Tires again

[mscamping]

Getting ready to get new steer tires, maybe.. These are 5 1/2 years old by manufacture date and we hate to head South for the winter on them, are we being foolish?? They are GY 670.. I can't see the price for Michelins.. We won't get GY's again.. We didn't, so far, have any trouble with them, except we couldn't get them to run smooth.. What's anyones thoughts.. Thanks for your replies.. Mike Mathews..
They are covered all the time we're parked, and treated with 303 about every 5 or 6 months..
We winter in Florida most of the time, we have been to Texas and would like to go back..
Size is 275x70x22.5 H rated..
Just got a quote for Hankook at $500 each out the door.. Bridgestone $829.23 each..
Michelin start out at $738 with the FMCA discount without add-ons and we're having trouble finding a dealer that will do this..

[tropical36]

DanTheRVMan wrote:

The Texan wrote:
Can someone, anyone, post a factual explanation of what makes Michelin a superior tire to any other brand..:?.. Not your feelings or a uncle said reason, just facts please.....

IDEALLY, You would need to know chemistry, processing, tolerances out of round, weight variation, etc., etc.

Then you would need to know what it all means.

Alternatively you could rely on independent testing at various temp, speeds, loads on a suitable rough test track, along with UV tolerance etc.

You are not going to get that here.

I interviewed with Michelin twice, offered a job once (baptist personnel guy did not like my questions at lunch when I was younger)

Michelin seems to be contentiously trying to make good tires from my experience, but that is likely true of many companies to one degree or another. I wish I knew who made the best tires.

For some reason, I've got a thing for Bridgestone, but don't want to pay the price for those either, whaddaya think?
I keep telling myself if they meet DOT standards, then they're good to go and especially at my driving speeds. I think this especially true in the aftermath of the Firestone scandal, some years back, when all manufacturers came under scrutiny or from what I've heard, anyway.

[DanTheRVMan]

The Texan wrote:
Can someone, anyone, post a factual explanation of what makes Michelin a superior tire to any other brand..:?.. Not your feelings or a uncle said reason, just facts please.....

IDEALLY, You would need to know chemistry, processing, tolerances out of round, weight variation, etc., etc.

Then you would need to know what it all means.

Alternatively you could rely on independent testing at various temp, speeds, loads on a suitable rough test track, along with UV tolerance etc.

You are not going to get that here.

I interviewed with Michelin twice, offered a job once (baptist personnel guy did not like my questions at lunch when I was younger)

Michelin seems to be contentiously trying to make good tires from my experience, but that is likely true of many companies to one degree or another. I wish I knew who made the best tires.

[J-Rooster]

mscamping wrote:
Bit the bullet and ordered Michelins, found an independent dealer that would sell below FMCA discount.. DW said that's what she thought we ought to do, so everyone is happy.. LOL.. Mike Mathews..

Mike, I just bought new Michelins several months ago on the FMCA Fleet Program and I paid $378.00 per tire. I ordered XRV's due to the super soft rubber (heading to Lake Havasu City next week) and the coach will be sitting for 6 months and that helps having a soft tire sitting that long and, I like the UV Protection that Michelin adds into there rubber compound which helps tire life in the Arizona Sun! Going down Monday and getting all the lug nuts retightened and the air pressure rechecked before I leave. Good Luck, Rooster

[tropical36]

The Texan wrote:
Can someone, anyone, post a factual explanation of what makes Michelin a superior tire to any other brand..:?.. Not your feelings or a uncle said reason, just facts please.....

Now that's a tough one with the hardest part, proving that they are indeed superior and I for one don't believe that they are or even come close. Somehow their marketing tech. really made the name stick for when maybe others were junk and maybe the DOT standards weren't up to snuff, cuz all those years of premature sidewall cracking didn't seem to hurt their reputation much. I still wouldn't have any complaints with them nowadays if the price was anywhere near right, though.

[mscamping]

Bit the bullet and ordered Michelins, found an independent dealer that would sell below FMCA discount.. DW said that's what she thought we ought to do, so everyone is happy.. LOL.. Mike Mathews..

[maznchle]

Sorry Sully2, I should have said the size was AH11 245/70 19.5 and my invoice shows 1533.00 309.00 per tire plus stems, ball,tax, out the door Blacks tire 5/17/13 www.blackstire.com n.c. paul

[tropical36]

mscamping wrote:
Getting ready to get new steer tires, maybe.. These are 5 1/2 years old by manufacture date and we hate to head South for the winter on them, are we being foolish?? They are GY 670.. I can't see the price for Michelins.. We won't get GY's again.. We didn't, so far, have any trouble with them, except we couldn't get them to run smooth.. What's anyones thoughts.. Thanks for your replies.. Mike Mathews..
They are covered all the time we're parked, and treated with 303 about every 5 or 6 months..
We winter in Florida most of the time, we have been to Texas and would like to go back..
Size is 275x70x22.5 H rated..
Just got a quote for Hankook at $500 each out the door.. Bridgestone $829.23 each..
Michelin start out at $738 with the FMCA discount without add-ons and we're having trouble finding a dealer that will do this..

If the 670's are still good, then run them for a while. If you really need replacements, there are alternatives and as I've said before, I've quit paying for names and ordered four Hercules from Amazon this last time around. We ran all over the US with them on the drive axle this summer and have no complaints thus far. I also have 670's on the front and tag and it won't be long before replacing the front steers with them as well. The GY's would have to be cheaper than the chinese before I would ever buy them again, but would like a set of Bridgestones if the price was right and they're not, so.....

[topflite51]

Teacher's Pet wrote:

The Texan wrote:
Can someone, anyone, post a factual explanation of what makes Michelin a superior tire to any other brand..:?.. Not your feelings or a uncle said reason, just facts please.....

They started in France in 1888. :B

They have attained Sainthood. :b:b:b

[RayChez]

Michelins are good tires, but now days there are many other companies that make a good tire. I have had Michelins XRV that come with the coach when it was new and they lasted five years before they started cracking up on the side walls. Then I have had two sets of Toyo's since then and they seem to be just as good or better. Both have worn even on the tread, and the tread after I had them changed out still looked like the day I bought them. Did not show much wear. But like I said there are other companies that make good tires. This new CRV that I just bought has Continental tires, and they seem to track pretty good.

So in conclusion I would say that there are many good tires out there.

[Lobstah]

Michelin...
French word for "superior marketing"

😉

Jim

[Teacher_s_Pet]

The Texan wrote:
Can someone, anyone, post a factual explanation of what makes Michelin a superior tire to any other brand..:?.. Not your feelings or a uncle said reason, just facts please.....

They started in France in 1888. :B

[down_home]

We put the new Michelin steer tires on the front axle. They made a world of difference in the ride and no more rivering. One tire and rim took one ounce to balance and the other one took zero, none, nada to balance on a load force balancer. We had them replaced near Decatur Indiana at the first stor of now a chain. I can't remember the name.
The tires were one week old when we bought them. Didn't have four more or we would have installed them on rear axle. They were changing tires bigger than thes on all kinds of semis and farm machinery. A couple of the Guys bounced them around and onto the axles and into back of trucks like 13 inch tires.
The GY670s have a lot of uv protection compounded into the tires. Their expected life is ten years. The Michelins expected life is five years.
The Dealer told me he could not reinstall any of these tire over five years of age for on the road use. However i got fifty dollars apiece for them and a semi driver gave him a hundred a piece.
As long as the GY670s pass inspection they will be on the coach another couple years. A rebalance may smooth them out but they still are a harder tire with more hard and soft spots than the Michelins.
The Rivering problem is an ironclad problem not conjecture. Even Michelin jumped in and said it was this and that. GY said it was becaue ther front axle load is too light and causes the rivering especially when coupled with having to steer constantly. They do not like to roll true down the road. Then they said they didn't have any problem and it was Operators fault and won't make good their defective tires.

[RayChez]

Better get new tires if your tires are over five years. A blow out can be very dangerous, just saw on the news where a commercial bus full of people had a blow out, went out of control and killed many passengers. So it is not worth taking a chance if you are going to drive many miles. JMHO

[Executive45]

The interesting thing about tire threads is everyone has their opinion as far as what tire to buy. I always love the one who says, "I just replaced my 10 yr old tires with X brand and it rides so much better"...well, duh! rubber hardens with age. NEW tires will always outperform OLD tires no matter the brand. As to whether "Made in USA" Michelin or Goodyears are better than brand X, that decision is left to the buyer. Two words come to mind...Quality Control...say what you want, we have it in this country...other countries not so much. I don't buy my prescriptions from Mexico or on line either...the choice is up to the individual...my opinion, of course...Dennis

[FormerBoater]

Hankook AH12's replaced our GY670's last year. Have about 4K miles on them.

275/70/22.5

Sometimes I feel like I am driving a Prevost (never have, but it must be something like this LOL).