Are my tires shot? Need some feedback, posted pictures.

I need an opinion on my tires.

I drive about 450~500 miles a week for work in my personal vehicle. I was on the way to work last week when we had some moderate rain coming down and we have a lot of that new smoother pavement crap on the highway. Anyway you can see the water standing on this stuff.

I'm driving a long and all the sudden I feel my back end start to slide out into the other lane. My first reaction was to hit my brakes which almost made it worse. I sold down and continued on but finally I had to get OFF the highway and wait out the rain for about 20 minutes.

I decided to check out my tires when I got home and this is what I found.

Front Tires

Back Tires

I got these tires used back in December for $300.00 dollars. My previous tires were even worse and I couldn't keep it straight on the ice. This was all I could afford at the time.

I've had my SUV in for an alignment, the alignment is fine. I'm sorta pissed I wasted half what I new set of tires would cost and now I can't even drive in the damn rain.

The front's don't look THAT bad tread wise. The only problem I have is now one of the front tires will NOT hold air. I have to top off the air before heading to work. The sides of the tires also look VERY cracked. You can sorta see some of the cracking I'm talking about in the tire tread photos. its all over the side walls too.

My wife doesn't feel I need new tires because they pass some penny test but I'm concerned about my personal safety and the safety of my 2 year old when she is in my SUV.

Opinions on the tires?

 

[Anime]

What kind of tires are those?

The rears are worn past the sipes, making them essentially slick tires, which is why you had trouble in the rain.

The fronts are starting to fall apart, the cracks between the tread indicate the tires are pretty old and the chunking of the tread shows it too. The fact they don't hold air is enough reason to replace them.

Spend the money and get new tires.

I'd say something like the Michelin LTX M/S 2 would be perfect for a 4x4 used in Michigan. They are great in the snow/rain, ride like a dream, and will wear like iron.
Michelin also has a $70 rebate promo going on to make them less expensive.
You could also consider selling the old tires on CL for a few bucks to someone who could put them on an old trailer and get a little bit more money back.

 

[Carguy3J]

Yeah, those tires are shot. They are not safe to continue driving on, rain or shine. I wouldn't even try to sell them, as it would not be safe for someone else to use them on the road; certainly not the back ones.

If you really need to go with used tires again, make sure they do not have dry rot (the cracking) and that all 4 are worn the same amount. This is important, as with modern 4wd/AWD systems, like on your Explorer, having even a very small difference in overall rolling circumference between front and rear tires can cause permanent damage to various drivetrain components, especially the transfer case. For this reason, if you buy new tires, you MUST buy all (4) at the same time, and rotate them on a regular basis, from front to rear and back, so as to keep them wearing evenly.

The Michelins that Anime recommended are a good tire, but they are pricey, and I've heard/read that they don't last very long, as the tread is somewhat on the soft side. Great for traction and ride comfort, not so good for durability. I like the Continental Conti-Trac. If you want something slightly more aggressive, but not too much, I have the Cooper Discoverer AT3's on my Ranger. They have a good tread pattern, and they aren't too noisy on the highway. They should cost you about $120-$140 each, mounted, depending on size and where you get them.

 

[kdoggy]

They are Michelin LTX M/S 2 tires.

I think I need new tires, my wife is of the opinion I just WANT new tires. Tires are like going to the dentist though. I can think of a hell of a lot better ways to spend money, like a new GLOCK, or a nice COLT 1911 lol!

I want not to cause an accident and kill someone, including myself.

 

[waskly]

you need tires.

 

[8692ranger]

Well how old are the tires and how many miles are on them. michilen might give you credit on the front 2 if they are less than 6 years old

 

[Anime]

They are Michelin LTX M/S 2 tires.

I think I need new tires, my wife is of the opinion I just WANT new tires. Tires are like going to the dentist though. I can think of a hell of a lot better ways to spend money, like a new GLOCK, or a nice COLT 1911 lol!

I want not to cause an accident and kill someone, including myself.

I was wondering if those were Michelins. If those are LTX M/S 2's, there's a very big problem. The tires shouldn't chunk or crack like that, you may have some from a bad batch the previous owner knew about and sold before they turned into this or they were abused. LTX M/S 2's should last over 100,000 miles and never look like that, even when used for off roading.

You may want to contact Michelin USA directly and they might want the tires back, at least the front two, because that's a tread compound / defect in materials and workmanship issue. The rears are slick and past their useful tread life, but they may still want them as well if they're all from the same production run.

Either way you NEED new tires. The two back ones are WAY past their useful tread life and need to be replaced ASAP.

If you want to do some legwork you might get free ones in exchange from Michelin. If not then maybe try some other brands. I doubt the place you bought them from will be of much help, unless they are an authorized Michelin dealer. Either way, replace them, preferably with a quality brand.

 

[kdoggy]

I see. So... Um... Yeah I need tires now and I'll definitely look into that but I think I'm going to be stuck buying tires for now anyway.

I think I'm going to keep the pull off LTX M/S tires until I can speak with Mich USA though.

Anyway, so what are the suggestions? I've got about a $800~1000.00 dollar budget. I want something that can be used for everything. Rain, snow, mud, sand, dirt, light rocks etc. I will mostly be driving on the highway though.

 

[koda2000]

yep

 

[kdoggy]

OK so what size rims is a 2002 XLT suppose to have? I have factory Ford 17 inch rims. I'm being told this SUV calls for 16's.

 

[waskly]

I see. So... Um... Yeah I need tires now and I'll definitely look into that but I think I'm going to be stuck buying tires for now anyway.

I think I'm going to keep the pull off LTX M/S tires until I can speak with Mich USA though.

Anyway, so what are the suggestions? I've got about a $800~1000.00 dollar budget. I want something that can be used for everything. Rain, snow, mud, sand, dirt, light rocks etc. I will mostly be driving on the highway though.

all season tires, do a little in every thing but in general suck when needed in a certain condition.

like heavy snow, mud, etc.

but all season are the best for commuting on a highway since they are the ones with least tire noise.

 

[waskly]

OK so what size rims is a 2002 XLT suppose to have? I have factory Ford 17 inch rims. I'm being told this SUV calls for 16's.

on the drivers side door, or the b pillar is a cert label, it lists the tires you need for that rim.

 

[waskly]

I was wondering if those were Michelins. If those are LTX M/S 2's, there's a very big problem. The tires shouldn't chunk or crack like that, you may have some from a bad batch the previous owner knew about and sold before they turned into this or they were abused. LTX M/S 2's should last over 100,000 miles and never look like that, even when used for off roading.

You may want to contact Michelin USA directly and they might want the tires back, at least the front two, because that's a tread compound / defect in materials and workmanship issue. The rears are slick and past their useful tread life, but they may still want them as well if they're all from the same production run.

Either way you NEED new tires. The two back ones are WAY past their useful tread life and need to be replaced ASAP.

If you want to do some legwork you might get free ones in exchange from Michelin. If not then maybe try some other brands. I doubt the place you bought them from will be of much help, unless they are an authorized Michelin dealer. Either way, replace them, preferably with a quality brand.

today is 8/19/2012, its a 2002 vehicle, no offense but a tire life max is what 6 years? hes kinda of past, and each tire is dated, i doubt he has a leg to stand on.

rears are bald and the fronts are worn like they never seen a tire rotation.

to the op, replace all 4 and if the spare dont match make, model, etc replace that too.

 

[colintrax]

Looks to me like you haven't been rotating your tires......
And you guys don't no squat bout driving on bald tires

Go ahead and get some new tires, and get them rotated often. Also, take a driving course if you want to drive safe. Basic rule, never hit your brakes when losing control. You let off the gas to slow down, use light throttle to gain control.

 

[waskly]

Looks to me like you haven't been rotating your tires......
And you guys don't no squat bout driving on bald tires

Go ahead and get some new tires, and get them rotated often. Also, take a driving course if you want to drive safe. Basic rule, never hit your brakes when losing control. You let off the gas to slow down, use light throttle to gain control.

abs bro, this was true to non abs vehicle, now abs does all the work for you.

 

[colintrax]

No, hitting the brakes is still dangerous. It makes all 4 wheels want to come to a stop, it also adds another factor of movement to the tire, making it more likely to lose traction. ABS just keeps you from locking them up, and it doesn't always work...

 

[waskly]

No, hitting the brakes is still dangerous. It makes all 4 wheels want to come to a stop, it also adds another factor of movement to the tire, making it more likely to lose traction. ABS just keeps you from locking them up, and it doesn't always work...

dunno always worked for me. and now that cars have roll stability and traction control, works even better.

 

[Anime]

today is 8/19/2012, its a 2002 vehicle, no offense but a tire life max is what 6 years? hes kinda of past, and each tire is dated, i doubt he has a leg to stand on.

I got these tires used back in December for $300.00 dollars.

The only issue I see is having bought them used, likely from an unauthorized dealer. Still, the tread on those things is chewed up way more than I've ever seen an LTX M/S 2 be, even badly abused ones.

 

[Carguy3J]

I see. So... Um... Yeah I need tires now and I'll definitely look into that but I think I'm going to be stuck buying tires for now anyway.

I think I'm going to keep the pull off LTX M/S tires until I can speak with Mich USA though.

Anyway, so what are the suggestions? I've got about a $800~1000.00 dollar budget. I want something that can be used for everything. Rain, snow, mud, sand, dirt, light rocks etc. I will mostly be driving on the highway though.

I would recommend the Cooper Discoverer AT3. It should give you good rain/snow traction, without being too noisy or aggressive for the highway. They are also reasonably priced.
If you want something a little more highway oriented, while still delivering good traction in bad weather, then I would look at the Continental Coni-Trac tires.

 

[kdoggy]

I ended up getting a set of Hankook Dynapro ATM RF10's.

http://www.discounttire.com/tireInfoHankookDynaproATMRF10.html

$700.54 out the door, mounted and balanced with road hazard.

Oh and it came with a $50.00 dollar VISA pre-paid gift card so it's actually going to be more like $650.00 once I get that.