What Tires!!
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Elder User
Joined: Mar 2006
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From: Greeneville,TN
What Tires!!
Well, I have had enough these Pirelli's and they have got to go. Long story short the ride of my truck cant be fixed until I change tires. I have the 20's. I am looking at Michelin MS2's, Toyos, and Nitto. I wouldn't run a Goodyears if they were free. What is everyone running and how do they like them. I do a lot of driving. My truck is 5 wks old and has 4300 miles on it. Ride is everything to me.
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Joined: Nov 2009
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From: NC
If you don't mind me asking
1. How many miles do you have on them?
2. How much did they set you bacK?
3. Are you rotating them every 5-10k?
Reason I ask is I had Firestones (they were an A/T, but don't remember the series) on my 1997 and hated them (very loud on the highway when they were cold, wore very poorly, $$) - trying to figure out if I got a bad set or if Firestone has just improved.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 4,512
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From: Detroit
Well, I have had enough these POS Pirelli's and they have got to go. Long story short the ride of my truck cant be fixed until I change tires. I have the 20's. I am looking at Michelin MS2's, Toyos, and Nitto. I wouldn't run a Goodyears if they were free. What is everyone running and how do they like them. I do a lot of driving. My truck is 5 wks old and has 4300 miles on it. Ride is everything to me.
The Firestones were quiet, but that is not the same thing as good ride. Also, you would get a much better ride with 17 or 18" wheels with a taller tire sidewall. The shorter sidewalls on the 20's make for less flex and a harsher ride.
I have switched a couple cars to Michelin MXV4's and they completely change the ride character of the car as well. Michelins cost some money but are generally worth it for quality and longevity.
George
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 10,459
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From: RVA
JRC...I'll be in the same boat here soon on my 2006 with the factory 20s. The Pirelli's are long gone due to the previous owner and that same person put a set of street performance Nexens on the truck. I can't tell you how unhappy I am with those.
I've had Michelin's on both of my previous Explorers and they are fantastic. Definitely stay with a P-metric tire if you're looking for ride quality. The LT sidewalls have more ply's and generally will be a little less absorbent of road abnormalities.
Sure the Michelin's are generally more expensive, but they normally wear a lot slower than some comparable manufacturer's tires out there.
I'd give the new AT2's from Michelin a good look if you do any mild off road travel. If you're mostly on road the MS2's should fit the bill just fine.
I've had Michelin's on both of my previous Explorers and they are fantastic. Definitely stay with a P-metric tire if you're looking for ride quality. The LT sidewalls have more ply's and generally will be a little less absorbent of road abnormalities.
Sure the Michelin's are generally more expensive, but they normally wear a lot slower than some comparable manufacturer's tires out there.
I'd give the new AT2's from Michelin a good look if you do any mild off road travel. If you're mostly on road the MS2's should fit the bill just fine.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,757
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From: Maryland
I just ditched my pirelli tires for Nitto Terra Grapplers. Now I went from 20s to the 18s and for now I am running the Goodyear SR-As until my nittos arrive. I can't comment with first hand experience now,but I will when I get them on.
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Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Michigan
I switched the Pirelli's out right after I took delivery. I went with the Firestone Destination A/T's in the factory size: 275/55R20. They get excellent reviews and are the top rated All Terrain tire on Tire Rack's website. I only have about 2k miles on them but so far I really like them. The main reason I switched was the horrible reviews the Pirelli's get for snow traction. I have a place in northern MI and really need something to move through the snow good.
Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,834
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From: Kzoo
Matthew,
If you don't mind me asking
1. How many miles do you have on them?
2. How much did they set you bacK?
3. Are you rotating them every 5-10k?
Reason I ask is I had Firestones (they were an A/T, but don't remember the series) on my 1997 and hated them (very loud on the highway when they were cold, wore very poorly, $$) - trying to figure out if I got a bad set or if Firestone has just improved.
If you don't mind me asking
1. How many miles do you have on them?
2. How much did they set you bacK?
3. Are you rotating them every 5-10k?
Reason I ask is I had Firestones (they were an A/T, but don't remember the series) on my 1997 and hated them (very loud on the highway when they were cold, wore very poorly, $$) - trying to figure out if I got a bad set or if Firestone has just improved.
1) The tires as of today have roughly 12k on them.
2) Total for tires which included the disposal of the old tires was $795. It would have been around $870ish but I opened a firestone card which gave me 10% off plus it was zero interest for 3 months and a $50 gas card.
3) I have rotated them once which was around the 6k mile mark.
So far I have been really happy with them, super quiet and really good in the snow especially when plowing. Like I said before I haven't had any other tires except the BFGs that came with these FX2 wheels I bought on eBay so compared to them they are a big improvement. Those tires were more of a road tire instead of an off road tire so it's hard to compare though.
Resident smarta$$
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 4,929
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From: Oaks,PA
What size did you end up getting? Post some pics when you get them on! I have roughly 1500mi on mine and I love them so far. Time will tell though.
Posting Guru
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,089
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From: Michigan
I'll second that. I had a set of Revo's on my 01 Excursion and they were great tires but I maybe only got 25k - 30k out of them before I needed to change them when winter was coming. The Firestone Transforce A/T's I have on it now are great!!!
New User
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 23
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From: Lake Charles, LA
See....I am debating this. Dumb question but here goes. I want a bigger tire than stock anyway, but if I switch from my current 20" rim to say a 17", do you think it'd mess up my speedometer? The 20"s probably weigh more?? So the smaller rim and bigger tire should offset each other??