FMCA and Michelin

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Ned

Ned

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FMCA has an Advantage program with Michelin tires that offers excellent prices.  We need to replace our steer tires and got prices on Bridgestone, Yokohama, and Continental tires from a San Antonio tire distributor and the prices ran from $493 for the Continentals to $683 for Bridgestone for 275/75R22.5 size.  According to the Advantage program price chart, Michelin XZA2 Energy tires in our size are $496 so I ordered 2 for installation in 2 weeks when we return from Corpus Christi.  I've never been a fan of the Michelin company but their tires are top quality.

Details on the program are available here .

Another reason to belong to FMCA if you have a motorhome.
 
Yes, I did.  I was told that they would be coming in next week and may still be warm from the mold :)  This is a commercial high volume tire center, TCI, so they don't have tires sitting around for very long.
 
Ned, I'm also pricing a set of Michelins 22.5's and was going to look into FMCA just for that reason. It seems different parts of the country have different pricing even on the natl programs. Right now Costco has the 255/80 R22.5 XRV for $468 and the XZE for $461. They also are offering $70 off a set of 4 right now. I still have to call the local dealer also. Thanks for the post.
 
To make valid comparisons, get the prices including FET, but excluding sales tax.  The prices I quotes included FET of $32.51 on my size tire.  The FET will be the same everywhere but sales taxes will vary.  The FMCA Advantage program is national and the billing will come from Michelin, not the dealer.

The FMCA price for your 255/80R22.5 would be $476.91 for the XRV, it's not shown for the XZE.
 
RLSharp said:
Do you know whether TCI makes Michelin LT235 85R16E tires? I would like to find a source where I could consistently get "warm" tires.
Click to expand...

I don't know, but here's the information on TCI in San Antonio.  The salesman I worked with is Dick.

TCI Centers LLC
11589 N Ih 35
San Antonio, TX 78233-5304
(210) 651-0077
 
FWIW: Firebird in Phx will come to you and install tires... Toyo has some with 66mo warranty. $1050 for everything for two.
 
We had the 2 front tires installed at TCI on Wednesday, Feb. 8, and it was as easy as I expected.  They mounted the new tires, inflated to my specified pressure, and after a small bit of paperwork, we were done.  It didn't take an hour.  They did take my credit card number, but the invoice actually comes from FMCA.  The 2 tires, complete, were $1273.

One problem cropped up.  We spent the night at Freightliner awaiting a service appointment the next day, and while we were there, the manager from TCI called me and said they had installed the wrong valve cores, not the Equal cores.  He asked that we stop back on our way home and they would replace the cores.  However, the next morning the left front tire was flat, so I reinflated it and installed the Pressure Pro sensor and watched it go from 90 psi to 70 psi in about 20 minutes.  I call TCI and said we were not driving there (14 miles) with that bad a leak, so they sent a truck to us at Freightliner.  It was a major leak around the bead, so the tech broke the tire from the wheel, cleaned the wheel and bead, reinflated the tire and remounted it.  End of leak, and he also installed the Equal valve cores.

Overall, we were satisfied with the deal, and the Michelin tires didn't cost any more than we were quoted for Bridgestone and a lot less than Goodyear would cost.  The net price was just about half of list.
 
The list price on our 275/70R22.5 XZA2 Energy tires was $975.54 each, then add FET and sales taxes.  The pair cost $1273, out the door, with the FMCA discount.  Without the discount, the prices would have been about $960 more, or $1100+/tire.  The cost of rubber has gone way up :(
 
Prices on the big sizes, e.g. 295/80R22.5, are out of sight. Some models are indeed $1100-$1200 per tire (MSRP) if the size in one that is mostly used only on large motorhomes. The commercial use sizes have a lot more price competition and are priced somewhat lower.

Michelin is very, very proud of their top model tires and  Goodyear isn't far behind on their G670 model. They are driving many people to other brands, e.g. Continental, Toyo, Hankook, Kumho, etc.
 
If we hadn't gotten the FMCA discount, we would be running on Yokohama or Continental tires right now, they were about the same price as the discounted Michelins.
 
Currently researching tires, both online and over the phone. The Michelin tire for our coach would be 275 70R 22.5 LRJ XZA2 Energy, but their tire inflation table had me scratching my head a little. The 'Dual' numbers must be total weight for 2 tires (?) e.g. 11,050 lbs at 100psi, or 5,525 lbs per tire.

The equivalent Good Year table for our original tires shows the weight for each tire on the Dual line. e.g. 5,850 lbs at 100psi.
 
Tom

Don't forget, 4 tires yields 23,000#s @ 100 psi on the drive axle. So if you need 100 psi, you are overloaded.
 
Bernie,

We're not overloaded according to our scaled weight. I allow for some side-to-side variation by running one or two columns higher on the inflation table. I used the 100psi column merely as an e.g. for reading/interpreting the tables.
 
Yes, the Michelin tables use the weight on the 2 tires in the dual ratings.  Notice that those 275/70 tires are load range J.  On our coach, we put 90psi in them and we're still well over the needed pressure. 
 
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