Yet another tire question

The noise first became a problem last August when I had the tires rotated during one of the regular servicings. It almost seemed that the abnormal wear occurred on the rear but everyone tells me that's not possible.

I had the snow tires on for nearly 6 months and the only noise was from the studs and the only wear was minimal and even. I figure it there was a problem with the truck, the snows would have worn too. By the way, the dealer first accused me of not rotating the tires even though it has never missed a scheduled service. Then told me it was the alignment until it was checked by two shops and found to be dead on.

The noise is most noticeable between 50 and 60 KPH which equates to your

30-40 MPH. Have a close look at the edges of the tires to see if they are scalloped and wavy. Mine are.

Glen

snipped what we both know you wrote..

I'm a Yank and I'm about as far away as possible in North America (Seattle WA).. I don't know the brands you speak of; but that's not unusual

My ride is a '88 Bronco II 4x4 ; running 15" rims but not stock. They are Mopar 8" wide "copcar" rims from the old Fury/Diplomats.

I've got 5 years and 45K miles on a set of Dunlop Rover Touring LT's in 245/70 -15 "P" rating; and I'm just hitting 40% wear.

These are a "all weather" type; but they have got me thru the rare but massive snow dumps we get here; I've only had to "put on the irons" twice . I piss off the snomobilers who run the "right of way" for the public power utility I work for... (I'm legal driving there- they ain't) .

Excellent on ice and heavy rain as well.

I'm a leadfoot; born and raised in Montana "before 55"; those Dunlops are also S rated and I tested that sustained 100 MPH last summer on "old familiar roads" (and yes; you CAN get a 2.9 Bronco II up to about 110 MPH if you have the right road and skills ) 110 MPH means the speedo needle is hittiting the trip odometer reset shaft. ........

You won't be happy with a P-Metric tire.

Stay with the LT.

Goodyear buys the cheapest carbon black available for their tires. Your mileage is typical.

Wild Country is a very good tire, so is a Cooper. I think the Multi-mile is a Dayton, which is owned by Cooper, I'm not positive on that, but I know they last a good while.

Keep them balanced and rotated, every other oil change, they'll last you like you want them to.

Good luck,

Spdloader

The Goodyear Wrangler RT's were the absolute worst tire I have had on a vehicle. My 2000 F150 XLT 4x4 had the same size tires. They were Noisy, horrible winter traction, poor wet traction, just plain crap. I did however get good wear out of them, I replaced them at 80,000 KM and went with Motomaster Roughrider AT's, I got the in LT 265/75/16. The 265's were actually 15 bucks cheaper per tire than the 245's. I got them onsale for $105.00/tire just ofter christmas, Regular $154.00/tire. (I got the guy behind the counter to look into the system and tell me when they were coming on sale the cheapest and drove the goodyears until I got a wicked deal.)

They have excellent winter traction, good eet traction, and seem ok in mud. They are definately not the most aggressive tire out there, but they are VERY quiet on the road compared to the Goodyears. Dad has been using them on his toyota for a long while, and usually gets 70-80,000 KM out of them. (usually ends up replacing them earlier than needed because he doesn't use snow tires).

L8R, Hawk

Same truck as you, with the same stock tires

mileage a bit better than yours, but still no good. I'll have to buy new at

40000 miles. the last Ranger 1997 4wd 4liter ext cab had firestones. I got 55000 miles on them .

After about a year I started hearing a noise-like a wheel or axel bearing. Brought it to the dealer under warranty. he replaced the front wheel bearings and the noise is still there. he said it might be tires. most noticeable between 30=40 mph, after driving for 3-4 miles warming up. isthis similar to your problem?

I'm thinking about a light truck all weather rather than AT type tire with a D or E load range. Please keep us posted on what you do. TIA Mark Schofield CT

Anybody have any experiences with "air-down" tires (designed to permit low pressure off-road operation)?

I'm trying to "build" my truck, and am having a heck of a time finding tires that the manufacturer is willing to stand behind for low-pressure operation.

Dusty

for what is woth i agree with the people says the wrangler is one of the worst tires out there for wet traction. last winter i changed over to bridgestone dulers at revo's and they are by far the best truck tire i have ever owned. they have excellent wet and dry trackion, since chenging to these tire i have never needed to go 4x4 on the highway to maintain trackion. i got mine at the tire rack for a very reasonable price, which was much less than the goodyears cost.

Happy Trucking

Just replaced the "good"year tires yesterday. One had a 9 inch slit in the sidewall where it had failed and luckily not blown out as it was on the passenger front side. They were scalloped and cupped. Had a noise like a wheel bearing being flat on one side for some time now.

Agree as to the poor quality of the "good"years.

Gary

Any opinions on the Michelin LXR or is it (LXT?) tires Costco sells for light trucks? I am at the point of replacing the 255 70 16' Wranglers on my F150. It's hard for me to make a judgement on these tires since I haven't had any other tires on the truck and I haven't had the truck that long.

It really seems like it doesn't matter that much which tire I buy pricewise s> Just replaced the "good"year tires yesterday. One had a 9 inch slit in

I like the BF Goodrich AT's. Super rugged and good traction in Ice and Snow. But, I think they are more expensive than your Michelins. The USFS uses this tire. Others like the Bridgestone Revo's. I'll be putting them on my F350 next month. They are an excellent tire, less expensive than the Goodrich, and ride softer, but not as rugged for offroad.

: > Agree as to the poor quality of the "good"years. : >

: > Gary :

I've been kind of researching tires for a few months and I haven't read or heard anything but good things about the Michelin LTX. Unfortunately, they're about $180+ Cdn around here and a bit out of my range I think. One thing I hope to determine is whether I should pay big up front and hopefully get long life and good performance or go cheaper and still get a good, albeit shorter life tire. I can't afford to buy 4 tires that I have to replace again in a year or so, no matter how cheap they are.

I find the reviews on

very informative. After I spent an hour reading about the Wrangler RT/S, I was, quite frankly, scared to drive on them. Unfortunately, they carry only big name brand tires like Badyear, Dunlop, Bridgestone etc so info on private brands is hard to find.

I got 4 studded Motomaster Nordic Wintertracs 18 months ago for $500 out the door. These are the BFG Winter Slaloms and I hope to find a summer tire as good for around the same price.

The Bridgestone Revos have also gotten great reviews but I haven't called around to check the going rate.

Glen in Nova Scotia where there's still snow in the ditches.

Yup, got the Bridgestone REVOs myself. Incredible wet traction, aggressive tread, can't wait to try 'em in the snow. I've heard the 4X4 guys don't even bother using 4x in Michigan snow anymore.

Reviews and photos here:

Thanks for the input Glen. I have been getting the same kind of feedback on the Wranglers. They are one of the most common tires on the F150/250 and a bunch of other trucks but I guess it is not because they are great tires.

The Michelings are the same price out here at Costco, it would be about $825 out the door on a set. I haven't heard anything bad about them yet, other than they are a little more pricey than some of the other tires. I am replacing the 255 70 16's and maybe going a little bigger so it isn't going to be cheap regardless of what I buy.

As far as biting the bullet up front for the better tires, my feeling is that I would spend more on the tires if it means that I will get good performance and won't have to worry about them for a few years. I don't want to take a chance of some tires that are cheaper today and have to replace them sooner and hate them the whole time I have them.

I think of it in terms of how much am I saving over the life of the tire and over the number of years I will have them or even over the next few years. The amount I drive, the tires will last at least 5+ years. If I bought the cheapest tire I cold find, I would save less than $300 or $60/year or $5/ month over a premium grade tire. Considering that is about 1% of the operating cost of the vehicle, it makes little sense in the long, for me to try to economise in this way.

Thanks for the opinion on the tires.

Stephen

Glen Smith wrote:

I have a set of Michelin LTX AT on my 2000 F-250 4x4 haven't had any problems got about 40,000 miles on them mostly city and highway driving in Oklahoma (not the best roads) I went from the E load range to C load range helped the ride a lot can't carry as much weigth but I love the softer ride

My 2 cents Jeff

Yet, another good thread :) Presently I have the wildcountry ones on my POV (F250)and they are cupped, and noisy on the highway so just as soon as I get that one ball joint replaced (with alignment, of course) I'll get my new tires. Agreed on Badyears tires-been using them for the work truck (suburban) and they are generally crap, but we are stuck on the State contract so that's that. At least I found out what not to buy. They gennerall are noisey and cupp bad, even with rotation on GM and Ford trucks.

As for my own F250, I'm shopping for ones around the LT 235/85R16 in D or E rating. So far I've bided on the following:

From Costco: BF Goodrich $570 Michelin X $678 Bridgestone AT Revo $657

Dunlop Rover AT $500 Trail Mark Rd AP $440

These prices are U.S. not including tax. Do they sound ok ? The last two, as I understand it, are owned by "badyear" but are not related otherwise. I'm still wondering which to get. Mileage is not import, but firm is. I don't wanna be turning a corner on large marshmellows (LOL) as another person described. I call 'em sponges. Hate mushy tires.

Karl

sparky wrote:

It seems the general consensus is that the stock Wranglers are crap, which is a pity since they are presently on sale at Can Tire.

How do the Michel> I have a set of Michelin LTX AT on my 2000 F-250 4x4