Tires almost one year old and cannot be balanced. What tires would you all suggest as replacements? 265/75/16

 

You know what they say about Goodyear right?? Good for one year!!
I run Toyo Mud Terrain, love them for their E rating (10-ply). We drive a mix of gravel and pavement, so they work great. Most people get 40,000-50,000 out of them, that of course depends how religious you are about rotating. They will surprise you, for an aggresive tread design, they are very quiet.

 

My F250 had BFG T/A's; worn at 20,000. My X has Steeltex with 23,000 with only 3/32 of wear. Too bad they are no longer available. Most of my friends are having good luck with Michelin.

 

My 05 Ex has over 75,000 miles and is still running on original factory set of BF Goodrich T/A Rugged Terrain. They are still very good in the wet. Drove done I-75 last Sunday from Atlanta to Cocoa Florida in rain all the way with no issues.
All 4 tires still pass the "penny" test for tread depth. Go figure. I have NEVER had tires last so long. The challenge now is to see if they can last to 100K. (and still be safe).
My next set of tires? Buy 3 of the same BF Goodrich Rugged Trail T/A. Use the spare for the 4th and one of the takeoffs for a spare. "If it ain't broke don't fix it"!

 

You may want to rethink the idea of using a 4/5 year old tire (the spare) as a primary tire. You should have been rotating it into service. "In June 2005, Ford and GM admitted that tires older than 6 years posed a hazard and from their 2006 model year onwards, started printing warnings to this effect in their drivers handbooks for all their vehicles." See this site for information on tire date markings; Car Bibles : The Wheel and Tyre Bible Page 1 of 2

 

I've been running Michelin M/S on both my trucks for years and love them.

 

The Michelin M/S are probably the best in my opinion. Easy to balance and wear well.

Actually there is not much of a choice out there, I have heard of good results with Toyo tires.

The bad thing about it is it costs about 1000.00 for a good set of tires on an Excursion.

I for sure would not get some odd named tires that the tire dealer say's were made by........ or,,,,,,, just to save a few bucks.

Michelin makes a tire that is sold by Sears called a Michelin X/S, they wear well and balance just OK but the PROBLEM I have had with them is dry rot, I'm gong to replace mine because of this. All Mitchelin X/S tires from what I understand are sold by Sears only. I have these on my Excursion and do not reccomend them at all.

 

Is that a problem for a tire that has been stored in the personnel compartment of the Excursion? I expect that it looks like the day it came off the assembly line.

I understand that a tire stored under the vehicle exposed to the salt, weather, and the UV might be a problem after that length of time. I ask because I was planning on doing the same thing with the BFG Long Trail Radials on my Suburban prior to getting rid of it.

Thank you,

-JR

 

Any aged tire, no matter how good it looks can and will creat a problem, especially on a truck like an Excursion. The Excursion is designed to and will tow more than 9000 pounds. This can and will put extreme stress on an aged tire especially if driven for hours at interstate speeds towing.

 

How would a tire go out of balance unless it's uneven wear or a major tire failure /safety issue like delamination? Though, I'd assume uneven wear would be the owner's/driver's fault, I guess it could be a manufacturing problem.

I also read loads of reviews before buying mine but hadn't heard anything bad about Good Year tires (except the OEM ones). Michelin were almost always tops but a number of others competed for second place.

 

Rubber has polymer's in them from the formation and bonding purposes. These polymers will actually travel over time leaving a dryness in the previous softness of the rubber. U/V is known to destory these. Although the spare is not subjected to U/V the time frame is only slowed down. This is one of the reasons for tire rot/rubber rot. The tire will basically dry out.
This is the best I can explaine it. I am not a in the field and am only posting it as a general rule to my understanding.
For more information I would suggest to search ''What causes rubber to deteroiate''.
As we all know rubber will dry out and once it drys out it will wear out very quick due to the friction and heat build up. Once a spare tire is mounted anywhere from 700 to 1200 plus pounds of weight is put on it by the axel or "Wedge" of the car.
I know this is confusing but its the best I can explain it. But to save a 200.00 or so it is not worth it to anyone or their family.
This is about I know and wish I could help more so.
Most of the above is general principals and exceptions would occur I would expect.
I would expect this one of the reasons tread design and the names are changed in the tire business, this is one way to get the old product off the road.
If I have gotten off subject with this post I'm sorry. But I think it may very well be worth while. I sure would hate to get hit by "A BIG OLE EXCURSION", even if I'm in mine.

 

How much time do tires sit in warehouses between production and purchase at the retail store?

-JR

 

While I can't comment on Excursion tires as my originals are still good...I can comment on goodyear versus Michelin.

My '03 Cobra's factory tires were a Goodyear Eagle, and they were shot at about 17,000. I do realize they are summer only max performance tires, but I thought 17,000 was lame...especially since I don't drive the car like an animal.

So, my dealer friend recommended I talk to the Goodyear Rep who recommended the newer version of the Eagle F1. When I commented on the short life of the factory tires...he told me the new version would last 30,000 miles. He painted a very nice picture about the "new" Eagles.

From day one I was not happy with these tires. They were very stiff, yet "hinged" when making a quick turn. Rain? Spin city. All in all... I actually found these to be worse than the factory tires. Oh yeah...they also picked up nails and screws at an alarming rate. Had to replace one.

So....when these were shot at something like 33,000 miles. (Total on the car...NOT on the tires. Hmm...was I told an untruth about how long they would last?) My local technician did some research. There were not many choices for this car, and we decided on Michelins.

At first, I was a bit dissappointed as they did not look as aggressive as the Eagles. But...the handling is better, quieter ride....a much better tire at least on this car than the Goodyears. My tech commented that when they have a picky customer...they always install Michelins.

Not sure if this diatribe helps.

 

JR-

It doesnt matter if it was stored inside. It has to do with the actual age of the tire. I found this article that explains why you shouldnt use old tires. So even if the tire is 4 yrs old I wouldnt chance it.

"Your New Tires Could Be Years Older Than You Think" Strategies for Smart Car Buyers

 

Look at the Eagle F1 GS D3's I ran em on my 99 Camaro SS with great success. Great life and turned and hooked great, downright AMAZING rain performance. It maight as well of been dry out it seemed.

On the truck side though, if you dont like goodyear (I highly recommend the silent armours and many on here are very happy with them) then I would tell you to go to the michelin LTX's.