Walter Clark
Member
This past weekend I experienced a partial belt de-lamination on one of my 37000 mile old original equipment Kumho tires...Went egg shaped after about 6 hours driving. They still had about 1/3 original tread and were approaching 5 years old from date of manufacture.
Yesterday I had all 5 replaced with Michelin Defender LTX M/S. I guess these are the replacement for the LTX M/S2.
Holy CRAP! I simply cannot believe how much smoother and quieter these tires are than the Kumhos that came off. The van feels transformed. I needed to drive a few miles on the interstate and some not-so-smooth side roads right after getting them installed and all I can say is other drivers must have wondered what meds I had been taking because of my big smile all the while.
Maybe - almost any new tire would feel that way at this point, but I was shocked at just how much noise and vibration I had been living with for some time.
In my brief ride I observed these felt a little less responsive to steering wheel input, but a much thicker tread and softer rubber would tend to do that.
I have yet to drive them in the rain but owner reviews are very encouraging regarding hydroplane resistance. Good to hear...last fall I had a pretty terrifying drive with the Kumho's on a long stretch of US64 in North Carolina with high crosswinds and heavy rains (this was the storm that dumped a couple feet of rain on South Carolina).
Yesterday I had all 5 replaced with Michelin Defender LTX M/S. I guess these are the replacement for the LTX M/S2.
Holy CRAP! I simply cannot believe how much smoother and quieter these tires are than the Kumhos that came off. The van feels transformed. I needed to drive a few miles on the interstate and some not-so-smooth side roads right after getting them installed and all I can say is other drivers must have wondered what meds I had been taking because of my big smile all the while.
Maybe - almost any new tire would feel that way at this point, but I was shocked at just how much noise and vibration I had been living with for some time.
In my brief ride I observed these felt a little less responsive to steering wheel input, but a much thicker tread and softer rubber would tend to do that.
I have yet to drive them in the rain but owner reviews are very encouraging regarding hydroplane resistance. Good to hear...last fall I had a pretty terrifying drive with the Kumho's on a long stretch of US64 in North Carolina with high crosswinds and heavy rains (this was the storm that dumped a couple feet of rain on South Carolina).