Has anyone replaced those dreaded Bridgestone's?

[K Whitman]

It has been a while since I have posted in here.
But one thing has been a long time coming...replacing the tires.
The Bridgestone Dueler HL's have been pretty bad since day one on my Denali.
They are 285/45x22 and are close to down to the bars with 17K miles on them.

They have always been horrible in the rain and anything less than AWD when the road is wet is asking to spin and slide constantly. I have them set to OE specs- 35psi(?).

Checking tire rack it appears the Michelin LTX is rated #1 followed by the Pirelli Scorpion in the OE size. I have always liked Michelin's although they seem to wear quickly. I had Pirelli Scorpions on a Tahoe 10 years ago and they rode a bit rough compared to the Michelin's they replaced.

Any thoughts?

Michelin.... totally changed the ride and great in the rain and no roll!!!

 

[Agent WD-40]

So my question is- Bridgestone tires are actually pretty good.
So why are the ones on an $80K Denali so bad?

Many OE's have their own set of internal requirements for tires (either driven by the specific vehicle and/or overall corporate requirements for performance, handling, MPG, etc). If you look there are often multiple versions of a particular tire - the "standard" tire and the variants that meet the specific OE requirements. The tires will have a specific marking to call this out. Check out this Car and Driver article to see more on that. That is sometimes why Tire Rack will show what looks like the same tire at slightly different prices.

As an example, Ford created a specific version of the BF Goodrich All Terrain tire for the Raptor. It was basically the same tire but with a softer compound to improve winter grip/performance. For the 22" tire on the GM SUV's I'm guessing GM (like many OEs) prioritized fuel economy over other factors (grip is a typical trade-off for low rolling resistance). There are many factors that need to be traded off to meet the specific goals: noise, ride, grip in many weather conditions, MPG, cost, load capacity, tread life, logistics of tire delivery, customer desires, OE relationships with tire MFG, etc.

I typically don't agree with the OE set of trade-offs on my tires and rarely pick the OE tire when I replace them. When it comes to MPG, sometimes the trade-off is some fraction of a MPG other times not. I've personally seen my MPG fluctuate by a ~2 MPG with different tires on my other vehicle. So you may notice changes when changing tires and you may not.

 

[ratedr120]

Bridgestone is together with Firestone, the tires are made in the same place.

Michelin owns BFGoodwrich, so every BFG tire is actually a Michelin


The tires that come on new cars are really only made to last 10-15k miles. They are generally a VERY soft compound for about 5k miles, followed by very hard rubber to make them last

Thank You For The Info I Definitely Appreciate It

 

[04ctd]

same thing for the 20's? 2wd 2013 Tahoe with 44k is needing some tires....may move to Nebraska, will need some wet/snow traction action

 

[georgebuhr]

Keep in mind as far as ride quality, the bigger the rim, the rougher the ride. That being said, although I've ran Michelins on our older Yukon for years, our shop recently started selling Toyo tires, and I'm pretty impressed with the quality of them so far. If you guys with the 22's dont need an LT tire, try the Open Country Q/T. Its a new touring tire that Toyo just came out with, and I would put it up against a Michelin for quality any day.

 

[thebishman]

Bridgestone is together with Firestone, the tires are made in the same place.

Michelin owns BFGoodwrich, so every BFG tire is actually a Michelin


The tires that come on new cars are really only made to last 10-15k miles. They are generally a VERY soft compound for about 5k miles, followed by very hard rubber to make them last

Your post implies that the Michelins will be no different than the OEM Bridgestones. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I placed the 22" Michelin Defenders on my '16 SWB Denali at 12K miles even though there was loads of tread left on the Crapstones. The total ride has been transformed. GM would save themselves huge warranty costs if they would spec the Michelin Premier or Defender as the OEM tyres, as many owners would stop complaining of the awful ride and noise at subsequent service visits.

To any owners out there who hate the low speed lack of compliance, and who want to obtain better handling; better poor weather performance; less noise, etc; do yourselves a favour and replace the dreadful Bridgestones with either of the Michelins.

Bish

 

[jarydM]

Your post implies that the Michelins will be no different than the OEM Bridgestones. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I placed the 22" Michelin Defenders on my '16 SWB Denali at 12K miles even though there was loads of tread left on the Crapstones. The total ride has been transformed. GM would save themselves huge warranty costs if they would spec the Michelin Premier or Defender as the OEM tyres, as many owners would stop complaining of the awful ride and noise at subsequent service visits.

To any owners out there who hate the low speed lack of compliance, and who want to obtain better handling; better poor weather performance; less noise, etc; do yourselves a favour and replace the dreadful Bridgestones with either of the Michelins.

Bish

I think you may have misread, or I lacked the seperation necessary to make it evident. Bridgestones and Michelins are NOT the same, in any way.

That being said, OEM style tires applied to *NEW* cars are all made the same, soft rubber compound for quietness, ride qualty, and traction, followed by a hard rubber compound so the tire *TECHNICALLY* lasts 20-30k


That being said, I have used goodyears fairly well, but if I'm putting on Tires its BFG TK for Offroad/All Terrain and the Michelin ATX, for mostly highway its Michelin Defender or BFG. I don't put Firestone/Bridgestone on anything.

 

[okfoz]

I have the Michelin LTX M/S2 on my 2007, and I like them a lot. I have about 30K on them and the tread still looks like new...

 

[DStarr02]

I also have to agree on the Premier LTX, they ride nice, decent on gas, and work offroad too

 

[ratedr120]

I Upgraded To 20 Inch Rims After Getting Rid Of The Stock 17 Inch Rims, I Had 22 Inch Escalade Rims But After Bending The Rim 3 Times I Switched Up.