New member from Calgary, AB. Canada

[Calexplorer]

Hello All,

Great to find this forum... My name is Larry and I'm from Calgary, Alberta, Canada...

We recently bought a 2009 Explorer LTD AWD and we very much enjoy this vehicle. I belonged to other forums for previous vehicles and loved the feedback from the community...

I do have a question for anyone that can answer this:

With the Limited model, most of you probably know that they come 20 inch rims and we still have the OEM tires (Pirelli Scorpion tires) on them... Well, in the past couple weeks, we've noticed that the vehicle and steering wheel shakes and shimmers at low speeds, it drives me crazy...

I checked with a local tire dealer (Kaltire in Calgary) thinking that one of the tires may be out of balance, but he tells me that is a belt seperation issue in one of the tires... I plan on double checking with a few others to see what they say as he wants to sell me a full set of new tires...

BTW: I'm not impressed with the Pirelli tires in a Canadian winter, they suck in my opinion...

So, here're my questions:

What's a reasonable, but good All Season tire that can handle summer and Canadian winters without me having to get seperate wheels (summer ones & winter ones)?

Is this a common issue with 09 Explorers w/AWD?

What should I check before dumping $1500 - $2000 for new tires?

Thanks All,

CalExplorer (Larry)

 

[lynchy wa]

G'day Larry, I haven't had much to do with 20" tyres, so I'll leave that to someone who has. Just wanted to say welcome.

 

[celly]

Welcome Larry from another Calgarian. I can't speak about 20" rims, but the Michelin LTX M/S is a great tire for year round use in Calgary. I swap out to real winter tires just for piece of mind, but the Michelins perform just fine if I'm late getting the winter boots on in time. You know Calgary. We can have snow in summer.

Enjoy the site and stick around. It's the best Exploder resource on the web, bar none.

 

[Calexplorer]

Thanks for the welcome Greg... Much appreciated... Lj

 

[Calexplorer]

Thanks Celly,

I've never had Michelin's but I hear that they're very good, very expensive as well...

Thanks for the welcome... Should I sign up somewhere for any local (Calgary) events this coming summer?

 

[BrianDye]

Welcome Larry!

Do you mean 20" tires? I also have a 2000 Limited (5.0 AWD), and I believe the stockers are 16's?

I just replaced my bald tires (Well about 4k ago now), with Firestone A/T's. I LOVE them in the snow/rain/mud and they're great on-road also. I paid a little over 540$ out the door at a local Ford dealer.

 

[Calexplorer]

Hi Brian,

The 09 limited package came with the following, all of which I have

"Many of the upper trim's features can be had as options on the lower trims, including a third-row seat (with or without a power-fold feature), rear-seat climate control and an upgraded stereo. Other options include power running boards, a heated windshield, second-row captain's chairs, the Sync hands-free communication and entertainment integration system, a voice-activated navigation system, a rear-seat DVD entertainment system, a sunroof, 20-inch rims and a Class III/IV towing package."

I'll measure them today to be sure, but these are fair size rims...

Welcome Larry!

Do you mean 20" tires? I also have a 2000 Limited (5.0 AWD), and I believe the stockers are 16's?

I just replaced my bald tires (Well about 4k ago now), with Firestone A/T's. I LOVE them in the snow/rain/mud and they're great on-road also. I paid a little over 540$ out the door at a local Ford dealer.

 

[celly]

Thanks Celly,

I've never had Michelin's but I hear that they're very good, very expensive as well...

Thanks for the welcome... Should I sign up somewhere for any local (Calgary) events this coming summer?

Michelin tend to price higher. Get what you pay for? The LTX M/S 2 (next generation) I just got are rated for 115,000 km so it's all relative. Mind you, I just have 16" so 20s might break the bank even worse.

I don't know of any Calgary "events", but there are a handful of us on here. I've only met one Calgarian in person from the site.

 

[Calexplorer]

Thanks Celly,

Agreed, the moment you get over 16" the price jumps significantly... Kaltire quoted me $360.00 just to replace one of the Pirellii's that may be separating... I don't plan replacing them with the same tires...

 

[celly]

Thanks Celly,

Agreed, the moment you get over 16" the price jumps significantly... Kaltire quoted me $360.00 just to replace one of the Pirellii's that may be separating... I don't plan replacing them with the same tires...

I think you answered why I'll stick with 16" wheels. OK, I don't have the bling factor, but I'm not really worried about that.

I had my tires installed, balanced, road hazard and filled with Nitrogen (just for kicks) for under $300 each, taxes in. I don't know if that's a great deal or not. I've used Integra tire in Douglasglen for a lot of years and the owner/manager has always treated my wife and I well.

I've heard the Pirellis are fine for summer. I'm using Michelins in winter too. Having them swapped out each year extends the life of both sets. I plan to hold onto my '99 for a long time. It's barely got over 130,000 km right now but I am starting a new job with a longer commute so that will change.

 

[NGTD]

I have had good luck with some of the MotoMaster tires from CT. I currently have Total Terrain AP's on my 98. They are made by either General or Michelin.

I am not sure if they make 20"s.

Gotta love my 15"s. My total tire bill was just a little more than what your dealer wants for one Pirelli.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Did you rotate the tires to determine which one is either out of balance or has a belt shift issue? You probably have one bad tire, so it might not be necessary to replace all four tires.

 

[South.East.Beast]

welcome to the forum larry, I am also from calgary alberta. Im sure you will enjoy this forum, i've been part of it for a few years now and its helped me out alot. You might see me drivin around calgary sometimes. I've got a black 98 xlt with a ford sticker on the back window and you might just hear me blast right past you if you're ever on country hills.

 

[1Aauto]

Welcome to the site Larry