2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Michelin tires

[MLee]

I have never had Michelins and have read pro and con reviews, many of you guys have had them and I would like some feed back before I commit to the purchase. They are the 2657516 E XLT2 70,000 mile warranty.

Question is, do they flat spot? sing going down the hiway, traction is a big one, what can I expect? You other Gen owners can reply if you'd like.

I don't need a real aggressive tread.

Thanks for your feed back.

 

[mwilson]

LTX2 maybe??? I can't find the one that you posted.



I have Michelins on both trucks, as long as I can drag my butt to work everyday to pay for them that is what I will run.



'06 was on the lot new with traction tires, would not take the truck until the dealer changed them over to Michelin A/S tires. That set went 75,000 miles and were still not worn out. I replaced them at that point with another set of A/S tires and currently have 45,000 miles on them. About 1/2 worn at this time.



'97 had an old set of M/S Michelins on it when I bought it. One tire had been flat for at least a year so that one did pound a little. I still got 25,000 miles out of that weather cracked old set.

Replaced those tires in December with brand new M/S 2 tires. Why mess with something that works??



You need to rotate them every 10,000 miles, that is a must.



I don't notice flat spots, traction is fair. No road noise that I can hear (or that will drown out the Cummins).

I have NEVER had Death Wobble running Michelins, but have had it with previous trucks running non-Michelin rubber. Tires are very important on these trucks.



You get what you pay for, I prefer 70,000 mile tires for a little more money that something that will be trashed at 30,000 miles. In my situation the '06 gets about 15,000 miles per year and the '97 is going to get 30,000 miles plus this year.



JMHO.



Mike.

 

[MChrist]

There are LTX M/S2 and A/T2. I am familiar with the previous (earlier) LTX M/S. Fantastic tire. If they made the LTX MS2 in 285/70/17 LRE, I would use them.
The AT2 looks more aggressive.
I actually had my paws on a display yesterday, and noticed that the M/S2 has siping that goes completely down to the casing! I don't know if the previous M/S did. Most tires only go 1/2 way to the casing. This gives you traction in wet and snow for the duration of tread life. Those tires are very quiet and have several key features that don't jump out at you. They look like a highway tread, but the blocks are slightly staggered, which helps traction. The casings are high quality. The rubber is high quality. Those are things that some (most) people don't notice.
On Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels they mention that the tires outlast competitor tires by 20,000 miles, and I have no reason to doubt it. I would also assume that mpg is better than most, since Michelin is known for that, also.
A few posters here routinely got 100,000 miles towing RVs while wearing Michelins on their trucks.
The only negative I've ever heard is that if you don't drive a lot, the sidewalls will get small "dry rot" cracks. That may have something to do with the rubber composition being biased for being stronger for tread life, and lasting so long. I don't recall hearing of any blowouts, or tread separation issues, though.
I am certain this post will be followed by several more praising Michelins... just wait.

 

[goodguys75]

I dont run them, but you cant go wrong with them... ...

 

[HBarlow]

I've used nothing but Michelins on everything I own for years. I consider them the best tire money can buy. If you calculate the cost per mile you'll realize, as I have, that they are cheaper to own and use than "cheaper tires. "

 

[Allnew2Me]

About the only complaint you are likely to hear about Michelin tires is that they are more expensive than others, and in some cases that may indeed be true. They are however, very good tires that have a strong history of great performance and long life. I like them so much I just put a set on my bicycle.

 

[mwilson]

I'll have to see if they have a Michelin to fit the wife's wheelbarrow... ... ...



Mike.

 

[B.G. Smith]

Had the LTX A/S on the 99 I had, got 72,000 on them. The truck I have now came with Generals, they were worn out at 55,000. I replaced them with Michelin LTX-MS2 tires. Also have Michelins on the travel trailer. bg

 

[jray]

I'm with most of the other persons posting here. Michelins are the only tire I will run. I'm on my third set and have averaged about 60K miles on each of the previous two sets. I probably could have gotten more out of them had I rotated them a more often.

 

[MLee]

Thanks for your replies everybody. I heard that Armorall is a NO-NO on Michelins, is this true? Is what causes the weather checking the UV'S, or has this been diagnosed yet?

So far what I have found the best price is Sams club so this might be where I'll get them.

 

[budnate]

FYI- when shopping Michelins a couple of years ago for the wifes van and moms car... I found out there is special tires and products made for costco and sams club and other big cheap chain stores, that's why they have great deals on stuff and only certain models not the whole product line. they cheap'n the product by leaving a option off or something to cut the cost a tad and that gets buyers when they are price matching





I ended up at discount tire and they price matched costco's tires which were really not the same tire, but close and I found a Michelin rebate coupon online and it was still about 140. 00 per tire for good all seasons, I chose the michelin primacy mxv4, great tire and are quite on the road.



B.

 

[MChrist]

I've heard this, too. I haven't verified it, but one of my guys from work had an issue with a SAMs Club tire, and when he went to a Goodyear store for warranty replacement, they told him that he had to take it back to SAMs, because they could tell by some code on the tire that it came from Sam's.

For what it's worth, they told him that the Sam's tires were a lower quality.



Maybe it's true, or it's just a way for a private shop to justify or defend their higher prices. I know Harvey has mentioned he gets his from SAMs, and gets in excess of 100,000 miles with no problems.

I've never bought tires from Sam's, no particular reason, so I can't speak to their quality.



I do believe, however, that Sam's has the purchasing power to require their vendors to make "changes". I've heard several situations where big box stores (Home Depot for example) will have lawn mower companies change several small factors on their machines to make them less expensive. Switching from aluminum to plastic, screws to rivets, thinner gauge metal, etc...



I wouldn't put it past anybody, nowadays.

 

[budnate]

cant take the oath on the tires, but he told me the same thing... I was looking at the 2 rigs traveling multi states and wanted to be able to hit any michelin dealer for help if they had a issue on the road... .



I do know for fact when shopping flat screen tv. s a few years ago Costco called out the same model number as the other stores on the street but it was missing 2 options Joe average would not miss, and there TV was $400 less... so they were flying out of the store. these were hi end Panasonic units

 

[HBarlow]

FYI- when shopping Michelins a couple of years ago for the wifes van and moms car... I found out there is special tires and products made for costco and sams club and other big cheap chain stores, that's why they have great deals on stuff and only certain models not the whole product line. they cheap'n the product by leaving a option off or something to cut the cost a tad and that gets buyers when they are price matching


I ended up at discount tire and they price matched costco's tires which were really not the same tire, but close and I found a Michelin rebate coupon online and it was still about 140. 00 per tire for good all seasons, I chose the michelin primacy mxv4, great tire and are quite on the road.

B.

You "found out" false information. That's a common lie told by commissioned tire salesmen in tire retail stores.

SAM's Clubs and Costco stores sell the same brands and same models of tires within the brand as retailers.

 

[budnate]

politely disagree, Costco had a model of michelin tire no one else had and the only way to service that tire was take it to a costco tire center.

 

[HBarlow]

When I owned an '01 dually w/16" wheels/tires I used a Michelin X radial sold at SAM's Club which was unique to SAM's and possibly Costco also. It was different, but not of lesser quality. I routinely got 110k miles of service out of them when transporting and pulled each set off a little early as winter approached. In 17" wheels/tires SAM's sells the identical Michelin tire that any retail tire store sells only for lower prices.

My point is SAM's and Costco do NOT sell lower quality tires.

 

[dresslered]

I used to run the Michelin LT235/85R-16 XPS Traction. Very nice but heavy. Now I am trying the LT235/85R16 MICHELIN LTXMS2. I've notice a 1-1/2 (real) mpg increase and they are supposed to have better snow/ice traction. I've never seen the mileage that you guys are talking about but I like racing over the mountain roads.

 

[Regcabguy]

politely disagree, Costco had a model of michelin tire no one else had and the only way to service that tire was take it to a costco tire center.

I like Costco,but won't use them again after getting a barbed wire piece in the sidewall of my Michelin Latitudes for the Pilot. Stuff happens,but Costco couldn't obtain a replacement tire for 7 days. I went over to Discount which credited me $92. 00 for the tire and sold me replacement certificates and a new Michelin for less than the price of one tire.

 

[dresslered]

I had a bad experience with Costco as well (sold me some very bad Michelins for my BMW). Not saying it was their fault, I just hate a hard tire which doesn't handle. I usually use TireRack so I can get what I want but recently have been really pleased with a local shop Lloyd's Tire Service (did my front end as well). They filled all 6 tires with 80-lbs of nitrogen. They get their nitrogen from tanks whereas Costco put in their own nitrogen generators.



We can always settle Costco disputes by contacting ex-member willyslover as he was a Costco executive--he even helped out TDR members who had problems at Costco.

 

[HBarlow]

I had a bad experience with Costco as well (sold me some very bad Michelins for my BMW). Not saying it was their fault, I just hate a hard tire which doesn't handle. I usually use TireRack so I can get what I want but recently have been really pleased with a local shop Lloyd's Tire Service (did my front end as well). They filled all 6 tires with 80-lbs of nitrogen. They get their nitrogen from tanks whereas Costco put in their own nitrogen generators.

We can always settle Costco disputes by contacting ex-member willyslover as he was a Costco executive--he even helped out TDR members who had problems at Costco.

Dave,

Sounds like you made a bad choice in tires. SAM's doesn't "sell" anything and I don't think Costco does either. SAM's Club doesn't employ any commissioned sales people and I suspect Costco does not either. Why would you blame Costco when you selected tires that you didn't like?

The nitrogen fill "advantage" is questionable. I don't think any auto dealer or tire retailer who sells it actually completely evacuates the air from a tire before filling with nitrogen, they simply bleed them down a little and partially reinflate to prescribed pressure. A lot of hype in my opinion.