Problem tire brands

[froggy]

I have always put B.F. Goodrich All Terrain radials on my trucks and have always been pleased with the ride and performance. Wouldn't use anything else.

 

[MF1455v]

Bird, I miss typed that sentence, the side wall does only have 60psi. My mind thinks a lot faster than my fingers can peck on the keyboard. Thanks for correcting me.

 

[MF1455v]

froggy, I agree completely. I have had 6 sets of BF Goodrich All Terrains in the past and have always been extremely happy.

 

[Poncho]

I had a set of Bridgestone Duelers APT that not only split within an inch of the rim but also a couple of them had the cords come apart causing a large bubble on the tread. 3 tires in one set did this within 15m. Tires were run at proper pressure. I made Sears swap them out for no charge for Michelin M/S's.

 

[GerardC]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I made Sears swap them out for no charge for Michelin M/S's. )</font>

Can I ask how you made Sears agree to do that? Gerard

 

[Dargo]

I know I'll be in the minority here, but I've found that Michelins have been the absolute worst tire I've ever had on any of my pickups. The problem is not with wear, but traction on wet surfaces. I don't know if there are different types of Michelin tires for light duty trucks, but every set I've had have been terrible. I've paid to have nearly new ones taken off because I couldn't stop on wet pavement.

Last month my brother in law disagreed with me (not uncommon /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) and put some Michelins on his Dodge Dakota. During the first rain he rammed some lady from behind at a stop light. He'd had the truck since new and had put plenty of miles on it in the rain and was used to how it would handle. Yes, he took them off too. He sold them in a yard sale and went back to whatever came on his truck.

 

[Poncho]

It's a long story about problems I had with Sears and my truck.... from the truck not being ready at lunch when they said it would be (4 new tires and an alignment), then I told them they had to have it done by 5:00 that day because I had to pick my daughter up.... they hadn't started the alignment at 5:00, truck still on lift with tires off. When I finally drove off, they had forgot to set the toe, needless to say I had to take it back the next day. On the way home 2 of the factory center caps came off and was lost, they had to replace those. In about a month, driving to Orlando on a Friday afternoon and I noticed a shimmy from the front. Pulled over and the cord evidently had started to seperate.. bubble in the tread. Started to take tire off... get to last lug (8 lug wheel) and it was stripped and I couldn't get it off. Put all lugs back on and drive slowly into the North part of Altamont Springs at about 5:30. Pulled into tire shop to see if they could help... they put air ratchet on and broke the lug loose from hub where all it would do was turn with the lug nut. Fortunately they had someone there that changed tires on 18 wheelers and he put me a new tire on wiht the wheel still mounted. The tire did not match brands but did match in size. Got back to Tallahassee, went to Sears to get them to fix and give me a matching replacement tire... Manager said he wouldn't do it because I made the decision to have a new tire mounted. This was after I told him the story of what happended, and told him I didn't make the decision but that Sears had made that decision for me when they stripped the lug. Actually had to go to the Store Manager to get the tire replaced /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif. After this episode... lost another center cap driving home... had to get Sears to replace. Within about a year I had problems with the 2 other tires (1 splitting and another cord seperation). Went to Sears to get them to swap out for another set and told them I wasn't paying a dime. They agreed to satisfy me when I informed them that within the last 10 years I had charged and paid off over $20m from them (challenged them to review credit charge history) and they were close to loosing that business. Actually many of the sales reps new me by name as well as some of the department managers. Sears changed the tires at no cost to me.

 

[fractal]

I agree... 50 psi seems very low for a 1 ton truck.

The sticker on the driver door of my ford f350 diesel says 85 psi cold on fronts, 80 psi cold on the rear. The E load range tires on it specify maximum load at 110 psi.

That much under inflation will wear out a tire real fast if your truck recommends numbers similar to mine.

What does tire pressure does it recommend on the sticker on the diver door?

 

[Westonium]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The tires that go to the manufacturers for OEM on new vehicles have the very tightest tolerances. The very same label tire that falls outside of that range but still in an acceptable range goes to the tire dealer. That's why OEM tires always seem to last longer and ride better than replacements.

As to the "off-brand" tires being appearing to be superior to the branded tires, the reason is simple - They are! Someone like Sears has such incredible clout as a customer that they can and do negotiate not only better pricing but also better tolerances on their tires as well.
)</font>

I'd noticed that very thing and complained about it to a buddy of mine. I have a 2002 Corvette Z06 that when I got it new was practically glued to the road. It pulled > 1 G through turns like I was going to the grocery. I got a screw in a rear that did a number on it at about 50% wear, and had to replace the whole set because you DON'T mix and match with that car. I tried just replacing the rears and it drove worse than honda with loose front wheels. I replaced the fronts 2 days later, but I noticed that the car didn't have quite the grip and feel that it did on the tires I just replaced @ 50% wear. I was not happy.

I agree that "weather cracking" is most likely heat + low pressure cracking. The low pressure helps make the heat, so does carrying heavy loads.

Some "off brands" may be better because they aren't catering to OEM business. The Toyo Proxes T1 tires I put on the vette have done well - good rain performance over the oem, but not quite as much stick. We had Toyo M5 studded tires put on the truck for winter and they seem pretty good so far too.

If you go to TireRack or other places, you can do research to see what other people have said about the tires.

Sometimes stickier softer tires can last longer than harder compound tires. If the tire squeals a lot - you are over driving them and they will not last very long. I traded V rated tires for Z rated softer tires on my full-sized sedan and they stood up to my abuse for 5000 miles longer than the V rated, rode better AND stuck better in dry or wet AND I spent $4 less per tire (had to be ordered though).

Be prepared to have tires ordered to get what you want.

Me? It doesn't matter what vehicle its going on - I will trade traction for cash over long life and saving $$$ any day. My life, or my families lives, may be saved by that little extra stick.

 

[RobertN]

Interesting! It sounds WAY low to me too. My old Ford had "D" rated tires which used 50psi(3/4 ton 4x4).

My '01 RAM 2500 4x4 specs 65psi front, 80psi rear. That was for the original Michelin LTX. I have 17" take-offs from a '03 on it now, and run the same pressures.