TIRES--Opinions needed

[mikepvg]

I would like opinions on what tires you guys have had good luck with in regards to TREAD WEAR.



1) I do not care about any other characteristics such as off road grip etc. .



2) I must stick with the stock 16" size for now.



I had the Michelin LTX 265/75/16E's but they only lasted 25,000miles. Can I do better?





Thanks



Mike

 

[TFabian]

I have had really good luck with Kelly MSR 255-85-16 tires. Last set went 57K before I swapped them. They could have gone a while longer, but winter was on the way and I decided to replace them before the weather got nasty. Been very happy with them.

 

[cpeters]

I have 265-75-16 michelin LTX A/S with about 30k and they are not wearing much at all. I hope to get about 60k before buying more LTX A/S. Not much wet grip but it never rains here.

 

[JThiessen]

tires

I was very happy with a set of Yokohama's Geolanders that I was persueded to purchase by Discount tire. I had the invoice all written up for the Michelins, which are great tires, and the sales guy told me that I could save a bundle and get a tire that was probably just as good (130 vs 85). I figured that the price diff alone was worth a shot. And I was very, very happy with them - 25K and they looked like they were going to go for another 25-35K.

 

[Cowboy Medic]

My brother has always gotten 60 thousand or better from his BF Goodrich's so that is what I went with this last time, I have a little over 15,000 on em now and they still look like brand new. Very Happy.

 

[RO'neal]

BFG MT KMs - 14k - still look new

 

[Gifford]

Who makes 255-85-16's?

What other tire manufacturers make tires in 255-85-16? (I know about BF-Goodrich)



Any others? web sites with pictures???

 

[jduval]

I Have BFG Mud terrains with 25,000 miles on them. Tread wear is about 50%. I'll never buy anything else.

 

[jlhartak]

I have 30K on Michelin 245 75R16 LTX's they are less than half gone; this includes about 5K of high speed towing with a 5000lb trailer. I have had good luck with Cooper Discoverer tires in other applications. Interco makes the Thornbird as well as their new Trxus radial in a 255 85R16 8ply rating (see May issue of 4 Wheel & Off Road for a test of a 35x15 inch) these are an aggressive tread so unless you do lots of off road or just like gnarly tires they are probably a bit much.

 

[fishjack1]

I have been through 4 sets of tires on my 1996 4x4 including the original Goodyears (2) sets of Dunlop rovers. The best set were 285/75 R16 Bridgestone Duelers A/Ts got 55K out of them. Just replaced them with a new set of the Revo A/TDuelers 285/75 R16 hope they last as long as the original (nonrevo) Duelers did.

Good Luck!

 

[shoveljunk]

Michelin LTX

Good tires but they have been waring out very fast. Years ago I ran a set of Bridgestone mud duelers. Good hard rubber with a lot of roll resistance. almost like bias plys. I know because I changed to a set of General grabber A P's. Man what a difference in roll resistance and ride comfort.

 

[illflem]

I'm on my second set of Toyo M-55s. First set lasted 82k, think the new set will last longer with 60k on them already.

No matter what kind of tire you get if they aren't factory siped have it done.

 

[mikepvg]

Like I said my Michelin LTX A/S 's lasted ONLY 25,000 miles!



I do very little HWY miles & I'm loaded w/ a few thousand lbs of gear 24/7.

25,000 miles out of the Michelins is pathetic & expensive!

It looks like opinions on tires will be varied as opinions on oil!









Mike

 

[shoveljunk]

Tire wear

The Bridgestones went about 34,000 mi and the truck was sold before I used up the General. Still it looks as though the Michelins are wearing out faster than most. My truck weighs about 7,300 lbs. Could this be a major factor? I Liked the BFGoodrich but am leaning toward the Toyo M55 which can be studded. What is the info on sipes? Quality price etc.

 

[illflem]

Good articles on siping http://www.can4x4.com/articles/siping.html



http://www.4x4review.com/tech/siping-install.asp



http://www.discounttire.com/dtc/brochure/tire/tireSiping.jsp



I pay $10 for each tire.

I used to run winter studs but no more, siping gives just as good if not better traction on winter roads than studs. Studs are also becoming illegal in many states due to road damage.

 

[Joe G.]

Driving habits and tire pressure have a lot to do with how long your tires last. My Michelin LTX 265/75/16E's are doing very well.

 

[Tejasdge]

Rock Chunkers

I have the BFG 305/70-17 AT KO's and they are terrible about picking up rocks and dinking my new truck. Driving down dirt roads makes me cringe. It is so bad that I have noticed chips on the tailgate from rocks bouncing off my little utility trailer. When I was researching these tires, the literature somewhere stated that they had improved the tread design so that they wouldn't pick up rocks as bad as before. I'd hate to see what they were like before. Ive never had an AT or M&S tire pick up rocks like this before. Has anyone else had this experience with the BFG's?



I love the tires(except for the chunking), but can't wait for them to wear down a bit to see if that helps. Will siping the tires help with this? I may go for it just to see if it helps and to improve the traction and get a little noise reduction.

 

[DKGross]

Tire wear is effected by road surface

I had a long talk with various tire manufacturers on the phone. We in the Rocky Mountains get less mileage out of our tires due to the road surface. Our asphalt has a granite base and other states like Texas have sandstone for their road base. I too was upset that the stock Michelin tires got less than expected mileage. My friend in Texas got about twice what I got. He does mostly road driving and most of mine is local.



So, I am using the Pathfinders I get at Discount Tire. Mileage guarantee helps the cost, the miles are still the same. I am getting around 30K per set give or take a little.



Find out what others are using in your area and that is the tire to get. The information about road surface makes sense to me.



Also, there is a fairly simple formula for air pressure that will help with tire wear. The formula is find out the total weight your tires carry at maximum tire pressure. Then find out the weight on the front and rear axles (DCs best guess is on the door) or get your truck weighed at a scale. Next divide the total weight for the front and rear sets of tires by the actual weight of your truck. Use this figure to arrive at the desired air pressure for the front and rear sets of tires. I run about 48 rear and 53 front on 10 ply tires and get even wear and more miles out of a set. Everytime I rotatate the tires I reset the airpressure myself.



Hope this helps.

 

[jponder]

Originally posted by mikepvg

I would like opinions on what tires you guys have had good luck with in regards to TREAD WEAR.



1) I do not care about any other characteristics such as off road grip etc. .



2) I must stick with the stock 16" size for now.



I had the Michelin LTX 265/75/16E's but they only lasted 25,000miles. Can I do better?





Thanks



Mike

25K WWWHHHHAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!! I have 72K on the Michelins. They were great tires. They are beat from running over cutovers and such. I rotated once and now I'm going to run them till they are obliterated. I might make 100K on em because if they are holding air I will not change them. I would buy another set but i really want to get up into some medium duty tires. I got to get me some 19. 5 tires

 

[fishjack1]

Hello again Mike,



No matter what tire brand/size you choose I would strongly recommend finding a shop that uses a Hunter GSP9700 balancer. After having 3 different tire stores "balance" my new tires the ride was still not just right. Felt like one of the tires was not perfectly round. After some research here on TDR website I discovered the GSP9700 Road Force Balancer.

Found a shop near my home that had one and paid to have them done one more time... ...



WOW what a difference that made. One of my tires/rims were not matched (mounted right) and that was causing a slight bounce. Now my truck rides like a 7000# Cadillac.

In my opinion that is the ONLY way to go...



For more info on the GSP9700 check out:



www.hunter.com



Again Good LUCK