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Old 02-23-2016, 09:15 AM   #1
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Personal TV In-Use Tire Comparison

My 2010 F150, which I bought used, came with Goodyear Wrangler ATS tires. At 70K miles, they still looked good, but I was getting ready for a 2000mi trip with the camper, and thought it a good time to change. So, given the good service from the OE tires, I went with the Wranglers again, this time the LT-rated. This was in August, 2015.

We towed the camper on our trip, and a few trips afterward, and there weren't any glaring differences in steering response or in how the truck/trailer responded over freeze joints and potholes. But, when not pulling the camper, I noticed a continuous slight vibration that FOUR different attempts at rebalance couldn't remedy. I got so tired of the vibration that I swallowed hard and paid the difference at Discount Tire to upgrade to the LT-rated Michelin LTX in December, 2015. (Note: the difference in retail price isn't that much, I just had to pay for the use/wear on the Goodyears, so it cost about $400 total...)

I have now had the opportunity to tow the camper at highway speeds, and there is a big difference in how the truck handles under load. Less side-to-side jumping over potholes and freeze joints, less need for steering correction to keep 'er between the lines, and the constant annoying vibration (when not towing) is gone!

Having been in retail tire sales back in the early 1990s, I was sold on Michelin, as they didn't come back with problems. I had assumed that, 20 years later, there would be less difference in tires as the technology for manufacture was so much more advanced. In this case, Michelin is hands-down the prize winner in this comparison. When I queried the retail sales guy at Discount Tire about their history with the two tires, he sort of shrugged and said, "Well, I can tell you that nobody ever has problems with these LTXs..."

This is a real-world comparison with the two tires under load on the same vehicle, and just wanted to share the experience with ya'll, so that it might save somebody a few hundred $$$, or maybe help someone make an informed decision when it comes time for the big expense of new tires.

Happy Motoring!
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Old 02-23-2016, 09:38 AM   #2
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Michelins never have flaws in the side wall, they are just a well finished tire like the Japanese tires or Swedish. You look at the USA products like Goodyear etc. they had in the 70's flaws in them. When I bought a 2014 Dodge brand new, they have Goodyear tires still with flaws in them. They say live and learn.................what happen?
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Old 02-25-2016, 08:57 AM   #3
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Which brand of Michelin LTX did you go with, M/S or M/S 2?
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Old 02-25-2016, 09:33 AM   #4
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Tire technologies are always on the move, especially among the top tier tires like Goodyear, Michelin, Continental, and BF Goodrich. Some years they get it right, some years they do not. Since its a moving target, I recommend going to a site like Tire Rack to read the reviews and tire performance test results.

I just bought a set (6) of Continentals HDR 225/70R19.5's for my TV.
They are pricey but safety comes first. Stopping distances in dry and wet vary WIDELY among mfgs so you need to be aware of what you are getting and what each tire offers and where there are compromises. I do get 100K miles out of them when rotated and balanced regularly so it is worth it to me for the added cost.
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Old 02-25-2016, 11:07 AM   #5
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Just a little off subject........ A couple years ago I purchased a new set of Mastercraft tires (Cooper) for my TV and experienced a slight, infrequent vibration (around 50mph) when not towing my TT.

The tire shop re-checked the alignment and balance...., all good. The problem continued for another month, so I returned to the tire shop and they did a through inspection of the entire TV..., and while doing so one of the older tech's came over advising the younger tech's that the wheel weights were on the wrong side of the rim......

The wheel weights were attached on the "inside" edge of the rims but the wise old tech said that the OEM (GM) specifies that the weights be placed on the "outside" edge of my particular OEM rim. The tech's re-balanced the tires placing the weights on the outside edge of the rim (for all to see)......., the vibration vanished.

Bob
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Old 02-25-2016, 11:49 AM   #6
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M/S 2 is the one you want. Second generation. Just make sure the speed rating is the same.
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Old 02-25-2016, 04:13 PM   #7
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Michelins, hmmm.... I was sold on them and have purchased them for years on all my vehicles. Last month I had my doubts after my son noticed all 4 tires on my wife's SUV had extreme cracks completely around the sidewall at the tread. Took them to my local Costco and they said they have been having issues with the Lattitude Michelin. Told me I would get an adjustment. Hell, I wanted them to replace the tires after he told me the tread could come off at highway speeds.
So after much discussion, all they gave me an $86 discount on new Defender $186 tires. I am not a happy camper. Four of them cost me over $400. Costco said that was all Michelin would do. This was on 70,000 mile tires with less than 20,000 miles on them and 3 years old. Originally I paid over $800 for these tires. That's $1,200 out of my pocket due to faulty Michelin tires.
My question is this, how do I get anyone to listen to me and refund the $400 I had to spend again? I don't feel a small mileage adjustment was appropriate in this situation. Or should I put the pressure on Costco to step up to the plate?

I looked all over the Michelin web sites but found nothing except complaints from others. Is there any hope to get a $400 refund from anybody?

Help.

Happy RVing,
Jeff
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Old 02-26-2016, 07:14 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rustic Eagle View Post
Just a little off subject........ A couple years ago I purchased a new set of Mastercraft tires (Cooper) for my TV and experienced a slight, infrequent vibration (around 50mph) when not towing my TT.

The tire shop re-checked the alignment and balance...., all good. The problem continued for another month, so I returned to the tire shop and they did a through inspection of the entire TV..., and while doing so one of the older tech's came over advising the younger tech's that the wheel weights were on the wrong side of the rim......

The wheel weights were attached on the "inside" edge of the rims but the wise old tech said that the OEM (GM) specifies that the weights be placed on the "outside" edge of my particular OEM rim. The tech's re-balanced the tires placing the weights on the outside edge of the rim (for all to see)......., the vibration vanished.

Bob
That's interesting. I'm wondering if that was really the root cause of the issue? Many modern wheels don't have any kind of lip and the weights are glued onto the inside of the wheel. My HHR has wheels like that. I've requested many times that no weights show on the outside and never had a problem with balancing.
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Old 02-26-2016, 09:12 AM   #9
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On the same vehicle I also upgraded from the stock Wranglers to the Michelin LTX MS2's P-rated tires 4 years ago. The LTX's were much better than the Wranglers especially when towing. In December 2015 I went with the LTX - LT rated tire for an extra $25 per tire. Michelin sell the LTX in both an LT and P rated truck tire in the same size. The ride is a little more harsh unloaded than the P rated LTX which should be even better for towing.


The tread looks identical between the two tires. It may not be aggressive enough for off-road driving but it has great traction in snow for Canadian winters and it is very quiet on the highway. Will definitely be my next set of tires as well.


The only challenge was trying to get the correct inflation from Ford and Michelin for the LT rated tires.
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Old 02-26-2016, 04:04 PM   #10
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That's interesting. I'm wondering if that was really the root cause of the issue?....snip
Yes, the vibration went away immediately, couldn't duplicate it, and hasn't been an issue since. General consensus was with no load on the truck the rear tires may have been the vibration trigger around 50 mph.

The tech stated that some rims (due to design) take/hold a better balance with weights on the outside (product specific).

In my case I do have an outer rim 'lip'...., took pic today:



Bob
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