Hey Red---head over to the Wheels & Tires forum---a few reviews and experiences told there by others who actually buy and use what they write about. Try this, interesting reading: Brakes, Steering, Suspension, Tires, & Wheels - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

If I weren't such a die-hard Michelin devotee I'd be reading there quite a bit!

 

Hey Red I have the Goodyears on mine and I can tell you on snow and dirt/mud they will outshine the Michelin's, I know as I had the Mich's on before the Goodyear. Winter driving is much better as traction in snow and mud is great.

But that comes at a penalty as they hum at 70MPH or higher!

 

No worries on the humming, my diesel would drown out super swamper boggers, lol. I think I will get the Goodyears the next time. Yeah ill go check out the tire section on here. Always forget about that. I am in the mud alot more but not enough for mud-terrains.

 

+1 on the tall tread. In many cases, all that a deep tread will do is use a lot of gasoline to heat and flex rubber blocks.

I also will check the date codes on tires I am buying BEFORE they are mounted (same as i check the date on milk before I buy it)--and if possible, get a set of tires from the same batch to make sure the rubber compound and age are the same. Some tire designs are actually made in multiple countries and I'm sure that if you got a really mismatched set it might be worse than different brands/styles.

If you buy from a high volume store like Discount Tire or Costco, you are usually OK, but there are certain designs that just sit. For instance, Costco had some REALLY old (4+ years) BFG A/T's, because they don't mount anything but the stock size on vehicles and almost everyone who gets BFG A/T's is going for something of an upsize. I've had 10 year old tires that have not dry rotted (mounted on my garage queen BMW) but will still tend to replace a set after that long...

And maybe it's just me, but I LOVE the smell of tire stores and bike shops with a lot of fresh tires in stock. A lot of times, I will go into the Costco tire department just to get a bit of that "new tire" smell.

George

 

I too love the smell of rubber, I'm at a dilemma with my 73, I want to do with 16's, but want to know if the Ranger has the 5 on 4 1/2 bolt pattern, and that size rim, I'd rather buy stock, rather than aftermarket.

 

I stopped in at Costco today and while there had a look at the tires and see that the Michelin's have a new tread pattern. Different from my last set.

 

Heard about the new LT2 but dont know much about them. Like how it compares to the LTX M/S.

 

That tread looks the same as on the new LTX M/S2's I have on my camper. 215/85R16 10 ply's.

 

Looks just like Dunlaps I bought years ago, wore well, and did amazing off road, I can say I went through many flooded pits with ease on them, hwy ride was great, they were oversize tires on a lifted Suburban, same pattern.

 

Can't disagree with this at all! Just like hitting a race track first thing in the morning and waiting for the sun to warm the track---that wonderful smell combined with high octane gasoline makes for a great day!

 

New tire arrived, and they are going on!

Sadly, I don't have the equipment to mount and balance tires; so off to my local tire place. After looking at one tire with the white out, i went ahead and went black out. The white on these tires is more 'blue' and didnt really look right.

uploading more pics, here is a quick shot. Also, i have determined i MUST lift the front end by 2 inches, i like the 'level' look.

 

All wrapped up earlier this afternoon. No tire needed more than 1 ounce to balance. One got away with .25 ounces. I feel the urge to replace those wheels now

They are not super aggressive mud tires, but they certainly look the part of AT tires.

 

Those are nice, pattern looks great for the street.

 

I agree the black sidewalls out is a good look---too bad you didn't snap a photo with the white lettering---nice comparison maybe. The color scheme seems more classy for some reason now.

A good tire mount & balance guy pays attention to any markings on the wheels and tires denoting their innate heavy spots and offset them to achieve the best balance before adding weights. Some too much in a hurry slap the tires on the wheels and add weights until it reads at least minimum. Sounds like you found the right guy to mount and balance everything.

Why change the wheels? What type would you use instead?

 

But, But,But.....the white letters outside add 5hp and add 3mpg to the mileage!

Like!