Time for tires

[Mbrooks420]

A realistic expectation on mileage will take several tanks of gas.

 

[Maorex]

FIgured I'd update this.

So today I finally melted the plastic for new tires. If you would have told me 10 years ago I'd pay over 1000 dollars for 4 tires I'd have thought you were crazy.

anyway - Went with MIchelin Defender LTX this time - over the Premiers. SInce I didn't get good wear out of the premiers and the Defenders get better ratings. under 7 miles with them and I can say they are a touch louder- I will check again when they get some wear on them as it's not a fair test.

But I do have a decibel meter. when I say a touch louder I mean 1.5-1.9 Db louder. Not much in the scheme of things - I bet I'll be the only one that notices.

When I get some wear on them I'll report back. SO far though steering is a touch more sluggish than the Premier I sort of expected that with the tread - and I bet I take a light MPG hit. Again though until I put say 50 miles on them I don't think it's a fair test case. Need to get a bit of wear off the top before you are really on the tires.

At least for most common car tires.

More importantly - Discount tire 227 per - with 2 rebates. Now they claim I might not get them both. But 10% from discount tire and 70 dollars from michelin. so we will see. that's 177 dollars back supposedly.

Any updates?

 

[KKRISKAL]

I'll try again. . .

That looks beautiful

 

[Napalm]

To update my first month of owning the Michelin Defender LTX's vs having the premiers before.

The steering is different but I'm the only one that notices. Not to surprised there. LIttle but sluggish or less responsive than the premiere. Sort of expected that with the tread pattern. It is however still good driving, so don't take that to mean it's bad. If I had an explorer sport - and I drove spirited most of the time (which I do that) I would then consider the Premier a bit more just because of this.

Noise - actually seems to have quieted down - but - they are more prone to hum on bad pavement. Now again, not bad since you know it's noisy pavement but it does louder. Smooth road, good road - even bumpy road - not much different. I do think I have them a touch overinflated.

MPG's - Can't say for certain if there has been any movement. Also my car is now at 79K miles since new so it's about time for some things like spark plugs.

 

[Tom Champagne]

To update my first month of owning the Michelin Defender LTX's vs having the premiers before.

The steering is different but I'm the only one that notices. Not to surprised there. LIttle but sluggish or less responsive than the premiere. Sort of expected that with the tread pattern. It is however still good driving, so don't take that to mean it's bad. If I had an explorer sport - and I drove spirited most of the time (which I do that) I would then consider the Premier a bit more just because of this.

Noise - actually seems to have quieted down - but - they are more prone to hum on bad pavement. Now again, not bad since you know it's noisy pavement but it does louder. Smooth road, good road - even bumpy road - not much different. I do think I have them a touch overinflated.

MPG's - Can't say for certain if there has been any movement. Also my car is now at 79K miles since new so it's about time for some things like spark plugs.

I am leaning on getting the Premiers for my wife’s Limited (2017). How many miles did you get out of them? Pros and cons? Thanks

 

[peterk9]

Both the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus and the Continental CrossContact LX20 have better ratings/reviews on Tire Rack than the Premier LTX.

Peter

 

[Stephen Cannon]

Bridgestone Duelers but Michelin Defender LTX as a second choice.

 

[Napalm]

I am leaning on getting the Premiers for my wife’s Limited (2017). How many miles did you get out of them? Pros and cons? Thanks

I only got 35K out of them but I didn't get on top of rotating them quite enough either. SO I won't say it's a fair comparison. My wife manages to find trash to drive though - so half way though the life of them she drove home clacking down the road. 1/4-20 bolt head sticking out of the edge of the tire. grand.

So I ended up with a new tire on one wheel and 20K on the other 3. and this interrupted my pattern, well that and kids and time. So at 35K on the other 3 tires I had one that was on wear bars and a smooth middle line - it needed to go. honestly cheaper to buy a 4 now than to piece meal it for a year. And now I have a hot spare. it has easily another 20K life on it or more - and will sit in the garage. Insurance - now I bet she doesn't hit anything.

So all that to say I suspect they would run 50K with proper maybe even early rotation intervals. Don't know they would do more.

Ride - excellent. Noise - excellent, probably the bit I miss the most more on that latter. MPG's - as good as needs to be I mean it's not a focus. Handling - improves the car. I always tell people I view tires as safety equipment, but they are the interface to the road. So yes you can put tires on a car that will improve the handling of the car. (yes you could flip that to say what you took off was inferior). The premiers grip great even at the limits, they hold the line and they turn in with ease. When you get to the limit you will know - this is an important aspect. In the rain they are about as good as they are in dry land - and they tolerate ice. I will pause here - if I were to live in say, Ohio or someplace with significant winter I would probably have dedicated winter tires. Where I am these are more than adequate.

 

[Napalm]

ON the defender LTX's again - they do indeed add to the noise level. It's more noticeable when you go further, or for me. It's the wifey's car and I don't drive it often but when I do I can't help but hear it.

It is however - drowned out by the radio easily. SO not taking about something so bad I have to get them off the car. And if I can remember - they aren't any worse than the kumho's were. One of the first things I noticed swapping to the premiers was the fact that the they were so quite.

 

[Tom Champagne]

I only got 35K out of them but I didn't get on top of rotating them quite enough either. SO I won't say it's a fair comparison. My wife manages to find trash to drive though - so half way though the life of them she drove home clacking down the road. 1/4-20 bolt head sticking out of the edge of the tire. grand.

So I ended up with a new tire on one wheel and 20K on the other 3. and this interrupted my pattern, well that and kids and time. So at 35K on the other 3 tires I had one that was on wear bars and a smooth middle line - it needed to go. honestly cheaper to buy a 4 now than to piece meal it for a year. And now I have a hot spare. it has easily another 20K life on it or more - and will sit in the garage. Insurance - now I bet she doesn't hit anything.

So all that to say I suspect they would run 50K with proper maybe even early rotation intervals. Don't know they would do more.

Ride - excellent. Noise - excellent, probably the bit I miss the most more on that latter. MPG's - as good as needs to be I mean it's not a focus. Handling - improves the car. I always tell people I view tires as safety equipment, but they are the interface to the road. So yes you can put tires on a car that will improve the handling of the car. (yes you could flip that to say what you took off was inferior). The premiers grip great even at the limits, they hold the line and they turn in with ease. When you get to the limit you will know - this is an important aspect. In the rain they are about as good as they are in dry land - and they tolerate ice. I will pause here - if I were to live in say, Ohio or someplace with significant winter I would probably have dedicated winter tires. Where I am these are more than adequate.

Thanks for your input. You seem to be one of a few that like these tires. I’m not a fan of the way the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza’s appearance, they look like truck tires to me, whereas the Michelin’s look more refined. I’m still on the fence

 

[Napalm]

I haven't read any other reviews - when I bought the Premiers - they were highly rated. I wonder if most of the negative reviews are due to the price vs miles gotten. And I will say I felt like I should have gotten more out of them - rotation practice notwithstanding.

However I suspect the explorer might just be harder on front tires than some of the other appliances. I mean there are some cars that are just hard on tires - one way or another. And some difference in tire stiffness, tread pattern, etc just works better with them. It happens.

My explorer is aligned right, as best as I can tell - and I don't see uneven wear. So it's not like I've worn off one side or they are middle only worn etc. but on the front at 5000 miles there will be a noticeable difference in wear between the fronts and the backs. It's significant, more so than any other FWD car I've owned. I sort of wonder how the AWD explorers do. Anyway I plan on rotating these more often.

Oh and I should say in the wet - even standing water - the Defender LTX is very good.

 

[Tom Champagne]

I haven't read any other reviews - when I bought the Premiers - they were highly rated. I wonder if most of the negative reviews are due to the price vs miles gotten. And I will say I felt like I should have gotten more out of them - rotation practice notwithstanding.

However I suspect the explorer might just be harder on front tires than some of the other appliances. I mean there are some cars that are just hard on tires - one way or another. And some difference in tire stiffness, tread pattern, etc just works better with them. It happens.

My explorer is aligned right, as best as I can tell - and I don't see uneven wear. So it's not like I've worn off one side or they are middle only worn etc. but on the front at 5000 miles there will be a noticeable difference in wear between the fronts and the backs. It's significant, more so than any other FWD car I've owned. I sort of wonder how the AWD explorers do. Anyway I plan on rotating these more often.

Oh and I should say in the wet - even standing water - the Defender LTX is very good.

My wife only drives about 8-9K a year and I would get them rotated twice yearly. I’m looking to get a softer sidewalk tire compared to the Hankooks which are a high performance passenger car tire. I might even step up to 265-50-20 for a little extra cushion. If I got 40-50K out of them I would be fine with that. Most tires are supposedly good for 5-6 years anyway and that would put me at age/mileage.

 

[KayGee]

I haven't read any other reviews - when I bought the Premiers - they were highly rated. I wonder if most of the negative reviews are due to the price vs miles gotten. And I will say I felt like I should have gotten more out of them - rotation practice notwithstanding.

However I suspect the explorer might just be harder on front tires than some of the other appliances. I mean there are some cars that are just hard on tires - one way or another. And some difference in tire stiffness, tread pattern, etc just works better with them. It happens.

My explorer is aligned right, as best as I can tell - and I don't see uneven wear. So it's not like I've worn off one side or they are middle only worn etc. but on the front at 5000 miles there will be a noticeable difference in wear between the fronts and the backs. It's significant, more so than any other FWD car I've owned. I sort of wonder how the AWD explorers do. Anyway I plan on rotating these more often.

Oh and I should say in the wet - even standing water - the Defender LTX is very good.

Alignment can be 'within spec', but may not necessarily be 'right'. You'd want to get a treadwear guage and measure the tread at different points to confirm there is really no wear variance across the tire. If you are getting significantly more wear on the fronts than rears, I would suspect there are some tweaks you can make to alignment to help deal with that, as long as you are not going to long between rotations.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I’ve never had a vehicle where the front tires don’t wear significantly faster than the rears.

 

[Napalm]

all FWD vehicles are harder on the front tires - unless you happen to find a FWD vehicle with a 50/50 weight distribution but I can't think of one. Transit connect might hit that when loaded.

Many but not all AWD vehicles are harder on their front tires. while RWD cars tend to be harder on the rears. Primary factor in weight over the axle, but other factors are how the suspension allows movement in turns and which axle is the driveline.

my 50/50 weight distribution cars are all RWD and they tend to wear evenly,

I did check the tires thoroughly and got an alignment check anyway because new tires. Any time you get new tires you should always get the alignment checked. It was well within marks all around - I'll pause here and say this, the explorer I have has always held alignment, better than any other car I've owned. Next to my Buick Riviera, which also held alignment well. best 160 I spend on a car is lifetime 4 wheel alignment.

 

[RhinoQuartz]

all FWD vehicles are harder on the front tires - unless you happen to find a FWD vehicle with a 50/50 weight distribution but I can't think of one. Transit connect might hit that when loaded.

Many but not all AWD vehicles are harder on their front tires. while RWD cars tend to be harder on the rears. Primary factor in weight over the axle, but other factors are how the suspension allows movement in turns and which axle is the driveline.

my 50/50 weight distribution cars are all RWD and they tend to wear evenly,

I did check the tires thoroughly and got an alignment check anyway because new tires. Any time you get new tires you should always get the alignment checked. It was well within marks all around - I'll pause here and say this, the explorer I have has always held alignment, better than any other car I've owned. Next to my Buick Riviera, which also held alignment well. best 160 I spend on a car is lifetime 4 wheel alignment.

Lifetime 4 wheel alignment? As in, you pay up front and can get them aligned whenever, at that particular shop?

 

[KayGee]

Lifetime 4 wheel alignment? As in, you pay up front and can get them aligned whenever, at that particular shop?

Yes - it's a simple prepaid maintenance type plan that stays with the vehicle it was purchased for - just read the fine print as each shop is a bit different in how they handle them. No different than a lifetime balance plan for a tire that stays with that tire and allows you to get it rebalanced whenever you like for no additional cost.

I have several shops in my AO that do alignment checks for free and only charge $40-50 for alignments, so the prepaid alignment plans are not worth it unless you need more then 3-4 alignments over the life of a vehicle.

Best idea is to know your vehicle and what is actually able to be adjusted - many vehicles have little to no adjustment other than toe.

ETA: I believe all goodyear service centers provide free alignment checks - just inquire with your local store to be sure. No one should ever pay just to have their alignment "checked".

 

[613GT500]

Both the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus and the Continental CrossContact LX20 have better ratings/reviews on Tire Rack than the Premier LTX.

Peter

Thanks for this Peter, as Costco is providing the tire rebate up front in the form of a cashcard and I grabbed the
Bridgestone - DUELER H/P SPORT for the XC90.

 

[Tom Champagne]

Thanks for this Peter, as Costco is providing the tire rebate up front in the form of a cashcard and I grabbed the
Bridgestone - DUELER H/P SPORT for the XC90.

Peter...the Cross Contact LX20 isn’t available in my size (255-50-20)

 

[613GT500]

Peter...the Cross Contact LX20 isn’t available in my size (255-50-20)

I'm not Peter!