Suburbanite

Here are a couple of FYI:

I think there are only 3 major tire companies:
*"Michelin, Uniroyal and BFGoodrich brands as well as its private and associate brands" are all related companies but I believe Michelin is the 'parent' company of all of them.
*Goodyear, ... & ... with, obviously, Goodyear the parent company.
*Bridgestone, Firestone, Dayton, ... & ... with Bridgestone the parent company.

Some D rated tires have a weight capacity that's within 84lbs (as a pair) of E rated tires -- 3000lbs/tire vs 3042lbs/tire. Here's one example, 255/85R16's, but there may be others.

From what I've read the standard, D & E rated, LT Michelins are VERY suspectible to sidewall damage. That's why they're generally not recommended for off-road use by hard-core off-roaders.

[EDIT] Here's another one I almost forgot: I believe most higher than E rated tires are only rated for 70mph top speed. That compares to 99mph or 110mph for most D/E rated tires. I realize that'd be a nonissue while towing/carrying but what about the rest of the time?

nk7j

For what it is worth here is my experience with tires. Without a doubt the best tires I have had are the Cooper tires. Right now I run Coopers on all my rigs except the 99 dodge I just bought which had a set of new toyo m-55s on it. The discover line by cooper has worked very well for me in the brush as well as highway use. <br><br>I wil NEVER and I mean NEVER buy another set of michelins again. They do wear good but have the cheapest flippin sidewalls I have ever seen. They may be E rated but the sidewalls SUCK! Take them out in the woods and get them where you will encounter sharp sticks and boom you have a flat. And of course beings that a stick punched through the sidewall and not the face they would not cover it (even though they had less than 10K on them). I lost four tires in ONE year due to this crappy tire design. <br><br>I run toyo tires on my work rig (state owned) and they are OK, not great though for the price tag. I go through a set about every 30K. Have tried Kellys, BFG, Goodyear (they are not too bad) and a couple others and always come back to coopers.<br>Oh and they are made in the USA.<br>One more note if you look at he cooper discover they make like three or four traction versions, I usually buy the all purpose regular discover, they are one of the best tires I have had for snow/ice and they are quiet for this type of tire. The make a STT version for high traction in mud (they are loud) but unless you get them studed and siped they SUCK on ice, they are like having ice skates on.<br><br>Anyway I hope you dont do what I always do, buy a new set of tires then trade or sell the rig two months later.<br>

chuck3

<br><br> Been there done that. I have been considering going with the Coopers as I have heard good things about them.

Bart Timothy

ditto on the flimsy sidewalls of the Michelin.

rattle_rattle

[quote author=Bart Timothy link=board=5;threadid=15751;start=45#159817 date=1058215318]<br>ditto on the flimsy sidewalls of the Michelin.<br>[/quote]<br><br>Man! I have always been a Michelin user. I have heard way too many bad stories about these sidewalls. A friend that lives near me lives on a gravel road and has had three tires punctured in the sidewalls by sharp stones! Guess it's goodby Michelin!<br>

GG

My .02 <br>Got E-rated Michelins on the truck now. Don't do any off roading.<br>The ride is pretty decent. <br><br>I've heard the talk of blowouts.Seems all the tire companies have some kind of problems these days.<br><br>The best tires I've had,wear wise,have been the Coopers.<br><br>When the Mich's run down I'll probably put on a set of those.

Pit Bull

Tell me about Coopers? Why are they so good? If you want Michelins that have tough side walls get a set of XPS tractions, all steel recappable tires, weigh a ton.

Pit Bull

Cooper Discover M&amp;S 235/85/16 Anybody know anything about these tires?

jigdog

pit bull<br>i think their ;D is some stuff on those in the earlier pages of this thread

nk7j

I have had a couple people send me messages about why I like coopers so I thought I would put it on here also.<br><br>They wear good (I get abour 50-60K on a set and I go in the mtns/rocks/dirt alot), they are made in the USA, I dont have to worry about 1/4Inch sticks making them go BOOM , they are the best tires I have had for snow/ice which we have alot of [undecided] and finally if I have a blowout at 48K miles (happened once) I do not have to worry about pro-rating crap when they put on a new one, they just do it at no cost to me. <br><br>The last one I have never figured out whether that was a deal with the local tire chain I deal with or from cooper but either way it works for me ;D.<br>Jack

nk7j

Here is the one I use:<br>http://www.coopertires.com/us/en/Pro...uck&amp;id=174<br><br>

jigdog

are you gettin them from schwabe

nk7j

No on shwab. It is a small tire chain Roy and Owens they are also part of the tire factory group.<br>I quit doing business with shwab some time back. Got tired of paying for balancing, valve stems, mounting and everything else under the sun. There prices SOUND good but do some comparisons and you will find like I did you are getting ripped by the time all the extra costs get added into it, and they pro-rate any tire they sell. <br>Maybe it is just our local greedy shwabs but from thier last sale paper I seen it appears it is that way with all of them. I will say they are fast and generally a friendly bunch, but fast is not always better (um why did my tire just come off a block away from the store? : .<br>I do have to deal with the good ol boys down at the place I buy tires but when they give me a price on tires that it THE price, includes valve stems,mounting , balanacing and all the rotations you want. On average I say about 20% by avoiding shwabs. <br>But I know alot of people are tickled to death by them so I say more power to ya! ;D ;D<br>Take Care<br>Jack

James Lucas

[quote author=Suburbanite link=board=5;threadid=15751;start=45#158317 date=1057810709]<br>Here are a couple of FYI:<br><br><br>*&quot;Michelin, Uniroyal and BFGoodrich brands as well as its private and associate brands&quot; are all related companies but I believe Michelin is the 'parent' company of all of them.<br><br>From what I've read the standard, D &amp; E rated, LT Michelins are VERY suspectible to sidewall damage. That's why they're generally not recommended for off-road use by hard-core off-roaders.<br><br>[/quote]<br><br>Thanks....<br><br>I can add a few more tires to my &quot;FRENCH MADE&quot; I won't buy them anymore List!!!!<br><br>I didn't know about Uniroyal and BFGoodrich being owned by Michelin which is FRENCH owned!<br><br>James

Haulin_in_Dixie

I for one would like nothing better than to &quot;buy American&quot; but that has mostly become impossible. If you drive a car it is made of parts from other countrys, if you eat food it is slaughtered and grown in other countries. I delivered hundreds of loads of what we called &quot;kangeroo beef&quot; in the '70s which was Austrailian and NewZealand grass fed beef mixed with American at the hamburger stands. Hey, we drive German trucks. So which tires are made strictly in America with American products? No and I can't tell you either. The only thing unique about Michelen tires is that the name is French. But so are French Fries and they never made them. I have not heard of the hamburger stands suffering from loss of profits or sales of French Fries. Ahhhh wood, most of it comes from the US or does it, a lot comes from Canada. America has thrown away its great industry, its too late, it is already done. We should have demanded American products in the '60s and '70s instead of driving &quot;Bugs&quot; and &quot;Datsons&quot; So I bought Michelen XPS Rib, they seem to be a great tire, with over 10,000 miles the whole tread is still not on the pavement, sorry, thats my soapbox.