So, at the high recommendations of other FTE members, I have decided to buy 4 new Michelin LTX tires for my van.

My criteria, in order of importance, are:
- high quality tire overall
- good treadlife and traction
- American made
- price

The problem I've encountered is this: my buddy owns a local used tire shop and showed me the webpage of what he can get for me from his new tire distributor. It listed "Michelin LTX" with about 10 different sub-variations. prices were all within about $5-8 of each other but nonetheless they must be different. Some said M/S (mud/snow?) and some said A/T (all terrain?). My van is a highway and city cruiser, so I think A/T is not for me, but that doesn't narrow it down much.

So I don't know what to get. Suggestions/input?

 

The LTX M/S2 is the top rated tire in tirerack.com's survey (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...y.jsp?type=HAS). I'd expect the LTX A/S to be a smoother highway tire but it's not the bee's knees.

Sixto
93 E150 Chateau 5.8 190K miles

 

The M/S2 is the highway tire. I have had them on my vans for many years. I am buying a new set tomorrow.

 

Michelin LTX M/S2 - P235/75R15XL 108T Is what I am getting for my 2000 Econoline E150 with 180,000 miles.

 

Michelin: brand such as Goodyear, Jeep, or Ford

LTX: product line such as Goodyear Wrangler, Jeep Grand Cherokee, or Ford Econoline

M/S2: model name such as Wrangler All-Terrain, Grand Cherokee Limited, Econoline XLT

Highway All-Season: application description such as On-Off Road Traction tire, Mid-Size Luxury SUV, Full-Size Cargo Van

Michelin LTX M/S2 is a Highway All-Season tire as opposed to the Michelin LTX A/T2 which is a On-Off Road All-Terrain tire or the Michelin XPS Traction which is an On-Off Road Commercial Traction tire.

If what you want is a high-quality, long-lasting tire with good highway manners, low road-noise and low rolling-resistance, the LTX M/S2 is a GREAT investment. It's also made in either the US or Central America, depending on size and availability at the time of your order.

 

I had LTX M/S2 on my Expedition and they were amazing. Well worth the money. Had a buddy with the A/S and he said that while great for the cruising (which is all he did in his transport van, E-350 diesel) he said they weren't aggressive enough at all once they were slightly used. Several deliveries would require pulling into the grass and that sort of thing, and they would slip alot.

 

Ford used the Michelin LTX M/S as OEM tires on many E150, 250, and 350 vans over the years.

Probably about 5 years ago they evolved into the M/S2's. I had 2 sets of the M/S's on my van (one of them the original tires) and now have the M/S2's.

That is the tire you want, and make sure they are fresh production.

Some sizes may be made in Canada but mine have all been US made.

George

 

Got 'em. Production date 0315.

 

Great tires....many safe miles to you. Sometimes I am still surprised that Ford picked such a good tire for OEM on their vans

George

 

I have Firestone Transforce AT on Bubba now. They seem like good tires and have been good for the two years I've had the van (they were on there priior to me getting them and I haven't looked at the date code). However, in the past I have had LTX M/S on several vehicles and really like them. When the van and the Durango need new rubber, I'm getting the M/S2's at this point.

 

I was very happy with my Transforce HT's… so happy in fact, that I would only consider changing for a known premium brand, like the ones I just got.

My Firestones on the rear axle lasted over 100,000 miles, and the front axle sent was not too far behind that.

 

A lot of folks use the Transforce including our contractor neighbor who just built our new garage--on his big F350. However, the Tire Rack reviews show the Transforce pretty far down the list....for what that's worth. The Michelin M/S2's are #1 and the old M/S's are still #3 with more miles behind the stats...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...y.jsp?type=HAS

 

Reviews are like, well, you know. They are what they are. This being my first set of Transforce AT, combined with the fact that I didn't actually purchase them, added to the fact that they've been perfectly serviceable tires so far, means I guess I would post a positive review if asked. In other words, I like them. Would there be any reason why I couldn't use M/S2's on the van? (96, E-350, etc). If they aren't 'strong' enough I would just get Transforce AT's again if I needed to.

 

Should be no reason not to use M/S2's if they are available in your size and in your load rating.

Tire Rack reviews for the Transforce are from multiple people with a total of 4.5 MILLION miles of use. I don't see too much of a possibility of unfair bias against them. The one flaw in their reviews is that a brand new tire design with few test miles tends to review better because the reviewers are reporting on fairly new tires with deep tread, fresh rubber, etc.

When a design gets older, it tends to fall in the ratings because it includes people who get old tires on used trucks, etc. So from that standpoint it is not a level playing field....but once a tire has a few million miles in its user base, I don't know of a better way to rate tires. It beats the heck out of anecdotal info from 1 or 2 owners.

The M/S used to squarely be at the top of the ratings and is now #3 with 88 million miles of testing. This includes a lot of old tires, and probably some that are ozone cracked, etc. Even the new M/S2's have 15.3 million miles of rating base and they're not all so new any more.

The 4th place Hankook, for instance, has 377,000 miles of testing base behind it, and that is a tire that I will bet drops somewhat in the ratings if the model exists for a number of years into the future. Other Hankooks are lower in the ratings. And the LTX A/S is in 16th place with pretty lousy winter ratings, so not all Michelin designs are great.

You should obviously take all reviews with a grain of salt, but the M/S and M/S2's have over 100 million miles on them as a basis for their ratings and are in 1st and 3rd place. That tells me they are darn good tires, and that squares with my own experience of 125k miles and 3 sets.

George

 

Don't get me wrong; I'm all about the M/X's. Only stating that I don't yet share any of the negative rating aspects of the TF AT's.