Alternative to Goodyears?

[TX Gooseneck]

Looks like it's time for new tires already. I was driving home today and from my shop to the gas station is approx 5 miles. My front right tire was a little low on pressure so I planned to air-up when I got fuel. As I'm rolling along I take an S-curve and a guy on a horse is standing in the middle of the road I lay into the brakes pretty hard and it sounds like a belt slapping dirt. Didn't feel any different, shudder, etc. I get to the fuel station and pull over to the air nozzle (Thank God that free air does still exist and put out more than 35psi) The tire had air still in it but was severely low (It gauged at 20psi, the sidewall had a nice dark ring and two bubbles I began to put air in it hoping to get enough in to make it to our local tire store. Air began flowing (and holding) to the tune of about 40psi. Suddenly the larger sidewall bubble begins to expand and rip apart the sidewall. Where the raised grooves are it began to rip them apart one at a time.



Within a span of 10 seconds the bubble was the size of a cantalope. I had already backed way off at this point waiting for the upcoming bomb, anticipating to get hit with flying rubber. Once the tumor finally went it blew rubber everywhere. Kind of funny to see an old lady hit the deck like the fuel station was under attack



But I am extremely disappointed with these tires. I've never had one come apart like that on me. I was also glad that it was a brisk 104* outside with high humidty and freshly paved tarmac to lay my ginger hands on.



Sans going to a different size rim, what's the strongest, longest lasting tire you can get for these trucks? 4 out of the 6 are almost bald, one is OK and the other looks like Nolan Ryan was practicing and missed the hole.



VIVA BOTTLE JACKS!

 

[Forrest Nearing]

Sean, get the 19. 5's!!!! they're a write-off afterall



Forrest

 

[thejeepdude]

So basically what you're saying is, you slammed on the brakes of your 7000 lb beast which is already forward weight biased, sending all the force to the front tires, while one of them was at 20 psi, most likely causing the sidewall to buckle and get trapped between the rim and the pavement... and you're blaming the tire? I have very similar situations happen with BFG tires and they blew up the same way. But I blamed myself, not the tire. Once it was because I didn't check the pressure often enough, and the other times it was while driving offroad aired-down and not being careful enough. However, I didn't really mind because the road hazzard warranty covered them.

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

I just bought the General tires 235/85/17's for the wifes dually. I paid 151 bucks each. They are E rated and seem to be nice tires. I mounted them myself and they balanced out real good. Don't do the 19. 5's. They ride like tires from the Flinstones... ... . !

 

[TX Gooseneck]

So basically what you're saying is, you slammed on the brakes of your 7000 lb beast which is already forward weight biased, sending all the force to the front tires, while one of them was at 20 psi, most likely causing the sidewall to buckle and get trapped between the rim and the pavement... and you're blaming the tire? I have very similar situations happen with BFG tires and they blew up the same way. But I blamed myself, not the tire. Once it was because I didn't check the pressure often enough, and the other times it was while driving offroad aired-down and not being careful enough. However, I didn't really mind because the road hazzard warranty covered them.

Perhaps I wasn't clear. It had 20 psi in it when I arrived at the fuel station. When I left my office I had 40psi in it. I wouldn't have driven the truck with only 20psi.



Forrest, I know it's a write-off, but I'm not sure I want to drop that much coin on tires/rims. Then again, having regroovable tires that should last several hundred thousand miles may pay for itself.

 

[jelag]

I looked hard for tires for my 04 dually and ended up with coopers on the rear... it was all I could find. . the front 2 developed the same sort of failure the first post is talking about and after calling the goodyear customer support like I was directed to a Les Schawb that had 2 in stock... and they were nice enough to adjust the front 2... .



I've looked at replacing the wheels to 19. 5's the same tire that's on our F550... we're getting 80-90K out of them on the F550... . on the front and 75K on a recap on the rear..... working hard all the time... . at about 125 for the caps and 190 for the new fronts... .



The problem is that our wheels center off the hub and use a wheel nut that won't center the wheel... so a wheel is needed that will center itself on the hub.....



Jim

 

[jackcaptjr]

Like the 19. 5s. Have them on the 99. XPs lasted over 100K with plenty of tread left... ... ... ... they got hard... ..... rain=ice... ..... bad situation. New Goodyears work much better in wet conditions. Goodyears ride a little harder... ... ... may take the pressure down to 50.

 

[EB]

Only three manufactors make the 235/80R/17. GoodYear, General, and Cooper. I just put my third set on today, all GoodYears. I have had the bead crack that everyone has talked about, but never a flat or blowout. Mileage on the tires is not great but OK. Wish someone else would make the size. I have never had good luck with Generals, and from what I have read, the Coopers are pretty high priced. As a point of interest, according to Discount Tires, the GoodYears are on national backorder again. I lucked out and found six and put them on.

 

[sangell]

I got my Coopers one week ago today, I got 22K out of the Goodyear GSAs.

The Coopers were $20 per tire cheaper than I could find the Goodyears. The Coopers are the Discover STs. They look cool and I have been told they are lasting longer than the Goodyears but they are LOUD. I have an aftermarket 4" exhaust and on the highway I can no longer hear the exhaust because of the tires.



Scott

 

[DE Jeeper]

My '03 came with 265/70/17 Michelin LTX A/S. They have been a good tire, but they are a little pricey. I have got 45k out of them by rotating in the spare and buying only one. I forgot to rotate them and the original rear tires wore fast. I figure I should get another 10k out of them.

 

[mbaston]

I have 13K on my Cooper HTs. They are quiet and smooth, seem to work well in rain but I doubt they will be very good in snow. However, they hold and throw rocks.



I got 44K out of both sets of previous Goodyear GSAs. The Coopers appear that they are going to last longer.

 

[TX Gooseneck]

I spoke with a customer of mine in AZ today and he had the same problem. He went to the local Goodyear retailer and raised hell. They apparently sold him 6 new tires at 1/2 price. The rep said they are having some issues with these. Not sure how valid this is, but might be worth following up on.



I've gotten OK mileage out of these, but out of the 6 tires, I have 6 different tread depths. Constant rotation, balance, etc. The tire that blew out on me has 6/32 of tread.

 

[hasselbach]

4 out of the 6 are bald? Geez, that's smart. .

 

[doldenburg]

I had a sidewall go at 13,000 miles. rite front at 75 mph. good year store said they would go 1/2 the price of a new one -250+ bucks. told them to go whistle. went to sam's club and cot the same tire for 186. 00 out the door. I was still not happy so e-mailed goodyear and they sent a check for 1/2 of that. I have un even wear also, outside wear faster. Dave

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

The Generals AmeriTrak throw rocks like nothing I've seen before. Really like the Cooper STs but the Generals are about half the price.



Anyone else with Cooper STs unhappy with the noise level?

 

[MChildress]

My 04 drw has the goodyear gsa tires,they are developing many small cracks around the perimeter of the tires in the sidewall not the lip crack as mentioned previously. The cracks are only in the outside tires exposed to sun. The spare and inside duals show to evidence of cracks. I explained to the tire salesmen the tires only have 5000 miles and the truck is only 5 monthes old. He called goodyear and they agreed to replace all 7 of them at no charge. It is good to know goodyear is standing behind their product. I wish michelin would come out with a stock 17 size for the dual trucks. I e-mailed them the other day with this question and received the reply they had no plans at this time for these tires.

 

[TX Gooseneck]

I ended up going with the Michelins on my truck. They are a 245/70/17 (I'll have to check to be sure) FAR more quiet than stock, zero noticeable flex and they look better. I'll see what I get out of these mileage wise. The goodyears were destroyed when I took them off. The rims had begun to cut just above the lip where the tires mount. Not a good feeling knowing the tires were doing this with the loads I've had on there.

 

[rashwor]

I have run Cooper HTs, STs, and SSTs on both my '92 and my '99. I am currently running HTs on the front and STs on the back of both my '92 and '99. I get around 60 - 65K out of a set and they are always cheaper in price and better in quality than I find with Goodyear. The noise level has never been noticible (I'm not deaf).



JOMO (Just One Man's Opinion).

 

[Kirwin]

Generals for the 03 and later trucks

rashwor Do they make the 235/80-R17 size for the 3rd gen trucks?

 

[BrittonTurner]

Sean, get the 19. 5's!!!! they're a write-off afterall



Forrest

i guess this is going to be a stupid question.....



what do you mean when you say the 19. 5 tire is a write-off?



i know... stupid question.