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Comments
I do alot of travelling every year. My Territory is ALL of Quebec Province.
We get snow up here....
I have always driven with winter tires on my cars.
My first winter with the Azera I DID NOT use winter tires....LAST TIME!
I have put winter tires this year and will NEVER go without winter tires again. It makes a big difference.
Hope this helps.
Happy, safe travels!!! :shades:
Several friends have had Blizzaks and they liked them very much, especially on ice. In deeper snow, my buds with true snow tires, thought they worked best. The only issue with Blizzaks is cost and the fact that when the softer rubber compound wears out, that they are not that great in snow or ice. If you have the bucks, I think Blizzaks or some of the other specialized tires (Hakkapelita's) are great. If you are going to be where there is a LOT of snow and or ice, I would go with regular snow tires (preferably studded, if laws permit). You might take a look at Hankook's, Korean made, and they have good prices and have performed very will for me.
I have put winter tires this year and will NEVER go without winter tires again. It makes a big difference.
I agree. We found the snow traction with the original Michelins a bit squirelly. I put some of it down to the width of the OEM tires. We are running Michelin Alpin winter tires now ( still 235/55-17 ) and find them significantly better, although I think a narrower tire would be better yet.
Modern winter tires, in addition to the more agressive tread, utilize rubber compounds that stay softer in cold weather. This, IMO, is at least as important as the tread pattern.
Blizzaks used to use a dual compound which used a softer winter compound
( which wore away in one season ), then had a harder compound underneath. Supposedly you just left them on yearround and bought a new set the next winter. I don't know if the new ones are still that way - sounds like an expensive way to go.
We have the Alpins on the OEM wheels and use the stock tires on chrome aftermarket wheels for the summer. Discount ( where we bought the Alpins ) does the twice yearly tire rotations for free.
The results indicated only a minuscule difference in the pressure retained in the tires after one year. They also addressed the expansion issue explaining that under non extreme driving conditions, such as NASCAR racing, there would be no noticeable difference in tire pressures.
In conclusion, they felt that if you could get it for free, accept it, but spending extra money for the Nitrogen inflation is not warranted.
The thing about filling tires with nitrogen that I never understand is that the air is already 80% nitrogen. Seriously, would anyone beleive that goin to 90%, 95%, or even 100% nitrogen would make any kind of difference?
Attention to those who have factory installed P235/55R17 98V MXV4 S8 Michelin tires.
The tires became quite noisy so I took them off to clean, remove small stones and inspect for wear. Wow :surprise: , to my surprise 'all' four tires had the same unusual problem. Chunks of rubber from the edges of the tread were 'literally' falling off. If you rubbed your hand over the surface small chunks fell off
I called Michelin and per direction drove to a Michelin dealer. Seems this condition is 'new' and not seen or recognized.
Note: I do not drive on gravel roads, race, road course, drag race or subject said tires to any abuse. I typically rotate at least once every four to six weeks, check air pressure weekly. I do not use any type of tire cleaners or brighteners or solvents to clean the tires.
Bottom line, Michelin is replacing all four, pro-rating because they are two years old and have only 2/32's wear after 20K miles.
If you replace tires pay attention to the speed rating, 'V' up to 149 mph is required.
That's it, ya all have a good one now.
Trivia, three of the four factory mounted tires were inside out, no big deal, non-directional tires.
I do use cleaners on my tires as well as tire shine products as well. I live in the DC Metro area, so the streets are less then desirable to drive on in most cases. However, really only drove on them from Feb. '06 to Oct. '06, then I put my aftermarket wheels on. I kept those on until Nov. '07 and then I put the factory wheels with the Michelins back on until this past weekend.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that they have been sitting in my garage for a good amount of time and when I put them back on...there were no problems.
Could have been a bad batch of tires, sorry to hear Michelin is doing a pro-rated deal instead of just replacing them since it would be on them.
I'm confused by your trivia though. If the tires are non-directional, then how can the tires be mounted inside out? I know in some cases, you can chose blackwall or whitewall side out (some tires) and other tires, if they're non-directional...doesn't matter how they are put on. :confuse:
Want quiet tires, with good performance and decent wear.
Not driving over 90 mph.
I live in FL, therefore snow is not a concern.
Any good ideas?
Bob,
Since you're mature and don't go over 90 mph, consider "S" or "H" rated tires.
Try the TireRack. See: http://www.tirerack.com/
Read the surveys, etc. Plenty of information there.
Consider the Kumho line. The Solus KH16 (so'lus) is KUMHO's Grand Touring All-Season
tire and is only $119 and has the same wear rating (440) as your original Michelins.
Or the Michelin Primacy MXV4s. Michelin's Grand Touring All-Season
tires at $158, but look at the treadwear rating . . (620).
Bet you'll get 60K miles. In fact, Costco guarantees them for 60K miles.
BTW, are your original S8s gone at only 30K miles?
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=GTAS&width=23- - 5%2F&ratio=55&diameter=17&tireSearch=true
They have many different tires available at great prices and all the data you'll need ( including consumer reviews ) to make the decision on exactly what you need.
Based upon a quick examination, I would choose either the General Altimax HP, or the Goodyear Response Edge for your usage.
General is owned by Continental and is no longer the " good only for rim protector " tire it once was. Either of the two mentioned are less than $120 each.
Thanks for reply.
No, the tires are well from gone, and could probably get at least another 5-10,000 miles.
I am paranoid about having good tread on my tires.
Question is, the 'S' tires by design will provide steering response per the car design requirements in an emergency that the 'H' tire cannot match, so do you wish to be safe or do you feel lucky?
235/55/17 are factory sizes...Could you fit a 235 or 240 / 45/17 on the factory wheels and still have good clearance and minimum sidewall bulge??
I think you meant 245/45/17? There is no 240 width.
Yes, Mahout has done so already. Only 10 mm wider . . not even .4 of an inch.
However that sure will thrown your speedomter/odometer off.
Tire Size Calculator
However, if you drop to a 245/45-17...you effectively have changed the overall diameter of your wheel and tire. If you plug in various tire sizes in comparison to the OEM size...you can see how the dimensions change and it also tells you how your speedometer will be affected as well.
Good luck!
Thanks
Both the 235/45 or 245/45 sizes require a minimum 7.5 inch rim width.
You probaly could "get-away" with running either size on
our 7 inch wide wheels, but why would you want to try? :confuse:
I once ran a tire on the rear of my LT4 'Vette that required a 10 inch minimum rim width but
the Vette had only 9.5 inch wide wheels on the back and they did bulge ever so slightly.
Didn't hurt anything, and did help with the wheel-spin problem I was experiencing on launch.
I think Mahout runs wider tires for the track but I don't know what wheels he uses.
HTHs
I'd have to agree with that, but remember, too, that the taller tire would make your odometer read a bit low - you've actually traveled more miles than it says. The cheaper tire you went to could also mean more rolling resistance due to its cheapness.
With all the excess power of the Azera, I don't think it has much of a problem pulling the 235 tire around, and IMO, you would see a decrease in mileage due to the 225 width tire not being as tall, effectively lowering your gearing.
To find the total tire height: multiply the width by the aspect ratio, then multiply by 2 since there are are 2 of those heights in the total height of the tire. Then convert that answer to inches by dividing by 25.4. Now add the wheel diameter and you've got it.
Your 245/35-20 works out to 26.75" tall, while the stock Azera 235/55-17 is 27.18" tall.
A bit more math will give your tire revolutions per mile, but you can find that by going to tirerack.com and looking at the specs for the size. Yours have 780 revs/mile, and the stockers have only 760 revs/mile. Asleep yet?
Anyway, you're gearing is effectively a bit lower than stock since your engine is revving higher at any given speed.
link title
I had my OEM's exchanged in chrome from a local tire retailer in Oct. '06 at $607.06 otd, including balancing and nitrogen fill.
I'm waiting for the bulbs to come in now, but a buddy of mine with an Azera replaced his and he said he accessed them thru the wheel well. All he did was turn the wheel in on the side he was working on, undid the panel and did whatever needed to be done...he said it's pretty easy.
The service manual suggest you remove the entire headlight housing just to replace a bulb there too...CRAZY!!! :confuse:
About 3 months ago i purchase a used 06 azera limited. It already had 35K on it. I went in for oil change and was told the front tires were worn, so since i had a new full size spare I first rotated the bad tires to the rear and the good ones to the front to hold until the new tire came in. I ordered 1 tire from sears and put the new one one the back. After the initial rotation and balancing, i've been hearing this very, very, annoying sound (A whoo whoo whoo) kind where i can hear when the tires are rotating. This is at fast and low speeds. I took it back to the dealer he said I need an alignment. Okay I got an alignment and have since then done 900 miles and STILL hear this sound. I'm looking to just buy a new set of tires, get another alignment, balance etc... But wanted to know why i'm still hearing this sound. Could it be that I should put the less worn rear tires (1 fully new and 1 new full size spare) in the front and see what happens?
I currently have all 4 tires oem and am thinking of buying another brand (particularly the Toyo proxes tpt) does anyone have any sound suggestions/recommendations as to what the problem could/is? mind you I just brought the car and only go to and from work with is 10miles total and on occasion to see my mother about 30 mins away.
Thanks and I'm glad I found this site
When I initially went to the dealer about the noise he showed me that my tires weren't wearing properly thus prompting the alignment. He said that it should a couple weeks and or about 200 or so miles to even out. but almost 1000 miles later still no solution. I just it's not worse than what It could be. I'm going to take it to the dealer soon again b/c i can't deal with the noise :mad:
Thanks for your input though. I'll check that out again who knows :confuse:
It would seem to this writer that you have answered your own question! :surprise:
Tires generally speaking do not 'get better' by themselves. Once cupped, that's it.
They do not get better in "a couple weeks and or about 200 or so miles to even out."
The very fact that he uses time tell me he is fishing and simply doesn't know what he is talking about.
Do you have a Costco in your area? If so, try them. I will bet you have one or more cupped tires, and with cupped tires, only something that doesn't seem to be done much any more will even them out. :surprise:
The proceedure is called shaving or tire truing. The tires are shaved down until the tread is even, and
from what you are saying, there has to be one or more that is cupped to badly for that to help.
Stay away from that dealer and go directly to a good tire shop. He is full of baloney. :sick:
Let us know what the problem turns out to be? :confuse: Good luck. :shades:
Sorry, but Costco does not shave tires.
You will have to call around to try and locate a place that still does.
By the time you pay for shaving and find that you do not have any tread left,
you are better off replacing the tire(s). There really is no other way.
Once tires get cupped that badly, I know of no other way.
You simply have to bite the bullet and replace the bad tire(s) or live with the noise.
Hate to say it, but you're better off shelling out the dough for 2 new tires and putting the spare back in it's place. If the tires were cupped, that would indicate under-inflation, so just make sure you keep the tire pressure in check to avoid that problem down the road.