E rated Michelins & new pics!!!

[Jay2TheRescue]

Well, I went down to visit my brother in law @ the Ford dealer today and got my new Michelin LTX A/S E rated tires today. I also got an alignment, and a bottle of BG 44K. I haven't noticed anyone here talking about BG 44K, but since I got it at a discount I figured why the heck not. I had the dealer inflate the new tires to 70 PSI. It seems a little rougher on potholes and speedbumps than I'm ordinarily accustomed to, but I'll probably get used to it - I'll have to if I want to take full advantage of the fuel savings these tires can offer me. On regular pavement it really doesn't feel that much different, and there is no more road noise than with the old tires so I'm happy with that. The alignment made a big difference in driving. Everything was in specs except for the right front wheel. I imagine that was thrown out of spec when I ran over that deer last fall. (Note small crease in passenger fender) I came out of that pretty good. I was expecting that the deer took out my front end, lights, and such, but nothing was wrong with the truck except that crease, and the passenger side was covered in blood and poop.

So now I have some hard LRR tires, a fresh alignment, and a bottle of BG 44K in the tank. Lets see where it takes me...

-Jay

[konitime]

Hi,

is it possible to get Michelin Energy Saving Tyres in the USA?

That`s the best Tires i ever had. Running 40.000 miles. Save fuel. But not so good at wet street when braking.

With best regards.

Wilfried

[Jay2TheRescue]

Michelin sells many energy saving tires in the US. The ones I chose have just about the lowest rolling resistance of any tire that will fit on my truck. They're expensive though. If it wasn't my brother in law writing the service ticket and giving me a cost + x% price, I wouldn't be able to afford them. (I'm not posting the % over cost I paid out of respect for the great deal I got)

The truck glides a lot further when I shift into Neutral. On the highway with the cruise set on 60 MPH SG was reporting 25 - 27 MPG. I'm sure with the new tires, and the fresh alignment I'll probably have to recalibrate my SG @ the next fillup. Maybe my mileage is really higher... I can only hope.

[Jetta90GL]

I wonder what the traction in snow is like with those. I need to get new tires for my truck, but I wanted something with good snow traction. I might be able to be swayed to something like this if the savings pays off the extra cost of the tires. Do you know what the normal retail price range is?
I think my tires are 235x75R16 (EDIT: Tires are actually 285x75R16), I planned on getting narrower tires closer to the stock width.

Nice wheels

[Jay2TheRescue]

Michelin LTX A/S website

The Michelin LTX A/S is a durable, premium, highway all-season light truck tire designed to meet new vehicle Original Equipment requirements. The LTX A/S was developed to provide particularly smooth, even wear, low noise and good fuel efficiency, even in demanding commercial applications.

The LTX A/S features Michelin's advanced all-weather light truck tread rubber compound molded into a five-rib, closed-shoulder tread design to blend light snow traction with a quiet ride. On the inside, LTX A/S tires feature two steel belts (Load Range D and Load Range E sizes add a third steel belt) to enhance durability and tread puncture resistance. The LTX A/S features Michelin's Stress Equilibrium Casing design to distribute stresses evenly through the tire's footprint to provide even wear and long mileage.

Looking on the internet the tires I bought today should retail for about $240/ea. I paid **signifigantly less**. From reading the traction ratings it is rated "very good" for light snow traction. If you need a little more snow traction get the LTX M/S (Mud & Snow). I figured if I needed more traction I'll just push the 4wd button anyway. I was looking for the smoothest, quietest ride in an E rated tire, which is why I selected the LTX A/S (All Season) The tires have a 6 year warranty, and from reading tire reviews on the internet there are many people reporting putting over 100,000 miles on these tires. I believe it. The tread on these tires is really deep.

-Jay

EDIT: Thanks, the alloy wheels are stock.

[Sludgy]

I have those tires on the Blue Beast. They haven't helped mileage much, and I keep em at 90 psig. 6000 pounds of truck induces a lot of tire flex......

[Jay2TheRescue]

I'm here at work, so here's a copy of the alignment report.

-Jay

[Civicrick]

Hey Jay. I too picked Michelin LTX for the first replacement tires for my Ford(sorry) E-250 conversion van about 5 yrs ago. Mine are A/T. Not sure why they differ from yours but they are E rated and m+s.The tread is somewhat aggressive so they were a bit noisier than the pure "street" tread Ford gave me to begin with. It looks to me like you went with tallest sidewall you could as I did also. My rims are 16's so I got some good sized meats on there. I went with the Mich's cuz I my buddy was the service manager at the 7 Corners Sears (Im in VA too remember?) and he said Michelin was the only tire mnufacturer that still gave each and every tire a human lookover. I guess thats a good thing but he also spoke of least complaints and failures. Plus, thats what he had on his truck so that said alot in itself!
While they are more expensive he felt like the payoff would be in safety and longevity. He didnt feel like I would ever be buying another set. Since the kids are grown we dont cruise like we used to and I dont really like to use it to go to grocery store, quality in construction and material are important for I feel time is the biggest enemy of those tires.
I keep the pressure in the back tires about 10lbs below max and this is why: with the 250 heavier suspension the people in the back seat are pretty much bouncing around like ping-pong balls. I do pump them up when I tow or load up. I would be curious about the differences pressure in the back wheels would make. I feel it would be minimal since, when empty, the backs pretty light. I see you and others talking about the scangauge. Got a suggestion for cheapest place to get one? Rick

[Civicrick]

Hey Jay. I too picked Michelin LTX for the first replacement tires for my Ford(sorry) E-250 conversion van about 5 yrs ago. Mine are A/T. Not sure why they differ from yours but they are E rated and m+s.The tread is somewhat aggressive so they were a bit noisier than the pure "street" tread Ford gave me to begin with. It looks to me like you went with tallest sidewall you could as I did also. My rims are 16's so I got some good sized meats on there. I went with the Mich's cuz I my buddy was the service manager at the 7 Corners Sears (Im in VA too remember?) and he said Michelin was the only tire mnufacturer that still gave each and every tire a human lookover. I guess thats a good thing but he also spoke of least complaints and failures. Plus, thats what he had on his truck so that said alot in itself!
While they are more expensive he felt like the payoff would be in safety and longevity. He didnt feel like I would ever be buying another set. Since the kids are grown we dont cruise like we used to and I dont really like to use it to go to grocery store, quality in construction and material are important for I feel time is the biggest enemy of those tires.
I keep the pressure in the back tires about 10lbs below max and this is why: with the 250 heavier suspension the people in the back seat are pretty much bouncing around like ping-pong balls. I do pump them up when I tow or load up. I would be curious about the differences pressure in the back wheels would make. I feel it would be minimal since, when empty, the backs pretty light. I see you and others talking about the scangauge. Got a suggestion for cheapest place to get one? Rick

[Jay2TheRescue]

Yeah, I keep forgetting you're in NoVa as well. The tires I bought (LT 265 75 R16) are the stock tire size from the factory. My brother in law swears by Michelin, and E rated tires. He has a set of E rated, slightly oversize tires on his lifted Ford Ranger 4x4. He gets decent mileage (over 20) but then again his commute is mostly highway, and he has a 5 speed manual transmission. The A/S is the All Season highway tire. The A/T (All Terrain) and M/S (Mud & Snow) have more agressive tread patterns.

-Jay

EDIT: I forgot. The Scangauge. Look around. They are available from JCWhitney.com and ThinkGeek.com. I bought mine from a fellow member here on GS.org that had one that was bought, and then he ended up replacing the car and not using the SG.