2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission tires

[Tractorat]

I just put my summer tires, Michelin LTX M/S, back on my truck. They are 6 years old, and the rear tires still have lot a of tread left. The front ones arn't as good, but still very much good enough.

I was wondering how long some of you guys keep your tires if you dont use up the tread.

When I was at the tire shop the other day (where I get the tires mounted for free), the guy was working hard at trying to get me into the new michelin LTX MS2 (the LTX M/S is no longer available). He was trying to tell me that my tires were cracking (but I sure couldnt see the cracking). He said he would give me a 30% adjustment for it. I didnt go for the deal, but told him I would think about it.

I was actually already thinking about doing just the fronts (rears still have lots of tread) with new LTX M/S which are no longer available. Is there any reason why not to put the new MS2's on just the front ? And is there any way to gauge how bad the cracking should be before they should be replaced ? (And as I said, my non-professional eyes could not see any cracking).

 

[TboneMan]

I had high-60,000's on the two sets of LTX's I had. Both sets developed fine, shallow crack along the side of the tread (not on the side wall). The bigger issue, however, was the compound had become so hard that wet traction suffered tremendously.

There was a TDR article years ago about tire longevity (and how to read the manufacture date code on the sidewall).

 

[Road Dog]

I replaced the original LTX M/S on my dually at 80K km (50K mi) and 7 years. There was lots of tread left but the sidewalls were cracking. I didn't want a sidewall blow out in the middle of nowhere. I kept the spare which seemed fine. I have no idea if the original owner used Armor-All or other rubber destroying crap.

 

[KrisKringle]

I just put my summer tires, Michelin LTX M/S, back on my truck. They are 6 years old, and the rear tires still have lot a of tread left. The front ones arn't as good, but still very much good enough.

I was wondering how long some of you guys keep your tires if you dont use up the tread.

When I was at the tire shop the other day (where I get the tires mounted for free), the guy was working hard at trying to get me into the new michelin LTX MS2 (the LTX M/S is no longer available). He was trying to tell me that my tires were cracking (but I sure couldnt see the cracking). He said he would give me a 30% adjustment for it. I didnt go for the deal, but told him I would think about it.

I was actually already thinking about doing just the fronts (rears still have lots of tread) with new LTX M/S which are no longer available. Is there any reason why not to put the new MS2's on just the front ? And is there any way to gauge how bad the cracking should be before they should be replaced ? (And as I said, my non-professional eyes could not see any cracking).

Over here, they check the manufacture date, and at inspection (every two years), if the tires are over three years old, can fail the inspection, regardless of tread. BTW; I am looking for reconsiderations on good tyres for my truck... need to order them in the USA, and have them shipped to the base. Any ideas on good M/S with Load range E? thanks... Jonathan

 

[JR]

There is a number on each tire near the bead that designates the year. Going of memory it should say DOT then some letters (not sure what they mean) and then 4 numbers. The first 2 numbers should be the week the tire was made and the last 2 numbers are the year. So if the number is 2710 it was made on the 27th week in 2010.

 

[JR]

Over here, they check the manufacture date, and at inspection (every two years), if the tires are over three years old, can fail the inspection, regardless of tread. BTW; I am looking for reconsiderations on good tyres for my truck... need to order them in the USA, and have them shipped to the base. Any ideas on good M/S with Load range E? thanks... Jonathan

What basis do they pass/fail the tires on? 3 years isnt alot of time by any means on a set of tires for some people. Say you only drive your truck when your towing and put 6 to 8 thousand miles a year, thats under 25k miles in 3 years. Or say a garage queen sports car that only sees sunny weather and is under a roof 8 months out of the year... Seems like they would have to factor tire wear or condition not just age?

 

[KrisKringle]

What basis do they pass/fail the tires on? 3 years isnt alot of time by any means on a set of tires for some people. Say you only drive your truck when your towing and put 6 to 8 thousand miles a year, thats under 25k miles in 3 years. Or say a garage queen sports car that only sees sunny weather and is under a roof 8 months out of the year... Seems like they would have to factor tire wear or condition not just age?

I said they can fail the tires if they are over three years old... it depends on the inspection mechanic... still looking for recommendations for All-season, load range tires... Jonathan

 

[HHhuntitall]

I see a lot of older Michelins. I don't run them, as I repeatedly see sidewall failures, regardless of tread. The rubber compound gets brittle from drying out, and is subject to cracking and letting go of the nylon cords, and that results in seperation. If you run 25k a year, there's no reason to worry about it, but if you don't, try to keep your tires out of the heat and sun. If you can't visibly see the cracking, they should be fine, but when you begin to see the cracks visibly from standing above the tire, they need to be replaced, IMO. They're especially prone to it here in the heat of the Southwest US. I've seen 3 year old tires need to be replaced, while 5 year old tires look good, if parked in a garage overnight or most of the time, kept out of the heat and sun... . I've also seen two tires on one side look really bad, while the other two look great... . Usually turns out that the truck is parked in a specific place, and the sun beats down on the two that look bad..... I also think a lot of it has to do with the fact that tire companies deliberately try to make the tire that way, using synthetic rubbers..... They can't sell you a new tire if your old ones are good.....

I said they can fail the tires if they are over three years old... it depends on the inspection mechanic... still looking for recommendations for All-season, load range tires... Jonathan

My personal recommendations are for the Toyo A/T or Cooper ST. I use my tires hard with the offroad and gravel roads, usually loaded with a trailer or equipement. The Toyo has worked great for me. I usually go through 100-150 tires a year between myself, Dad, and hired hands. Equipment, trailers, trucks, tractors... . I sell 5-6 times that, and have not had anyone unhappy with what they get, with the exception of one... . Luckily, I've made him mad enough he won't come back..... I had to quit Goodyear, as the sidewalls were too light, and I repeatedly had blowouts and seperations in the thread... . Then I tried BFGs, which were decent, but the price was a little rough... . The last 10 years I have been using Toyo, Cooper, and Sumitomo built tires, with good results..... The Summitomo built Falkens are questionable, with not enough time to see what they're going to do... . Mastercraft is a sub line of Cooper, as well, with excellent performance, offroad.

 

[GAmes]

Is there any reason why not to put the new MS2's on just the front ?

The only difference I see in the MS2s is the tread isn't as deep when they are new, so they don't last as long as the MS did. The tread pattern is the same. I used to get more than 110k on the fronts and nearly 100k on the rears. I now get about 100k/80k. I still won't buy any others.

 

[KrisKringle]

Tires...Michelin

I see a lot of older Michelins. I don't run them, as I repeatedly see sidewall failures, regardless of tread. The rubber compound gets brittle from drying out, and is subject to cracking and letting go of the nylon cords, and that results in seperation. If you run 25k a year, there's no reason to worry about it, but if you don't, try to keep your tires out of the heat and sun. If you can't visibly see the cracking, they should be fine, but when you begin to see the cracks visibly from standing above the tire, they need to be replaced, IMO. They're especially prone to it here in the heat of the Southwest US. I've seen 3 year old tires need to be replaced, while 5 year old tires look good, if parked in a garage overnight or most of the time, kept out of the heat and sun... . I've also seen two tires on one side look really bad, while the other two look great... . Usually turns out that the truck is parked in a specific place, and the sun beats down on the two that look bad..... I also think a lot of it has to do with the fact that tire companies deliberately try to make the tire that way, using synthetic rubbers..... They can't sell you a new tire if your old ones are good.....





My personal recommendations are for the Toyo A/T or Cooper ST. I use my tires hard with the offroad and gravel roads, usually loaded with a trailer or equipement. The Toyo has worked great for me. I usually go through 100-150 tires a year between myself, Dad, and hired hands. Equipment, trailers, trucks, tractors... . I sell 5-6 times that, and have not had anyone unhappy with what they get, with the exception of one... . Luckily, I've made him mad enough he won't come back..... I had to quit Goodyear, as the sidewalls were too light, and I repeatedly had blowouts and seperations in the thread... . Then I tried BFGs, which were decent, but the price was a little rough... . The last 10 years I have been using Toyo, Cooper, and Sumitomo built tires, with good results..... The Summitomo built Falkens are questionable, with not enough time to see what they're going to do... . Mastercraft is a sub line of Cooper, as well, with excellent performance, offroad.

Well, I do not know what happened to my last post... Oh well... it looks like I will have to order the tires in the USA, and have them shipped to the base. Here is what I found: Michelin LTX M/S2. It seems that tire-buyer has the best price going, as even with the APO, Tire-rack wants over 250$ for shipping. I found a set of Cooper DISC. S/T MAXX 265/75R16 on ebay over here, but in the end, they will cost the same as the Michelins... What I can get over here are

Nexen ROADIAN HT LT for around 150$ per, which is the same as the price in the States, with out the hassles. Never heard of them though, and I have always had good results with Michelin. Perhaps I will try harder to source them here, as driving to the Base and back takes over half a day... Jonathan.

 

[HHhuntitall]

Nexen tire reviews are mixed... I've installed three sets, and again, the reviews are mixed... my distributor quit carrying them. That tells me they are either not that good or are not consistent to get... . My guys tell me they wear faster than other tires they've had..... I've got a set on one of my work trucks, but not enough miles to know anything yet, and another set on a Jeep... On the Jeep, they are reported to handle good, but there's only about 20k on them so far... . I put another set on a Cheby 3500 4x4, and they wore out fast... . They did have to be rotated a lot due to a poorly designed front suspension system... . Another 2 sets went on Ram 2500s, and they wore very well, going close to 50k. All I can say about them... Those were the Nexen AT, NOT the HT... . A pic of the AT tread on the Jeep.....

 

[JR]

Are quality tires that hard to come by in Germany that its worthwhile to pay shipping across the pond? Forgive my ignorance, it comes easy for me :-laf

 

[KrisKringle]

Size and Load...

Are quality tires that hard to come by in Germany that its worthwhile to pay shipping across the pond? Forgive my ignorance, it comes easy for me :-laf

Not quality, size and more specifically Load rating... Here is a picture with over 1200 kilos (on the rack)

and a few in the bed...