It's a long story, but to shorten it... I ordered these tires from Costco's website. They wouldn't mount the Bridgestone S03 225/45ZR-17 tires on my '03 WRX that already has 225/45-17 Toyo tires. They said they need to have something in writing from the MFR that states this tire can be mounted on the car. I was trying to explain that the WRX STI comes with this size tire mounted on 17" BBS wheels and that you can buy these same wheels and tires to fit the WRX. The tire store manager kept staying, is it an STI? We can't mount the tires on it unless we have proof from the MFR that this tire is safe to mount. What the hell? I then asked him for the information that says they cannot mount tires on the car and he couldn't find it. He said if I can provide them with documentation that shows that this tire can be mounted on my vehicle they will install them. I said, they shouldn't allow you to order the tires on the website (you have to pre-pay for all tires).

 

I've heard this from them before.. I was just trying to get a little bigger tire on my truck. They wouldn't do anything other than what Dodge would say was OK. They are covering their *** to the extreme.

 

Sounds like the manager had a case of CYA (cover your a**) to make sure they don't suied.

 

I know ... I had to take all my wheels off and brought it in, then they would mount my 17" tires. All that work just for some cheap tire mounting.

 

So I called Costco customer service and explained the situation. I think the main problem is that they don't have the 2004 specifications yet, and that's the main reason. So now, I guess I need to photocopy someone's 2004 STI manual.

 

they are stricklers for rules.

back in early 90s, i bought a set of 31" tires for my truck. they wouldnt mount it on my steel rims that only had 235P tires.

so this aint new stuff...

 

I had old Z-rated tires on a Supra, and I bought some new H-rated tires. They took a look and said, "Oh, the speed ratings are not the same. We can't install these." I got the tires on tire rack, so I was certain that the speed rating was ok. The guy went in to look on his computer, and he discovered that H-rated tires were allowed after all! Unfortunately, he also noticed that I was replacing 225s with new 225s, but his computer said that he could only install a 215. In the end, I just went to wheel works and paid twice as much money.

 

I encountered the same problem. Just drive over to your nearest Subaru dealer and pick up an accessories booklet. It shows the optional 17" wheels in it. Worked for me.

 

Costco was okay with putting 225/50-16 on my stock wheels. When I asked for 225's they just checked the computer and it had that size listed as okay. I also saw 225/45-17 and 215/45-17 on the screen. This was for an '03 WRX, so maybe they had all the info already.

 

what store did u goto? the almaden store didnt have a prob with my 255's i didnt have the rims on the car at the time tho.

 

With how much trouble I've heard about costco tires, I'd rather just get the quote from them and take them to some other tire/wheel shop. Just because they don't know the specs of stock tire size, they should still know what size tires fit on certain size wheels shouldn't they? Since most places price match, I'd think it'd save a lot of trouble by calling wheel works, or america's tire co. and wondering if that certain store will price match online quotes since most do. just my 2 cents.

 

just order your tires on tirerack.com. it's cheaper and they have a list of auto shops that mount the tires for you. hassle free. they'll even ship the tires to the shop you're bringing your car in in advance.

 

Hell I bring in my own tires too. But they mount tires for $10 a piece! Who can beat that????

 

Not anymore. As of August 30th, no non-Costco tires can be mounted at Costco tire centers. All the way down from management. I'm mad, we got all our shop/rally stuff done there, and the manager (who's totally cool) says management is checking records, so there's no way around it.

I've probably had 40 sets of tires mounted/dismounted in the last year at Costco, with nary a problem, and Corporate just screwed us. Sucks. I swore by my local Costco, at least, because they were better than any other local tire shop.

 

Thank God I had my tires mounted last week !! $44 for all four,brought my own tires and wheels. Can't beat that.