I recently purchased the LTX M/S 265x70x17 to replace my RTS. I purchased them b/c based on my research, they are supposed to be the best sport utility tire on the market, offering a very smooth and quiet ride.

My experience is, they are nice and quiet, but I am surprised by the ride that seems to have a "jittery" feel to it. My air pressure is appx 33 psi all around.

Has anyone else experienced this or have any suggestions? I am really a little surprised and somewhat disappointed with them.

 

I have a set of 11.50 X 15 LTX's on my Bronco and have had no problems like what you describe. Because of the different aspect ratio,yours may even be a tire of different construction than mine. Mine will get mushy if I don't keep the air maxed out. Mine calls for a max pressure of 50 lbs and that's where I keep it. Look for the max pressure on the sidewall and try that, it may solve your problem.

 

Try this, check your tire pressure, jack up the truck, take off a tire, roll down your driveway. If the tire rolls nice and smooth, fairly straight, its OK. If it hits a spot that makes it lean over or won't roll well past a certain spot, you've got a defective tire, psoosible tread separation. Michelins do that. I can attest.

 

actually, these tires only have 1000 miles on them and they roll fine on smooth surfaces. The jittery ride comes from roads that are not real smooth. Generally, the tires feel as if they are way over inflated. That is the sensation I am getting, but at 33 pounds, that can't be the case. They are definatley rougher (more jittery) than the rts. Not that i liked the rts, but these michellins are a little disappointing. I am going to drop the pressure to 30, which i hate to do. I like to keep pressure up as the tire will wear better, and last longer.

 

i was wondering do you have low miles or did you just add new shocks it may not be the tires. something to think about.

SAFTEY: IF YOU THINK ITS NOT ACTING RIGHT HAVE IT CHECKED OUT.

 

I had this problem with a mini-van. The center of the tires started to wear badly, and the ride was jittery.

Your OE tires look like they were rated for full load at 44 psi max pressure. The Michelins get the same load rating at 35 psi max pressure (I checked this on the Tire Rack web site). I don't know why this difference exists, but it's very common.

The placard on your door frame probably says to inflate to 35 psi. When you inflate to 35 psi with the Michelins, you're probably overinflated which gives a rough ride.

You might want to check with whoever sold you the tires, but they probably won't be helpful. You might check the Michelin web site or Tire Rack and see what they recommend - they may recommend you reduce the tire pressure to get the same proportion as your OE tires (ie - OE set at 35 on a 44 max tire, the aftermarket might need around 28 psi for the 35 max tire).

I used these ratios on my van which corrected the bad center wear and made the ride comfortable. On the next set of tires, I got dead even wear across the tread over the life of the tires, so it was probably righ

 

Just for some input.
I've had no Problems with the Michelin LTX. Their alot better than the Goodyears.

 

Wow, you had me going. So it rides rough going down washboard dirt roads. How about the CD player, it doesn't skip when you're jumping curbs does it?

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 19-Aug-02 AT 10:56 PM (EST)]Have them balanced, then if you still have a problem most likely it's a bad tire. The model and brand you are using is very good, any tire can be out of round from the factory I would replace the one with the problem if you can't resolve the issue.

 

Hey jittery ride, here something i read one time dont exactly remember were at but it said to take a piece of chalk and make a two inch wide stripe across your tire tread then drive your truck for a couple of miles and get out and look at the chalk line to see if the chalk line was wearing evenly or not, this should give an indication of how the tire is wearing. if the chalk line didnt wear evenly it could be a couple of different things, tires over inflated or underflated or maybe your front end is out of alignment.

This is just a suggestion
here is a little more info when it comes to tires and the way a vehecile is handling have it professional checked out.

SAFETY TIP: BE SURE AND CHECK TIRE INFLATION RECOMENDATION ON SIDE OF TIRE.

 

I just replaced my Goodyears with the Mich. I lke the Mich alot better. I had the jittery ride and uneven wear with the Goodyears.

 

Stevens, thanks for the stupid response. It must be me b/c I sure can't see any evidence in my thread whereby I mentioned driving on washboard roads.

If you made your inference from my comment suggesting the jittery comes from "not real smooth", I will clarify. That is not a washboard, I am referring to ordinary city roads that are in good shape but not perfect, as would be expected. Smooth expressway or interstate roads that are often perfectly smooth are great, but small cracks in the road or slightly uneven roads provide the jittery feel.

 

While not a Ford truck owner, I just bought a new Dodge Ram 2003 Quad Cab with the Mich LTX A/S and have been back to the dealer twice for a "jittery" ride. Two dealer service trips later, two balancings and one tire replaced it now is better. It used to always be shakey at 35-40 mph on any road when I first got it. Now it only does it on roads that are not completely smooth. These are 265/70 17's with 35 lbs psi. I came upon this thread doing an MSN search thinking it can't just be my truck.

 

there is NO TIRE PRESSURE RECOMENDATION RATING ON THE TIRE. The only pressure rating on the tire is maximum pressure, you should only use maximum pressure when tire is loaded at it's maximum load rating. FOr normal use, use the tire pressures listed on the door placard