I wrote this E-mail to Costco in 2005
I was visiting my local Costco warehouse tire center where I was investigating tire selections for my car ( Mercury Marauder 2003). The sales person informed they didn't sell the tire I requested because it's not in the computer. I was looking to purchase a set of BF Goodrich G-Force T/A KDW 255/R55/18 RF. I was disappointed that Costco could not order the requested tire. The next week, in my travels I visited another Costco tire center. Low and behold I saw several high performance tires on display. One of them was a T/A KDW 235/40/R17. My joy was sort lived, because the sale person informed me that he couldn't order the tire I was requesting because it was not specified for my car. He also explained that because of legal reasons ordering and mounting was not an option. Below is a comparison of stock vs. optional Stock tire size is BF Goodrich KDWS 245/55/ZR18 Section width on measuring rim with = 9.9 on 8.0
Max load on psi =1929@44psi
Requested tire size BF Goodrich BF Goodrich KDW 255/R55/18 RF
Section width on measuring rim with 10.4 on 8.0
Max load on psi= 2065@50psi
If this information is true, then why does Costco advertise BF Goodrich drag radials in some of their locations? This tire was never offered as an O.E.M selection for any cars distributed in America. It seems that there is much confusion about this issue. What I do know is that I can purchase the requested tire from tirerack.com and have a local Mercury dealer install and balance my tire. What's wrong with this picture ?
Dear Mark,
Thank you for emailing costco.com. The final decision to install a tire on
a vehicle will be made by the Costco Tire center manager or supervisor. The
tire must meet all vehicle manufacturers safety standards and
specifications. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for
you.
Sincerely,
Jeanne T. J.
customerservice@costco.com