BF Goodrich Long Trail T/A or Michelin?

[respk]

From everything that I have read on this newsgroup Michelin LTX MS tires
are the way to go. However, at around $119 per tire around here I am
looking for some alternatives. Has anyone used the BF Goodrich Long
Trail T/A tires? How did they wear and could you keep them balanced? I
need to replace the stock Firestones before they drive me nuts!

Thanks for your help,

Kevin

[John H]

I hear great things about the LTXs too. I was shopping the BFG long trails,
but ultimately, I didn't like how one shoulder of the tread was completely
sealed off (no water escape). The MIchelins are tried and true, and
although a little on the firm side, provide a nice quiet tire with long life
and good handling (so I've heard).

Much contrary to the hype though, I just put a set of Bridgestone Dueler ATs
with Uni-T on my 95 EB. No complaints yet, but we'll see as the years wear
on. My reason for buying them - a good A/T tread with reputation, good
rubber compound, and you can't beat them for the price (you will pay more
for the Michelins).

Oh yeah, if you're not real image concious, Sears sells the LTX M/S as their
own label, the XC LT4. Same tire, better price.

JH

respk wrote in message <38605480...@yahoo.com>...

[respk]

Thanks for the info.
I was wondering why the local Sears stores do not carry the LTX MS. That
probably explains why. When I was looking at them today I thought they said
Michelin on them but am not sure at this point.

Thanks,

Kevin

[John H]

Michelin produces a tire exclusively for Sears, called the XC LT4 (amongst
some other models). They carry the Michelin name, but go for a lower price.
From everything I've collected and seen, the XC LT4 is the exact same tire
as the LTX M/S. The only difference may be warranty (I'm not sure), but
they're identical from what I know. So it really is a Michelin you're
seeing at Sears. $ for $, pick the Sears, unless you are going under fire
of Michelin Gurus.

JH

respk wrote in message <386057C2...@yahoo.com>...

[RapidRon]

I had the LTXs on my Olds Bravada and they rode kinda rough - but these were
the 6-ply. I installed the p-metric 4-plys on my 99 Mountaineer, and they
are real nice. The F'stones are JUNK.

[PSsquare]

Good exchange on tires that leads me to a question. What has been the
experience with the Michelins relative to sidewall punctures. I quit buying
them about 8 years ago because I had two sidewall punctures from minor
things and they were not covered by the warranty. This hurt on expensive
tires that had less than 1000 and 5000 miles respectively. Is Michelin
doing any better now days?

[Fgerardij]

Kevin:

I went through the same dilemna a few months ago regarding the Michelin LTX's.
My local shop could only do $129 at best.

I then went to Sam's Club to shop around and saw they only had the LTX/AT's on
the racks. In passing conversation with the tire-guy, I told him I wished he
had the LTX/MS tires. He said "no problem," and leafed through his book. $89,
delivered there in about four business days!

I believe mounting, balancing, lifetime rotation and warranty was like $6 per
tire. You can't beat the deal and the prices are incredible. Look for a Sams
Club in your area.

All the best,
Frank G
Maryland

[John C. Coleman]

I bought my Michelins at Sam's Club, too. I was told that their normal
stock of Michelin "X Radial LT" (or something like that) tires were
identical to the LTX/MS except for the letters on the sidewall. They
were the same price, so I decided to get the Sam's model on the spot.

Good deal on a great tire. Now that I think about it, it's time for my
free lifetime balance and rotation....

In article <19991222124021...@ng-cp1.aol.com>,
fger...@aol.com (Fgerardij) wrote:

_________________________________________________________________________
John C. Coleman, Ph.D. Candidate Dept. of Biomedical Engineering
jo...@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu Tulane University
http://www.bmen.tulane.edu/~johnc/ New Orleans, LA USA

[Fgerardij]

John:

I saw those tires and I think you're right. I didn't have the LTX/MS tires
right next to them for comparison but I think they are very similar to the X
models. Either way, I'm sure you can't go wrong with either model of these
Michelins.

[David A. Cooley]

I had Michelin X radials on my 95 Buick LeSabre... At 75 MPH, I had BOTH
rear sidewalls blow. No debris in the freeway, 30K miles on the
tires... they still had 75% of their original tread. After the new
tires got put on, I had the alignment checked and the shop said the
alignment front and rear was right on the money. He also said they
replace a LOT of michelins before their time.

[Andrew A. Greenberg, M.D.]

I was at NTB, which is owned by Sears. They also carry the XC LT4, but were
willing to order the LTX MS for me. The salesman did not say that the two tires
had an identical tread design but that they were very close. I ordered the LTX
MS from Tire Rack.

John H wrote:

> I hear great things about the LTXs too. I was shopping the BFG long trails,
> but ultimately, I didn't like how one shoulder of the tread was completely
> sealed off (no water escape). The MIchelins are tried and true, and
> although a little on the firm side, provide a nice quiet tire with long life
> and good handling (so I've heard).
>
> Much contrary to the hype though, I just put a set of Bridgestone Dueler ATs
> with Uni-T on my 95 EB. No complaints yet, but we'll see as the years wear
> on. My reason for buying them - a good A/T tread with reputation, good
> rubber compound, and you can't beat them for the price (you will pay more
> for the Michelins).
>
> Oh yeah, if you're not real image concious, Sears sells the LTX M/S as their
> own label, the XC LT4. Same tire, better price.
>
> JH
>

[R&B]

For your information B.F. Goodrich tires are made by Michelin. The Trail is
the lower cost T/A radial. I have the T/A KO's on my Ranger. They are
better tires that the trail, but cost more($98). I like them, and also
tossed a set of the factory Firestones.
Ron

RapidRon <Rapi...@pclink.com> wrote in message
news:HfZ74.53$6V1....@news7.onvoy.net...

[R&B]

Kevin, for your information B.F. Goodrich tires are made by Michelin. The
trail is the lower cost T/A radial. I have the T/A KO's on my Ranger. I
believe they have a stronger sidewall than the trail tires. I like them. I

also tossed a set of the factory Firestones.
Ron

PSsquare <psch...@stny.lrun.com> wrote in message
news:tH784.17643$wG3.1...@typhoon.nyroc.rr.com...

> Good exchange on tires that leads me to a question. What has been the
> experience with the Michelins relative to sidewall punctures. I quit
buying
> them about 8 years ago because I had two sidewall punctures from minor
> things and they were not covered by the warranty. This hurt on expensive
> tires that had less than 1000 and 5000 miles respectively. Is Michelin
> doing any better now days?
>

[dan of the north]

Check out the Nov.'99 Consumer Reports. They have a fairly good review
of SUV rubber (the LTX MS _wasn't_ the top rated tire). Also in that
issue is a good review of winter tires for passenger cars and a
pros/cons on studding. If your local mag seller doesn't have it try the
libary. It also may be available on-line (for a price).

>>> re...@yahoo.com wrote:
From everything that I have read on this newsgroup Michelin LTX MS
tires are the way to go. However, at around $119 per tire around here I
am looking for some alternatives. Has anyone used the BF Goodrich Long
Trail T/A tires? How did they wear and could you keep them balanced? I
need to replace the stock Firestones before they drive me nuts!

Thanks for your help,

Kevin <<<

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

[respk]

Excellent article. I was interested in the BFGs based on that article. I
was interested in the LTX MS based on the recommendations in this
newsgroup, the review at tirerack and my own personal experience with other
Michelin tires.

I wanted to get something before the Christmas driving so I bought the XC
LT4s from Sears. The tread pattern is not exactly the same. The sipes are
somewhat different (same number of sipes, but a little different pattern)
but it appears that the "grooves" and "blocks" are identical in shape and
configuration. I've only had them on a day but what a big difference over
the Firestones. Tire noise is pretty much gone and the ride is much, much
smoother and it no longer wants to wander to the right.

Now all I have to do is determine the what is causing the slight air noise
that is coming from the drivers side door. With the road noise from the
Firestones I didn't here it before, but I can now...

Thanks,

Kevin

[RapidRon]

Right. The Mich's are nice -- and, you can't get them to even slide in wet
weather! I get excessive wind noise from the door area also, especially in
a cross-wind. Dealer looked at the door seals and said they were fine --
but I certainly would like to make things quieter. BTW, there is a TSB out
for noisey rear-end ring gears on some V8s. They have ordered a new set of
gears for my '99. I hope it quiets the drive train noise I get on the
highway under light throttle -- goes away on coasting.

Does your tranny whine in first (and a little in second) (V8/AWD)? This
seems to have started recently (10k miles, and COLD).

respk wrote in message <386299DB...@yahoo.com>...

[steve b.]

I subscribe to the Consumer Reports online.

Here's just the summary of their November SUV tire report. Buy the mag
or subscribe online (www.consumerreports.org) for all the detailed
analysis and reports.

1. BF Goodrich Radial Long Trail T/A $80 An excellent tire for all
seasons. Outstanding braking performance across the board.

2. Yokohama Geolandar H/T $75 A three-season tire, with outstanding wet
and dry braking performance. Excellent where winters are mild, but not
a good bet for snow or ice.

3. Michelin LTX M/S $105 A very good all-season tire, but expensive.
Excellent cornering grip on dry pavement and the best rolling
resistance.    

4. Dunlop Radial Rover A/T $76 Very good overall. Especially competent
on wet and dry pavement, but unimpressive in snow. The manufacturer
says it's an all-season tire despite its A/T (all-terrain) designation.

5. Cooper Discoverer Radial STE $78 If winter performance is the most
important to you, the Cooper delivers; it provided the best snow
traction in the group. But it falls down on wet pavement, and it
handles sloppily. AVAILABILITY: Being replaced by the Cooper Discoverer
H/T.

6. Goodyear Wrangler RF-A $115 Good but unexceptional. Tires for the
front and rear have different tread designs (rear tread shown), and the
manufacturer doesn't recommend rotating them. Noisier than most on
smooth pavement.

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