want to upgrade to performance all season tires. i've read a bunch of reviews as well as town hall msgs. don't want to spend the money on michelins, although price club has x-plus michelins for $350 all 4 mounted/balanced. can't find info on x-plus. how about yoko, bridgestone, dunlop??? yokohama's seem to get pretty good reviews and cust feedback. i'm thinking yoko avid t4 or st. local tire dealer has ls4 for $69 per tire, but i think they are not performance. i believe they are on tirerack for $34 per tire. anyone have any experience with futura at pep boys. i heard they are made by kelly-springfield. i live on long island, and wet traction high priority since it is the family truckster w/wife and 5 kids. any help greatly appreciated.
Do you really want to skimp on the tires of the vehicle that your wife and five kids are driving around in? Go to BJs or Costco, get the Michelins and be done with it. The Michelins will probably be the last tires you will put on the vehicle, and they stick to the road like glue.
Look back a few pages of messages and you'll see a discussion on the X-Plus tires being the same as X Ones from Michelin, which are excellent all-season tires, really good in wet and dry weather and even fine on snow and ice (such as we've had) this winter.
I like my Costco X-Radial-Plus/Michelins on my Quest. Some say that the rubber formula may be a little different that the X-Ones (no 80,000 mile claims for the Costco ones?). Even if true, they are a huge improvement over the OEM Generals it came with. Steve Host SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
The above link was posted here before. X Ones with Durablack and X Plus with Durablack both have treadwear 700 or 80000 miles, though I don't know if the costco sold tires have the same warranty.
This is a topic that's been discussed here several times before. A little searching will turn up numerous posts.
In short, the X Radial Plus tire is the private-labelled version of the X-One made specifically for the warehouse clubs. It is essentially the same tire. The warranties are different because the X Radial Plus warranty is offered solely by the selling club. So if you have an in-warranty failure on a X Radial Plus tire you have to make a claim with the warehouse club; a regular Michelin dealer cannot help you process a claim.
This is true with all private-labelled tires sold by places like WalMart, Kmart, NTB, etc. If you buy their version of a tire, then only that retailer can provide warranty service.
MPG5 wanted a performance all-season tire for his Venture. The X-One/X Radial Plus is not a performance tire (although I think it would be an excellent minivan tire). If you want a performance tire for the Venture, the Yokohama Avid series (T4, H4, V4) are good choices. Also look at the Dunlop SP Sport A2 which is getting good reviews. Other tires to consider are the Pirelli P6000 Sport Veloce, Goodyear Eagle RS-A, Bridgestone Turanza Revo, Michelin XGTH4, Firestone SH30, Toyo Proxes TPT or Proxes FZ4, or the BFGoodrich Touring T/A series.
thanks for your help. very good point on not skimping mrl 11777, but the van has had me in a bit of a funk lately. driver window regulator bent itself (out of warranty of course) and parts & labor approx $600.00. gm was nice enough to pay half without admitting it was either installed improperly or faulty part. thanks for enlightening me.....off to get my new x-pluses. and thanks for the firsthand account on your experience steve. i have general xp-2000 which wore out pretty fast IMO. thanks also bretfraz for your help. do you think i am wasting my money buying a performance tire for a minivan? i am probably sacrificing wet weather handling with performance tires, right?
Mini-vans beat the crap out of the front tires. The high roll center and soft suspension really do a number on the front tires. That is why min-vans must have their tires rotated often.
The Michelins X-ones and Plus held up much much better on my min-van than the OEM XW4s. XW4s are a decent tire that went 40K miles on my Taurus wagon but only 27K on the min-van.
Why put a hi-perf tire on a min-van only to have them eaten up early?
Some performance tires have excellent wet traction. There is a whole category of the All-season Performance Tires, designed for decent handlind on wet pavement and even in snow. The top 5-6 models must be really good:
Personally, I have Firestone SH-30 for a year+ and 10k miles on my Malibu. The wet cornering with these tires is simply amasing. Practically no difference wet or dry.
However, I have doubts that minivans needs such tires. With higher center of gravity, on really hard cornering they probably would tip over first...
Nice to see someone else with the Firehawk SH30. I put a set on my 2000 Impala LS a few weeks ago. What a difference compared to the OEM Goodyear Eagle GA tires that were on there. I'm still getting use to the SH30's.
Did a little checking today at WalMart (yes, this is what I do with my days off - go to retail stores and try to find answers about tires for total strangers that provide no benefit to me).
They seem to be part of Goodyear's production system. The DOT mfr code on the Douglas tires are the same as on the Goodyear's. If you read the special order catalog in the store, it shows what private-labelled Goodyear and Douglas models are stocked by WalMart. The same catalog also describes all the regular Goodyear's available by special order.
Goodyear owns so many plants and even other tire companies that it will be difficult to determine who and where the Douglas brand is made without some insider info. Keep in mind that Goodyear owns Dunlop, Kelly-Springfield, and a portion of Sumitomo. Any one of these companies can bang out a private branded tire for WalMart.
I bought these for our '01 Altima and they seem to be quite good in wet and dry conditions with about 3k on them. Who makes these tires? The tire shop was vague about this. Any help would be appreciated and a web site address would be a G-D send. Thanks all in advance!
About 2 years ago I bought Toyo 800 Ultra Premium All-Season Touring tires for my '90 Accord at Tire Kingdom. They came with a 100,000 mile warranty.
I have now done 50,000 miles on them, and they are finished! I've had them rotated every 6000 miles, and I had an alignment done every 10,000 miles (I got the alignment package at Tire Kingdom, so it was free except for the first lump sum.)
I can not believe that Toyo would try and fool people into thinking that their tires will last so long. Tire Kingdom has a record of all the rotations and alignments I've done, so they gave me no arguments, and I am not at fault for abusing the tires at all. They are evenly used. They can only offer to prorate the usage, and give me 50% off any other tires that I would like to buy.
My question is, should I bother to buy another set of High-mileage tires like Continental (80,000 mile warranty), or should I just save the money and buy better tires with a lower mileage warranty? I do a least 25,000 miles per year.
Semperit is part of giant Continental AG. Conti owns several familiar and not-so familiar brands, like Uniroyal, General, Semperit, Englebert, Gislaved, Barum (Czech brand), Mabor, and Viking. Many of these are sold only in Europe.
Unfortunately, the Semperit website is only in German. No English mirror site (I checked). Too bad as it looks like it has lots of info on the brand.
Semperit's been around a long time. First produced tires in 1897. Home is Triaskirchen, Austria.
If the Toyo's have performed well for you and you liked them, why not stick with them?
I won't get into an argument over your understanding of a warranty vs. a guarantee. Suffice it to say that Toyo is basically giving you a 50% discount on another set.
You can always switch to another brand but prepare yourself for the possibility that they won't last as long as their treadlife warranty either. I'm sure the Toyo's were affordably priced. Getting a new set for 1/2 off makes them even more affordable. If you do the price per mile calculation thing, I'll bet the Toyo's are as cost effective as any tire you can buy.
What pressure did you keep the Toyo tires at? They will last much longer with higher pressure. I would never consider running a tire with less then 32 psi and usually run at 35 psi. You will also get better handling and better gas mileage with higher pressure. The ride may be slightly stiffer (I prefer a stiffer ride anyway).
Remember to check pressure when the tire is completely cold. Driving a couple of miles to the gas station could raise the pressure a few degrees, and result in less air in the tire then was intended.
Also different types of roads effect the wear of tires. Tires last longer in some parts of the country for this reason.
All in all 50,000 miles is pretty good for a set of tires.
You could try Michelin X-ones, they last a long time, but probably cost a little more.
Also remember tire manufacturers decide on the wear rating for the tire themselves. There is no independent source to do this. Some manufacturers are more conservative in their ratings.
I kept them between 32 and 40 psi. (I would inflate them to 40, and them gradually let them go down to 32 over about 3 months.) As you, I also prefer the gas savings on the higher psi. You also mentioned the roads, well it seems the roads down here in South Florida are very loud when compared to most other parts of the country. This leads me to believe that the road surface tends to be more ruff, which it is, and also the heat tends to stay much higher on average than most other places, and this could have contributed to the earlier than expected wear, by basically softening the tire more and then wearing it down on a ruff road surface. Still, I remain disappointed. Its too bad there isn't a governing party that controls the warranty that the tire companies claim for thier tires. I took good care of my tires, and I know I am not a hard driver, except that I do a lot of mileage. The part that scares me is what happens to all the people that sway slightly from the tire maintenance schedule, and then Toyo can easily have an excuse to NOT pay for the difference left on the warranty. In my case thay had no excuse, but it would not be hard to find excuses for the average driver. (not rotated enough, not aligned, wrong tire pressure, excessively harsh driving habits, bad shocks, etc) I would think that in most cases it would be very easy for Toyo to rip these customers off by claiming that it is the driver's neglect that caused the early wear. I don't think I'll stick with Toyo next time. I think I'm going to try Continental ContiTouringContact CT85 tires. Any opinions on these?
You think you get better handling? Where does that come from?
I can't see having pressure anything other than what the manufacturer (car, not tire) recommends. That has been anywhere from 24 to 26 to 30 depending on the car, load, and tires.
Like a lot of people, I go a little higher than the car manufacturer's recommendation (but nowhere near the max pressure on the tire itself). For 29 psi recommended, I run at about 32 psi. Handles better and feels a tad quicker. I expect there is a little less friction with the road at the higher pressure.
I can see where higher pressure would give less rolling resistance, and therefore better mileage.
But, I don't see where handling would improve. Lower rolling resistance could also be read as less grip. Ever see drag racers air down their tires? I would trust the car mfr. to get this right, and I would follow their recommendation especially in light of the whole Ford Exploder problem.
Also, wouldn't a stiffer tire have a smaller footprint?
The manufacturer recommendations are generic. The optimal pressure depends on road conditions and driving style.
Personally, I used to wear out edges of my tires - a sign of underinflation. Probably because I like to turn fast. My Firestone mechanic suggested to overinflating my tires 3 psi above manufacturer recommendations.
On the other hand, our Connecticut roads are mostly asphalt. When driving on the NY highways, and especially to New York City, with its wide seams between concret slabs, the ride was harsh. For these conditions, it would be better to inflate my tires as recommended in the manual.
However, the adjustment to the manufacturer recommendations must be small enough.
Once upon a time, when changing oil, somebody (I would not name he a mechanic) overinflated my tires to the maximum, 10 psi above the recommendations. I did not catch it fast. At first it was a good weather, and the ride was fine. But I had to drive some 40 miles in rain / snow mix the next evening, in the rush time, and the overinflated tires did not hold the road well. Had to steer every millisecond for my car to stay in its line. Rather tiresome, and not safe.
Of course, the higher the pressure the stiffer the tires are. Less flex in the side wall means quicker response. But as you increase the pressure at some point the contact patch with the ground starts getting smaller which is not good for handling either.
So the key is to find the optimum tire pressure that gives the optimum contact with the road surface. The point the other posters were making is that the car manufacturers' recommended tire pressure is usually below that optimum by 2 or 3 psi. I also found this to be true in 30 years of driving and car ownership.
You can also lower your tire pressure to 10 psi and tell us how your vehicle handles.
Lower pressure does help for straight line acceleration (if you aren't making any turns sidewall stiffness does not matter so much) of high powered dragsters. The tire has more give during starts and is less likely to loose traction - there is also a wider contact patch.
The reason that higher pressure helps tires handle better is that sidewall stiffness is increased. You may have a slightly larger contact patch with lower pressure, but when you turn hard your car has a greater tendancy to roll over onto the edge - which greatly reduces the contact patch when you need it the most. Higher pressure may make the car may feel more "darty" if you are used to a numb boulevard cruiser, or the car does not have good oncenter feel, but it will take hard turns much better.
Now that more cars use lower profile tires, that are less likely to roll over, the benifits may be less dramatic.
Higher air pressures allow for greater load support which is very important for trucks, vans, and SUV's. Each tire mfr provides a load rating at a specific PSI. Lower the PSI and you lower your load carrying capabilities.
I firmly believe this was a significant part of the Explorer-Firestone disaster. Too many vehicle owners don't check their air pressures and when they do they don't understand that their driving needs may require tire pressures that are higher than what the vehicle mfr suggests.
If you are going to load your vehicle close to the max load ratings of it, then the tire pressures have to be increased to support the weight.
If you drive at high speeds then the tire pressures need to be increased to reduce heat build up and to prevent internal failures that lead to blow outs.
If you do both, and live in an area where surface temps of roads are extremely high, you have got to be much more conscious of your tires than others. If you ignore your tire pressures or just keep them at mfr recommended levels, you could be putting yourself at risk by not adequately compensating for the way you are using your vehicle.
Don't blindly follow the mfr's suggestions. Think outside the box. We're talking about the #1 safety item on your vehicle, not some obtuse technical concept.
Good point on the heat build up during high speed driving and also the load rating. Lower pressure tires flex more as you drive and thus heat up more - this heat is what can cause blow outs like on the Explorers.
My understanding is that Ford used a low tire pressure on Explorers only for a softer ride. After all it is a truck that people are using as a passanger car. Also the Explorer was only rated to cary 850 lbs - same as my 2 door Acura Integra.
I recently replaced the stock Uniroyal Tiger Paws(235 75R15) with Bridgestone Dueler H/L's(265 70R15) on my '97 Silverado. The Duelers are about 2.5% larger in circumference. Speedo reading is 2.5% low. Highway mileage dropped about 11% (20mpg to 17.8mpg). I would expect the 2.5% drop as odometer is reading a bit less on my routine 300 mile trip (now reads 292 to 293). Would the increase in width, 235 to 265, cause that much of an increase in rolling resistance? Curious as to whether anyone else has noticed this size of a decrease.
I have a 1989 Nissan 4x4, years ago I swapped out the stock 215/75x15 for 235/75x15, I did this probably at about 10k and sold the originals. Main thing I noticed was: first I checked on the interstate mile markers that my speedo/odo was now short by 5%, so I figure that into mileage calcs now. Out on the road going constant speed like on a trip or back and forth to work, mileage actually increased a little bit, just about 1-2 mpg, I usually get around 19-20.. Stop and start around town it DECREASES about 1-2, It acts like it is a momentum thing, bigger tires have more momentum--more difficult to start and stop, but when rolling the momentum helps keep rolling too.... My brakes have lasted just fine, but I don't do the jackrabbit thing As for ride quality, bigger tires ride much better that the smaller ones, they take potholes/ruts/ditches much better than the smaller ones, offroad I get about 3/4 inch more clearance and much better traction with them. The change you made probably added a pretty good %tage of weight to the tires/wheels, diameter and width as well, you probably will notice reduced mileage due to added weight and traction as well, remember that weight is UNSPRUNG weight which also works harder on the shocks and springs, you probably should upgrade the shocks to handle them better and check the brakes frequently, also the steering gear now has more stress on it as well (if the truck does not have a steering damper you may want to get one). Try to use that momentum change to your favor. see ya Rando
I need new Tires for the above vehicle. Any Suggestions? I live on Long Island and I need a good all weather tire which will maximize my traction in the Snow and Rain.
BTW, how long do tires normally last? I have about 35,000 miles on them with all the proper rotations. They seem a bit worn though.
I have not been in this forum since my 6 month wait to get this car. It's Awesome.
I thought someone just asked about this a short while ago. I think Michelin X Ones were the suggestion, with an 80000 mile warranty and excellent all-season traction and a quiet ride. The consensus was that minivans eat tires for breakfast so something with a hard, long-lasting compound would be good. Scroll back a few pages and you should see it.
You might also want to consider the Michelin Symmetry. I recently replaced the tires on my Nissan Quest with these, and I'm extremely happy. They are very quiet and smooth rolling and riding. The wet traction is excellent, and they are good in snow. The only negative thing I can say about them is that steering response is not quite as good as on the Goodyear Eagle LS's they replaced, but overall I feel they are much better tires.
The "what tires for my Odyssey" question has been asked several times in here. Please scroll back 80-100 posts and you'll find specific suggestions.
I think 35K is good mileage for a front wheel drive minivan tire. Regular rotate and balance with weekly air pressure checks will maximize tire life. Sounds to me like you did good with the OE tire.
Most manufacturers list tires they hope are quiet. You can check www.tirerack.com's customer surveys as they have a column for ride comfort -- maybe they have one for noise too but the site is down at the moment.
Another tip is not to overinflate the tires. I find tires like my Michelin X Ones are fairly quiet when properly inflated but the noise level goes up noticably if I go over the manufacturer's rating.
Comments
This link would be perfect, but you have to pay for the brand info.
Steve
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SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
http://denmantires.com/denman_coyote_a.htm
Looking at the LT 275/85R-15 size.
Steve
Host
SUVs, Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories Message Boards
The above link was posted here before. X Ones with Durablack and X Plus with Durablack both have treadwear 700 or 80000 miles, though I don't know if the costco sold tires have the same warranty.
In short, the X Radial Plus tire is the private-labelled version of the X-One made specifically for the warehouse clubs. It is essentially the same tire. The warranties are different because the X Radial Plus warranty is offered solely by the selling club. So if you have an in-warranty failure on a X Radial Plus tire you have to make a claim with the warehouse club; a regular Michelin dealer cannot help you process a claim.
This is true with all private-labelled tires sold by places like WalMart, Kmart, NTB, etc. If you buy their version of a tire, then only that retailer can provide warranty service.
MPG5 wanted a performance all-season tire for his Venture. The X-One/X Radial Plus is not a performance tire (although I think it would be an excellent minivan tire). If you want a performance tire for the Venture, the Yokohama Avid series (T4, H4, V4) are good choices. Also look at the Dunlop SP Sport A2 which is getting good reviews. Other tires to consider are the Pirelli P6000 Sport Veloce, Goodyear Eagle RS-A, Bridgestone Turanza Revo, Michelin XGTH4, Firestone SH30, Toyo Proxes TPT or Proxes FZ4, or the BFGoodrich Touring T/A series.
The Michelins X-ones and Plus held up much much better on my min-van than the OEM XW4s. XW4s are a decent tire that went 40K miles on my Taurus wagon but only 27K on the min-van.
Why put a hi-perf tire on a min-van only to have them eaten up early?
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/hpas.jsp
Personally, I have Firestone SH-30 for a year+ and 10k miles on my Malibu. The wet cornering with these tires is simply amasing. Practically no difference wet or dry.
However, I have doubts that minivans needs such tires. With higher center of gravity, on really hard cornering they probably would tip over first...
I've seen Douglas Tires rated at 80k miles tread life at a very low price.
They seem to be part of Goodyear's production system. The DOT mfr code on the Douglas tires are the same as on the Goodyear's. If you read the special order catalog in the store, it shows what private-labelled Goodyear and Douglas models are stocked by WalMart. The same catalog also describes all the regular Goodyear's available by special order.
Goodyear owns so many plants and even other tire companies that it will be difficult to determine who and where the Douglas brand is made without some insider info. Keep in mind that Goodyear owns Dunlop, Kelly-Springfield, and a portion of Sumitomo. Any one of these companies can bang out a private branded tire for WalMart.
Hope all this helps.
Could you do one more thing ... on your next day off go purchase a set of Douglas and tell me how they're holding up at 35k miles and 60k miles.
Just kidding ... thanks again.
I have now done 50,000 miles on them, and they are finished! I've had them rotated every 6000 miles, and I had an alignment done every 10,000 miles (I got the alignment package at Tire Kingdom, so it was free except for the first lump sum.)
I can not believe that Toyo would try and fool people into thinking that their tires will last so long. Tire Kingdom has a record of all the rotations and alignments I've done, so they gave me no arguments, and I am not at fault for abusing the tires at all. They are evenly used. They can only offer to prorate the usage, and give me 50% off any other tires that I would like to buy.
My question is, should I bother to buy another set of High-mileage tires like Continental (80,000 mile warranty), or should I just save the money and buy better tires with a lower mileage warranty? I do a least 25,000 miles per year.
How?
Semperit is part of giant Continental AG. Conti owns several familiar and not-so familiar brands, like Uniroyal, General, Semperit, Englebert, Gislaved, Barum (Czech brand), Mabor, and Viking. Many of these are sold only in Europe.
Unfortunately, the Semperit website is only in German. No English mirror site (I checked). Too bad as it looks like it has lots of info on the brand.
Semperit's been around a long time. First produced tires in 1897. Home is Triaskirchen, Austria.
I won't get into an argument over your understanding of a warranty vs. a guarantee. Suffice it to say that Toyo is basically giving you a 50% discount on another set.
You can always switch to another brand but prepare yourself for the possibility that they won't last as long as their treadlife warranty either. I'm sure the Toyo's were affordably priced. Getting a new set for 1/2 off makes them even more affordable. If you do the price per mile calculation thing, I'll bet the Toyo's are as cost effective as any tire you can buy.
Remember to check pressure when the tire is completely cold. Driving a couple of miles to the gas station could raise the pressure a few degrees, and result in less air in the tire then was intended.
Also different types of roads effect the wear of tires. Tires last longer in some parts of the country for this reason.
All in all 50,000 miles is pretty good for a set of tires.
You could try Michelin X-ones, they last a long time, but probably cost a little more.
Also remember tire manufacturers decide on the wear rating for the tire themselves. There is no independent source to do this. Some manufacturers are more conservative in their ratings.
Still, I remain disappointed. Its too bad there isn't a governing party that controls the warranty that the tire companies claim for thier tires.
I took good care of my tires, and I know I am not a hard driver, except that I do a lot of mileage. The part that scares me is what happens to all the people that sway slightly from the tire maintenance schedule, and then Toyo can easily have an excuse to NOT pay for the difference left on the warranty. In my case thay had no excuse, but it would not be hard to find excuses for the average driver. (not rotated enough, not aligned, wrong tire pressure, excessively harsh driving habits, bad shocks, etc) I would think that in most cases it would be very easy for Toyo to rip these customers off by claiming that it is the driver's neglect that caused the early wear.
I don't think I'll stick with Toyo next time. I think I'm going to try Continental ContiTouringContact CT85 tires. Any opinions on these?
I can't see having pressure anything other than what the manufacturer (car, not tire) recommends. That has been anywhere from 24 to 26 to 30 depending on the car, load, and tires.
For 29 psi recommended, I run at about 32 psi. Handles better and feels a tad quicker. I expect there is a little less friction with the road at the higher pressure.
Also, higher pressure is less prone to hydroplaning (see earlier link to tire pressure and width article).
But, I don't see where handling would improve. Lower rolling resistance could also be read as less grip. Ever see drag racers air down their tires? I would trust the car mfr. to get this right, and I would follow their recommendation especially in light of the whole Ford Exploder problem.
Also, wouldn't a stiffer tire have a smaller footprint?
Personally, I used to wear out edges of my tires - a sign of underinflation. Probably because I like to turn fast. My Firestone mechanic suggested to overinflating my tires 3 psi above manufacturer recommendations.
On the other hand, our Connecticut roads are mostly asphalt. When driving on the NY highways, and especially to New York City, with its wide seams between concret slabs, the ride was harsh. For these conditions, it would be better to inflate my tires as recommended in the manual.
However, the adjustment to the manufacturer recommendations must be small enough.
Once upon a time, when changing oil, somebody (I would not name he a mechanic) overinflated my tires to the maximum, 10 psi above the recommendations. I did not catch it fast. At first it was a good weather, and the ride was fine. But I had to drive some 40 miles in rain / snow mix the next evening, in the rush time, and the overinflated tires did not hold the road well. Had to steer every millisecond for my car to stay in its line. Rather tiresome, and not safe.
So the key is to find the optimum tire pressure that gives the optimum contact with the road surface. The point the other posters were making is that the car manufacturers' recommended tire pressure is usually below that optimum by 2 or 3 psi. I also found this to be true in 30 years of driving and car ownership.
You can also lower your tire pressure to 10 psi and tell us how your vehicle handles.
He would always air down his tires to maybe 20-22 before going out "hunting".
go figure.
The reason that higher pressure helps tires handle better is that sidewall stiffness is increased. You may have a slightly larger contact patch with lower pressure, but when you turn hard your car has a greater tendancy to roll over onto the edge - which greatly reduces the contact patch when you need it the most. Higher pressure may make the car may feel more "darty" if you are used to a numb boulevard cruiser, or the car does not have good oncenter feel, but it will take hard turns much better.
Now that more cars use lower profile tires, that are less likely to roll over, the benifits may be less dramatic.
I firmly believe this was a significant part of the Explorer-Firestone disaster. Too many vehicle owners don't check their air pressures and when they do they don't understand that their driving needs may require tire pressures that are higher than what the vehicle mfr suggests.
If you are going to load your vehicle close to the max load ratings of it, then the tire pressures have to be increased to support the weight.
If you drive at high speeds then the tire pressures need to be increased to reduce heat build up and to prevent internal failures that lead to blow outs.
If you do both, and live in an area where surface temps of roads are extremely high, you have got to be much more conscious of your tires than others. If you ignore your tire pressures or just keep them at mfr recommended levels, you could be putting yourself at risk by not adequately compensating for the way you are using your vehicle.
Don't blindly follow the mfr's suggestions. Think outside the box. We're talking about the #1 safety item on your vehicle, not some obtuse technical concept.
Ken
No. Do so with both eyes wide open!
My understanding is that Ford used a low tire pressure on Explorers only for a softer ride. After all it is a truck that people are using as a passanger car. Also the Explorer was only rated to cary 850 lbs - same as my 2 door Acura Integra.
Yes I have em in 265/40/17 and 295/35/18. So far the clock is at app 22k with 4/32-5/32 left? started with 8/32, 2/32 is legally changable.
Main thing I noticed was:
first I checked on the interstate mile markers that my speedo/odo was now short by 5%, so I figure that into mileage calcs now.
Out on the road going constant speed like on a trip or back and forth to work, mileage actually increased a little bit, just about 1-2 mpg, I usually get around 19-20..
Stop and start around town it DECREASES about 1-2, It acts like it is a momentum thing, bigger tires have more momentum--more difficult to start and stop, but when rolling the momentum helps keep rolling too....
My brakes have lasted just fine, but I don't do the jackrabbit thing
As for ride quality, bigger tires ride much better that the smaller ones, they take potholes/ruts/ditches much better than the smaller ones, offroad I get about 3/4 inch more clearance and much better traction with them.
The change you made probably added a pretty good
%tage of weight to the tires/wheels, diameter and width as well, you probably will notice reduced mileage due to added weight and traction as well, remember that weight is UNSPRUNG weight which also works harder on the shocks and springs, you probably should upgrade the shocks to handle them better and check the brakes frequently, also the steering gear now has more stress on it as well (if the truck does not have a steering damper you may want to get one). Try to use that momentum change to your favor.
see ya
Rando
I need new Tires for the above vehicle. Any Suggestions? I live on Long Island and I need a good all weather tire which will maximize my traction in the Snow and Rain.
BTW, how long do tires normally last? I have about 35,000 miles on them with all the proper rotations. They seem a bit worn though.
I have not been in this forum since my 6 month wait to get this car. It's Awesome.
Thanks
Clarence2
Dave
I think 35K is good mileage for a front wheel drive minivan tire. Regular rotate and balance with weekly air pressure checks will maximize tire life. Sounds to me like you did good with the OE tire.
Another tip is not to overinflate the tires. I find tires like my Michelin X Ones are fairly quiet when properly inflated but the noise level goes up noticably if I go over the manufacturer's rating.