michelin ATX from costco?

last march i purchased a set of 235 75 15 BFG ATs from costco. i've been happy with their performance both on & offroad, but i just had them rotated and the tech said the tread is starting to separate on one tire. he said that costco no longer sells BFG due to the fact that BFG wanted to set minimum prices. he offered to warranty the defective tire , plus its mate. i pressed and got him to agree to take back the entire set, but now i'm not sure if i want the suggested replacement- Michelin ATX LT 235 75 15's . has anyone had these on their exp? the tread isn't as aggressive as the BFG's , but the tech said they cleared pretty well when he drove them at a test school. thanks!

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gary
94 ltd 4.o 3.73 BFG a/ts

 

[LWeston]

Interesting! I don’t have your answer but would like to add to your comments. I went to Costco last night and got the same story about BFG. I noticed that they had an All Terrain White Letter Kirkland tire 235/75R15 for $68.00 each. I asked about them and was advised that they were made by BFG but they could not put them on my 95 Explorer due to the fact that they were 6-ply. Huh? Their computer flags the use of that tire on Ford Explorers. The guy was adamant about it and said it is because it is 6-ply and if he had the BFG he could not put them on my Explorer.

He then showed me the Michelin tire you mentioned. Nice tire and probably will last forever but price $86. Although I am sure a great price for Michelins, yet it is $18 more per tire. Now here is the weird part, I looked on www.etires.com this morning at the Michelin LT235/75R15 and they show them as 6 ply and cost $118.99. Must be a different tire?

Now I have read all the threads concerning Firestone tires and will stay away from them although my original Firestone tires have 56,000 miles on them and I have not had a problem. Has anyone heard anything about Ford advising against the use of a 6-ply tire?

BTW I will probably buy the Michelins, after all who makes BFG tires!

95 Explorer XLT, 4 door, 4X4

 

[David99XLT]

Are you refering to the Michelin LTX AT's, if so I had those on my first explorer and had great luck with them. They got me through everything I took it through, sand at the beach, mud, snow, etc. They also had good wet road traction. If that is what they are offering you, it's not a bad tire.

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99 XLT 4x4
Dead Link Removed
Dead Link Removed

 

[FMExplorer]

Gary,
I have the Michelin's now and just ordered a set of Dunlop's to go on tomorrow. The michelins were a great tire for me. I got 65k miles on them and could probably squeeze another 5k. However, they weren't aggressive enough for me. They arre awesome on the road though. My 2 cents.

Jon M

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Jon McLeod
'93 XLT
K&N Drop-In
Modified Airbox
Kenwood Audio
(Am/Fm cassette head + 6-disc changer in the center console)
Rancho RS5000's

Next project: Headers, 1.5" lift (add-a-leaf and spacers), 31x10.50's

 

[Adam R]

I went to costco to ask them about my michelin M/S tires, they told me these are not supposed to mounted on the Explorer because their for passenger cars, they said Ford put out a notice about this, I called Ford and (of course) they would not admit to anything. Michelin sent me the same thing that Costco had which said the Explorer should have the A/T tires mounted. So far I have had no problems with the M/S tires. I think there great! The original Goodyears on the truck were worn in really odd places and only lasted 40K.

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'97 XLT 4x4 4.0L SOHC

 

[BGN]

Michelin X-Radials

I just went to my local Costco since I've become a little
paranoid about my Firestone ATX's given the recent news.

They have a Michelin tire called the X-Radial M/S. Its the same price as the LTX they used to sell or still do sell(he said they were just out but could order them) at $89.99. He said these P235/75R/15's are fine for Explorer's and the only real difference between these "warehouse tires" are the tread "sipes" that run sideways across the tread.

Any opinions on any of this?

Regards,
Barry

 

[Robert]

Re: Michelin X-Radials

Originally posted by BGN

I just went to my local Costco since I've become a little
paranoid about my Firestone ATX's given the recent news.

They have a Michelin tire called the X-Radial M/S. Its the same price as the LTX they used to sell or still do sell(he said they were just out but could order them) at $89.99. He said these P235/75R/15's are fine for Explorer's and the only real difference between these "warehouse tires" are the tread "sipes" that run sideways across the tread.

Any opinions on any of this?

Regards,
Barry

My local Costco said that they wouldn't be carrying the LTX M/S anymore and the X-Radial M/S was its replacement. Of course this came from a guy that tried telling me Ford never put 255 70R16 tires on an Explorer and in his 12 years working in the tire business, he had never seen an Explorer with 16 inch tires. I took my business to Discount Tire which was more than willing to match Costco's price.

Robert

 

[Rhett]

Gary, you know what? A tire salesman told me the exact same thing the other day, "No one puts 255/70's on an Explorer"...but then, I went to the mall later that day, and saw a 1998 Explorer Sport with Firestone 255/70's on it with the 16" rims. I can't believe some of the lines they feed me at these tire places. Some of those guys think that all customers are totally non-knowledgeable and that they know all when it comes to tires. Of course I know that good advice can be found here...