What about Michelin AT's?

[GJarrett]

I have a friend who needs to replace her Firestones and cannot find good replacements (BFG Long Trails, etc) since they are all sold out. Her dealer tried to sell her Michelin ATs but said they would be a lot noisier. I doubt that.

Does anyone have firsthand experience with Michelin ATs and can tell me how they are? She's a schoolteacher and doesn't offroad so these are just for the street.

 

[NoBoundaries]

If she really wants the BFG's, has she only looked for 235's? She will probably have a better chance finding 30x9.5's, they are only about half an inch bigger and about .2 inches wider. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by GJarrett
I have a friend who needs to replace her Firestones and cannot find good replacements (BFG Long Trails, etc) since they are all sold out. Her dealer tried to sell her Michelin ATs but said they would be a lot noisier. I doubt that.

Does anyone have firsthand experience with Michelin ATs and can tell me how they are? She's a schoolteacher and doesn't offroad so these are just for the street.

I have 265 75R16 Michelin LTX ATs on my '97 4x4 Sport and do not find the noise objectionable. They are much larger than your friend's 235s so they would probably be louder on mine. They are certainly no louder than my Wilderness ATs were. It sounds like your friend should be looking at the LTX M/S though since it is more for the street than off-road. It's a little quiter than the A/T and performs slightly better on the road (with a slight dis-advantage off-road). The construction is the same, but the gaps in the tread are closer. My thoughts: the A/Ts are not noisy, considering her driving she should look at the M/S though.

 

[GJarrett]

The M/S is one of the tires I recommended that is "indefinately backordered". Also Geolanders, etc. It sounds like they are about out of everything.

 

[FlyAU]

Two thumbs up for the M/S

Gerald, I suppose you have already thought of this, but if your friend wants to get rid of her Firestones now, she may want to look into seeing if anyone has 30 x 9.50 R15 tires in stock. I'm assuming she has the 15" Wilderness, since you said everyone's out of stock. The only 15" M/Ss that the Tire Rack has in stock at the moment are the 30" (boy, that sounds confusing!) for $109.

 

[TPLYNCH]

Is there a Sears near you? They sell the LTX M&S's as XC LT4 tires.

 

[JG]

Sears sells a Michelin XCX/APT, looks like it's the same as the LTX A/T. I bought 2 sets of these to replace firestones, 30x9.50 15 on a 2000 4x4 and P235/15s on a 1999 4X2 Sport. Very pleased with them. The 30x9.50 is a load range C tire. I have not really noticed any more noise. The XC LT4 is probably quieter.

 

[NoBoundaries]

There are some new AT's for sale on e-bay: Dead Link Removed

Hope this helps your friend Gerald.