I've never, never had a bad Michelin. They're hard to beat and I wouldn't buy anything else at this point. Good ride, long life, Pilot Sport A/S has best combonation of performance and all-weather handling.
For those complaining about the Pilot Sports, like on the Special, the Goodyear guys with their GS-Cs and other high performance Z radials complain about dangerous performance in snow too. You just don't run those kinds of tires in that kind of weather. An all season performance or all season passenger car tire is what an M needs, unless you wanna switch tires every winter.
I would thrilled to get 30K out of a set of tires on this thing.
33K so far. Badyears went at 10K because I couldnt stand the pull, vibration, noise and bad wear.
The set I have now, Conti CH95, make too much noise and the sidewalls are wearing too fast in the front (it is in perfect alignment, and I rotate every 3K).
Will probably go for the Yokos this fall, hopefully by then some of you can report on the noise factor.
i've never, never had a good set of michelins...and i've had lots. they wear fast and ride rough as they wear. my new ram has the 20 inch michelins and they are wearing fast too. had them on my 99 ram didn't get 30k. they're gone at 18k on my m. that's why i say they suck.
That just made my decision harder. I'm not going to pay $1,000 for tires that are going to go in a year again. My last set at $650 out the door only lasted me 17K. Maybe I should go for those Goodrich Scorchers in "black"
maybe it's just oem michelins that suck, i've never bought a set without a car attached i think they use a softer rubber on those oem's. i've had lots of bridgestones and they last.
Well, I've had several sets of them, and do like them overall. The mxv4+s on my M are at 32k and will probably get me another 6k or so (that's the plan since I want to go till the next sale
As for the price - no it's $60 off the set of 4. However, figuring $152 ea (that was what I paid) that's $548+tax for 4 of them. And it's a good tire. However, it's H rated, so you may not want it if you have the phg...
Today I called up PPG and ordered the Treptech chrome intake aircharger for my M. The cost was 214.00 with shipping. It's being manufactured and I should have it in the next couple weeks. I decided what the heck...I LOVED looks of it and I figured even without the best heat sheild it should still provide me with more than enough satisfaction over the standard airbox! That coupled with my Borla and I'm gonna be grinning from ear to ear. Once installed I could post some pics if anyone's interested.........
The service managers name is Edgar Penado. David Rudzke, I liked and to a little lesser extent David LeSafre. I have been have a different one do minor work that I wanted to see how good they are.
I ordered the yoko 420s today but I probably wont mount them till the end of the summer---right now you can get a fantastic price on them--thats why I ordered them now----
as far as noise and handling, I think I can report on how they will be before I even get them---I had a Mark VIII and had Yoko avid V rate which look almost exactly the same as the 420's--there is a very slight difference in tread design but not enough to change the noise and handling that much---it was a fantastic tire and has a high tread wear rating--- sold the car with about 10k on the AVids and had hardly any wear--they should be good for at least 40K---
ON the Mark I also originally had goodyear eagles and hated them---noisy, slippery etc etc---I changed to the Michelin mxv4 and they were better though still a little noisy and they too got slippery at around 35k of wear. Went for the Avid V rated (not T) and they were the best I have ever had. Ok in the snow (I live in MA) and great in rain and dry road. Fantastic handling and VERY quiet too. I paid about $120 for those at Sears but the 420s are much cheaper via internet. If you live in a no snow area, you may want a ultra high performance non seasonal tire, but this is an economical all season performance V-rated tire.
I wish I had a discount tire near me as they give free mounting, free valve stem and free balancing for life. Also free rotations and flat repair.
Go get yourself some-at the present price, you wont be sorry.
the poll doesnt look good---8 say to paint it red and 7 say to remove it.. you wouldnt want to upset fellow M owners now would ya---I think you need the rear bumper cover extension to hid it---I do remember Rogors post on the car with the hitch going through the bumper cover---maybe it could be done with some bent angles--
but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do--excercise on a bike is important too--
PS: I think you need to put a nice fancy big RED M on that hitch plug...or maybe a nice emblem
1999 300M has run well for three years no major problem.Recently experienced the following: after highway cruising,when I slow down at exit or stop light, engine will run rough, as if a cylinder is miss firing. "Check engine "light goes on(sometimes flashes).Shifting to neutral and or turning A/C off will reduce vibration. Took car to dealer computer read out said cylinder missfiring. Dealer took all steps, replaced all parts as mandated,and thoroughly tested the systems but didn't think the problem was really solved. Took car home,it ran well for a couple of hours, then problem re-appeared, not as strong as before, and I felt that the computer was working to smooth things out when the problem appeared at each stop.
DO ANY OF YOU EXPERTS OUT THERE IN "300M LAND" HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS PROBLEM??? AND/OR HAVE YOU RUN INTO SIMILAR PROBLEM?? SOLVED THE PROBLEM??
Well, the hitch stays, and it stays black. The alternatives just don't make any sense. However, anyone have an extra side 300M badge (maybe someone who did side marker lights and didn't re-use the badge) to spare? Otherwise I may resort to mounting a toilet seat, boat prop, or dancing hula girl toy on the hitch ball.
Anyone interested in meeting at Carlisle, PA at the all Chrysler Nationals on July 13th, and 14th. Check out this link on the club message board. Ignore the poll and scroll to the bottom to answer and see the details.
I would like a show of hands today on those definately going, so I can get enough motel rooms.
Hey! Congratulations on making your last payment! ;-)) I was thinking of you this week because TWO more Indian tribes have been recognized in CT! Looks like another casino for Stonington! ;-)) I still have NOT seen the new hotel at Mohegan Sun! Decided to spend some money on ME for a change. Bought a new eMAC that will be arriving today.
fedlawman-
Nice color! Good luck. Drive it in good health.
sdmike2-
Since I like your car so much and you keep it so nice, I do have two 300M logos. I would be happy to send you one for your hitch if you like. Just e-mail me. They're brand new.
As soon as my budget recovers from the extended warranty purchase, I will go get them. Plus the Conti's are not near the tread wear bar yet, Just the sidewalls look a little weak.
I live in SoCal, not exactly snow country, but since the best wear I will have gotten is 25K, I would rather pay $100 than $200 for a tire. I also value a quiet ride, and the super performance tires tend to be noisy.
lucky you being in Cal---if you live near Sacramento, you could go to that store offering $85 Yoko 420---you could maybe put down a deposit and ask that they either hold them for you at the sale price could just buy them and store them yourself--ask them to mount and balance them ( at a later date) just get it all in writing---
if youre not near Sacramento, go to a local discount tire and just bring a printout from the Sacramento store showing sale price and ask them to match it.. I believe most other discount tires would match it--
I dont think that sale will last long--you may find it for $109 at some other ca stores but I havent seen any others at the $85 price
If not already done, I might check the spark plugs & ignition coils. (The 3.5L has a small ignition coil at each spark plug) Sometimes the first symptoms of an electrical part or connection is temperature-related (i.e. as heat causes the metals to expand & contract).
As with any car problem, if one dealer can't fix it try another dealer. Sometimes an appeal to the "ego" of a competitor's service dept can be your best course of action.
I'm not "married" to any particular tire brand, and (with all due respect) I would prefer NOT to see blanket insults/praises of tire brands like Badyears, Michelins suc*, or Yoko's/Conti's are great. DC may well have made a mistake by putting the relatively inexpensive 17" GY Eagle LS's on the 99-00 300M's, but comparing them to tires like the Special's Michelin Pilot Sport is almost silly. Some of these performance tires are over twice the cost of those "entry-level" Eagles. Personally, I've never had a bad Goodyear tire over the years, but I'm ticked that the Michelin MX4's on my present minivan are mostly gone after just 24K (& yes they have been regularly rotated/balanced). OTOH, the Mich Pilot HXMXM4's on my '01 300M (w/PHG) seem to be great tires (except for a bit of noise and suboptimal traction on snow, but that's being picky). To best help each other make informed tire decisions, the feedback should relate to specific tire models (inc. the speed ratings). BTW- I hope the sub-$100 Yoko's are as good as some report & yield many trouble-free miles. Sounds like they would save some real $$ when it comes time for me to re-tread my M.
Jona57--I had Michelin MXRV4s on my wife's [former] 96 Aurora, and I too was disappointed in the wear rate. I too rotated and balanced regularly, and yet they were pretty well shot at 35K, but I nursed them to 40K, and by then they were very noisy on the road compared to when we first got the car. I traded the car just before I had to buy an extended warranty and new tires. The wife's [now] 00 Eldo came with Michelin XWs which I think is a discontinued tire now. So far they have been quiet [but hey, its a Caddy too, so that may have something to do with the sound deadening insulation] and wear has been good, but I rotated at 9K, and haven't got to the second rotation yet because of how little she drives it. I will have a better idea at 18K on wear. I tried Dayton Daytonas in 245/45-ZR 17 size on my 99M but I later found out the rim [7"]was too narrow per the mfg's specs, so I changed them out to the Goodrich Comp TAs in 245/50-HR 17s which were rated ok for the 7" rims. On balance, I wish I kept the Daytons [a Bridgeston/Firestone product]. The rode really great and were quiet for a Z tire. The tire guy swore that the Daytona sidewalls could handle the rims [and heat] at highway speeds [60-80 mph] but I just didn't want to take a chance. The Comp TAs are only 6K into their life and I have mixed feelings about them. They were about $25 a tire more than the Daytons, and for $40 more I could have gone to Pilots. Oh, well. But I thik the MXRV4-plus tire is supposed to be an improvement over the MXRV4s so a lot of people may be happy with them on their Ms. I think they have been going on them since 2000.
I was puttering around under the hood when I discovered the headlight leveling spirit levels. They weren't even dusty. Pretty cool! I guess the trick is to ensure that the car is parked on a level surface and that the tires are properly inflated.
Fedlawman-nice ride! I saw a few new LHS SS cars in DC last month. The cars were very clean and shiny. One had blue and red flashers built into the passenger's sunvisor. I suppose they belonged to the detail protecting Gerald Ford at the Willard Hotel where we were staying.
I also belive that the weight of this car and the fact that it is front wheel drive play a part in the rapid tire wear.
That being said, the OE Goodyear LS's 225/55/17 were/are a problematic tire. I had three out of four replaced under warranty in the first 8000 miles I owned the car, because about every 2000 miles one of them would start "pulling" and make driving unsafe. I finally got sick of constantly "messing" with tires and just replaced them all.
The Conti CH95's have worn better than the goodyears, are still prone to slight pulling, are way too noisy and have too soft an edge tread / sidewall for such a heavy FWD vehicle.
I have Michelin LT's on my 4X4 pickup (31x10.50x15) which have worn like iron, but I am not hearing that the MXV's or Pilot's for the M are wearing much more than 25K on average. When you consider the cost premium for these tires, it's a concern.
I have come to the conclusion that I will be replacing tires on this car more often that I am accustomed to, so I am in search of a reasonably priced, quiet, good wearing, good handling tire.
You Definately need an APC Smart Ups on that baby...
I had a smartups 1400 on my 36" sony Wega tv, a lighting bolt struck about 6 feet away (outside of course), the smartups went crazy but the tv was fine...
had my bridgestone potenza re950's installed today, they used the hunter dsp9000 and inside stick on weights. also had it aligned using the hunter dsp200. WOW what a difference, all i can say is get rid of the oem tires and have the car aligned. it didn't ride this good off the lot. the potenzas are grippy and extremely smooooth. dude told me more and more new cars coming in that aren't aligned correctly, i only have 18k on mine and it was off every which way. these tires are directional, look mean!!! oh yeah michelins SUCK!!!
and just took me a few hours reading all the new, informative messages here! Lots of good info on tires and air intakes this past week!
fedlawman - sweet LHS! I notice the trim bezels around the stereo/climate controls are the same color as the interior (slate?) instead of black. That's a good move by DC. Many of us have added extra wood trim just to get rid of the black bezels. Check out some the mods I "borrowed" from the M'ers here for my 99LHS:
Sweet ride! Of course I won't be customizing my ride like you have, I think it is terrific right out of the box...but I do think your mods are tasteful and well thought out.
I like the oval tail pipes on your '99 better than the round ones on "my" '02. The round ones just kind of stick out like appendages.
I just might spend a little to upgrade the speakers...I can't stand the low frequency distrotion at moderate volumes.
Comments
Splatt -- is it $60 off each tire? That's not bad. Sears is also advertising a sale on Michelin's but I haven't looked into it yet.
For those complaining about the Pilot Sports, like on the Special, the Goodyear guys with their GS-Cs and other high performance Z radials complain about dangerous performance in snow too. You just don't run those kinds of tires in that kind of weather. An all season performance or all season passenger car tire is what an M needs, unless you wanna switch tires every winter.
33K so far. Badyears went at 10K because I couldnt stand the pull, vibration, noise and bad wear.
The set I have now, Conti CH95, make too much noise and the sidewalls are wearing too fast in the front (it is in perfect alignment, and I rotate every 3K).
Will probably go for the Yokos this fall, hopefully by then some of you can report on the noise factor.
As for the price - no it's $60 off the set of 4. However, figuring $152 ea (that was what I paid) that's $548+tax for 4 of them. And it's a good tire. However, it's H rated, so you may not want it if you have the phg...
Once installed I could post some pics if anyone's interested.........
as far as noise and handling, I think I can report on how they will be before I even get them---I had a Mark VIII and had Yoko avid V rate which look almost exactly the same as the 420's--there is a very slight difference in tread design but not enough to change the noise and handling that much---it was a fantastic tire and has a high tread wear rating--- sold the car with about 10k on the AVids and had hardly any wear--they should be good for at least 40K---
ON the Mark I also originally had goodyear eagles and hated them---noisy, slippery etc etc---I changed to the Michelin mxv4 and they were better though still a little noisy and they too got slippery at around 35k of wear. Went for the Avid V rated (not T) and they were the best I have ever had. Ok in the snow (I live in MA) and great in rain and dry road. Fantastic handling and VERY quiet too. I paid about $120 for those at Sears but the 420s are much cheaper via internet. If you live in a no snow area, you may want a ultra high performance non seasonal tire, but this is an economical all season performance V-rated tire.
I wish I had a discount tire near me as they give free mounting, free valve stem and free balancing for life. Also free rotations and flat repair.
Go get yourself some-at the present price, you wont be sorry.
Whatdya think--maybe I should be a tire salesman!
but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do--excercise on a bike is important too--
PS: I think you need to put a nice fancy big RED M on that hitch plug...or maybe a nice emblem
I took this picture yesterday and it really shows off the beauty of this car...
http://home.attbi.com/~fishkin1/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-212731.html
http://home.attbi.com/~fishkin1/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-212733.html
highway cruising,when I slow down at exit or stop light, engine will run rough, as if a cylinder is miss firing. "Check engine "light goes on(sometimes flashes).Shifting to neutral and or turning A/C off will reduce vibration.
Took car to dealer computer read out said cylinder missfiring. Dealer took all steps, replaced all parts as mandated,and thoroughly tested the systems but didn't think the problem was really solved. Took car home,it ran well for a couple of hours, then problem re-appeared, not as strong as before, and I felt that the computer was working to smooth things out when the problem appeared at each stop.
DO ANY OF YOU EXPERTS OUT THERE IN "300M LAND" HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS PROBLEM??? AND/OR HAVE YOU RUN INTO SIMILAR PROBLEM?? SOLVED THE PROBLEM??
M
I would like a show of hands today on those definately going, so I can get enough motel rooms.
http://pub88.ezboard.com/f300menthusiastsclubfrm3.showMessage?topicID=26.topic
Hey! Congratulations on making your last payment! ;-)) I was thinking of you this week because TWO more Indian tribes have been recognized in CT! Looks like another casino for Stonington! ;-)) I still have NOT seen the new hotel at Mohegan Sun! Decided to spend some money on ME for a change. Bought a new eMAC that will be arriving today.
fedlawman-
Nice color! Good luck. Drive it in good health.
sdmike2-
Since I like your car so much and you keep it so nice, I do have two 300M logos. I would be happy to send you one for your hitch if you like. Just e-mail me. They're brand new.
fastdriver
PS Can't wait to see if we're still on EST! ;-))
http://www.detnews.com/2002/autosinsider/0206/28/b04-525435.htm
fastdriver
As soon as my budget recovers from the extended warranty purchase, I will go get them. Plus the Conti's are not near the tread wear bar yet, Just the sidewalls look a little weak.
I live in SoCal, not exactly snow country, but since the best wear I will have gotten is 25K, I would rather pay $100 than $200 for a tire. I also value a quiet ride, and the super performance tires tend to be noisy.
Great sales job! I'm sold.
if youre not near Sacramento, go to a local discount tire and just bring a printout from the Sacramento store showing sale price and ask them to match it.. I believe most other discount tires would match it--
I dont think that sale will last long--you may find it for $109 at some other ca stores but I havent seen any others at the $85 price
good luck
Easyrider
If not already done, I might check the spark plugs & ignition coils. (The 3.5L has a small ignition coil at each spark plug) Sometimes the first symptoms of an electrical part or connection is temperature-related (i.e. as heat causes the metals to expand & contract).
As with any car problem, if one dealer can't fix it try another dealer. Sometimes an appeal to the "ego" of a competitor's service dept can be your best course of action.
Good luck!
Jon
To best help each other make informed tire decisions, the feedback should relate to specific tire models (inc. the speed ratings).
BTW- I hope the sub-$100 Yoko's are as good as some report & yield many trouble-free miles. Sounds like they would save some real $$ when it comes time for me to re-tread my M.
Jon
Fedlawman-nice ride! I saw a few new LHS SS cars in DC last month. The cars were very clean and shiny. One had blue and red flashers built into the passenger's sunvisor. I suppose they belonged to the detail protecting Gerald Ford at the Willard Hotel where we were staying.
Silver
I also belive that the weight of this car and the fact that it is front wheel drive play a part in the rapid tire wear.
That being said, the OE Goodyear LS's 225/55/17 were/are a problematic tire. I had three out of four replaced under warranty in the first 8000 miles I owned the car, because about every 2000 miles one of them would start "pulling" and make driving unsafe. I finally got sick of constantly "messing" with tires and just replaced them all.
The Conti CH95's have worn better than the goodyears, are still prone to slight pulling, are way too noisy and have too soft an edge tread / sidewall for such a heavy FWD vehicle.
I have Michelin LT's on my 4X4 pickup (31x10.50x15) which have worn like iron, but I am not hearing that the MXV's or Pilot's for the M are wearing much more than 25K on average. When you consider the cost premium for these tires, it's a concern.
I have come to the conclusion that I will be replacing tires on this car more often that I am accustomed to, so I am in search of a reasonably priced, quiet, good wearing, good handling tire.
The Yokos seem like a good bet.
M3
I'll be in India on those days
Sometimes my job sucks !
Especially when it interferes with 300M stuff..
It also got my xbox, ionic breeze quadra, tv, and some stuff in my electronics lab in the basement
bummin... but glad its covered by insurance
The worst thing is I work for a power protection company, and didnt use the stuff everywhere like I should have ...
I had a smartups 1400 on my 36" sony Wega tv, a lighting bolt struck about 6 feet away (outside of course), the smartups went crazy but the tv was fine...
Mike
;-)) Check your e-mail
300michael-
Check your e-mail! LOL... at least we'll keep the post office busy!
fastdriver
fedlawman - sweet LHS! I notice the trim bezels around the stereo/climate controls are the same color as the interior (slate?) instead of black. That's a good move by DC. Many of us have added extra wood trim just to get rid of the black bezels. Check out some the mods I "borrowed" from the M'ers here for my 99LHS:
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/tsokol5/99.htm
I like the oval tail pipes on your '99 better than the round ones on "my" '02. The round ones just kind of stick out like appendages.
I just might spend a little to upgrade the speakers...I can't stand the low frequency distrotion at moderate volumes.
Regards,
Brian