Michelin or Bridgestone tires ?

[iLikeEggs]

Here's some pics of the Michelin Defenders. I've got about a thousand miles on them now and they're great. Excellent grip and quiet. Can't wait for the snow. I will put them to the mud test when I head out to BLM land to do some shooting next month.

 

[Parthery]

I got 50K+ out of the first two sets of Bridgestone Alenzas....then went to Michelin LTX MS2s....and I'm not thrilled. They've got about 20K on them now and are still at 10/32 (good)....however I also have a vibration that balances out and comes right back 1000 miles later. Working with Discount Tire on it and they may yet replace all 4 but its been a bit of a challenge.

Right now - I'd say save the $250 and go with the Alenzas.....

 

[iLikeEggs]

I had the LTX MS2's on my 08 Envoy. I went through two sets with never a problem. Anything can happen in a 1000 miles though. The tires are the easiest thing (and usually rightly so) to point a finger at when ride quality diminishes. If it's a tire problem, Michelin will stand behind it and make an adjustment. What more can they do? But there's a ton of other things that can cause poor ride quality/vibration. It could be front end wear and tear, shocks, bearings, loose lug nuts etc. The first place to check would be the wheels and tires though, after determining that there are no wear patterns caused by misalignment, lack of rotation , suspension or other mechanical problems. Even improperly torqued lug nuts can create problems.
If that vibration keeps coming back after a while it could be that they are using the wrong type of wheel weights. Ask then to double check this. Depending on your wheels, there are different types of rim flanges. Steel rims and alloy rims usually take a different type of wheel weight. Sometimes the installer will not use the right ones. Some wheels can not take (usually for cosmetic reasons) the type of weights that are hammered on the rim. In that case they use tape weights on the back side of the rim. If the incorrect type of wheel weight is used it can fly off or shift while driving or mudding. If you like to spin your wheels, that can cause the weights to slide on the rim. If they use tape weights, they need to properly clean the road grime from the rim first. Another problem with tire installers is that sometimes they will forget to remove the old weights before balancing. Then they wind up chasing weights around the rim. It will balance in most cases but it's ugly and shoddy. Of course, there could be a rim that is slightly bent as well. Bent or damaged wheels can occur at any mileage so maybe you want to make sure they are true. A good tire buster can tell quickly if that's the case. Even a slightly bent rim can lead to ride quality problems. In most cases, mechanical issues will put bad wear patterns on a tire and will cause that tire to appear bad. In reality, it is bad at that point but it wasn't the tries fault. A new or replacement tire will begin to wear in exactly the same way.
Your mileage may vary.
Cheers.

 

[Parthery]

They have road forced them. We are using tape weights. They have even broken the bead and rotated the tire on the rim.

The fact that it can be balanced out, and the truck ride smooth as silk for 1000 miles or so before it returns, leads me to believe that something is going on with one or more of the set. The issue started when I bought these tires back in March of this year.

 

[iLikeEggs]

Definitely bring them back in. It could very well be a tire defect. If so you should get some kind of proration adjustment. You should be able to take them into any Michelin dealer for warranty.

 

[sk1dm4rk]

When you go back to get them balanced, have you noticed any patterns? e.g., is it always the front right tire or anything like that? Is it more than one that needs to be rebalanced? If so, is it always the same ones?

Where I am going with this is to try and determine if it is the tires themselves or maybe a suspension component is out of whack and causing the issue.

Good luck.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Mark

 

[Parthery]

Interestingly, I had a TPMS light come on....had to have one of the sensors replaced inside the rim...the vibration is now gone. Which leads me to wonder if maybe the sensor was loose or if it's just coincidence.

The 08 Tahoe got new shoes yesterday....it's got the 17s which wear out with alarming frequency...in the 8 years we've owned it I've never gotten more than 30K out of a set of tires and I am diligent about rotating and balancing them. I think the 17s are not enough tire for this vehicle.

Went with the Bridgestone Duelers this time...$146 apiece vs. $180+ for the Michelins....good news is I got some warranty credit back on the Coopers which came off so the hit to my wallet wasn't terrible. We will see how these do....80K warranty means - again - $$$ back if they don't last.

 

[Tibo77]

I bought some Michelin Defender LTX M/S2's to stay away from that 10 ply ride. They are real good so far. I had Nitto Terra Grapplers on before, same size but stayed away from those this time due to the last set broke belts within the first 30K and couldn't get a balance on them after that. I did a ton of research and I don't think you can go wrong with a set of Michelins. Good looking tire too.

 

[adventurenali92]

I scored an almost brand new set of Michelin LTX A/T2 that were take offs and got all 4 Of them for $300 mounted. Super stoked. I absolutely love them. The ride fantastic and corner amazingly up and down the mountain roads where I live. Hoping to get alot of miles out of them. Already saving up for when I ha w to replace them though so I can buy another set of them haha. But yeah I had Bridgestone dueler alenzas that the dealership put on it before I bought it and they were terrible. Never going back to Bridgestone again. Michelins always!

 

[iLikeEggs]

Price is king. Nice score!