It's coming down to the tire...

Radio · 02-12-2012, 01:41 PM

or where the rubber meets the road.

Alas, after 85,000 happy miles the tread on my original equipment Michelin LTX MS/2 tires is almost down to the tread wear indicators. If I weren't towing I'd ride them out another 5,000 miles.

I have also decided to go with a slightly bigger tire, 265/70 17" as opposed to the original 255/65 17". The new tire(s) are about 1.5 inches taller than the originals.

After some comparison shopping the finalists are, based on performance numbers and what I can afford:

Cooper Discoverer LTX vs Goodyear Wrangler AT/S

Here's a blow by blow: (with the original Michelin's thrown in for comparison. Remember they were a smaller tire.)

Tire.........Speed......Load.....Warranty....UTQG. ....Price OTD.....Rebate

Cooper........S..........115.........65,000......5 20 AB.....$740............$100
Goodyear.....S..........113........unknown....360 AB.....$728............$50
Originals......S..........108.........60,000...... 420 AB

So I think I'm going with the Coopers. I've not owned any Coopers before. Anybody got experience with them? I have owned at least one set of Goodyear, and they were decent, get-what-you-pay-for tires. But did not WOW me like getting 85,000 out of these factory equipment/original Michelin tires.

BTW the Michelin equivalents are $1126.46 OTD.

The Goodyear guy is my Ford dealer. He doesn't know beans about tires and said Cooper was a "cheap, no name house brand" and then answered my "max load in pounds" question with "42 psi"

I noticed he sells Mastercraft which is a Cooper brand.

However his road hazard insurance is only $8, whereas the Cooper guy want's $90 for his. (Which I have declined in this price) I haven't torn up a tire in quite a while, so I'll do without.

Anybody out there despise Cooper tires? Why?

sherdep · 02-12-2012, 01:51 PM

I would stay the same size tire you are running now - the taller tire will change your shift pattern on the tranny - trust me I know this cause I am running a 2" taller tire then stock and want to go back to 33" tires cause it lugs bad especially over hills.
3.92 gears with a 35" tire.

I have had coopers - Discover HT Plus - they were 275/60/20 though and they wore out fast with uneven wear as well. Never will I buy Coopers again

If it was me I would buy the Michelin's - the two sets of Michelin's I have owned which were the LTX MS tires they wore like Iron - Both in a Load Range E and both were in a 16" tire though.

I now run a Dick Cepek FCII's Load Range E - 305/70/18
They are wearing nicely and didnt make much noise in the begining but not they make the winey sound you get with a mud tire even though they are an all terrain tire. I would buy the Dick Cepek's again

Malco · 02-12-2012, 02:03 PM

X2 about getting Michelins.You just can't get a better tire.I've had Coopers on my other trucks and they had good traction but wore out extremely fast.Just my experience.Spend the extra money and go with the Michelins,you will save money in the long run .

fonzie · 02-12-2012, 02:10 PM

I can only comment on the GoodYear Wrangler AT/S. Had them on my 2004 F150 FX4 and got 130,000 KM (80,000 miles) out of them. The ride was good and when it was time to change bought the same.

Malco · 02-12-2012, 02:14 PM

My Dodge came with Wrangler HP.Got 50,000 kms out of them.There might be 10 to 15 thousand kms left on them but changed to Michelins before winter.Just my experience.

smithmdsmith · 02-12-2012, 03:26 PM

If you tow (and I'm guessing you do since you are on this board) don't go bigger on the tires unless you always feel like you've got power to spare.

If you are strictly an on-road guy, you're going to have a hard time beating the Michelin LTX M/S2. The Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza is another excellent road-only tire (don't know about its load bearing abilities).

I've never had a good long-term relationship with a Goodyear tire. Kelly tires have been good to me, though. Go figure.

I have a set of Cooper ST MAXX on my truck right now, but I've only got about 6,000 miles on them. They've been great on and off road in the wet and dry. They replaced a brand new set of Firestone Transforce HT that came on the truck that liked to hydroplane at highway speeds.

MrT · 02-12-2012, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smithmdsmith

If you are strictly an on-road guy, you're going to have a hard time beating the Michelin LTX M/S2.

I've owned Goodyears, Kellys, & Bridgestones on my trucks. My current vehicle came with the Goodyear AT/S (I think). They were noisy, and went about 38,000 miles properly inflated, rotated & aligned.

I'm presently running the Michelin LTX M/S2s. Couldn't be happier on all accounts. Were they expensive? Yes. Would I buy them again? Yes, since I think in the long run they'll be cost effective.

Good luck--this is surely one of those religious discussions.

Dave_Monica · 02-12-2012, 03:46 PM

Don't replace with a larger diameter tire. If you do, you're effectively lowering the axle ratio (same as going from 3.73 to 3.55). This will made the towing experience worse...particularly climbing grades.

Dave

donn · 02-12-2012, 03:51 PM

You got 85K out of the original equipment Michelins and you are going to something else! WHY?
Anything else will be a 40K tire, why not go with what works??

Dave_Monica · 02-12-2012, 04:02 PM

Seeing that you're pulling a 5th wheel, I'd also recommend switching to a LT load range E as long as they're not larger diameter. They'll feel much better than the P metrics.

Dave

textman · 02-13-2012, 12:54 PM

Yep, stay with the same size and bite the bullet and get the Michelins!

Radio · 02-14-2012, 07:50 PM

Genuine made in USA Cooper Discoverer H/T tires installed all the way around, $640 after rebate.

Road real nice coming home from the shop, like a new truck. I think the shop screwed up and installed the next grade up, because the final bill was $44 more than we agreed on, so they adjusted the price (after some hassle with the computer) and away we went.

The shop was understaffed, however, and the job took about 3 hours.

Would love to have gone Michelin, but $1150 for tires, admittedly very likely the best tires on the market, is out of the question. The previous set was rotated every 5000 miles and kept inflated at 42 pounds (slightly over pressured)

These Coopers came highly recommended, and my internet research gives me some comfort in my decision. If they truly suck then I will post on this and some other forums to that fact.

An engineer friend once said, "One good test is worth a thousand expert opinions."

So now we will see.

PapaSmurf · 02-14-2012, 08:20 PM

Stay with Michelin, you already know you are happy and safe with them. I never even considered any other tire for my truck. Went straight to Discount Tire and replaced the old Michelins with new ones. Discount Tire normally has sales and rebates, should be able to get out the door for $900. Keep checking, wait for a sale.

sherdep · 02-14-2012, 08:51 PM

Hopefully the coopers will do you better then they did me.

what load range tire did you end up with?
What size did you get also stayed the same or did you upsize?

Radio · 02-15-2012, 05:07 PM

Size is 265/70 17" over the original 255/60 17" making them 1.5" taller. This offsets the speedometer by 5%

The load range is 115 over the original 108. (you can find charts to translate this online.) Stamped on the side of the tire it says Max Load = 2535 LBS.

And I got chrome valve stems to boot! Whahoo!

sherdep · 02-15-2012, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radio

Size is 265/70 17" over the original 255/60 17" making them 1.5" taller. This offsets the speedometer by 5%

The load range is 115 over the original 108. (you can find charts to translate this online.) Stamped on the side of the tire it says Max Load = 2535 LBS.

And I got chrome valve stems to boot! Whahoo!

It will actually have Load Range D or E stamped on the side of the tire
How many Plies are the tire?

I bet by going that much bigger the ride feels mushy compared to what it did before right?

Going 1.5" over stock is not going to be a good thing but you will see when you try traveling over hills and slight inclines the tranny will keep shifting - better have a good tranny cooler on the truck.

Also with the bigger tires and the speedo being off you forgot to factor in the ABS - I know when I went to 35" tires (2" over stock) when I would hit my brakes - it seemed I had to hit them harder to stop - hopefully that isnt your case.

Might be a good time to invest in either having the dealer reprogram your Pinion Factor or purchase a programmer like superchips to fix this so when you are towing it doesnt become a real issue.

I only talk with experiance on this subject because I have been thru it - now I want to jump to a 33" tire to put me back in my stock range versus what I am at now.

TURBS · 02-15-2012, 06:34 PM

I have to put my 2 cents worth in !

I have run firestone transforce at's and have superior wear!
I drive 70 plus miles a day
best bang for the buck imo

backin15 · 02-15-2012, 07:42 PM

My son works at a tire store and says the Coopers are a good buy and they see few problems with them.

cootr68 · 03-01-2012, 08:43 AM

I have had many Cooper tires and never had any problems. Just switched from the stt's to the st maxx like them so far. 265/75/16. Rotation Rotation ROTATION!!!!!!!!!!!

Rod Johnson · 03-01-2012, 11:24 AM

Your ABS shouldn't have a problem if you all the tires are the same size, even if you go up or down in size. The speedo will be off, however. I don't know how much the dealer would charge to tweak the speedo, but I picked up HPTuners last year. It lets you fiddle with all sorts of stuff, including trans line pressure, shift speeds, shift firmness, gear/tire changes, fuel and spark curves... Its pricey at $500

And yes, taller tires are like shorter gears, and make the brakes less effective, too. Not to mention increased rotational mass.

on topic, I've had good luck with BFG All Terrains. I picked up another set a few weeks ago, stepped upto the load range E, and right at $1000 OTD for 4, with the works.

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