BF Goodrich Tour T/A Pro Series
So I get this email from my dad today.
Hi Nick,
My co-worker went to Sam's Club and found this SUV tire for his Subaru but could not find the info on it at the tirerack? Got a minute to help? BF Goodrich T Pro.
Love Dad
It was an absolute bear to find anything about this tire, but here's what I came up with.
I found some forum posts asking if anyone has tried those tires before, but there were no responses to any of the questions so I’ve no idea if they’re any good. It seems like no knowledgeable internet users have touched them before.
“Has anyone used BFGoodrich Tour T/A Pro Series tires from Sam's Club? Link to tire
I can't find any infomation about them on BF Goodrich website.”
“I was just wondering if you ended up buying these tires and if so, how do you like them? I was checking them out myself but am unsure about the reliability. If you can help, that would be great.”
I did find this post at a Nissan Xterra forum regarding a similar situation.
“The BFG Land terrain is a walmart version of the rugged TA. they are built to Walmat/ Sams club specs. Im sure it would be a decent tire for the money although it doent have the rim bead like the KO has and starts with less thread depth than other BFG ofroad tires. Hope this helps ya in your peurchase.”
So here’s what I think is going on. I think they start with either the BF Goodrich Touring TR4 or SR4, then modify it to Sam’s Club specs in order to get the price down a little more, then sell it as the BF Goodrich Tour T/A Pro Series.
As you can see from that link to the Touring TR4 review from Tire Rack, it’s a decent tire. Nothing outstanding, but no glaring faults either. Sam’s club probably altered it somewhat to bring the cost down, maybe a little less tread depth or something. I set the tire size for both the tire rack and sam’s club links to the same size so you can compare apples to apples for price.
The thing to remember though, this tire was not designed for SUVs. It’s a car tire straight up. If you follow this link you’ll see that tire rack breaks up the tire lines into two very distinct categories, and I think they’re right to do that. Your coworker is probably alright using this tire because except for the Subaru Tribeca, Subaru vehicles aren’t really SUVs, they’re really Impreza’s and Legacy’s with an extra couple inches of ground clearance, softer shocks, and a skid plate or two. It’s fine to run passenger car tires on an Outback, though you do loose some of that off road capability. I’d probably recommend a tire with a more aggressive tread pattern however. I definitely wouldn’t recommend mounting a passenger car tire on a Tribeca or any other true SUV though. They just aren’t designed for the extra weight or high center of gravity.
I hope you found that all helpful and informative!
Since I had such a hard time finding anything on this tire I figured I should probably post what info I did find online. If I got something wrong, or if anyone has anything they'd like to add please leave a comment.
posted by Duck at 9:52 AM
45 Comments:
Thanks for the rundown. I might be putting these on my Olds Achieva (sister car to the Grand Am), but like you, I couldn't tell which tire I should compare it to. I'm not too keen on the idea of lower tread, but the way I replace tires, they will probably outlive my car anyway (146K and not too many problems).
2:50 PM
I put a set on a Nissan Maxima before giving it to my sister-in-law. Didn't seem to have any less thread than a set of TourING T/A that I had before. Flogged the Maxima around a while just to test the tires, no tire squeal but there was some slight tread noise (that could be because of the 11 year old suspension tho')but nothing irritating. Sam's club guy said that he sells a lot to taxi drivers, could explain "Pro Series" in the name.
4:15 AM
Someone has done a lot of research on these tires and posted on epinions.com One can google BF Goodrich Pro to pull up a link. The review said excellent things about these tires.
7:59 PM
If you read the BFGoodrich warranty info on the tour T/A Pro, it is only sold by Sam's Club. Costco sells an similar equivalent called Premier Touring. I would guess the tire is pretty decent even at a small step down from the Traction T/A. I would not think the tread is less to maintain 70,000 mile warranty. More than likely they changed the cross section slightly to use less material to reduce piece part cost.
3:51 PM
thanks to all who commented about Sam's having them "custom-built"...after an hour of trying to find these exact tires on Goog, was getting frustrated.
Just got back from sams, also considering a Michelin "X", cant find it thru goog, so guess its another proprietary...the guy at Sams seemed geniune and knowledgeable, also said Goodyear "Allegra" was same as Viva Touring, but made for Sams.
All 3 felt ( I squeeze the tread blocks) acceptable for Honda ACCORD 205/65/15, between $300 -$430 out the door.
About $250-300 is the cheapest I feel I can get away with spending on a 2nd-Class tire, like Patriots, Daytons, whatevers, in this 65-profile size,
so I guess I'm gonna take the chance , in a few days, on the BFG or MICH after trying to find out more.
Thanks and good luck. I'll return if i find any more.
garrettmorrisfan
10:19 PM
garret
I somehow got linked the afore mentioned e-opinion:
enjoyed the review, agree it was responsibly done!
link-
http://www.epinions.com/content_175208304260
10:27 PM
from garrett...
spent last hour/s ???!! on tirerack!
looking at confusing amt of good/bad reviews on michelin, low treawear, poor cornering, low )would buy again" ratings from owners on tire rack....
looking to me like the Sams T/A s are basically a value tire that looks like a performance replacement tire...kinda undecided for $300
the honda has 20k mi of easy driving, the Mich Energies are evenly and completely worn ( sorry, your blog is about the T/As, but I'm finding that I'm not the only one completely hating the life obtained from Michelins)
I'm now looking at prime candidate at
ContiExtremeContacts,
around $500 out the door, for Ohio allseason and espec snow safety:
link:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ContiExtremeContact
11:52 PM
Just bought them 12.15.05 and they are much better in the snow then the regular touring T/As because my 328is sucks in the snow (rear wheel drive).
8:06 PM
I was just about to conclude that the bfgoodrich touring t/a pro series is a Sam's exclusive when I foung this blog. You can't find anything about them on the BFG site. I am looking to mount them on a 8k-10k mile/year Accord so they may be a good choice. The Michelin X Radial DT is indeed a Sam's exclusive. You can find it on michelinman.com if you look under "CHOOSE A SPECIFIC TIRE." It is not available in H speed rating. BTW, Consumer Reports ranked X Radial DT as one of the best passenger car tires.
2:40 PM
Looks like I'm not the only one frustrated by lack of info on these tires. You'd think Sam's or BFG would realize that and put some info out. I'm about ready to buy Yokohama again if I can't find out more about these pro series.
10:29 PM
Stumbled across this from a Google search after looking at the B.F. Goodrich Touring T/A Pro Series in my WRX's standard size last night at Costco. Can't be a Sam's Club exclusive if I'm seeing the identical tire at Costco, eh? 8^) Sure would be nice to know more about this particular tire, since I'm getting ready to replace the original B'stone RE92s after about 35K... Sorry I can't add anything else to the topic, other than confirming another retail source.
10:50 AM
Spoke to BFGoodrich earlier today about these tires, as I'm looking to replace my Dunlop SP Sport A2 on my '95 BMW 318ti Active.
Apparently these tires are only sold to warehouse clubs such as Sam's, Costco's (it's listed on Costco's site) and are made for them, as discussed on the blog. According to the person that I spoke to at BFGoodrich, they are in the process of updating their website and will publish some information on it in the future.
From a comparable tires standpoint, the person at BFGoodrich claims that other than the tread design/pattern, they should be comparable to the T/A series.
Regards,
David
3:01 PM
I had about sold myself on a set of Falken ZE512's to replace the Eagle RSA's on my 2003 Focus. The RSA's while not good for wet/snow use did provide 48K miles of wear.
Last weekend, Costco had a $60 discount on sets of 4 tires --most of them $95+, but the BFG Touring T/A Pro's were only $76 @($275 for 4, out the door), so I ordered a set online and just got back from having them mounted. I have noticed that they are now only advertising 60K mile treadlife warranty. Time will tell whether this was a good decision. Has anybody got a chunk of miles on these to report?
-mark
2:20 PM
I had a concern with the Pro Series after I purchased the tire from Costco and found no information online. However, here was my email and my response from Michelin/BF Goodrich to put my mind at ease. I have had the tire for 5-6 months and it is has been very good to date.
Thank you for visiting our BFGoodrich Web site and sending us the following
e-mail:
"On February 28th, 2006, I purchased BF Goodrich Touring Pro Series tires from a Costco Tire center in Newark/Christiana, DE for my 2004 Volkswagen Passat. After the purchase, I returned to my office and researched the tire I just purchased and could not find any information and immediately called the sales rep to see if this tire had been discontinued which a concern was. I was told on that phone conversation that the tire was BRAND NEW and that was why I couldn't find any information. 6 months later, I still cannot find any information and the tire is no longer listed as an option on the Costco web site.
Was it really brand new? I think I was subject to an incentive inventory offload by a Costco sales representative and wanted to check with BF Goodrich to see if the tire was still in production or not.
Please provide me with some sort of information that can put my mind at ease. Should one tire have problems on my car, I would not want to replace all 4 to avoid having mismatched tires?"
========================================================
The BFGodrich Touring T/A Pro Series tire is a tire made for and sold exclusively through wholesale clubs like Costco. There is no information about this tire on our Web site because it is only sold through certain BFGoodrich retailers. All warranty or other tire problems for this tire would be handled through your local Costco.
The BFGoodrich Touring T/A Pro Series tire is an excellent all-season touring tire. It offers good handling and a comfortable ride. As long as you have the appropriate tire size, you should have no concerns about having this tire on your vehicle.
If you have additional questions, please respond to this email or you may call us at 1-877-788-8899 (toll-free) between 8:30AM and 6:00PM Eastern Time Monday through Friday to allow one of our Consumer Relations Representatives to assist you.
BFGoodrich Tires
Consumer Relations Department
1:38 PM
The B.F.Goodrich Touring T/A Pro Series tire is made for wholesale clubs like Sams and Costco. You can get some basic info on the BFG site by 1st selecting Tires at the top, then SEARCH BY NAME on the left side -scroll down until you see the one you want. They list both T and H/V rated ones. The H/V speed rated tires are made better (thus the higher temperature rating). BTW--these tires are made in Korea in the HANKOOK factory. Go to this website: (http://www.harriger.com/exptire.htm)and use the first two letter/numbers of the DOT code on the tire to find out where they are made. My set says DOT T7 UNLE 11 which decodes to :
HANKOOK TIRE MFG. CO., LTD.
MOKSANG-DONG KOREA.
These are high end Hankooks for a better price than you can get at regular tire dealers. I've put close to 40K on my set (PT Cruiser)and have loved them, though they are getting close to the wear bars, and I'll probably have to replace them in another 5K. These are pretty good tires for the money and I will definately be getting another set.
10:08 PM
The Pro series is a 4 rib tire; the regular T/A is a 6 rib tire. They'll probably get noisy as they wear down, but at 122,000 miles, I'm going to buy them. Watch out for the 97H verses 97T...different speed rating. The H has a rib in the middle, so will hydroplane more, but run smoother and quieter.
5:48 PM
I put a set of bg goodrich t/a pro series tires on my neon sxt about 10 months ago. after 14000 miles they are all but gone. I was ripped off. Costco will not stand behind them. I have been a loyal BF Goodrich customer for 30 years. This is the last set of BF Goodrich tires I will buy. I am especially mad because I bought BF Goodrich tires from Costco for my truck, my son's truck, and my daughter's car.
12:01 PM
Glad to see this blog site for the BF Goodrich Touring T/A Pros.
Bought a set at Sam's Club, Rochester MN last fall for a Chrysler Concorde. There was a 10 inch snow fall. I was very surprised I had no trouble going through the snow before I was plowed out.
I am curious how well these tires are wearing for other users.
I've also have the Goodyear Allegra's on a Mercury Sable and it is very quiet and does well in the snow too. It wears well, 35,000 miles and they hardly seem worn. They are a T rated tire but would use them anytime.
9-8-07
9:45 AM
I APPRECIATE ALL OF THE INPUT ON THE PRO SERIES 70KTHROUGH SAM'S. HOWEVER, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF ANYONE HAS PUT THESE ON A MINIVAN? I HAVE A 2004 HONDA ODYSSEE AND AM CONCERNED ABOUT THESE TIRES ON A LARGER VEHICLE. ANY THOUGHTS?
5:32 PM
Here is a link to the info page at the BF Goodrich site for the Touring T/A pro series:
http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/benefits/touring-t-a-pro-series-t/3218.html
12:29 PM
Sorry, The link was cut off:
www.bfgoodrichtires.com/overview/
touring-t-a-pro-series-t/3218.html
12:32 PM
I just got a pair of these for my Pontiac Trans Sport. My girlfriend was out shopping and noticed one tire was going flat and I had just mentioned the day before my old tires looked about wore out. She went to Sams Club and bought me a pair of these BF Goodrich Touring TA Pro Series tires. At first I was shocked she would do this but said it was my Christmas present. I decided to take the car for a test drive when she got home and was pleasantly surprised how more nimble the car felt and more responsive these tires were. They are very quiet and smooth too, I had Dunlops on before and never gave me a reason to fault them. I just hope these give me as good of long time service as the Dunlops did.
5:42 PM
I just spoke with a BFG consumer advisor about the difference between the Traction T/A and Touring Pro Series available at Costco. The advisor could not provide any meaningful technical differences. I asked him which tire delivers better gas mileage. He checked with his associates and answered that the Traction T/A gets better gas mileage but couldn't say by how much. I'm sticking with a new set of Traction T/As on my early nineties BMW 325ic. They have been comfortable tires to ride on and trustworthy companiions for the past 50k miles.
8:34 PM
Only one comment so far on how the BFG Touring T/A Pro Series tires wear. Just put a set on a 99 Accord and I'm hoping they match the original tires (50K, Dunlop I think) and the replacment Firestones (56k) I've had.
So far, they seem excellent in the snow, but the Firestones were pretty well worn so that may be a bad comparison!
10:18 AM
this is right off my new tires 3-3-08
BF G... T/A pro series V rated . traction A . temp A
60,000 mile tire ! oh treadware 500 ! if its
hankook what the F*&^ ? should i take them back?
11:46 PM
cont: should i take them back. I've also read this
tire is a 89V tire whatever it means. well looking
closer the tread does resemble a o.e.m. Re92
bridgestone tire. So maybe this is a O.E.M. replacement or a $185 dollar tire - i got a good
deal :-o
12:50 AM
I have a set on my 2005 Grand Caravan. Put 2 on at 29K miles and 2 more at 36 K (couldn't afford 4 when only 2 were worn initially).
Gr Caravan is very hard on tires, even when I keep it aligned and tires rotated. At 70K I now need at least 2 tires--looks like I got 41 K on the first set. That's more than the manufacturers tires, so I guess I'm happy enough with them.
I may buy them again, or may see about Michelin X radials.
2:47 PM
i just put them on my mercury grand marquis.so far so good.handling,braking,+ driving in rain is great.no i dont work for bridgestone tire co.Ill let you know in six months how they workout.
2:09 PM
Just purchased a set of 205/65/R15 BFG Tour T/A for a Honda Odyssey from Sams club. Looked up the DOT and the tires a made in Romanina. They ride good and handle well. Only time will tell.
8:22 PM
I have 50K+ on 3 BFG Tour T/A tires bought at Sam's in '02 on my Miata. The guy who did my oil change at NTB says the tread on them are still good. BTW I have a
Goodyear as the other tire that has almost 70K+ that has one sided wear that I am replacing. It was purchased in '99 and is so old they don't even make it anymore!
8:54 AM
I actually work at a Sam's Club in Michigan, and I get very few complaints about the Pro series in any speed rating. If I do see them prematurely worn, its usually because they have never been rotated. I personally consider them much better than the Goodyear Allegra, I've seen some concerning issues with the Allegra in the past.
7:16 AM
I just had a set of BFG Tour T/A Pros put on my wifes '05 Accord sedan at Sam's last week to replace the factory Michelin's; got a little over 50k out them. I can say that I'm pretty happy with the choice I made; good price, name brand, & mileage. One thing though that I have noticed is that the BFGs tend to track the rain grooves on the freeway more than the Michelin's ever did. Anyone else experiencing the same?
12:42 PM
Had BF Goodrich T/A Pro H speed rated on Subaru Outback only got around 25000 out of 2 set one replaced under warranty Do alot of moutain driving to and from work. My paremts purchased a set of the T speed rated before my first set and over 50000 still good to go for this winter. They are on a Pontiac Grand Prix. I think I will try a set of the T speed rated BFG this time.
10:29 PM
I had a set of these put on the wife's Grand Caravan. It's a very hard tire. Minimal wear after 15k miles. On dry road, it's fine. In rain/wet roads, it's ok. On snow, it's awful. I've been a big fan of BF tires, especially the traction TAs, but these are good for winter weather IMO. If you don't live in the north and are looking for a long last tire, this is probably a good one for you.
9:07 AM
Sorry, meant to say these Aren't good for winter weather, typo on previous post.
9:08 AM
I did extensive research on this tire as well, but opted to upgrade to the BFG Traction T/A for only a few dollars more from Sam's Club. I spoke with the folks from BFG and they said the two tires were worlds apart with the T/A being a much better constructed tire with better handling. In addition any dealer in the country will honor the BFG warranty as opposed to being tied to Sam's Club if anything happened to the Pro Series. A few dollars more well spent.
5:24 PM
This is what's up...... Sam's Club has made a deal with the tire company to buy x amount of tires to be sold exclusively by Sam's Club & company. This is why you don't find this tire anywhere else. So they name the tire "Touring Pro Series". No one has them but Sam's.
9:28 PM
I called BFG today and the rep said the Tour T/A was discontinued in '04-'05. I said that would mean the tires at Sams are at least 4-5 yrs old. The rep agreed. Has anyone else heard this? I may call again on a different day and see if I can verify this info.
9:33 PM
Went to Sams over the w/e and bought 4 BFG Tour T/A. When I looked on the sidewall, they were made this year! Seems like the BFG rep did not give accurate info. I talked to the guy in front of me who had been buying at Sams for years and he was very happy with the tire- never even changed them out for snows during the winter and lasted him 60+k mi. I'm happy with my purchase. My minivan has almost 150k mi so it made sense for me to buy the best value for my buck since I have no idea how long the car will last anyway. Why spend ~$100 for the Michelin X (which was a CR rec. by the way)?
8:00 AM
I have a 2003 Hyundai Elantra GT with 87,000. Bought 4 P195/60R15 87H Touring T/A Pro Series in Dec 2005 OD was 41k. Sam's provides free rotation & Balancing every 8k. In Dec. 2008 had tires ratated & balanced & tread was 7/32.(Not sure how accurate that is.) Just discovered two tires on one side are down to 2/32. With only 4 months to go on Sams warranty, will find out if there is any allowance for premature wear.
2:49 AM
I have put 80K on a set. They're on a W body Buick. Great traction wet and dry, a small amount of tread noise. 225/60-16. A tire of this quality for under $100 each is a bargain by any standard. I personally don't think B.F.G. is making lesser quality tire for Sam's Clubs. Just try to remember they are part of the "World's Largest Retail Chain" that carries a lot of buying clout. I Live in Md. don't see a great deal of snow, but have driven them with no worries about the weather. These have served me well on my 135 mile round trip commute, six days a week. I would recommend to anyone.
6:05 PM
FYI to the person thinking of buying the Michelin X tires just check the warranty fully. All the Michelin tires that I could find on Sam's web site have a (so many) miles OR 6 year standard warranty.
The Michelin X are not on the site. But it sounds like this is Michelin's "standard" warranty for their tires.
If you don't put a lot of miles on your car, like me - 2000 Saturn with 72,000 - you might want to consider something else.
I feel that part of what your are paying for is the warranty it would do me no good to pay the extra $$ for the Michelin X with a 80,000 mile warranty if it expires in 6 years as I would not even be close to the 80,000.
After what I could find about the BF Goodrich Touring Pro I have decided to go with it and see how they are. (Sam's site has 4 reviews of this tire and as mentioned epinions has one & what I found here)
I had a Toyo tires on my car (recommended by my trusted mechanic) with a 65,000 warranty and I only got 44,000 miles on them. So I am going to try the 70,000 least cost to me tire and see what happens this time!!
9:41 AM
I had these tires put on my mercury cougar less than 2 years ago and had to replace 2 out of 4 and they recommended replacing the other 2 in the next 3000 miles. They do not hold up to the mileage they claim. The salesperson reported that BFG have redesigned the tire as I asked for something other than what I had prior to be placed on my car. This make me suspicious that there was a defect in the design so I am searching to see if anyone knows of a recall or if others are having the same problem.
4:42 PM
I have these and am here due to the fact that 2 of the tires developed sidewall bubbles early on. There is a post "lost" within a much larger page of someone who had bubbles in all 4, and it seems like they are from the same period that mine are from, and also from sams club. Based on descriptions by some knowledgeable others of how Sams cut corners on the specs to drop the price, I won't be getting tires there in the future.
2:10 PM
these tires are garbage. put 4 on my wife's honda accord and the ride immediately went south. the handling, noise, and roughness was terrible compared to the OEM michelins. even worse, there was terrible radial pull that made the car feel out of alignment. took them back and exchanged for a set of michelins under warranty. DON'T EVER BUY THESE!
12:20 PM
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