Quality Tires?

[220629]

I've been running off brand tires on my vehicles for decades. I've had good success buying used tires off Craigslist and other sources. Those tires have never let me down. I have yet to have a catastrophic failure with "off brand" tires. Based upon the failures that I have witnessed over the decades I will not run retreads.

For a time I was a Goodyear Marathon Radial Special Trailer tires only guy for my trailers. I run my trailer tires at max pressure. The Marathons were expensive, but gave great service. Until maybe 10 years ago. I began having problems with the Marathon radials. Because my trailer tires age out before the tread goes bad I changed over to buying cheap already mounted radial special trailer tires. Even complete mounted on new wheels they are considerably less expensive than the Marathons only off the shelf. I have yet to experience any cheap trailer tire failures, but I only changed over trailer tires about 5 years ago. Many large RV trailer owners have switched from Marathons to E rated LT tires. I've seen reports of other name brand expensive tires needing warranty replacement. So much for the magic of the brand names.

Good find on the tire.


The steer tires on my 2004 will pass inspection this month, but are close to needing replacement. Given the price, I'm thinking I'll be a guinea pig too. A pair of more tread new cheap tires should be better this winter than marginal tread old Goodyears. It looks like mounted and balanced for about 100 bucks a tire.

vic

I ordered 2 ea. highway tires delivered to store.

Here is a cheapo tire (225/75-16) that is listed as having a weight of just under 35 pounds. Clearly not the same level of quality as a Michelin, but they would probably be more than sufficient for my van. The rear axle of my van will never see more than 1,000 pounds of extra weight, and even that would be less than once per year. The tires will dry out before I ever wear out the tread. A cheap, light tire like this one might make the ride a little smoother, too.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Crosswind-LTR-HWY-L780-225-75R16-115-Q-Tire/450956875

****
Added: The above 225 75r 16 E tires are "Q" rated.
"What does 'Up to 99 mph' really mean?

Tires with a Q speed rating can safely sustain speeds of up to 99 miles per hour. The tire may be able to reach higher speeds, but going faster than 99 mph for any length of time is not safe. The tire is not designed to handle the stresses."
https://www.ntb.com/info/a20022/what-is-a-tire-speed-rating
* Vic note. OEM NAS aka NAFTA Sprinters have a 85 mph speed limiter as standard.

Tire load index = 115 (properly inflated)
"Load Index Load (lbs)
112 2469
113 2535
114 2601
115 2679"
https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tire-guide/tire-load-index
****

I ordered the tires before seeing Autostaretx's alternate tread tires.

If you're looking for a slightly more aggressive tread, Walmart is currently having a sale on the "all terrain" version of that Crosswind tire: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Crosswind-A-T-225-75R16-115-Q-Tire/862928733
A roaring $7 more than the "summer" tire.

--dick (who still has 15" wheels)
p.s. then there's this load range "E" tire: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Travelstar-EcoPath-H-T-All-Season-Tire-LT225-75R16-E-10ply/577195247

Added: Dick's tires listed above also have a 115 Tire Load Index.

Many Sprinter owners will never see the benefit of the higher mileage that comes with premium priced tires. The tires will age out long before wearing out. An RV which sees periods of storage should pay heed to tire age. It is reported that storage is tougher service vs daily use when it comes to tires deteriorating from age.

Tires do need to meet standards. I realize that lower price does generally mean lesser quality. Premium tires may offer newer designs. Research, retooling, and fancy ad campaigns cost money. Making a perfectly serviceable same design tire year after year keeps production cost down. Higher price can also be driven by brand name recognition.

Some warn against ever buying tires made in other countries. As a practical matter, that is becoming more and more difficult. Does anyone really know for certain where the premium priced tires that they love so much are produced?

Please provide specific reports of other country or even USA low priced manufactured tires suffering catastrophic failures. I don't mean belts shifting, or similar issues. I've witnessed that with premium tires. I'm looking for 1st person reports of tires flying apart or having tread separation.

vic

 

[PhilipE]

I have used Cooper tires on light trucks for a couple of decades. No issues what so ever. Thread life was good. On a duall application I was getting 100k plus before I replaced them. Fronts on the dually was good for 50K.

Trailer tires I buy good brands. Cheaper brands most are made in china today. Only had experience with on set of china tires. Friend bought a swather and trailer. Trailer was new with china tires. By the end of the first summer. Two of the china tires had blown out. The other two had bulges in the side walls. His firestone replacement tires are still on the trailer today. That was about 8 years ago.

My sprinter has firestones on it. I am not sure if I am going to use stones or cooper this spring when it gets new rubber.

I have only had a couple of sets of goodyear. Both did not impress me on thread life or traction.

 

[lindenengineering]

Vic
I am a dyed in the wool Michelin fan. A veritable Le Bibedum enthusiast
https://www.logodesignlove.com/bibendum-michelin-man

I have fond memories of many miles with the my jalopies (carcachas)but I have one of my most fondest memories is of the Michelin plant in Clermont Ferrand located in the Puy de Dome area of France.

I was sent there by my truck & bus maker employer with Ted. We were doing an engineering study on why Michelin tyres strangely scrubbed up the second steer axle tyre shoulder edge on 8 wheel rigid dump trucks we made.

Ted was very regular in his habits going off to read his newspaper at 10,am sharp, every morning for the week we were there doing this study. Complaining about filthy French factory ablutions he had joylessly discovered a municipal alternative just outside the plant in a park area.. So at just before 10 am he would briskly march past the gate security guard en route to the municipal toilet for a Puy de Dump in the Puy de Dome .
From the security guard's sentry box the old Frenchman would demand his name going in and out! Neither spoke any modicum of each other language, so it was mostly sign!
Ted however would holler the same "Scitte" going in & out --Guard would duly note it down!

Come the end of the week and with all the French Michelin senior management giving us Le Bonne Route with photos and a short speeches; our gate man approached to bid his farewell ! Obviously he has been practicing his English.
Barging into the assembled grouping for the photo with Gallic verve, he blurted out to Ted.

"sank yu for cummin-g to our usine Michelin. and especialemente to you Monsieur Sschit for you presence y zee amities" & then a hand shake

The genuine "entente cordial" as the haughty management with their Sorbonne English could never believe. Absolutely mortified !
We climbed up into the the cab of the 8 legger and the long trip up to Calais peeing our pants with laughter all the time saying our Au Revoirs!
I love France !
I like Michelin.
Ted liked the municipal toilet in the Puy de Dump.
Merry Christmas
Dennis

 

[outbound]

just this month, took off 2 firestone LT - with appx 80000 miles on em...that were on the van when i bought it in dec2015.
these 2 had been on the front end for the prev 2 summers, so figured i'd run em til the tread went away, as i like to get max miles.
put 2 michelin LTX/winters that i bought last year, but only put a few thousand on em, so they still plenty beefy, with a 40k mi wrrt on em.
put 2 brand new firestone LT on the front, they sure do have deep tread on em, look to be as deep as the LTX's have.
dunno what the firestone's have far as treadwear wrrt is concerned, but considering they go upwards of 80k, who cares?
will likely get at least 2 more winters out of the LTX's (this one and next) and then run em for the following summer.
and having the new rubber on all wheels does make for a quieter+smoother ride, thats fer dang sure!

 

[Garandman]

As a general rule we make sure all our vehicles are well shod, and spend as much as necessary since nothing compromises vehicle performance more than poor performing tires.

Replaced the 15” Coopers that came with the van with 16” Firestone CV’s. The ride quality is way up, the noise level down, wet traction improved.

You don’t have to spend the most: outside winter we are using Nokian eNTyre 2.0 on cars instead of Michelins previously used, great performance and they happen to cost less. My WRX has Michelin Pilot Sport, which replaced Continental ExtremeContacts and Dunlop SportMaxx.

As far as country of origin, with today’s more-automated tire plants, it’s not as important as decades ago. Nokian’s newest factory happens to be in Russia, not Finnland. Michelin produces tires in 15 countries and the other majors follow suit. If you’ve ever worked in a rubber molding plant, you’d know you don’t want one in the neighborhood!

CR produced this graphic on tires they tested.

 

[lindenengineering]

More Bibendum!

https://www.logodesignlove.com/bibendum-michelin-man

Dennis

 

[John E]

The Goodyear Marathon trailer tires were a well known failure on boat trailers in the '2000 - 2010 era. I didn't experience it, but I know many who did. Primarily on tandem axle torsion trailers. But others as well..

 

[220629]

The Goodyear Marathon trailer tires were a well known failure on boat trailers in the '2000 - 2010 era. I didn't experience it, but I know many who did. Primarily on tandem axle torsion trailers. But others as well..

I had forgotten my one experience. I had a spare trailer tire mounted near the front of my boat trailer. I was working in the general area of the trailer, not actually on anything trailer related. Suddenly there was a pop and whoosh of air. The Goodyear Marathon radial spare tire had just decided to blow out leaving a long open slash.

In fairness it was a tire that I removed from service. It still had good enough tread to pass inspection. There was no sign of deep cracking on the sidewalls or other problem areas. At down speed I have used some nastier looking tires with ugly cracking to keep moving down the highway to a tire store. Even those never blew out, and they were in use.

Back to topic.

My Walmart cheapo specials.

I received the Walmart tires and had them mounted. Tires shipped to store don't go to the tire department. You need to pick them up at the Ship to Store area and move them to the automotive area.

$24.00 for two tires unmounted and 2 ea. new tires mounted/balanced. I haven't installed the tires/wheels yet. They are marked LT225 75r 16 E on the sidewall.

The first tire I looked at had a very small weight. Good indication!! The second tire had mega weight on the inside of the rim. Highway tread looks typical to other brands. We'll see how good the tires are as to balance after they are installed.

vic

I installed the Walmart Crosswind tires on the front of the 2004 yesterday. Some drives around town and one up on the freeway show the tires are good enough. No balance issues so far (up to 70 mph). The tires seem quieter than the removed Goodyear tires, but that may be my imagination. Since adding the 2nd Sprinter we put about 6,000 miles per year on the 2004. Given that service I'm pretty sure that the tires will age out before wearing out. The tires seem like a good purchase for my use. Time will tell.

... A pair of more tread new cheap tires should be better this winter than marginal tread old Goodyears. ...

vic

 

[220629]

... A pair of more tread new cheap tires should be better this winter than marginal tread old Goodyears. ...

Update.
First.

The Walmart Crosswind LTR HWY (L780) 225/75R16 115 Q Tire are presently priced at $77.45 each.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Crosswind-LTR-HWY-L780-225-75R16-115-Q-Tire/450956875

Autostaretx Dick noticed these. They have a bit more aggressive tread.

Robot or human?

I received the Walmart tires and had them mounted. Tires shipped to store don't go to the tire department. You need to pick them up at the Ship to Store area and move them to the automotive area.

$24.00 for two tires unmounted and 2 ea. new tires mounted/balanced. I haven't installed the tires/wheels yet. They are marked LT225 75r 16 E on the sidewall.

The first tire I looked at had a very small weight. Good indication!! The second tire had mega weight on the inside of the rim. Highway tread looks typical to other brands. We'll see how good the tires are as to balance after they are installed.

vic

The balance is fine. No troubles at any speeds so far. After 2 months of service the Crosswind tires seem fine. We've been making Monday - Friday runs to my wife's radiation treatments so they are racking up some regular miles. This is cold weather service though, not seeing hot summer pavement yet.

vic

August 11, 2020. October 8, 2020 Update.
Walmart tires are working fine. Even tread wear. No vibration. No visible signs of deterioration to date.

 

[220629]

The 2 Crosswind tires I installed are working fine. With winter coming I'm thinking that new rubber on the rear of the 2006 is worth the 275 bucks or so. I'll swap the 2006 rear tires over to the 2004. They have good tread, better than the 2004.

The Crosswind A/T tires that Dick highlighted look good. They are now $91.23 each.

Robot or human?

Before I order, anyone have a suggestion for similarly priced LT225 75r 16 tires which may be a better choice?

TIA.

vic

 

[tom2turbo]

Thanks for the "basic necessities" inflation data point.

 

[220629]

These tires just jumped from 82 bucks to 101.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Crosswind-LTR-HWY-L780-225-75R16-115-Q-Tire/450956875

That triggered my order for these that are still at 92 bucks.

Robot or human?

vic

 

[220629]

One Crosswind tire delivered in two days. The other now says Oct 16?

I just noticed today that could have saved 20 bucks per tire. I searched Walmart using LT225 75r 16 and never noticed the 73 buck price. I think that I would have seen them. Maybe the price dropped?

The ratings seem good with these.

Robot or human?

vic

 

[220629]

Just installed the Walmart specials on the rear of the 2006. The tread looks like it will be good for winter snow.



These Crosswind tires required very little weight for balancing vs the Crosswind highway tires I mentioned in earlier posts.

Given the tread I was a bit concerned about road noise. A quick spin on the freeway didn't reveal any excessive noise.

Time will tell for service on these. I'm pretty certain they will be fine. I just noticed that we've put only about 2800 miles on the 2006 since the early Fall 2019 oil change. At that rate there's little benefit for me to buy more expensive tires just for the possible extra miles of wear. (Superior performance is not a factor for me when driving a truck.)

vic

Robot or human?

 

[dbuzz77]

that pattern looks close to what i have under a different name. just wondering if anyone has ventured to not put LT tires on because they are not hauling a big load anymore. one tire guy here said the LT tires have more rubber on them but the ride wouldn't be the same

 

[220629]

that pattern looks close to what i have under a different name. just wondering if anyone has ventured to not put LT tires on because they are not hauling a big load anymore. one tire guy here said the LT tires have more rubber on them but the ride wouldn't be the same

Generally P rated tires on a vehicle the size/weight of a Sprinter is not a good idea at all. In addition to the load rating problems, one of the downsides I recall is that the sidewalls on P rated tires flex more than LT rated. That can contribute to heating the tires. Many... most?.. tire stores won't mount tires that are known to be under rated for a vehicle.

vic

 

[dbuzz77]

I ran into that but if you look at the load ratings for non LT tires that are meant for trucks, it is high enough for what we are doing. my dodge ram does not have LT tires on it

 

[220629]

I ran into that but if you look at the load ratings for non LT tires that are meant for trucks, it is high enough for what we are doing. my dodge ram does not have LT tires on it

I believe it is telling that some tire stores won't do it. If your state annual inspection doesn't prohibit the P tires just try it. Please start a new thread to report back on your results.

vic

 

[dbuzz77]

I did notice when i looked up 1 set of tires i was interested in, the p tires had 8/32 tread new and the LT had 13/32. don't know what to think about that

 

[Deleted member 50714]

What happened to Tiger paws?