Replacing 19.5's Toyo M-608Z.. Looking for advice

Finally got my Roadmaster RM253 's on and WOW what a difference compared to the Toyo's. When I put the Toyo's on years ago, for the first 5000 miles or so it felt like I was ice skating down the highway. No such problem with these, drive almost like my stock tires and with just a faint bit of road hum. So far so good, hopefully they will last longer than those Toyo's.

Thanks for all the input, pulled the trigger on the Cooper Roadmaster RM253 's and had them shipped to house. Way cheaper than I could get locally even with shipping.

Got them yesterday, they look really nice, Hope to get them on in a week or two.

I haven't used Toyos or the Coopers, so I cannot comment on them...

My first set of 19.5's were Michelin XDE's. They still had plenty of tread left when I replaced them at ~75k miles, however I was never really satisfied with them; The first couple I bought were replaced (under warranty) due to excessive road force, they took a lot of lead to balance, they had terrible tread squirm when they were new, and they were way too loud on the highway.

A year and a half ago I put on Bridgestone M729F's and drove from California to Maine and back with zero issues. The ride is smooth and vibration free, handling is great in all conditions, and for an M&S rated tire they don't sing too bad on the highway. Unless something better comes along, I'll be buying these again... if I manage to wear out this set.

Cheers,
-Mark

US company , manufactured in China

Oregun,
Thanks for taking the time to post that info.
TG

Troutguy wrote:

Oregun wrote:

Troutguy wrote:

Oregun wrote:
I was going to buy the Toyo's but my tire guy talked me into the Cooper Roadmaster RM253. Have had them about a year and half and so far I like them.
I got the 245's however.

That is the size that I was interested in. However the Vision 81 wheels that fit my truck are out of stock right now. I even called Vision Wheel and they are on back order for at least 60 days on the polished aluminum ones. I don't want black which are in stock.
What truck do you have these tires on?

I have 99 F350 SRW.

Click For Full-Size Image.

Oregun,
Do you know the country of manufacture of your Coopers? I've been searching the internet for this but I'd rather have someone that has them answer this. I think that I know the answer but, if you didn't mind I'd rather get it from you.....
Thanks,
TG

US company , manufactured in China

I originally put the Toyos on my Ricksom wheels (245's) last fall I switched them out for the Coopers I am happy so far but they are not broke in yet. I got terrible mileage out of the Toyos only about 25K I rotated them every 10K mikes, perhaps I was just unlucky? I like the looks and handling of the Coopers so far, as well as the price point !

Oregun wrote:

Troutguy wrote:

Oregun wrote:
I was going to buy the Toyo's but my tire guy talked me into the Cooper Roadmaster RM253. Have had them about a year and half and so far I like them.
I got the 245's however.

That is the size that I was interested in. However the Vision 81 wheels that fit my truck are out of stock right now. I even called Vision Wheel and they are on back order for at least 60 days on the polished aluminum ones. I don't want black which are in stock.
What truck do you have these tires on?

I have 99 F350 SRW.

Click For Full-Size Image.

Oregun,
Do you know the country of manufacture of your Coopers? I've been searching the internet for this but I'd rather have someone that has them answer this. I think that I know the answer but, if you didn't mind I'd rather get it from you.....
Thanks,
TG

B GAGE wrote:
I have Michelin XDS2's on the front & rear.

x2... another vote for the Michelin XDS2. And I have the legacy members of the truck camper forum from years ago to thank for their experience with the XDS2, which motivated me to try them, and I'm glad I did.

I can't report how many miles they will last for you, because our household has found that we can get 100,000 miles out of ANY brand tire, on any brand of vehicle, based on how we drive. After 120,000 miles, I finally broke down and got new tires on the daily driver. On the trucks, we only change tires due to age and time in service, not due to mileage or wear.

So my enjoyment of the Michelin XDS2 is due to the features of the tire itself. 400 tread blocks, each with several factory cut zig zaging sipes, around a 1,000 sipes (estimated) per tire, is part of the tread design that optimizes the XDS2 for wet traction... which was my chief concern in a truck tire... minimizing the risk of hydroplaning in the rains of the Pacific Northwest when the truck was empty.

The XDS2 also has curb guards... big fat concentric ribs of extra sacrificial meat on the sidewalls that tolerate scuffing against the concrete curb. My 19.5's are in a dually configuration, so I'm always trying to keep the rear hips out of the traffic lane when parallel parking.

I run four XDS2's across the back on the drive axle. I bought them at Costco in 2011, for around $330 each, in the 225 size. So about 6 years ago, and the tread still looks new today. I do not rotate drive axle tires. In a couple more years, it will be a shame to have to retire these tires in such excellent condition, simply due to age.

For the steer axle, I run Continental HSRs.

Costco will not mount or balance 19.5's, so I bought a set of Centramatic continuous automatic wheel balancers, and a couple of tire irons from Ken-Tool, and mounted the tires myself.


.

Oregun,
Thanks for the quick reply and picture. I really appreciate it.
TG

Troutguy wrote:

Oregun wrote:
I was going to buy the Toyo's but my tire guy talked me into the Cooper Roadmaster RM253. Have had them about a year and half and so far I like them.
I got the 245's however.

That is the size that I was interested in. However the Vision 81 wheels that fit my truck are out of stock right now. I even called Vision Wheel and they are on back order for at least 60 days on the polished aluminum ones. I don't want black which are in stock.
What truck do you have these tires on?

I have 99 F350 SRW.

Click For Full-Size Image.