Michelin Latitude Tour for Explorer

[JohnnyRingo]

I'm new to site, but excited to get feedback. Has anyone replaced tires with Michelin Latitude Tour. I have a 2003 XLT, tire size 145/65R17. I have always gone with LTX M/S and loved them, except for road noise. I read that Latitudes are quiet.

 

[Mike Deege]

I got some about 2 months ago(275/55-18's) and love them. They are super quiet and love the feel. The only downside is that now I feel everything, letting me know just how bad my shocks really are. Guess I'll be bustin out the plastic pretty soon. Don't know how they act in snow yet, but I like the tread design(not like you get that stuff in GA).

 

[Sonny]

I got some about 2 months ago(275/55-18's) and love them. They are super quiet and love the feel. The only downside is that now I feel everything, letting me know just how bad my shocks really are.

Could you explain that? I am thinking about getting these tires, I have always bought the LTX M/S and wonder if the Latitudes have a better ride quality. No off roading for me, mostly highway.

 

[Mike Deege]

Well I've never had the LTX/MS tires but the Tours are very quiet, I don't hear them at all. What I meant by my earlier post is that you really feel the road, great grip, and cornering, and more confidence in the rain. And any bumpy feel is attributed to my shocks, because on new pavement they're real smooth. If I did'nt like them I'd say so cause I'd be pissed, they were'nt cheap.

 

[Anime]

The LTX M/S is more of a rugged all-weather tire, great for driving in severe weather and light off-road use, but with excellent road handling manners. I've never had a problem with road noise, though they are slightly noisy on grooved/rough pavement, but lots of tires with water channels are.

The Latitude Tours are definitely a road-only tire, probably designed for the majority of people who only use their SUV as a station wagon and don't need the mileage and rolling resistance penalty of any rugged capability in their tires. Probably a good thing for the newer Explorers.

If you just use your SUV the same as a car, you'll probably be happy with the Latitudes.

There's also the Michelin Cross Terrain SUV, which is a toned-down version of the LTX M/S, also more oriented to daily-driven SUV's that see mostly fair-weather pavement use, but with more capability in inclement weather than a car-like tire like the Latitudes.

 

[Vinsanity92]

Ive had the Latitudes on my truck for about a year now and I have to say that they handle great. In the rain I have no problem and they dont seem to hydroplane as easily as the first set of tires I had (Dunlop Radial Rover AT). The ride with them is quiet but it really makes me listen to my rear end whine as I commute about 50 miles a day. In the snow they fair ok I find myself digging in sometimes but to be honest its more the driver than the tires anyway. They will stand up to some abuse and actually do pretty well on soft sand. I drive about 5 miles out on the beach to go surf casting every other weekend and they handle pretty well on the sand. My two real gripes about these tires is that 1 they look like a minivan tire and 2 that they almost always look to me like they are under inflated.
Thats my .02 hope it helps and if anybody has any questions about em let me know ill be glad to answer.