Goodyear Viva 2 tires...any good?
 

I just mounted and balanced (DIY...manually) a set of 175/65/14 Goodyear Viva 2 used tires...1/2 to 2/3s tread.

Inflated them to sidewall max...44 psi. Seem to hold the road pretty good...though they can be noisy.

I've heard issues of these blowing out. Was this at higher than sidewall pressures?

Any other problems with these?

Any mpg gains due to them being a LRR type tire?

Balanced out well...no issues so far.

I had 2 blow outs (both sidewall) with those tires at normal street pressures, other than that, I thought they were pretty good tires.

Interesting ... How do you manually balance wheels/tires?

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

I rounded the ends of the prybars so they don't cut the tires.

I can use the mounting bar to dismount tires...can't use it to put them on...use the prybars.

Use some blue goo from NAPA to lube and seal the beads.

Use an assortment of used weights with the balancer...just need to snug up the spring clips before reusing.

Works real well with steel wheels...OK with junker type alum wheels...don't want to even touch decent ones.

Also do my own front end alignment...mostly toe-in...can check camber fairly close.

Why? Because I wanted to try it all...now it's usually easier to just do them rather than find someone to do things.

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That makes me rest easy brucey. :) Sounds like they are good tires till they aren't?

Interesting on the tire changer. The cost of the tools and you never have to pay 60$ for mounting and balancing. Does it balance them well? My car seems overly sensitive to out of balance tires.

But yeah, I think they're a decent enough tire. They seemed to give really good mileage and I'm sure that's what you're going for.

I've probably installed 3 sets of tires so far...and got the changer and balancer for a bit less than those prices. All those things are good solid quality...unlike some Chinese stuff. The balancer works pretty well...tires roll good...except they acted like they were a little out of round this morning after sitting overnight...tires fault though.

It's sure not a get rich quick scheme...takes a while to learn how to do things....but all in all it's easier to just do it than to try and find someplace to get it done Mostly makes sense if you work on your own cars and have a few around.

The best part
 

about mounting tires yourself is that you can do it properly. Most people don't realize that tires and wheels can not be made perfectly round. Manufacurers have agreed to make the low spot of the wheel at the valve stem, and the high spot of the tire will be marked with a dot. If you align the dot and the valve hole you get an almost perfectly round unit.

Properly aligned tire/wheel units last longer, run cooler and longer, and require less weight to balance.:thumbup:

I have never used these tires, but have customers who have them. The tires seem to wear well, but I had one guy who had 2 blow out for no reason. They were covered by whoever he bought the tires from. I know it was not an inflation issues because I service his car regularly.

Mine are doing fine. Handling is pretty good, but not great. Noise-wise, they are much better than my old Kumho's, but I would not call them great. FE may be up some, but not a ton.

Well, we had tons of trouble from them when installed at Walmart. I'm sure part of it was the installers. They just never held air, we brought the car and had new front tires put on them and I think they (but i'm not sure) reinstalled the rear Viva's.

The rear Viva's are still good, and the front ones are another brand.