32“. The only reason I decided to put these Radar Dimax AS-8’s on at the time was there’s a flat, and Discount Tire suggested a new set of tires.

So far the Radar Dimax AS-8’s have performed better than I expected. They absorb bumps better, and feel smoother than stock Tokyo’s. Consider the price I paid, no regrets!
 
Honestly we don’t rain that much, not to mention the snow. The primary driver drives the CX-5 like a grandma. She and I didn’t feel any problems to stop the CX-5 with stock Toyo A23’s although the tread depth is approaching to legal limit 2/32“. The only reason I decided to put these Radar Dimax AS-8’s on at the time was there’s a flat, and Discount Tire suggested a new set of tires.

So far the Radar Dimax AS-8’s have performed better than I expected. They absorb bumps better, and feel smoother than stock Tokyo’s. Consider the price I paid, no regrets!
Ah that makes sense. Easy driving and no precipitation makes it less of a problem.

I've been hit by two people with tires that looked like that in rain and snow now so you'll have to forgive me. ;):p People here in CO don't pay their tires and tread much attention. Makes me kinda wish we had inspections.

Really glad to hear the new tires are treating you well. I've been very happy so far with my Altimax RT-43's which at the time was the "cheap tire" to get. I have my winters on right now, will have to see how my Altimax tread depth is doing next time I remember to measure it.
 
I put 55,000 miles on my first set of Radar Dimax AS-8 tires on my 2016 Mazda CX5, just put a fresh set on about 2 weeks ago. Zero complaints on the Radar tires. Great traction in Wisconsin winters and they are quiet.
 
I put 55,000 miles on my first set of Radar Dimax AS-8 tires on my 2016 Mazda CX5, just put a fresh set on about 2 weeks ago. Zero complaints on the Radar tires. Great traction in Wisconsin winters and they are quiet.
The price difference between your first set and the second set of Radar Dimax AS-8 must be substantial!

And thanks for your initial recommendation to this Radar tire which convinced me to make the purchase!
 
I'm considering these. Don't like the Idea of paying ~$1000 for new tires, that I may only use half the life of before I get my next car.

Discount Tire online chat says they only order the brands they stock. I suppose I could try calling, or going in person.

Walmart has them for $125 each. Seems that all of the highly rated 19" tires are in the $200 range right now. I'm not in a hurry, but have started paying attention.

edit:
@yrwei52

Did it take any arm twisting to get Discount Tire to order them for you? Their online chat rep said they only order from brands they stock. I haven't tried calling the local store.
 
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Discount Tire now lists Radar as a vendor, carries Dimax, but don't list this size. I stopped in this morning and they said they cannot order them. No SKU for that size.

WTF. They said they could sell me other tires, I said no thanks.
 
@yrwei52
Did it take any arm twisting to get Discount Tire to order them for you? Their online chat rep said they only order from brands they stock. I haven't tried calling the local store.
Yes it took me the second try to meet a nice rep who spent some extra time finding the source of the Radar tire from Omnisource. He then placed the order for 4 Radar Dimax AS-8 225/55R19 103V tires and it took about 3 days to arrive my local DT store.
 
Discount Tire now lists Radar as a vendor, carries Dimax, but don't list this size. I stopped in this morning and they said they cannot order them. No SKU for that size.

WTF. They said they could sell me other tires, I said no thanks.
Just checked and I saw WalMart and Amazon both sell Radar Dimax AS-8 225/55R19 103V tire for about $118 each. The manufacturer part number is DSC0033. Now Discount Tire officially carries Radar tires, they should be much easier to order 225/55R19 tire for you than my situation in 2019. May be you can talk to the store manager and mention that other DTs can get the Radar 225/55R19 tire size why can’t you?
 
Just checked and I saw WalMart and Amazon both sell Radar Dimax AS-8 225/55R19 103V tire for about $118 each. The manufacturer part number is DSC0033. Now Discount Tire officially carries Radar tires, they should be much easier to order 225/55R19 tire for you than my situation in 2019. May be you can talk to the store manager and mention that other DTs can get the Radar 225/55R19 tire size why can’t you?
There are 2 other Discount Tires in the area, one of which doesn't charge sales tax. I may give them a try. I see the other sources, and was prepared to use them as price match. It's (usually) much more convenient to use Discount Tire.

The local one is right on my way home, others 20-30 minute drive.
 

The local one is right on my way home, others 20-30 minute drive.
You can give the local DT another try and talk to the manager. Giving them the part number I just can’t imagine your local DT can’t place an order on Radar tires for you.
 
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