Michelin XPS Rib

[Scott_Mc]

Anyone tried these? I think I want to!

HERE (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=XPS+Rib&vehicleSearch=true&partnum=275R6XPSR&fromCompare1=yes&place=3&minSpeedRating=R&minLoad=D)

Maybe squeek an extra mile or two per gallon?

Opinions besides that they are pricey?

[Altered Sprinter]

Hi Scott
Looking at the tread patten they just are to close to what the Sprinter already has.
I have run Michelin before [Not on Sprinters] but found the walls too soft creating excessive wear and rounding of shoulders on the front tires , no the balance was perfect, along with in-out tip toe balance.
Looking back on this thread we seem to have the same problem, the tires Standard work well in all conditions, under Hi-way use wet or dry.
Off road is another question or set of issues, In My home state we do get snow in the high country the tires grip well enough with careful driving, but if there is black ice underneath! or on the road , then the standard tires just spin out, ESP questionable? more than it's worth in these conditions.
So hit a snow patch with no traction! or very little, I head for the gravel verge on the side of the road, and the van is controllable,
Wet conditions from a standing start on a 45= degree start, constant wheel's in spin, your stuck full stop, you've no where else to go! but up, and reverse is hopeless.
Same on a gravel road in the dead of Summer, the roads have a fine marble like substances, and slippage occurs on tight hi-hill- climbs runs at any speed, traction control cuts in , and again I don't trust the system, basically a straight truck patten tire, just acts like a slick under certain road conditions as there is no tread to deflect sideways rolling out of water, lose gravel or mud etc.
1667
Personally I'd prefer an all round all season tire as the picture below shows.
1668
But getting them is almost impossible in 15" tire size
AS for 16x6.5 again no not in the loading capacity required for weight carrying 3.5 tonne, at least not in Australia, and the new tires which Mercedes on the 2007 models now use! again not available, so you have to arrange the Merc boys to get them, maybe they will become available latter on via tire company's:idunno:
In Germany you can get them , but try to arrange bringing them in! Big expensive headache.
over the years I have had many vans for our commercial use , each time we have purchased, they were replaced with an all round season tire, no problems great go almost any where stick like :censored: but 14'' is not a problem just our Mercedes/Dodge Sprinters, seem to be standing out alone on their lonesome own! 'with no particular place to go" When your stuck off road, one foot from the Black top, that 's meant to get you Home.
Good thing theres a drought up on the top end, of Aus:drool: that five tonner of mine, or that Sprinter would be stuck solid on a dirt road, until Kingdom come! no tow trucks up top ,and your nearest neighbor's house are set apart,on an eighteen thousand acre lot of real estate, long "Dead Man's Walk:yell:
Which tire is the right one for my car? (http://www.rowleystires.com/faqs.htm#WhatTire)
Cars no problem, but the truck is?
Richard

[kendall69]

....but found the walls too soft creating excessive wear
I agree about Michelin in general , BUT the ribs are the commercial trucker tires and feel like solid rubber tires, and weigh almost twice what a regular tire does.

I had a motor home with new Firestone tires, and had a lot of left to right sway. I put on the Ribs, and it cured the sway, so much so, I never did put on the sway bars I purchased.

I HIGHLY recomment the Ribs. In fact I can't weight for my tires to wear out to put them on the Sprinter.

[dutchboy482003]

I had XPS ribs on my Dodge Maxivan and put almost 86,000 miles on them before I sold the vehicle. They were still legal, but barely.
I had originally LTX M/S tires installed, but they were eating up the particular size of rock on my neighborhood private gravel road and spitting it out all through the day, hitting the bottom and wheel wells . It was driving me crazy and I had them taken off and the XPS rib installed. They didn't do this and I was happy with them. Back then (in '96) they were only $ 10 per tire more than the LTX.
They have a much stiffer sidewall than the LTX, so they will give you not as soft of a ride. Since my van was a work van that didn't matter, but if you travel with it, you might not like it. They are also worthless on snow and ice, so you need snow tires in a cold climate. For a summer tire or year round in a warm climate they are a great tire. I would consider buying them again when I need tires.
Ben H.

[bbirdxx2000]

bringing back a 5-year old thread to life:smilewink::smilewink:

Anyway I am gonna give theses tires a try based on about two months of research:thumbup:. I have a 04 2500 model

Main arguements:frown:. "Its to expensive" I am currently runnning the LTX MS. So If I can gain 50% more tread life @ the cost of about 25% more in price, explain how its costing me money:idunno:

"No good in the snow", I live in NY state I run Blizzaks for about three months

"The ride is to stiff", I run Nitrogen it makes the ride softer.

Also If I can get better MPG due to far less rolling resistance, its a no brainer:thumbup:

last one, "Tire is to heavy", we have diesel engines noted for better torque than gas engines, Alos I very seldom run over 2,000 Lbs of freight. And yes I understand the concept of rolling resistance:professor:. So these are the answers to most of the friendly arguments:smilewink:


Finally, by now some one must have these tires mounted and should have 50,000 miles plus on them, love to hear from you:thumbup:

[WPJ]

Humm....i think check on these for my next summer set

[kendall69]

I have ONLY used Ribs on my vehicles ALL OF THEM. From Motorhome to the Sprinter.
I put about 70K miles on the last one and still looked like they had plenty of tread - actually per the treat test at the tire dealer when I went for a rotate.

The guy checking the tires noticed some hairline sidewall cracks, tires were 5 years old living in the Desert with temps of 120 plus from may to Sept. SO I wasn't surprised as almost all tires here have those cracks.

What did surprise me is the dealer called Michelin and told them of the crack and they gave me $40.00 per tire towards a new purchase, plus they had a $70.00 rebate on four tires so I said DO IT !!!!!

Not often you get warranty coverage without asking for it. Only tire I will ever buy as I've seen what they can do over many thousand miles in all types of condition, on many venicles.

[bbirdxx2000]

I have ONLY used Ribs on my vehicles ALL OF THEM. From Motorhome to the Sprinter.
I put about 70K miles on the last one and still looked like they had plenty of tread - actually per the treat test at the tire dealer when I went for a rotate.

The guy checking the tires noticed some hairline sidewall cracks, tires were 5 years old living in the Desert with temps of 120 plus from may to Sept. SO I wasn't surprised as almost all tires here have those cracks.

What did surprise me is the dealer called Michelin and told them of the crack and they gave me $40.00 per tire towards a new purchase, plus they had a $70.00 rebate on four tires so I said DO IT !!!!!

Not often you get warranty coverage without asking for it. Only tire I will ever buy as I've seen what they can do over many thousand miles in all types of condition, on many venicles.


Thanks for the reply, so what kind of mileage can you get out of these:idunno:, did you MPG change

[riskydnb]

I sell the Michelin XPS ribs in LT235/85/16 & LT245/75/16 sizes for $270 each no tax. Thats a savings of around $50 per tire. Call Randy if interested, 760.622.0148