First, I have a 2005 Lariat SCrew 2WD with 84,000 miles. A lot, I know. The first two sets of tires were the Goodrich Long Trails. Needing the third set I decided, in order to help alleviate the vibration, I would upgrade to Michelins. The dealer told me that the LTX A/T2 was a good option. On they went. The first thing I noticed was that the tires made the ride definitively worse. Next, I notice that my fuel mileage decreased by 10-12%. Turns out that these are off-road/Light truck tires that are even ugly.

The dealer is sympathetic and will trade me out to whatever I want, dollar for dollar. I will probably go with the Latitude Tour HP from Michelin.

I just wanted to relate my story as well as ask if anyone has these tires installed or have any other recommendations. Thanks and have a great Sunday.

John

 

Well how did they make the ride "worse"? Is worse stiffer for you? What are we talking about here? Ugly tires? Did you not upgrade for the "raised rouge and eyeliner letters" option? I have run Michelins for years, and they have NEVER let me down. They do ride stiffer than other brands, but that is due to sidewall rigidity and plys. One persons "worse" can be anothers "improved".

 

Michelin worse? never heard that. Like WheelMA1, I love Michelin...I just don't like their price

did you go from a P rated to a LT rated? sounds like it.

 

I on the other hand love my new michelin tires..... they ride much better than the bfg rugged trails they replaced...all while being a lower profile tire... i went from 275/65/18 to 275/55/20's Mine however weren't the a/t's, mine were the ltx m/s's

 

I had the LTX M/S also...put about 40k on them, and they looked brand new...probably had 75% tread left

were also a GREAT 4x4 tire. just don't look aggressive

 

I have the A/T2 on my truck and love them. It does sound like the may have put the LT tires on. The ride is better than my original Scorpions.

 

Yea, I was just as surprised as all of you in having to even do a negative critique of a Michelin tire. My other vehicles all have/had Michelins and with excellent results. For some people the LTX A/T2 will be a good fit. However, I spend zero time offroad and only occasionally do any towing. The rest of the time I am on a highway to one of our marinas here in Florida. I just told the dealer to install the Michelin equivalent of the Long Trail.

The A/T2 picks up any irregularities in the road and transfers it to the steering wheel. The BFG's were not nearly as bad. Most importantly, the higher rolling resistance of the tire makes it completely unacceptable. I burn 10-12% more fuel ($10-12 on a fill-up these days) with the A/T2's over the BFG's.

Fireman28, regarding the Perelli's, my service writer at the Ford dealer said don't install them as they get too many compaints. He did not elaborate on this comment.

WheelMA1, my bad. The "ugly" comment is subjective and they may look good to most.

Lastly, on price, I typically spend the extra cabbage on the best available but my BFG's from the factory were so unbelievably smooth (meaning no vibration) that I installed another set. Not as good as the originals but not bad.

I will update after the installation of the new tires later this week. Have a great evening, all.

John

 

Did they happen to put LT tires on it? If so this would explain why they are do stiff and transfering everything to the steering wheel. I don't do much off-road, I just wanted them just in-case. I have 15k on them now and haven't noticed anything like you have listed.

 

...the LTX M/S's were the OEM tires on my '02 Ford E150 van and have been the best tires I could imagine for primarily highway use (with some Michigan weather, including a very snowy winter last year, thrown in). The original set went 60k miles and had more on them, but I decided to get another set of the same as winter was rolling in (although my brother has put another 10k or more on a pair of the originals on the rear of his pickup).

I agree that rolling resistance is definitely a valid reason to buy (or not buy) a tire, and I do believe the M/S's have a low rolling resistance based on the limited information available on tires. If they are available in your size, I'd steer you toward them...compared to the Long Trail T/A's, they have siping (grooves) in the tread that extend all the way down the tread blocks, whereas the Long Trails have it only part way through the tread. BFG and Michelin have common ownership these days, and the Michelins typically hit higher price points and better design stats. For big tires, they took surprisingly little weight to balance as well.

I'm hoping that more info re rolling resistance is made available in the future, because a set of tires that takes away just one or two mpg is going to cost a LOT more to operate over the long haul.

I've had a few sets of Michelin MXV's or MXV4's on cars and they are just excellent from all standpoints, including rolling resistance and ride.

George

 

Update!

The service manager was true to his word and installed the Michelin Latitude HP for only the tire price difference ($20 per tire). Here's the good part: Preliminary, but the fuel mileage went up 2.5 mpg. That's huge! The Latitude is advertised as having a very low rolling resistance.

At the same time the truck was in service, I had them perform the electronic tranny service ($171). This was a stab at getting rid of the steady 45-50 MPH severe shudder and vibration on straight, flat roads. It worked and completely solved my issue (I had the same issue with the Long Trails on the truck). The electronic service (whatever that means) replaces all of the fluid in the torque converter as well as the tranny itself.

Last thoughts. The Latitude only comes in blackwall. It is a light truck tire with no off-road tread whatsoever.

Hope this helps and y'all have a good day.

John
Cape Canaveral, Florida

 

hi pj i just got michelin ltx a/s tires on my lincoln mark lt i love em smoother ride handles much better that those bf goodrich tires that where replaced under warranty because of the dry rot they had after only 12000 miles and yes its an Lt tire they had another set but they looked way too agressive for me so i went with the a/s tire

 

I might go with the BFG's after my Goodyear's wear out...I've always liked the Goodyear's myself. Not the greatest in the mud, but I've never gotten stuck as I know what my truck can, and CAN'T do.