I have a 2002 Sport trac and it hydroplane much easier than my XLT ranger. Any thoughts as to a tire I should go to, as it happens almost every time it rains.

Thanks for the goups input

S

 

Mine has Goodyear Wrangler APTs. They're very good in rain, snow and everything else.

 

Welcome to FTE Caliper!

I would recommend the Michellin SUV's. I have been running them, and a friend just bought a set and is running them on his Sport Trac. He loves them - both for the traction and ride.

 

I like to buy American, myself.
Michelin is a French company.

 

Caliper, what tire is on it now,? my Sport Trac has the goodyear Rt/s and they so very good in the rain check you inflation as it should be 30psi in front and 35 in rear I had a supercab 4x4 Ranger as well and the sport trac handles the weather better hands down good luck with the brand you choose..

 

hmm - didn't know that. Well, guess for the time being I will unfortunately be supporting them. I tried a set of Goodyear Eagle II's. The place I got them from gave me 4 sets of them trying to get them to ride correctly, but none were round enough to balance. I have heard most like their Goodyears - so I don't know what happened to their Eagle II's, but they do not ride anywhere close to the Michellins I have now. The only ones that came close were BF HR CompII's.

Granted - I run a differnt size than most everyone else on this board...

 

I wonder if they were all from the same bad batch. That's weird, I've had more Goodyears than I care to remember and never had a bad one. Goodyear has plants all over the world these days, maybe the Eagle IIs are made in France!
Sorry, some days I just can't help myself...
Seriously, I know Michelin makes a quality product, I just have objections to them for other reasons

 

Hi everyone...
I'm a 'brand newby' with FTE and am I glad to have found this sight. I'll definitely be having questions for everyone as time goes on.

Anyway, on the subject of tires ! ! !

I've tried several different brands of rubber and I finally settled on the 'Hankook/Yokohama brands. I run 31.50x10.5 all-season 10ply ratings on my '91.
I have to admit, they're maybe a little wide for wet highway driving (I get some hydro-planing), but off-road they are sweet.

If cost is an issue, I hear that Marshall all-seasons are not a bad tire either and they're not as expensive. Could be a lesser sidewall rating (don't know).

Hope this helps out....

 

Isn’t there 5 Michelin plants in the USA? That’s over 7000 to 8000 employees, so if you don't support Michelin you hurt your own economy............Fiddler5.0-
Michelin & BFG rules !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Plenty of foreign cars made in the U.S., too, but I don't buy 'em.

 

Alegiance is great.., but when you really think it over, what isn't American in this world today. The majors in every industry have influence in companys all over the world. I buy with two reasons in mind, useability and cost.
Whatever works right...

 

Over many years and many tire brands, I've come to prefer Michelin tires and have had the best results with them. Here's how I evaluate a tire's wet/rain qualities.

Check the width of the channels between tread blocks (across the face of the tread, that is, not circumference). On a good SUV rain tire they will be at least 1/8" or wider. The outside rows of blocks should also have channels. This will result in a bit more noise on dry pavement, but much better drainage in the wet, hence less hydroplaning and better wet traction. Tire mfrs have compensated for noise on such tires by making the blocks in the outer row unequal in size, which tends to break up resonances (minimizes "singing" on dry pavement). The difference in size is subtle, and you have to look for it.

My '02 Expl EB came with Goodyear APT tires, which are made as above and are pretty good in the wet. Still will most likely put on Michelins when time to re-tire -- my experience with Goodyears is that they don't get near the tread mileage compared to Michelins. My son has had similar experience with 10.50 Goodyear RT/S on his Dakota -- good performance, but tread mileage nothing to write home about.

BTW, all the Michelin tires I've seen in Texas are made in Canada -- don't mind helping support our brethren up north. Also, recently saw up close the new Cross Terrain tire Michelin has been touting -- was disappointed to notice that it has no drainage channels in the outer rows. My guess is that Michelin opted for more quiet rather than optimum wet performance with this tire. Think I'll stick with their XC or LTX M/S designs when the time comes.

Best to all,
Stu33

 

For economy I went with Dayton timberline's, 235 75r15
They've been pretty good on the road, havent had occassion to go offroad. Went to Connecticut last winter and they held up well. If anyone goes with stats or numbers Consumer Reports rated them #1 AT tires for SUV's in 2002.

 

Hi all...

Well I have to admit, this is a pretty d_ _ _ed good information site for the Ford enthusiast indeed.
I'd like to pose a question to all who drive the 'Sport' 2Dr model.
They seem to have a real weight to axle ratio variation between the fronts and the rears.
I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one to be experiencing this. Has anyone else experienced this light-weight rear-end phenomema with the 2Dr Sport ?
If so, what counter measures have been taken to reduce the on/off road slip ? I'm running 31.5/12.5/10.0 Marshal AS/Ts.
I've even stiffened the suspension and supplemented with air-bags for off-road handling, but it still wants to break lose at thew back. (think it could be the engine mod's that are causing it ! ! !)

All comments are appreciated...

 

On the subject of tires... I have always been partial to BFG. Just put a set of the new All Terrain T/A KO's on my 99 and I love them. Have had quite a bit of rain here on the east cost over the last couple of days and have not had any problems with traction in the wet. Had a cheap set of pos Dunlops on the truck when I bought it in May... so it was only a matter of time before I replaced them. In my opinion... and we all know about opinions... BFG has the best of both worlds... good traction in all conditions and the best tread life.

(and yes I know that BFG is owned by Michelin)