New Tires

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stegosaurus

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2010
Posts
23
Location
Cold Spring KY
Has anyone out there got current information on whether or not Michelin XZE Highway 245/70 19.5 Tires are good? I have tires that are 6 years old (came with the RV that I purchased in February) and want to replace them for safety. The local Tire Discounter store has them at $400 each mounted balanced a valve stems included. i checked with the nearest Camping World which is in Indy (about a 90 minute drive each way) They are getting about $380 each for Goodyear. Not sure if that is mounted or not.

Being a neophyte, I need your advice.

Thanks

Steg
 
Best to make sure of the tire dates on the ones they are quoting to sell you.... they may not be recently manufactured ? .... at 7 years of age replacement target, each 6 months of "new tire age"  is equal to a little over 7% of the next repacement cost.....
 
I just replaced all 6 tires. The ZXE was going to be my first choice until a bit more research (a lot from here) made me decide on the XRV. I've put almost 3500 miles on them and could not be more pleased. Gas mileage went up from 8 to 9/10 average. The ride is just fabbuulus. Michelin has always been my choice but when it totals $2300, ouch but it's whats on top of the tire that counts.
 
I am looking at this same decision.  We have a 2000 Holiday Rambler Admiral 34F, and the tires that came on it when we bought it recently are not matched.  The front are 3 years old, name brand, but the rears are some chinese made brand and don't even have a date stamp on them.  They look brand new, but I am not convinced it would be a good idea to head off across the country (heading to Connecticut in a couple of weeks) with these.  I got a quote from a local S and S truck tire center to replace with Michelin ZXEs for just under 2500 for six tires.  Sam's club sells the tires for about 300 each plus tax, not mounted. 

I do have a spare, but it looks like a ten year old goodyear that came with the motorhome.

I'm thinking about chucking all seven and just getting a matched set of Michelin's but don't want to just throw money away either.  I'd welcome any thoughts from those on here about this.

Andy
 
I just purchased 6 Michelin XZE Load Range H tires here in Maryland for my Mountain Aire at the cost of 2380.00 out the door. That's mounted - balanced with the beads inside the tire, new valve stems and the good old tire disposal fee and the taxes for the State of MD.. I just bought the Motorhome it already had Michelins on it (dry rotted) so I decided to go with them again. It may cost more that some others but you get what you pay for and that's not to say there aren't other good ones out there. JMHO  Jim
 
Those Chinese tires must have a DOT sidewall stamp, including the date, to be legal for sale in the US. Can't even import them without it.  Look on the back side of the tire - it has to be only on one side. And some Chinese sounding names are in fact good, reliable tires from factories elsewhere in the Far East, e.g. Kumho or Hankook. They are widely used by truck fleets. Maybe not quite as good as a Michelin, but only half the price.

There is no need to worry if the fronts do not match the rears, but the tires on any one axle should be the same make & model & age.
 
Thanks, Gary.  I will look again.  I just took a quick look when I picked up the motorhome, and have not crawled under there to look at the back side yet.
 
Over the past 60 years I have purchased and used numerous brands of tires on many types of equipment. One item that I have not noticed on this forum is the discussion of warranties for tires. Michelin is one company that does not have any warranty for it's tires for any reason. Many other tire companies do have warranties, covering various conditions.
 
[quote author=Rancher Will]Michelin is one company that does not have any warranty for it's tires for any reason.[/quote]

If they don't have a warranty, somebody might want to tell Michelin to remove their tire warranty information from their web site:

All Michelin? tires have a limited warranty, which covers defects in  workmanship and materials for the life of the original usable tread, or  for 6 years from date of purchase, whichever occurs first.

Getting them to honor the warranty might be a different subject; Many of us have not had a good experience in that department.
 
I was wondering about tire pressure, not sure where I posted it but one of you guys said give you the info.

On the front are new Michelin 245/70 R19.5 XZE with a manufacture date of May of this year.

The back 4 are Goodyears same number.

I wanted to know the air pressure to put in the front, the back ones inside are 80psi.  I can't check the back outside tires even with the truckers gauge, the stems are facing toward the inside.  My husband Tom, I think, has a gauge on a hose that bends that maybe I can get to otherwise I need extensions even on that, hubby said he has some and doubt I go anywhere else till after he is home on leave and gone again.  I stopped at an RV place and he couldn't test them either, so don't know.

The fronts had 95, I let 10 out after seeing inside that it was to be 70psi.  However, when testing warm they tested 95. They say max of 120.

My understanding is I need to have the coach weighed then each tire.  We have a gravel pit at the end of the road I will check there.  Or does anyone know if the Flying J at 59 and 242 has a scales.  If so I will take it there and get it weighed.  Do I need full tanks of fuel, water, etc?

I know crosswind were an issue but I'm thinking also maybe I don't have these inflated to the correct pressure.
 
It's best to get each wheel weight separately but that's not always easy to do.  Next best is to get axle weights and you should be able to do that at the gravel pit or truck stop.  Have the RV loaded as for travel, which is usually empty holding tanks and at least half a tank of water.  If you can't get it weighed for some reason, the we can use the gross axle weights but that may result in over inflation at worst, not necessarily bad.  But you do need to get actual weights to see that you're not overloading an axle.

The Goodyear inflation tables are here and the Michelin tables here.
 
YOU MAY WANT TO CHECK MOST TIRES ARE MANUFACTURED OUT OF THE COUNTRY.FIRESTONE AND BRIDGESTONE ARE IN ILLINOIS.
 
We too are looking for 6 new tires due to age/safety.  We currently have Goodyear G670 245/70R19.5 Load Range F.  I can get the same tire but with a manufacturing date of xx08.  Too old I think.  I can get the G670 Load Range G manufactured last couple week of '09 or '10 or Continental with Load Range H for about 550+ less then the G670 G'sand manufacture date 4609. 

I do not know anything about the new RV Continental tires.  Anyone have experience with them?  I also do not know what effect the higher Load Range of G or H will have regarding ride and tire pressure.  Evidently there is a tire pressure recommendation by Georgie Boy and do not know how this be effected either. 

It also looks like Goodyear changed tires in Feb. 06 which changed the tire pressure vs. weight. (http://www.goodyear.com/rv/products/g670.html Load Inflation Tables)

LOAD/INFLATION INFORMATION FOR RV TIRES
TIRE LOAD LIMITS (LBS) AT VARIOUS COLD INFLATION PRESSURES (PSI) HIGHWAY STEER AND ALL-POSITION TREAD
DESIGNS USED IN NORMAL HIGHWAY SERVICE*  S=Single, D=Duel
                    MPH        PSI                               
                                70    75    80        85      90      95    100      105    110
245/70R19.5  75  S 3640 3740 3890 4080(F) 4190 4335 4540(G)
                          D  3415 3515 3655 3970(F) 4115 4265 4410(G)
?245/70R19.5 75 S                  3640 3740 3890 4080(F) 4190 4335 4540(G)
                            D                  3415  3515 3655 3970(F) 4115 4265 4410(G)
? Tires produced after 2/28/06.

Also the Continental and one source for the G670 F or G Load Range would he high speed spin balanced vs. Camping World would use Equal for the G670.

Any clarification or advise is greatly appreciated.  I am likely making this harder then it has to be but...my tire knowledge is limited.

Thanks,  Jennifer
 
I haven't heard any negative reports on the Continental tires.  A higher load range should let you run them at a lower pressure and give a somewhat softer ride.  More importantly, the original tires are probably running at their maximum load so you'd have a higher margin of safety with the higher LR tires.

But load ranges aren't directly comparable across manufacturers, so check the inflation tables for the Continentals before making a choice.

As for balancing, I would recommend Equal, or even better, DynaBeads, instead of spin balancing.  We've used Equal for about 10 years and have had no problems with it.  Next time we buy tires, I'll probably switch to the DynaBeads but either is a good choice.
 
Ned, thanks.

The Continental site only gives the max. rating of 115psi:  single = 4940 lbs.,  duel = 4675 lbs and they only offer H load range for their HSR-1 245/70R19.5 tire.  (http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/us/en/continental/transport/themes/people/rv/hidden/regional_steer_en.html  HSR 1 - Product Brochure: View)

Maybe tomorrow night I can con my better half into this thread and he can ask the questions that are bugging him.  I confess that I do not understand his concerns so I can not express them clearly.  I know he is concerned about what pressure the tires should be and how to adjust the psi recommended by Georgie Boy to the new tires, effect of higher load range on ride and how Continental rates compared to the Goodyear G670.  He has heard that the G670 is the best or gold standard - so to speak.  I told him I thought he would have to adjust anyway because it looked like Goodyear changed the psi to weight ratio in 2006.

I should state that Dan is an Ch. engineer so it is going to bug him until he figures all this Load Range impact out. 

Jennifer
 
First, the tire pressures recommended by Georgie Boy are for the original tires only.  Unless you replace them with the exact tires, you can ignore the recommended pressures and have to rely on the manufacturers tables.

It appears that Continental only shows the inflation pressure for maximum load on their tires.  I haven't found a load vs. PSI table for them.  If you're at close to the maximum weight for the tire, then use the pressures in the table.

Don't be concerned about the 2006 date as any tires you buy today should have 2010 dates.
 
Thanks again Ned.  I think I am starting to understand.  The GB recommendation was 85PSI and that is the max. load for the G670's currently on QSHOUSE (GB).  If we get new G670's LR F the max PSI would increase to 90PSI for same load according to Goodyear table.  If we got to the LR G then we would have more load available if we need it but could reduce the tire pressure to match the actual load. 

Also, I think I understand Dan's concerns better.  What he is worried about is the will the G or H load range effect the handleability and control in addition to the smooth ride with reduced tire pressure.  How will the higher load range effect the steering and all those other factors.  He is concerned that GB geared the motorhome to 85PSI as optimal and an increase in pressure will adversely effect performance and maybe do damage.  I am trying to state this but fear once again doing a bad job.  :'(  He is recalling to the Explorer/Firestone tire pressure snafu that caused all the problems years ago.

I also emailed Continental to see if they have a load vs. PSI table and will let you know what they say.  If they do not I think it would be like shooting in the dark to try to match tire pressure to load. 
 
Going up in tire size has other considerations than just the inflation pressure.  The tires will usually be larger and you need to ensure that there are no clearance problems.  Especially see that there is sufficient spacing between the duals so they don't rub.  You don't need to go up more than one load range, and running the tires at the proper pressure won't cause any handling problems.  Most run at the table pressure plus 5 or 10 psi to allow for drops in temperature that will drop the cold pressure, and for the eventual air loss over time.

RV manufacturers will use the smallest (cheapest) tire to support the RV and thus will recommend using the maximum inflation pressure for the tire.  On our motorhome, the original Goodyear G159 tires were the limiting factor for the GAWR, the actual axle ratings were higher than Holiday Rambler posted for the chassis.  At the first tire change, we went up one load range in the Goodyears to the G169 and now have the G670RV tires.  They are run at well below maximum pressure and there is no difference in handling.
 
Increasing the load range on an identical size tire generally increases sidewall stiffness slightly. I doubt if it would be noticeable to most drivers on most coaches and on a trailer it probably results in a reduced tendency to sway.

Changes in size, i.e. tread width, diameter, or profile, can possibly affect steering geometry on but small changes generally do not. A "small change" in my book is any that has 0.5" or less effect on the rolling circumference or sidewall height, but that's just a figure of merit. Mostly for the sake of argument, trying to put some meaningful measure on 'small" and certainly not an absolute.
 
I do not know anything about the new RV Continental tires.

I just want to dispel any notion that Continental is a "new" brand, even in the USA. They are a large, global company with substantial businesses in automotive products and rubber goods, so tires are a natural for them. They have been in the tire business for over 100 years and produce tires for everything from bicycles to heavy trucks, including some high end cars like BMW. Heck, I had Continental snow tires for my '62 Pontiac. They offer excellent performance at an attractive price.

The only  thing "new" about Continental tires is that the mainstream of RVing is just discovering them.
 
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