Michelin tire question

Really 2 questions.

1. Anyone using stock size Michelins. I was looking at getting the LTX A/T 2 but dont like the few review about blow outs. Anyone use them? My next choice is the Defender. Dont do any off roading where I am at.


2. While I am asking about tires. Had another question I always wondered about.
First I have had different vehicles and replaced my share of tires. I never could really tell much difference when installing new tires of any brand. Did not give it much thought.

About 2016 at 55K miles. She does not drive much. I replaced the OEM Dunlop's on my wife's 2003 4runner sport. No complaints on the old tires. Still drove great. Just a little cracking/dry rot with age.

So picked a BF Goodrich. They where terrible. So much sway. More boat ride feeling. And handleing was bad. I could tell just driving home in a residential area. This 4runner sport always drove great. More like a sports car compared to any other SUV I tried. Even had my son test it. He has driven it a number of times over ther years. Said same thing so know it was not just me.

So called discount Tire and they let me trade them in for the Michelin defenders. Paid the difference and it handled great again. For a SUV and better than 2003 Tundra.

Anyway any guess as to what the problem was. There was no vibration so I think that means it was not a bad job with the balance, but dont know. Could a brand/model of tire really make that much difference and just been lucky in the past?

Thanks

 

The defenders are a much better tire than the AT2. If you want michelins, the defender is the way to go. Mild looking tire but good traction, quiet, wear very well and will ride and balance great.

 

I bought the Michelin LTX / AT 2's on my last Gen 1 2003 AC Tundra, overall I wasn't impressed, especially for how much I paid for them. They wore faster than I expected. They also developed those tiny cracks all over the side wall. They wore evenly so that was good, and they rode nice, tracked good and were quiet. I just wasn't impressed with how fast they wore even making sure they were correctly inflated rotated. My current 2006 DC has Yokohama Geolanders the previous owner had just put on before I bought it. So far I am very impressed, they have all the same positive characteristics of the Michelins, but they are wearing much better and the sidewalls are showing no signs of cracking. I've never owned any Yokohama tires before these, but will strongly consider them again when it's time for new hides.

 

Currently running stock Michelins and always liked Michelin tires on every vehicle. Never had one fail. That aaid I tried to buy a set of Yokohama Geolander 15 two months ago and out of stock for 275 85 r18. Got a decent price locked in $1308 for 5. Just waitng for the supply to arrive. Have BFG ko2s on my 18 4Runner with e rating, been good so far, about a ten months now. Good luck!

 

If the Michelin Defenders are anything like the M/S2s, don't bother. At the 1/2 way point, they wore much faster with the softer rubber than the M/S i had previously. Must've lasted 40k miles tops.

 

I also agree the the Defender LTX are better than the AT2 but I also feel the AT2s are no where near as bad as this forum and TireRack (and similar review sites) make them out to be.

The LTX is by far the best tires I have ever used on a truck. Admittedly I don’t do ANY serious off-roading but plenty of dirt paths and such. In the handling, braking, comfort, icy/lighter snow, and rainy weather department I have never found ANY AT tire come remotely close. In my experiences they are just that good… Blizzards are a different story but I have never not gotten home in one.

I feel they excel in winter conditions considering they are highway tires. But if you drive aggressively in the winter I can almost guarantee you are going to hate them. It’s a very confidence inspiring and stable driving tire with minimal drift. And they are one of the very few tire that have consist performance through the life of the tire.

 

If only the hand model were here. He ran Michelin for a long time.

 

Where'd he go?

 

Banned for life.

 

Grandpa got these in 2018. They’re fine for the highway, and are hard enough that they’re easy to break loose on damp asphalt with lsd. Even in 2nd. They’re quieter than my titans cooper evolutions, but those are bigger and run under more pressure. These pick up every tiny rock they can find.

i wish they’d wear out, but the truck got an alignment before i got it, and i drive gentle, and the titties are still perky, so i bet ive got a few years before i can get new wheels/tires.

And these crawl over some sharp yard rocks and dont cut, but niether do the coopers. Or the goodyears i had before. Ignore the green valve stem caps. I run regular air like a troglodyte.

 

Dumb question time, but it's a tire thread so here we gooooooo!

Is there any A/T tire out there that's (A) suitable for offroad look, (B) got more of an offroad appearance than the LTX, and (C) quiet on the road?

Or is this just a stupid question because such a thing is would be a veritable unicorn in the tire world?

 

BFG rugged trail

 

Basically a unicorn. Every tread pattern and each different manufacturer has different compounds that rides and performances differently. It’s all a game of give and take like everything else we do to our Tundras. Michelin is sorta of an enigma in the sense I have easily gotten 80k out of the tires but start cracking at 5 years while staying super tacky and pliable. BfGoodrich and Goodyear get rock hard after two years of use in my experiences (my least favorite of the major brands). An AT will always cause a change in MPGs (almost imperceptible in some cases…). due to them having more gripping edges and generally speaking they are heavier. And those gripping edges tend to cause more noise on the road.

 

Jeezo, what'd he post that got him cut if I may ask?
He was always so knowledgable and helpful . . .

 

Exactly

 

Not sure. When it happens the mods delete the offending post. I believe some sort of political or covid remarks. We all miss him and his feather dusting ways.

 

Maybe PHM is now one of the many thousands here who look but don't participate?

 

You're going to have them for awhile. I've got a set on my Durango, installed 11/3/18 at 133k, I'm just under 176K with what looks like more than half tread left and still great traction in most cases. At this point I'll drive the car to the scrap yard with them on it.

 

I like to picture him looking down from above and shaking his head at our filthy engine bays, our use of aftermarket parts, our attempt to communicate with his secret "Heather" account on Amazon, and such.

 

Yea, if things get super cereal, these can be my street shoes, and i can keep my trail shoes for the trips.

 

how do we earn these ‘points’? Can points be sold or traded? Example of 200 pt, 400 pt, and 1000 pt post please? Are these cumulative? If we pander, can points be knocked off?

 

ftfy

 

Such beautiful hands. Probably wagging those perfect fingers at us in shame.

 

The Defender's wear like iron. They don't look aggressive but they hold their own very well in all types of terrain. They come with 70K mileage rating for a reason. We put some Falken's on the old lady's care two years ago instead of the michelin's to save a few bucks; they only last 35K and are down to 2-3/32". Discount tire is giving us a credit back since they did not meet the mileage expectation of 60K and we will be applying to a set of Michelin's for her car next month.

 

That's a bummer . . . I post on a boating website and they have a politics & government page where people throw daggers at each other all the time. It get's heated, name calling, f-bombs etc . . . the mods let it all roll unless there are threats, which there never are. I think it's just a place for people to vent their frustrations. I guess the owners of the forum can set the rules however tight or loose they want and enforce them accordingly, but it's a shame when someone gets cut who contributes so much. The ones that get cut (very few) on the boating forum 99% of the time aren't contributing anything worth while, they're just trolls / instigators.

 

Rumor has it he never popped his knuckles and never snapped his fingers. Not once.

 

I fully believe & agree with you, and appreciate you & the other mods who have the thankless job of dealing with nonsense on the internet.
I also know rules are rules, I've moderated my share of forums over the years and fully support the mods on this one.

I'd just say one thing, without any intent of defiance or challenge. Having been on both sides of the fence and someone hardly free of COC violation myself, I think lots of 1st Gen members are torn for one reason, and it's not just his charismatic hands and zany sense of humor. While the guy easily and regularly baited his way into political banter enough for ban, he also contributed a tremendous amount of positive content to the site which undoubtedly helped 100s, maybe 1000s of members and visitors.

I think that's the conflict. Good, positive people tripping up and doing or saying stupid crap. Character flaw, I think. It's just ... unfortunate. Part of us in 1st Gen wish the guy had another crack at it, but we also firmly believe the correct moderation action was taken. Again. And again. And again.

Edit: Or maybe a 90d or 180d ban. Something with more teeth, but not so permanent, that way we at least had a moderate chance of some positive return.

 

I didn't think you could even wrench as a hand model.

Liability insurance would be through the roof.

He must wear some super protective gloves that internally dispense hand lotion every 10 minutes.

 

Truly a god among us. Here I am where I can no longer cut my nails without creating handnails constantly. I need to duplicate his hand pod technology for my personal use.

I'm out if the new 2022 Tundras don't have this integrated into the steering wheel. My body may look like a dumpster fire but hands must stay pristine.