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No cracking, bulging, or leaks are visible.
Thanks in advance.
-Chris
Now for my question to Tireguy, I now own a '99 Mustang GT Convert. w/ 36,000 miles. The stock 245/45r17 Goodyear Z45's are to the wear bars and require replacement(oh, by the way the SUCK). I am trying to decide between the Michelin Pilot XGT Z4 and the Pilot Sport. My priorities are #1 - Quiet ride (High priority), #2 - Comfort, #3 - wet/snow traction (I live in Michigan) I do not care about high performance cornering/racing, but I do a lot of highway driving on concrete and therefore I'd be willing to give up a little bit to have a quiet ride. What's your recommendation?
I just bought a used 1997 Mercury Tracer to
replace my 1991 Ford Escort; I'll have the
Escort for a short while longer. I think the
tires on the Escort are superior to those on
the Tracer, but I don't know if I can, or
should, switch them.
The Escort has 4 Kelly Navigator 800S steel-
belted radial P185/70R13/85S tires with about
10,000 miles on them. The tread on the front
tires is about 1/4", 5/16" on the rears.
The Tracer has P185/65R14/85S tires. The front
tires are a Goodyear and a Conquest GL with
about 3/16" of tread; the rear tires are Dunlop
SP20FE's with about 1/4" of tread. I don't know
the mileage on the tires, but the vehicle
itself has about 27,000 miles. The rear tires
look fairly new.
What do you recommend?
you'd have to switch the wheels too. and i have NO idea whether the wheels from one would fit on the other. offset is likely different. and so on.
-Chris
The Pilot Sports are just that, sporty. They won't give you near the wet/snow traction of the XGT Z4s.
Cool car--quite an upgrade from your previous ride.
Option #2: buy some BF Goodrich Comp T/A ZRs for almost half the price, then buy some 15" steel rims for the winter. Mount some 215/70R15 snow tires (or Michelin all-season) for the winter. The benefit: nice, normal highway ride with good snow traction in the winter; awesome, non-siped performance in the summer **and** your pretty 17" alloy wheels never get exposed to rock salt. Of course it'll handle like an LX, but most can tough it out for the bitter months. You can buy used steel rims cheap.
The Michelin MXV4 Plus and the Pilot HX MXM(4?) are two very different tires. The MXV4 is a luxury touring tire, meaning it will be smooth as glass at very high speeds (over 100), but it won't handle like the Pilot. The Pilot will deliver a slightly harsher ride, but will corner well beyond the limits of your SE's suspension. If you're talking about the HX MXM 4, like the MXV4, it is an all-season tire. The HX MXM is not. If you're looking for outstanding all-season performance, you might want to consider the Pilot XGT V4. You'll probably have to upgrade to a 225/50VR16, but I can't imagine you would be let down by this setup.
Also, if you were to go with a wider 32X11.50 tire, snow traction would be reduced due to the excessive floatation (though you'd fare better in the slop if you're a part of that mud-bogging .05% of truck owners).
My recommendation would definitely be the 31". If you want serious off-road performance (making your own roads), there is there is the BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain T/A. If you want off-road capability with a decent highway ride, choose the BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO. If you want more of a highway-tuned ride with good off road capability, choose the Michelin LTX A/T. If you want an excellent highway ride while still retaining a degree of off-road capability, choose the Michelin LTX M/S.
The split-spoke Durango rims require MC type weights. Make sure they have them before you pay them for the balancing.
You also need to consider your gear ratio. Were the 235s the standard size? If the axle ratios are too distally matched with the tire size, your fuel economy will be adversely affected. With late model Dakotas, you can go from basically any standard size to the 31" without encountering any problems.
They are 195/50/R15's Any past history with these tires? I live in Puerto Rico now where the roads are bad an I needed a good replacement tire. The Goodyears that came with the car were a odd size,
Give me some advice please!!!
JamminJess
Hmmm... positive things... there are worse tires (not many). At least you didn't have to spend a lot of money. They should adequately support your car and probably will hold air for a few years. At least they look cool. The chances of your wheels being stolen has been reduced.
Not everyone needs good tires. Cheap tires work just fine if you never know the better.
You know what my answer will be to this one. The Dunlop Sport 9000 is a good tire, but... I like the aggressive directional tread (allows water to quickly egress the contact patch), and the solid shoulders (good cornering). However, for the same price, the Michelin will drive much smoother, due to innovations such as BAZ technology (polyamide belts wrapped at zero degrees to the direction of travel for incredible high-speed stability) and the silica compound which is quieter than standard rubber.
Also, the Michelin is a true all-season tire. You'll notice that the Michelin XGT Z4 has sipes (little cuts) for wet traction enhancement. Usually this diminishes the performance capability of Z-rated tires because it makes the shoulder blocks less stable, but Michelin uses what they call torque-locking sipes which hold together to withstand heavy cornering forces. It also uses a dual-chevron directional tread. With the Dunlops, the single chevron means the water/slush has to go from the center of the tire all the way to the shoulder. The XGT channels the water from the center of the two chevrons to either the shoulder or the wide circumferential groove in the center; the slop never has to travel more than 25% of the width of the contact patch. This, combined with the sipes and the XSE silica compound (which stays flexible at very low temps) make the Michelin much more suitable for winter driving. Things like BAZ technology and torque locking sipes make the XGT a superior performance tire. If the Dunlop were cheaper, there would be a reason to consider it, but not for the same price as the XGT Z4.
BBS rims have a legendary reputation for quality.
--Chris
Verify it and check back.
--Chris
It seems to happen more during the morning when the car has been parked overnight. Any ideas?
Thanks in Advance.
Upgrading to the 225/60R16 will enhance the performance of the vehicle, first by being wider and also by having a 5% lower profile. By going with this size, your Buick will most likely be spec'd with Goodyear Eagles (no fans in this forum) which are better than the Generals (not saying much). However, when the time comes to replace the tires, expect to pay around 20%-25% more for the 16"s.
Unless you take exit ramps at twice the marked speed, you'll probably benefit more--as a Buick driver--from the 15". They will give you a softer ride due to the taller sidewall. They usually last longer, too.
But the 16"s look cooler.
--Chris
I switched over the Pirelli P4000s. They gripped better overall, but were very noisy. The ride was also a lot stiffer. Worked better than the Michelin MXV in the snow. About the same in the rain.
Switched over to Dunlop D60A2 JLB. Very quiet tire. Handling was better than the Michelin and Pirelli. Quieter than the Michelin and Pirelli. Excellent in the snow. They only shortcoming is that they wear down faster then the other 2. Had to switch to new sets around 35k-40k miles. I liked the Dunlop D60A2s so much that I purchased them after wearing down the first set.
I now have a 99RL with Michelin MXV Energy OEM and they are pretty quiet. They are noisy when you drive across bridges where its concrete and not tar paved. I'll be looking at new set soon and will probably go with either the Dunlop D60A2 again or the Bridgestone Turanza or Revo. I heard the Bridgestones mentioned are very quiet tires with decent handling. My only concern with the Bridgestone is that they are pretty expensive compared to Dunlops. I purchased Dunlops for $58/tire at NTB.
Are there any other tires that give and excellent quiet ride with average handling. I heard Goodyears are not to quiet. Not sure how good the Yokohama AVS db? are quiet or not.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
It is looking like I will order tires from Tire Rack. It is just hard to beat there prices. I will probably get the VR4s, but I am thinking about the KDWs. I am concerned about the KDWs since the snow we had in NC last year. How would they do in snow?
Here is my question: I want to upgrade to a better handling and more aggressive looking tire. I have it narrowed down to three choices. The BFG AT Ko, The Michelin LTX AT, or the Yokohama Geolander AT+. To be honest, I do about 99% Highway, and 1% off-roading. I live in Las Vegas, and don't have to worry about much rain, or any snow. A quiet ride is important but not mandatory, an aggressive look is important. (Remember, I am trying to be honest here).
What would the panel of experts recommend, especially TireGuy, who, after reading his posts, is very much admired by me.
Thanks in advance for the info.
Ron
Thanks.
I am going to give you some criteria to keep it simple. Take them or leave them.
1. I am not going to drive all over town (that knocks out most of the foreign brands)
2. I am not going to agonize over performance issues because the data to decide the differences is not available
3. My price range is going to be $75 - $100 (anything under $75 is getting mediocre and over $100 is into performance that can't really be used on public roads)
4. Your best local pricing is probably at BJ's or SAM's (the other local tire outfits can't compete in price)
For me this turns out to be SAM's. And as Tireguy was fond of preaching, Michelins are a no-brainer for the best quality.
I tow a fifth wheel and everyone else I know who tows feels the same. If you want a tire that will run 60k and you don't care about traction, get Michelins. If you value your neck get something with a softer tread compound that will stick to the wet roads.
I don't call my Dodge a Merceres any more than an owner of a Jaguar would call it a Ford.
I'm really glad I didn't opt for the Firestones when I was looking for tires a while back, the ones in question were being considered.
I will go off road but only occasionally at drilling rig sites. The 4WD should be plenty on those occasions. I'm thinking of going with some 225 or 235's because I have to drive mainly around town and about once a month from Memphis to Houston and back (1200 mile total). I'm more interested in on road handling(wet and dry) and highway comfort in that order. Any suggestions on which tires I should get? Oh and if TireGuy is still out there, the local Sam's has a Michelin X Radial LT. Is this a Sam's only tire, and if it is which "regular" Mich. does it correspond to? Thanx in advance.