Quote:
Originally Posted by CreepyPT
Was wondering if anyone had any personal experience with these.
I'm considering repalcing my original tires with them, even though I hate the Badyears that were OEM. Since I'm getting them through work, our tech manager promised me that if I have any problems at all he'll make sure they are taken care of for me. So if I get a bad tire, or set of tires, he'll make sure they are replaced right away.
So, any thoughts?
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If the price is right, and if you live in a mild climate, and if you don't drive perpetually on the edge of adhesion, they may be OK. Having said that:
I've had three sets of Goodyear tires in my 40 years of driving. That ratio ought to say something. I never bought a set of them, they always came on a car I bought. The first came on a 1971 car. They were Polyglas belted, wore on the second rib from the outside on each side, handled like they had been injected with novocaine and were junk. I replaced them with Michelin. The second came on 1996 3/4 ton truck, they handled like they had been injected with novocaine, and were junk. One separated at 50 miles. Another separated at 13K miles. At 15K miles I replaced them with Michelin. About a month ago, I bought a used PT with Sears-Goodyear Weather-Handler tires. I am pleasantly surprised by them. I'll get back to you on whether I keep them or if they separate.
As for my using Michelin tires, I live in a hot and nasty climate where road surface temperatures will often reach 200F or more. Few brands of tires will stand up to that. In my experience, Michelin does the best. I do not have to deal with snow or ice except when I travel out of the local furnace. Rain is temporary but intense, and brings up lots of road oil.
Have I ever had a Michelin tire separate? Yes. In 1986, all four Michelin XZX tires on my Mazda 626 separated in Wyoming but did not come apart. I drove them back to Arizona, lumpily.
How many sets of Michelin tires have I owned? I would have to take off my shoes to count that high. I bought my first set in 1973 and rarely looked back. I took one brief excursion into Bridgestone in 1978, and went right back to Michelin when I sold that car the next year. The best I ever did was 79,000 miles on a set of zX tires on a 1980 Mazda GLC.
Are other brands of tires good? Certainly! This is just my experience. People in mild and cold climates report excellent experiences with tires I see pieces of along the sides of Arizona roads. My brother in Illinois gets many years and many miles out of Firestone Steeltex truck tires, and the thought of that makes my skin crawl. But he puts Michelin tires on his passenger cars.
Your mileage can and will vary. If you work at a tire shop, consider going with the tire you get the fewest returns on. I worked at an independent Goodyear store in my youth, and that's what I did. I didn't get a discount. I quit when the owner told me to install tube-type tires without the tubes, saying nobody would notice.