Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) nned new tires, cooper or good year?

[Silver Bullet Ram]

just want opinions on both and experience. looking to replace the stock michelins and they are tooooooooooo pricey. would like to do the rickson 20 inch setup but toooo expensive. i have 265/75 r16



Gary

 

[BigMo]

Gary,



I've been doing some investigating and I think the stock Michelins are probably the best bang for the buck, IF you tow or haul heavy. They are 10 ply, E rated tires. The largest and strongest ones out there in a 16 inch rim, as far as I've been able to find.



You should be able to get them for about $165 each.

 

[Jeff Knight]

My 95 came with Goodyear RTS in 245-75-16. You couldn't pay me to put goodyears on my truck. I think they were junk. Just my opinion. Jeff

 

[BigMo]

about those goo-years, Jeff

When I ordered my truck, the dealer tried to talk me into a set of Michelins; "that's all we order on our trucks," they said.



NOPE! I want Goodyears, said I.



Well, when my truck came in, it came in with MICHELINS!! How-somever, the dealer said not to worry, they were not going to charge me for the upgrade... ... they just wanted me to ride on good tires and be happy!



I now have 68,000 miles on my original tires and will probably replace them in the next 2,000 - 3,000 miles. I will be going back with Michelins. They are worth the extra money, to me! (Not to mention the load rating, see above).

 

[Silver Bullet Ram]

I found 10 ply load range e in the good year and cooper. The coopers and good years are about $500-550 a set where the michelins were about $1000. 00. Don't get me wrong i am pleased with the michelins, just tight with my wallet.



Gary

 

[BigMo]

how about Sam's Club

I don't know if you have a Sam's Club near you, but the one hear in Hotlanta priced me a set for $163. 00 per tire plus tax, etc. These must be ordered as Sam's doesn't carry them in stock. Still, they said "no problem. "



That price seems a little better than what you quoted.

 

[Silver Bullet Ram]

i found a website that had them for $143. 00



Gary

 

[athompson]

My truck came with the Michelins. I couldn't get them off of my truck soon enough. I have NEVER been happy with ANY set of Michelins I've had. I don't have any opinion on the Coopers, but I LOVE my Goodyears. I LOVED the Goodyears on my last truck. I LOVED the Goodyears I've had on ALL of my cars.



I've had Big-O (excellent warranty, so-so tires), Firestones (OK tires, but scared the h*ll out of me), General (poor tires, poor warranty), Michelins (poor traction, poor wear), and Goodyear (excellent tires, never had to warrant any). Of course, others will have different opinions that are just as valid as mine.

 

[John Berger]

athompson sorry to hear about your experience with Michelins. I'm on my second set and I would have no other tire on the truck. I don't rotate my tires as often as I should, but I still got 66K out of the last set and most likely will get just as much out of this set. They hold to the road exceptionally well in all conditions. The second set of Michelins on my dually were purchased at www.etires.com for right around $140 per tire. They also had 99 cent per tire shipping charges which could not be beat.

 

[fj40charles]

Anyone know the stock tire that came on a 2000 2500? I think it was the 265/75/16 Michelin LTX A/S. Just want to make sure. My last set of Wild Country RVT tires lasted only 30K miles. My first set of Michelins that came on the truck lasted well over 50K and had excellent ride and wear. I can't afford to spend $500 to 600 dollars every 30K miles.



Too bad Michelin doesn't make a 285 size tire. .



Charles

 

[Jeff Knight]

My RTS's were a load range E. They last 25k when my truck decided to hydroplane in the rain. Every tire and every truck are different. I didn't have good luck with the Goodyear's. I ran Kelly Safari AWR on my 95. I liked those tires a lot. My new truck has Michelin's on it. We will see how they do. Jeff

 

[Speedo]

Coopers

After talking to a couple of people that I know I just put a set

of Coopers on my truck, I only have a couple thousand miles

on them so far so I can't give you any mileage info but they

are quiet and they balanced easily.



Gus

 

[Jack in Alaska]

My best tire experience was with commercial Goodyear G159 all steel belt 10 ply tires. About $160 each. They went 70k miles and still had 40% rubber left.

They come in many sizes. You can see them on Fedex, UPS and many 18 wheelers.



For a change I now have Bridgestone all steel 10 ply tires. They are wearing like iron but "sing" on smooth pavement. Luckily we don't have much of that kind of road up here.



I am going back to GY again when these wear out.



Just my opinion.

 

[BigMo]

Originally posted by Jack in Alaska

My best tire experience was with commercial Goodyear G159 all steel belt 10 ply tires... .

That tire sounds interesting Jack. I've got 68,000 on my first set of Michelins (Yes they are OEM - but they were optional). I must say they've been great. However, I too wish that they came in a larger size.



I'll have to check out the Goodyears.

 

[Cummins Cowboy]

Having bought used cars and drove them for a few months then I would resell them. I also maintained a fleet of about 20 service vehicles. I had the chance to try out all brands of tires and had to balance initial purchase price along with how long the tire would last. I have bought more than my fair share of tires. The only way I will put any other tire on one of my vehicles that is not a michelin is if I am going to sell the vehicle soon. If you plan on keeping your vehicle michelin is by far the best brand to go with, I have never seen a michelin tire that I have ever owned develop a bounce or tread seperation while this is not all that uncommon in other brands. They wear in my experience all most twice as long in a given application as another brand. I would have to say about the crappiest tire brand I have ever seen is General THOSE WHO KNOW TRUST MICHELIN

 

[RBSOB]

Coopers

Replaced stock Michelin 265 ATs with Cooper 285 ATs in Nov. '01 because I needed a better snow and off road tire. Now, about 20k miles later, the Coopers are still on and only 25-30 % worn. Much better traction on all surfaces. If I remember correctly the "D" rated Cooper is rated for more weight per tire than the "E" Michelin. Costs much less too . Jim G.

 

[Spooled-up]

I'll never buy Goodyear again. I tried multiple times to have these tires balanced and finally had to live with the vibration. They wear like iron of course. The guy that sold them to me said he'd never buy goodyears either. Think I'll buy tires from him again?



Good luck.

 

[srenfro]

Since this is my 1st new Diesel and its got Michelins on it, I'm quite happy with them. They did well last winter and they hold well in the rain.



As for Goodyear, I'll never put another set on a vehicle I ever own again. Had them on my last 2 Ram 1/2 tons and they didn't wear worth a darn. And I can say on the police car I drive the goodyears aren't worth squat in the rain. JMO

 

[jsnyder]

I run Cooper Discoverer ST's on my work pickup, and have been very happy with them. They are a little noisy, and a little squishy, but that's what you get with an aggressive tread design. These are very good for traction, although you have to get the wheels going to clean out and hook up the sidewall lugs. Wow, when they hook up they really grab!Oo.

 

[T. Baker]

I bought a set of good looking used 235/85 r16 Michelins and 3 of them got tread separtation at different times. I was told later that Caltrans ( government agency responsible for all road maintinance in Ca. ) will not buy Michelins. I was told that they used a steel in their belts that was suseptible to corosion. The problem seems to happen to older tires. Maybe it isn't a problem if you use up your tires in 5 years. I don't know but no more Michelns for me.