Hey Guys,

I went to have my tires rotated/balanced and the alignment done this morning only to find I have a tire that is separating. The truck has been hopping going down the road. I've been looking for an excuse to can the OEM POS tires. I'm looking at Michelin XPS traction tires and was wondering if any of you have experience with them on the road. They are steel belt sidewall tires as well.

I'm also considering bumping up to the 235-85-R16's that are rated for 3042lbs per tire versus 2680lbs on the 215-85-R16's. They are almost an inch taller and rated for 6-7" rim width. Would I suffer too much of an adverse affect when towing the 5'ver? Doesn't appear I would need a spacer, but likely would have to keep them at 65psi or higher to avoid them touching.

Appreciate any intel. Tirerack doesn't have a whole lot on them, 3 reviews and all favorable. I just don't want them to ride like bricks going down the road unloaded. JJ :)

JJ
No opinion on the Michelin XPS, but moving up to 235-85-R16's was what I did. Running empty I keep the tire 65-70psi to prevent rubbing. I take it to 80psi prior to hooking up to any trailer, better safe than sorry.

Thanks RVC. Was there any noticeable degradation in towing with the 235's? Just out of curiosity what brand of tires did you go with? Some buys swear by Goodyears or other brands. I'm not locked into any one specific brand yet. Just read such good things about the Michelins on Tirerack. JJ :)

JJ,
I see by your sig that you tow a 40' Sunny Brook max GVWR 18000lbs :eek: If I were you I would definitely check the tire clearance between the rear duals when you are loaded. Even at 80 psi I bet you are gonna be too close for comfort with the 235/85/16s. There isn't much clearance with the 215s on my truck when loaded and I only tow a 9500lb 5ver, however, I am only runnin' 70 psi.
JP

JJ,

Our diesel tech runs the Michelin LTX M/S 235/85/16's but did use spacers because they are too close when loded. THe XPS series tire are tuff as nails but ride like bricks:eek: . They are all-steel belted (no nylon or polyester) so they have little to no flex in them. I know several people who have gotten 100k miles out of a set of the XPS Rib non-traction model, but I wouldn't use them unless I lived somewhere it never snowed. The "tractions" in the back would be they way to go, but presents a rotation problem. I would suggest the LTX M/S for a better combo of comfort and traction in nearly any weather condition.

Thanks Bartman. I share the same concern with ride quality with the all steel sidewalls. The tire place told me they would run cooler than polyester/steel sidewalls. :rolleyes:

The Michelin LTX M/S is what I started out looking at. Over 2 million miles of road driven reviews on Tirerack and consistently gets rave reviews. I'll be making my decision tomorrow, any more intel out there? Right now the LTX's are "numero uno"! JJ :)

JJ
I went with the Firestone Steeltex, they work well with the gravel and field driving that I do. I may try the Michelin's if the Firestone don't last long enough. I was afraid that the Michelin's wouldn't have enough flex to give a good off road grip.

I think you have noticed some of my posts about the weights I haul. That being said the only time that I have problems with the tires touching is on rough roads/fields. That may be what makes me move to the Michelin's more than anything. The upside is the temps/humidity here in Canada don't reach what you see in the southern states so I'm not having to deal with excessive tire temps.

RVC, I thought about the Firestone tires, hadn't seen the steeltex. There previous problems aside Firestone builds some pretty good tires and some pretty bad ones, seems like most manufacturers do. I put a set of Firestone 500's on my daughters Altima that stuck like glue to the road. She ran every other brand of tire off her vehicles, the Firestones looked as good at 20k miles as they did new.

Seems like the Michelin LTX's are the brand to beat right now. Thanks for the reply. JJ :)

JJ, I looked back and realised I didn't answer the towing question. The only thing I noticed was I had to run a little higher rpm (50) to prevent lugging the engine on hills. Speedo is now off by the 4% but I don't think it was correct to begin with. I think I'm showing closer to true speed with the 235's vs. the old 215's. Also, don't forget to have your ABS recalibrated for the bigger tires, and make sure you tell the dealer your not trying to get the speedo corrected it the ABS. I had to talk to the service advisor for 20 minutes while I was told they couldn't adjust it. ABS - YES, speedometer - NO

A bit off topic what is the pin weight when your fully loaded, if your under 4000# you will have no problems.

I'm usually between 3300-3500lbs pin. I'll likely go back to the original 215-85-16R's with the clearance issues that have been expressed. They work fine, though a taller tire would definitely fill out the wheel wells better. Oh well, truck first, pretty second! ):h

I was very fortunate to spot the defective tire today since I was going to tow the 5ver tomorrow. :eek: It is separating from sidewall to sidewall, POS OEM tires. I swear they put just enough on these trucks to get through the test drives. GM, you listening? :mad:

I feel better now! The Michelin LTX's aren't in stock in this size anywhere in J'ville, 7-10 days to ship them. Turns out Michelin is running a special right now and not charging for shipping. Saves me a little bit of money. Right now I'm looking at around a grand for six of them mounted and balanced. I'm still shopping though.

Heartbeat, good advice. Thanks. Later. JJ :)

Michelin tires are really great. My father regularly uses all makes and model of tires in testing of wheels on anything from military, to 18 wheelers, to light duty truck wheels. He can talk all day about which tires have taken the abuse it takes to test wheels to their breaking point, but overall michelin tires are the best ones that he uses. (they have to use the tires that will go on the trucks, unless the tires will not hold up) Anyway, do what you want, but michelin LTX tires are great tires and michelin is a great company even if they are a bit more expensive.

JJ, have you tried Sams clubs or Costcos? They usually carry a wide range of sizes. I find it hard to believe that a city as large as Jacksonville doesn't have 6 of those. Another recommendation would be BF Goodrich Commercial T/A see them here: http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfgapp/catalog/tires/commercialtaallseason.jsp

I just bought a set of 6 XPS Traction, the tires are 215/85/16 they seem to be the best so far. This is my fourth set of tires on my dually. I pull a 40' gooseneck trailer every day not much road noise, very good of the road. Paid 1350.00for six out the door.

Tbone, aren't those the steel side wall tires? I had heard the ride was very stiff, the tire guy says they ride fine and cooler than poly/steel combo. Have you had a chance to tow with them yet? Initial impressions? :confused:

Ironically I went into a tire place today to get an estimate on six LTX M/S tires. The owner asked if I had a full size spare, yes! He suggested using the spare tire for now, mount a new Michelin LTX M/S for a spare, then change over the other six to Michelin's when the General's are ready to changeout. Honest guy! :ro) Talked himself out of a $960 sale including tax. Actually that was a pretty good price IMHO. In my haste to get rid of the POS OEM's I hadn't thought about getting another 10k miles out of them by using the spare. Gives me a bit more time to gather intel as well. :rolleyes: JJ

Yes I tow with them every day. I pull a 40' gooseneck loaded total gross at about 24k. The tires are great ,not much more noise than the Dunlaps/Goodyear/Bridgestones.I never use my spare more than just to get the tire fixed.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.jsp?partnum=385R6XPST&make=Michelin&model=XPS+Traction

This link has the specs for the 215's and 235's Michelin XPS Traction tires. Less than 1" difference in width, so I figure they will add about an extra 1" of rubber between the duals. Sure do like the extra load rating on the 235's.

I may have to research spacers, I don't know much about them. Are they OK for towing heavy? JJ :)

JJ
I looked into the spacers and the claims were that they were fine for heavy towing. The problem was, I couldn't get any references, of heavy towing people to talk to directly.
Also a few issues
1) needing to have 2" spacers so that the stock lugs did not have to be cut off.
2) What size of tire (235's would be to narrow w/ 2" spacer) to look good and not stick outside the wheel well(265,285)?
3) What would the forces/effect be on the axle, when towing heavy, with the increased foot print

RVC, apparently taking on heavy loads brings a totally different set of dynamics into play. I'm OK with the 215's at 2860lbs a tire, that's a little over 17k lbs capacity under the truck. Why is it we always want more? ):h $200 a tire for these bad boys. From what I have read on the RV forums and tire sites they are well liked by the commercial vehicles as well as RV's.

Now I just need to find a steal on them. Tire Plus up the road runs a special "We'll beat anyones price by 20%", I've burned them once already with that sign. Standby! Thanks for the info dude! JJ :)