Best Tires

[dresslered]

Then all tou have is Installatiion.

TireRack actually has approved installers that post their prices in advance. You can even have them shipped directly to the installer who will call you when your tires are in.



Disclosure:

Believe it or not, I was getting under 20k with XPS's with my mountain driving. I'm on my 48th tire in 152k miles.

 

[MChrist]

I congratulate, this prominent inkling is indispensable righteous close the passage

Buy Viagra

I don't need Viagra, I have a Cummins with twin turbos!!

 

[MChrist]

Dresslered, have you considered switching to 19. 5s? The compound and tread options will surprise you. They can also be retreaded with compounds that are designed for rough conditions, like garbage trucks, logging, whatever. That same compound can be put on the 19. 5s. Try looking up Bandag online and look at their patterns.
I'm not sure if you have a dually, or SRW, but 48 tires in 152,000 miles is costly! Around here, I can go to our tire shop and get 19. 5 retreads with Michelin, Firestone, or Goodyear casings for $150. That's without my casings! Retreads for 16" is $115. Unfortunately, the only tread pattern they carry on hand is the BDLT pattern, which is too aggressive for my trucks.
And yes, I would put retreads on the steer axle of my truck as well... a Ram isn't even close to being heavy enough to cause any problem. Check your local laws though first, if you decide to go that route. UPS trucks definitely use retreads on their steer axles, I've seen them first hand. So everybody, please don't just jump on the bandwagon that " you can't put retreads on the front". Yes, you CAN on a truck this size. Can't on a school bus, or a big rig.
Now, going back to the 19. 5s, you can also regroove the existing tread to extend their useful life. There is TYPICALLY 5/32" that you can safely regroove the deepest, existing grooves. That will TYPICALLY leave the 3/32" rubber layer covering the steel belts that is suggested, and leaves enough for those casings to be retreaded again. Find a local tire shop that does retreading and ask what they need, if you go that route. Your results may vary.
You can do a search here for regrooving and find several pictures I have posted.
Ask if you have questions, I'll offer any advice I can.
Good Luck.

 

[HBarlow]

Doesn't the fact that DOT prohibits use of retreads on steer wheels of OTR tractors ands school buses provide a message?

I talked to the Lubbock Bandag dealer about retreads years ago when I was driving an F-250HD. I wouldn't swear to it now but I'm pretty sure the spokesman told me not to use retreads on the front. Actually, he even discouraged use on the rear also but I don't remember why he took that position.

With this interesting line of tire discussion I have once again thought of retreading the Michelins I use on my 3500 C&C but I don't put a lot of miles on it anymore since the current government has driven the price of diesel fuel so high.

I am afraid of the effects of age on the casings even though my truck is inside a big steel building protected from sun and weather. How important is age of casing and age deterioration for Bandag capped tires?

 

[HBarlow]

I guess I had a senior moment. I went to the Bandag site and found a photo and description of a Bandag LT235/85/R16 tire and posted it stupidly forgetting that all Rams since 2003 use 17" wheels and tires!!! Duhhhh!

The Bandag 16" caps would probably be a good choice for Gen II trucks but wouldn't do me any good.

I deleted my post.

 

[HBarlow]

After another search I found NO 17" tires offered by Bandag. I have to assume that means they have no 17" molds. Owners of Gen III and Gen IV Rams seem to be excluded from their customer universe.

 

[Bob4x4]

Michelin XPS are the best of the best, but pricy. I got 88k on my XPS tractions. Couldn't afford to spend $2k for another set, so put BFG commercial T/A tractions on. Very aggressive tread, good in snow and rain, and got 57k out of the 1st set on my '99, just put my second set on.

Keep in mind that my 99 truck eats tires. I got 32k out of stock michelins, tried a Yokohama and got 18k, then put on XPS tractions.

Jeff

:-laf:-laf Your truck isn't hard on tires your driving it is

 

[Bob4x4]

Doesn't the fact that DOT prohibits use of retreads on steer wheels of OTR tractors ands school buses provide a message?



I talked to the Lubbock Bandag dealer about retreads years ago when I was driving an F-250HD. I wouldn't swear to it now but I'm pretty sure the spokesman told me not to use retreads on the front. Actually, he even discouraged use on the rear also but I don't remember why he took that position.



With this interesting line of tire discussion I have once again thought of retreading the Michelins I use on my 3500 C&C but I don't put a lot of miles on it anymore since the current government has driven the price of diesel fuel so high.



I am afraid of the effects of age on the casings even though my truck is inside a big steel building protected from sun and weather. How important is age of casing and age deterioration for Bandag capped tires?

The good retreaders are pretty carefull about inspecting casings before and during the capping process.

My tire dealer would reject a good percentage of the casings I sent in for caps.

Touring the capping facility was enlightening. The second process after the inspection buffing is also used on sand tires before the paddles are vulcanized on

 

[dresslered]

Dresslered, have you considered switching to 19. 5s?

MChrist,

I had looked into this option several years ago and gave up. I have a dually, and came up with these concerns at the time:



1) Some people didn't like the feel of a 19. 5" wheel on a 1-ton.

2) Limited venders. Rickson had many complaints and delivery issues.

3) Heavy!

4) Some solutions offered different rims installed (inside dually placement vs. outside).

5) I have a Bigfoot 3000 slide-in that already has to stand on blocks of wood and use it's tip-toes to reach the height of my truck already. A 19. 5" wheel will only make this worse.



I would be interested in perhaps some 19. 5" alcoas but they must retain at least the same weight ratings.

 

[Regcabguy]

Then all tou have is Installatiion.

Does anybody know if COSTCO handles Michilen tires?

Costco sells some Michelin's. Good service and price but a replacement tire could take a week to obtain. I found that out with our Pilot. We've got several Costco's here and not one of them had a Michelin Latitude for it. Costco recommended going to Discount Tire as it would be a week driving around on my space saver suicide spare.

 

[JAlford]

:-laf:-laf Your truck isn't hard on tires your driving it is

Are you implying I accidentally leave some tire tread behind at a few stoplights?
My driving often is in rough terrain and at GVWR, but for some reason the 99 truck does wear tires fast, especially the outside duals. They wear 2X faster than the fronts, and 1. 5X the inner duals. It is most likely the rear axle, when it was rebuilt at 150k they said it was the tightest LS clutches he had ever worked on, took more than 400 ft/lbs to slip. I rotate the tires every oil change because of it.
My 06 got 80k out of the factory BFG RT's, which I thought was pretty good. I went back with BFG AT KO's.
And with the 99, I didn't put the "goodies" on until the 99 truck had 115k and was well worn into the XPS tractions by then.

Think I gave TMI there. Just giving some "comparative" info, as some would not think 57k on my BFG Commercial T/A tractions was good. Michelins still are the best, and if I could afford them I would have them on the truck. Next best - BFG's, in my experience.
Jeff

 

[MChrist]

MChrist,

I had looked into this option several years ago and gave up. I have a dually, and came up with these concerns at the time:



1) Some people didn't like the feel of a 19. 5" wheel on a 1-ton.

2) Limited venders. Rickson had many complaints and delivery issues.

3) Heavy!

4) Some solutions offered different rims installed (inside dually placement vs. outside).

5) I have a Bigfoot 3000 slide-in that already has to stand on blocks of wood and use it's tip-toes to reach the height of my truck already. A 19. 5" wheel will only make this worse.



I would be interested in perhaps some 19. 5" alcoas but they must retain at least the same weight ratings.

Responding to question 1: I have no experience of how 6 19. 5s would feel on a pickup. You would have to drive one, although I don't predict it would feel bad. All my trucks that have 19. 5s are loaded with steel vacuum tanks, so they all weigh between 13-15,000 lbs empty, and around 19,000 full. They don't feel any different when full or empty. Our two trucks that use 16s and dually, you definitely feel when you are full or empty, and those smaller trucks don't ever get to 14,000 lbs. They "float" around when you are more than half full.

Question 2: Can't help you there.

Question 3: a Continental HSR 225/70/19. 5 LRG weighs 62 lbs vs 56 for a Michelin XPS Rib. I'm sure the wheel weighs more, though.

Question 4: not sure what the problem is...

Question 5: Height. A Michelin XPS Rib is 32" tall and has a weight rating of 3042 lbs. A Continental HSR Load Range G is also 32" tall and has a weight rating of 3970 lbs. I think Load Range F is about 200 lbs less/tire, and a few pounds less.



I'm using Continental HSR as an example because that's the info I had on hand. I'm not recommending that brand, necessarily. I didn't have specs on Michelin XZE in that size. Probably close, though.



Michelin calls their XZE their longest lasting model, with high scuff resistance. They have to last longer than what you have now.

 

[MChrist]

After another search I found NO 17" tires offered by Bandag. I have to assume that means they have no 17" molds. Owners of Gen III and Gen IV Rams seem to be excluded from their customer universe.

I didn't see any, either. Regarding the subject of retreads on steer axles... I've never done it, and don't plan to do it on our work trucks. I don't think it's legal if you surpass a certain weight rating per tire, which most of my trucks do. I would, however, consider it for my personal pickup, if I had 19. 5s.



Why does DOT not want them on school bus steers? Probably liability, like most things. If a steer blew, and it happened to be a retread, it would be blamed on "that damn retread". I'm sure you've read some of the studies showing how "road gators" are perceived. Almost everybody assumes they are retreads because that's what they've been told. However, the majority of gators still have the steel belts attached... which implies it's the casing that blew out (since retreads have no steel belts). And when the inspectors could find a "mostly intact" casing, they found sidewall heat damage, caused by under inflation.



Back around September/October when I bought my regroover and siper, I started by practicing on old truck tires I had and gators I found on the road. I grabbed 12 samples, and every sample I grabbed off the shoulder of the road had the steel belts attached to the retreads or the original treads.



I'm sure when retreads came out, they had issues, but they don't seem to now. According to Bandag, the cushion layer (between belts and retread) is the strongest part of the whole tire. Personally, I believe it... and I'm skeptical about everything unless I have good reason to believe otherwise.



Same goes for regrooving. Liability. Most tire places don't regroove tires, because if anything happened to that tire, it would fall back on the last person to touch it. They would get sued, and their insurance company either would drop them, or raise their premiums to the point that they would stop offering the service.

 

[HBarlow]

I didn't see any, either. Regarding the subject of retreads on steer axles... I've never done it, and don't plan to do it on our work trucks. I don't think it's legal if you surpass a certain weight rating per tire, which most of my trucks do. I would, however, consider it for my personal pickup, if I had 19. 5s.

Why does DOT not want them on school bus steers? Probably liability, like most things. If a steer blew, and it happened to be a retread, it would be blamed on "that damn retread". I'm sure you've read some of the studies showing how "road gators" are perceived. Almost everybody assumes they are retreads because that's what they've been told. However, the majority of gators still have the steel belts attached... which implies it's the casing that blew out (since retreads have no steel belts). And when the inspectors could find a "mostly intact" casing, they found sidewall heat damage, caused by under inflation.

Back around September/October when I bought my regroover and siper, I started by practicing on old truck tires I had and gators I found on the road. I grabbed 12 samples, and every sample I grabbed off the shoulder of the road had the steel belts attached to the retreads or the original treads.

I'm sure when retreads came out, they had issues, but they don't seem to now. According to Bandag, the cushion layer (between belts and retread) is the strongest part of the whole tire. Personally, I believe it... and I'm skeptical about everything unless I have good reason to believe otherwise.

Same goes for regrooving. Liability. Most tire places don't regroove tires, because if anything happened to that tire, it would fall back on the last person to touch it. They would get sued, and their insurance company either would drop them, or raise their premiums to the point that they would stop offering the service.

I don't disagree with anything there. This and at least one other related thread have been interesting and informative to me. For one I learned about regrooving which I previously knew nothing about.

I would weigh the cost of a Bandag retread on a good brand name, preferably Michelin, casing to the cost of new Michelins from SAM's Club when I'm ready for tires but was disappointed to learn from their site earlier today there is no mention of 17" tires.

I considered a change over to 19. 5 wheels/tires when I was transporting and rolling up very high mileage figures but I couldn't see any advantage. I'm sure 19. 5" commercial tires are tougher for road hazard survivability and could provide slightly higher miles of service life but with a dually there was no weight carrying gain. The cost of wheels would have required many years of use before seeing an operating cost gain resulting from service life.

 

[MChrist]

I think it's generally overkill for a dually, but a big benefit for a SRW. In Dresslered's case, it may just be a financial advantage, since he can utilize better rubber. I would have to crunch some numbers on that one, but 48 tires in 152,000 miles??? That's about $10,000 right there, not to mention the downtime.

If his environment is that rough on tires, I would still think he could get at least 40,000 on 19. 5s. Regroove them for another 10,000, recap for another 40,000, regroove the recaps... there is 100,000 miles right there.

I think it pays itself off quickly in his case. In your case, you already got over 100,000 miles on your Michelin 16" tires, so it would take much longer (or more miles) to recoup your investment. Also, there is supposedly a mpg gain using the 19. 5s compared to the 16s, especially as weight goes up. Less rolling resistance, apparently. If you've ever picked up a 19. 5 tire off the wheel, you would notice that the sidewalls feel twice as solid as the 16s, and they get pumped up to 95 or 110, depending on size and Load Range.
The quicker you go through tires, the quicker the return on investment when switching to 19. 5s from 16s.

 

[dresslered]

Thanks for the info MChrist. I might have to recheck this accessory. Back when I was setting up the truck, a fuel pressure gauge was still considered experimental. :-laf

 

[dresslered]

The cost of wheels would have required many years of use before seeing an operating cost gain resulting from service life.

Harvey,

The cost aspect went out the window when I bought a Chrysler product. When I'm ready for a more economical vehicle, I'll buy a Ferrari! (Just replaced Clutch master and slave cylinders).

 

[HBarlow]

You must be hard on them, Dave. My old '01 which is now almost eleven years old and shows 365k on the odometer lives a sedentary life now but worked hard for me for the first 325k of its life. I always got 100k miles of highway service from ordinary Michelin X Radials purchased at SAM's Club and the truck still has the original clutch master and slave cylinder. I did have Standard Transmission rebuild the original NV-5600 at 302k miles in early 2006 just before I retired it.

If a tough old Gen II Dodge Ram is expensive to operate imagine what a Furd or GM diesel light truck would cost you!

 

[dresslered]

I hope to see 365k on this clunker. BMW with that same mileage is going great.

 

[dresslered]

4. This package includes four (4) aluminum outer wheels and two (2) steel inner wheels. For the install, you will use your existing caps and lug covers.



Why can't you use 6 aluminum wheels?