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The story
A man preparing to swap over to winter tires posted on 5ch’s News VIP board, asking for “someone who knows about car tires” to show up and help. He fired off question after question — how to pick studless (winter) tires, where to buy them, where to store them — and the board’s regulars kept the practical advice coming. What made this thread notable was how specific the answers got: the differing specialties of chains like Tire Kan and Autobacs, reasons to steer clear of independent shops, and even suggestions that all-season tires are plenty depending on where you live.
What people said
Guess I'll go to Tire Kan
So jealoussss (cutesy baby-talk spelling)
Just leave it to the pros
The 'pros' might just scam you though
Swapping them on and off changes both the time and the cost, so it's better to mount each set on its own wheels
I don't have anywhere to put them!
I'll have them store mine then
That shocked me
Tire Kan pushes Bridgestone
Tire Garden pushes Yokohama
It's not that they only carry those brands, but that's what gets recommended
Yellow Hat and Autobacs carry pretty much every brand, plus their own private-label tires
Guess I'll go with Bridgestone
If you've got nowhere to store them, go to a shop that offers a tire storage service
Sounds like Tire Kan will hold onto them for me
Plenty of tire shops besides Tire Kan offer storage too
Local mom-and-pop shops tend to charge less for it (depends on the shop)
Didn't know local shops did that too
If it's a kei car, the tires are small and light — stack all 4 upright, throw a 100-yen-shop cover or bag over them, and they barely take up space. Put a board on top and it doubles as a shelf
It's a 1K apartment, so no room
That's what I did when I lived in an 8-tatami-mat studio (about 13 m², 1K layout)
Guess I'll clean out my closet then
Places like Tire Kan handle all kinds of maintenance, not just tires
In an emergency they might give you a dirty look or turn you down, but if you're a regular customer they'll often help you out
I'll make Autobacs or Tire Kan my regular shop then
New is better if you've got the cash though
Used is fine by me!
What do you do with the regular tires while you're running studless ones?
Wait, you have to buy new ones every year?
Get multiple quotes and they'll openly scowl at you, sometimes even ban you from coming back
Stick with the chains
Depending on the area, a Japanese-made all-season tire is plenty
Somewhere around Nagoya Prefecture (there's no such prefecture — "Nagoya-ken" is a running joke, since Nagoya is actually in Aichi)
Then all-season is fine
They're pretty new to the market so the size range is still limited, so go talk to Tire Kan or another tire shop
If you really insist on separate summer/winter tires, mount them on separate wheels and have the shop store them
Wheels last basically forever, so used ones are fine if you're not picky
Either way, make sure you check the size
Oh really
I'll go talk to Tire Kan then
Context and Talking Points
As winter approaches, “switching to studless tires” threads are a 5ch staple, and this one laid out the differences between national chains — Tire Kan (Bridgestone-affiliated), Tire Garden (Yokohama-affiliated), and Autobacs/Yellow Hat. Several posters warned against independent shops, likely reflecting past experiences where getting multiple quotes led to shops turning noticeably cold on customers. The thread also offered a practical tip for low-snowfall areas like Nagoya: skip switching between summer and winter tires altogether and just run all-season tires. For anyone without storage space, it’s also useful to know that many shops will store your off-season tires for a fee. Posters also flagged the danger of DIY tire-swapping leading to wheels coming loose and causing accidents, underscoring the importance of choosing a shop you can trust with the job.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News VIP) thread “Guy wants someone who knows about car tires to show up lmaooooo.”
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