So Mike, now that you've had them for about a year and a half, I have to ask. How do you like them? I am getting ready to get a new set of Michelins, same size as yours, the 285's, and am deciding on which LTX to go with. Close to the same use as you with 99% highway, family roadtrip vehicle, lot's of wet road driving, and some hardpack snow/ice when I take the boys up skiing.

 

Hows about 89,900 miles? Finally replaced them Monday. They still had not worn down to the bars but the performance characteristics got really crummy the last few miles even affecting braking. Can't complain. New tires are identical only I put the blackwall side out this time.

Get this. I went back to Discount Tire for the new AT/2s. They don't stock LT275/65R18s but had them in 3 days. I'm waiting in the showroom and the service writer comes up to me to tell me there was a small lag bolt in my right front tire. No surprise with all the construction sites the tires saw over the last 3 1/2 years. He then proceeds to tell me that he would have to rewrite the order to reflect charging for 3 tires instead of 4 because I had purchased free replacement certificates when I bought the tires. Now thats an honest business, ya think?

So even after I then decided to get the replacement certificates again (about 120.00 total for 4), I wound up getting a credit for 200 bucks. They were also running a 70 dollar VISA gift certificate offer with a set of 4 michelins.

All in all, I expect to get another 85-90 k on the new tires and its nice to have restored braking capability and handling. I highly recommend both the tire and Discount Tire as a retailer.

 

I always had excellent service with Discount Tire while I was in Texas, but there is not a single one in the entire state of Alabama!! I have managed to find another local chain who are just as excellent, so I'm not hurting.

I'm also having excellent wear with the AT2's in 285's on stock rims. The only ones which did not behave well was when two were not thoroughly flushed with nitrogen and leaked down fairly quickly... didn't notice for a while because they were both on the passenger side, so I got premature wear on those two tires and had to replace them a little early. My fronts are wearing unevenly because I have some loose bushings and need to replace my tie-rods. The back tires have at least 20K miles on them now and still look almost new.

 

I'm running the AT2's on my truck, I have about 40k on them. They really do ride and handle nicely, and seem to wear well.

The only thing I don't like about the tire is that in the outside bands, the tread depth is about half of what it is on the inside bands. In fact mine have worn down to the point where there are no more cross-grooves in the outside bands (i.e., no more lugs).

I complained to Michelin about this, and they offered a pro-rata replacement, but the new tires I wanted to replace them with (LTX M/S) were SO expensive that I chose to just wear these ones out.

DEFINITELY diminished traction halfway through their life because of this. I have a steep driveway that I have to back up, and when it is wet I sometimes have to put it in 4WD, and didn't when the tires were new.

However, I can live with this, and I still like the tire overall. Because of this "feature", I would err on the side of overinflation, to make the center tread wear faster.

When they wear out I will probably replace them with the M/S, which have a uniform tread.

 

Those tires, LTX or AT2, are no good in snow or ice. I have drove alot last year in snow and ice and man those tires (AT2) were a handfull. Had to carry chains for piece of mind until i bought extra rims and actual dedicated snow tires. What a difference.At2s were great in all other conditions.

 

I've driven those AT/2s through 3 midwest winters and they were fine for me. I've only got 2wd and never had a problem, which is why I got the same tires this time around.
My only gripe has been that the tread grabs little rocks and gravel and holds onto them, small price to pay for the other benefits.

 

I'm sure they'll be one heck of a lot better than the Goodyear MT/R's I'm replacing. (They were on the truck when I bought it). Usually, the hardpack/ice portion of my drive is only for a few miles at the pass. Rarely do we get it here in Seattle, so a dedicated winter tire wouldn't be so practical. As I shop around and evaluate my needs, I am leaning more towards the LTX MS2's mainly due to my desire for a tire that performs well on wet roads, (and the roads are often wet around here), and it has more siping than the AT2.

 

Additional reading: My thoughts on the Michelin LTX MS2 start here:

Sportsmobileforum.com • View topic - Best tire choice??

and continue for the next page or so. I like 'em. They are my favorite M+S tire. Which, as I explain, is great in the snow for a M+S but is not as good as my favorite studded snow tire.

BTW, 30" this storm total in the Sierra's from Monday to today.

 

Ouch thats early. Used to live up in Truckee, miss the scenery. The 2 story tall snow removal equipment used to fascinate me.

 

Michelin makes the best tire ever! Expensive but this is one of those deals where you get what you pay for.

 

Alvin and fellas, sorry for the late response, after getting these tires at 160,000 miles and now at 197,500 miles these tires are wearing excelent. They are warratied for 40,000 miles and maybe a little past half tread, I shouldn't have any problems getting another 20,000 out of them with my faithful tire rotations. Very satisfied.

 

Running LTX M/S2s in Seattle's wet as well with good results. I've taken them over the cascades snowy highways and been happy with them. These only stay on 6 months of the year, so I expect several years of life. I throw them in the shed out of the sun during the summer and run Toyo M143's on 19.5" wheels to carry the camper. The michelins did not have the capacity I needed, and the sidewalls were not very stiff - contributing to sway. If you need to carry a camper or other top heavy load, stiff sidewalls are valuable for sway control.

 

Are your michelins E load range?

 

That was the first thing that came into my mind as well. If you cruise through the TireRack specification charts, the Michelin E's are pretty comparable (payload capacity) to virtually all other LT 10-ply tires available, so I wouldn't think there would be too much of a sway problem in comparison to others unless the tire shop didn't install the correct rating. Our stock specifications call for 8-ply tires, but more and more folks have been migrating to the 10-ply's over the recent years, and I've seen a definite cornering improvement with the current 10-ply AT2's in comparison to the original 8-ply MS version.

 

Yes, they are E rated. No comparison though in stiffness to the H rated M143. Once you've driven a load on them, it's quite a difference in handling. Granted I have a big camper on a SRW truck, so without the benefit of a dually's 4 sidewalls per side, I need two very stiff ones on each wheel. Works well.

I'm running the 245/70R19.5, with an H or 16 ply rating. They carry 4805lbs single at 120psi - definately in a different class from the E rated tires. I need every bit of it and then some with this load. Diameter is 33 inches, a bit larger than stock, about the same as the 285's I run in the winter.