Is there a 'best time' to buy summer performance tires?

So since a few days after I got it, the $1500 E46 convertible has had a set of mismatched tires on it that were on the set of wheels I bought so I wouldn't be bracing for one of the timebomb tires that it came with to explode at any minute. They've worked well enough for the last year and a half, and I expect them to work decently for a while to come and IMO make decent non-summer tires- but I have several other sets of wheels and would like to have a set of decent performance summer tires on one of them to put on when the weather gets warm (as a note, the car will likely spend most of the winter under a tarp- the only reason it won't be in the garage is that the DMC is in there to fix the frame rust). 

Is there a 'best time' to buy summer performance tires? Do places have sales on them as the weather cools down (like now) to clear out the older stock, or have sales when the weather warms up to drive up sales? Just trying to get the best bang-for-my-buck for the tires as I can.

FWIW, I now see several rebates over on Tire Rack's site: Falken, Yokohama, Kumho and more. 

I know that Tire Rack usually tries to have their stock levels mirror demand, so the 200TW tires arrive in early spring and sell out over the year, and the winter tires arrive in fall. This means that 200TW inventory can be spotty in late season just like winter tire inventory is usually pretty ravaged in February. So the best time to buy summer tires is in the spring when the selection is greatest if selection is important, but if you're willing to settle for an alternate choice you might do well in fall price-wise.

That's in a normal world. With the current supply chain all jacked up, it would not surprise me if TR ended up with a bunch of summer tires too late and are trying to clear them out.

DiscountTireDirect has approximately-monthly flash sales that usually, but not always, include Yoko, Falken and Conti ECS or DWS06 as far as summer performance tires are concerned.  Plus a bunch of other tires of course.  It's the only time I've seen prices that beat TireRack.

RedGT said:

DiscountTireDirect has approximately-monthly flash sales that usually, but not always, include Yoko, Falken and Conti ECS or DWS06 as far as summer performance tires are concerned.  Plus a bunch of other tires of course.  It's the only time I've seen prices that beat TireRack.

 

DWS06 is an all-season, not a summer tire. 

Thanks everyone! I did some looking around on DisctounTireDirect, and it's kind of interesting- the price for a set of Advan V601s for the E46 are almost identical between DTD & Tire Rack when you add in DTD's equivalent of the road hazard protection (that Tire Rack automatically includes 'for free').

I hate to speak against TR because of all the wonderful things they do for our world but for years now, I have been buying my boring business fleet tires from American Tire Distributors and their site tirebuyer.com. 

All my prior purchases included 2 year road haz but it seems they may have dropped that. Check and verify if that's important to you. 

This is the same company that supplies Walmart. 

z31maniac said:

RedGT said:

DiscountTireDirect has approximately-monthly flash sales that usually, but not always, include Yoko, Falken and Conti ECS or DWS06 as far as summer performance tires are concerned.  Plus a bunch of other tires of course.  It's the only time I've seen prices that beat TireRack.

DWS06 is an all-season, not a summer tire. 

Although it IS a fantastic all-season.

I figured a follow-up was probably in order- I ended up ordering a set of Kumho Ecsta PS31s and had them mounted. So now I can finally... put them on the rack in the garage until the weather warms up and I actually drive the BMW again. -_-; At least they'll be there waiting so I can enjoy the convertible even more... that car was definitely some of the best $1500 I've spent.

If I buy from TIre Rack, I typically wait when the rebates of 50-100 dollars comes out, which seems to be consistent, like between Feb-March months.

With Discount Tire, during big holidays like 4th of July, Memorial Day, and Labor Day are when I end up buying tires. Usually my tires are worn out and I've been able to time it most of the time. 

It's been my experience that while seasonal, tires generally  don't go on seasonal sales. The (retailer) sales are usually holiday based. 

An additional complication is that build dates for the tires aren't consistent.
 

Early this year, I bought a set of the Continental DWS06 (I agree, great tires) for our Mazda 5 during one of the DT flash sales.
 

The tires were 2017 build dated. They did take them back, and I got another set that was built within the last year, but it took some follow up, as they were picked up right away, but the replacement wasn't sent out until weeks later when I called again. 
 

Then in April, I ordered a set of Rivals for the Miata from TR. 2019 build date. I called TR (not ready to order from DT again), and was told that they were the newest ones, since the factory was closed in 2020. 
 

Rivals work best for this car, especially here in the summer, so I kept them, but they may have aged out by August despite being stored in contractor bags on a rack, and only driven to events.

They have less than 1000 street miles and eight autocross events. I had the car aligned, and I'm going to give them one more try in case it wasn't the tires, but the last time out the car was so loose it was almost unsafe. 

Got some Firehawk Indy 500s for my Audi A3 today if that's summer enough for you. Last day of the Firestone rebates though I think. $60 for using the Discount Tire card plus $40 for Firestone rebate.

Saron81 said:

It's been my experience that while seasonal, tires generally  don't go on seasonal sales. The (retailer) sales are usually based holiday based. 

I suspect this is because summer tire sales numbers aren't actually all that seasonal.  People in the west (and probably south?) use them through the winter and thus just buy them whenever, whereas people in the northeast are more likely to buy performance all seasons even if they're buying in the summer.

captainawesome said:

Got some Firehawk Indy 500s for my Audi A3 today if that's summer enough for you. Last day of the Firestone rebates though I think. $60 for using the Discount Tire card plus $40 for Firestone rebate.

I am on my second set of Firehawks on my daily. I've been very happy with them, especially since they're a good rain tire (not much of a factor for you in AZ).

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

I'm in Arkansas and see a bit of rain, so good to know you like them in the wet. The car I put these 500s on came with some off brand Sailun  340 treadwear Atrezzo SVA1 that were pretty decent, but when you factor in mounting cost and lack of rebate these won out. Very happy with them so far but only a few miles on them.