Bridgestone Alenza 001

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After 27,000 miles the Michelin Latitude Sport 3 (255/60R17 106V) tires on my Envoy are pretty worn. They are pretty decent tires, but it seems longevity is not one of its strong points; even with regular rotations (and road force balancing if required) every 6,000 miles and maintaining the correct pressures. I was actually considering another set, but it seems COVID is an excuse for incompetence among other things these days and they are not available in this size. I was told in October that the shipment would arrive in January, but now I'm being told it will arrive in April. At this point, these tires are in dire need of replacement for safety reason and there is absolutely no way I can wait another three months.

I've been looking at my options; namely Toyo Proxes T1 Sport, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx 050+ and the Bridgestone Alenza 001 that I'm heavily leaning towards. Wondering if anyone on here has any experience with them.
 
All those tires are OEM tires - and from my experience with OE Bridgestone and Goodyear, much is left to be desired. That Dunlop SP Sport Maxx is a Subaru OE tire on the WRX/STI. Out of those, I’d pick the Alenza 001 - I have a funny feeling it was developed as an OE tire for BMW or Lexus but Bridgestone’s “summer” tires aren’t as bad as their “all-season” efforts.

Michelin does make a SUV-sized version of the Pilot Sport 4S - seeing how Range Rovers, Cayennes, Macans and the AMG/M variants of the GL/X series usually have “summer” tires. Of course, pay to play.
 
After 27,000 miles the Michelin Latitude Sport 3 (255/60R17 106V) tires on my Envoy are pretty worn. They are pretty decent tires, but it seems longevity is not one of its strong points; even with regular rotations (and road force balancing if required) every 6,000 miles and maintaining the correct pressures. I was actually considering another set, but it seems COVID is an excuse for incompetence among other things these days and they are not available in this size. I was told in October that the shipment would arrive in January, but now I'm being told it will arrive in April. At this point, these tires are in dire need of replacement for safety reason and there is absolutely no way I can wait another three months.

I've been looking at my options; namely Toyo Proxes T1 Sport, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx 050+ and the Bridgestone Alenza 001 that I'm heavily leaning towards. Wondering if anyone on here has any experience with them.
From 3 model you mention, only Alenza is designed for heavy vehicle/SUV, so longevity is better than other 2 for your Envoy even though the traction may not be the best.
If you can find Pilot Sport 4 SUV, then it may be the best to replace Latitude Sport 3. I like Latitude Sport 3, the best in wet weather and great in dry, but it is true it is only 25000 miles lifetime.
 
I'll be the first to ask - performance tires on an Envoy? Why not a good all season?

Tire Rack shows only 7 tires in 255/60R17 and none of them are what you listed. Looks like OEM size is 245/65R17.
 
I'll be the first to ask - performance tires on an Envoy? Why not a good all season?

Tire Rack shows only 7 tires in 255/60R17 and none of them are what you listed. Looks like OEM size is 245/65R17.
On U.S. and Canadian vehicles, yes 245/65R17 is the OEM size. This is an export vehicle with RPO code "QRT", which are 255/60R17 106V tires from the factory. The OE tires were a Dunlop SP Sport of some sort in that specific size, load and speed rating. I'll have to check my unused spare to see what it actually is.

Also bear in mind Tire Rack will not show tires that are available outside of the United States. Sumitomo Rubber Industries has the right to the Dunlop name in the Middle East, whereas Goodyear does in North America and Europe. The SP Sport Maxx 050+, for example, is a different tire than the SP Sport Maxx 050.

As far as "All-Season" tires go, they don't do very well here in the summer and HP or even UHP tires are the go-to.

From 3 model you mention, only Alenza is designed for heavy vehicle/SUV, so longevity is better than other 2 for your Envoy even though the traction may not be the best.
If you can find Pilot Sport 4 SUV, then it may be the best to replace Latitude Sport 3. I like Latitude Sport 3, the best in wet weather and great in dry, but it is true it is only 25000 miles lifetime.
Looks like I may end up waiting for the Michelin Latitude Sport 3 to be back in stock and just live with the laughably short lifespan. Thanks to this COVID circus show, Bridgestone doesn't have four Alenza 001 tires in stock to sell me.

All those tires are OEM tires - and from my experience with OE Bridgestone and Goodyear, much is left to be desired. That Dunlop SP Sport Maxx is a Subaru OE tire on the WRX/STI. Out of those, I’d pick the Alenza 001 - I have a funny feeling it was developed as an OE tire for BMW or Lexus but Bridgestone’s “summer” tires aren’t as bad as their “all-season” efforts.

Michelin does make a SUV-sized version of the Pilot Sport 4S - seeing how Range Rovers, Cayennes, Macans and the AMG/M variants of the GL/X series usually have “summer” tires. Of course, pay to play.
I agree completely about OE tires. The trend here has seen no name Chinese tires rapidly grow in popularity; not a lot of folks out there are willing to fork out big bucks for a name brand tire anymore, and you don't find many tire dealers willing to special order tires for you. The Pilot Sport 4S is an excellent tire, just not available in this size and the dealer is not willing to import just a set of four for whatever reason. With that said, every name brand will only order one model in a specific size, and it seems the Latitude Sport 3 is the only option with Michelin.
 
A lot of our cars come with that Bridgestone. Often need replacement at only 30k km. They are also very sensitive to alignment, even slight off and the tires will wear unevenly and get noisy. Still better than the Dunlops though.
 
The trend here has seen no name Chinese tires rapidly grow in popularity; not a lot of folks out there are willing to fork out big bucks for a name brand tire anymore, and you don't find many tire dealers willing to special order tires for you.
Ditto in the US - I see mom & pop tire shops with name brand banners but 80% of what they install is LingLong, Ironman, Westlake, Sailun, Leao, Otani or other Chinese/Thai tires. I’m seeing JK Tyre, an Indian brand recently. The rental car companies have been using Chinese tires lately, and I almost always see Chinese tires(mostly LingLong, Ironman or Sailun) on cars seeing Uber/Lyft duty.

I wouldn’t even trust Chinese tires on a bike(maybe Kenda or Maxxis/Cheng Shin but they’re Taiwanese and have been in the business for a long time), the Thai have been making bicycle tires way before car/truck/bus tires. Michelin, Toyo and Bridgestone do make tires in Thailand, and Yokohama has a plant in the Philippines. I think Bridgestone also has a plant in Indonesia making some of their brand but mostly Firestone brand tires. Hankook also has operations in Indonesia. Vietnam has been the latest hot spot for tires - the Chinese makers, as well as Kumho have been setting up shop there.
 
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Would you run a 265/65R17?

It's the factory size for the Tacoma so there should be more chocise available for less money.
Thank you for the suggestion! Had a look around yesterday, and there are some 265/70R17 tires but 265/65R17 is another size that is out of stock. If you want no name Chinese tires, those are plentiful but those are not tires I'd want to be rolling on.

I have three 18" Saab 9-7X wheels I got brand new, and I'm holding out for another one if I can find brand new as opposed to refurbished. If I had the forth one, 255/55R18 would be the new size that's 100% match, but I'll have to stick with the original size until then. I have custom springs and bigger sway bars on this vehicle, along with quite a few 9-7X specific suspension parts and Bilstein shocks. Despite coming with the factory "Firm Ride" package, the improvements are vast in comparison.

A lot of our cars come with that Bridgestone. Often need replacement at only 30k km. They are also very sensitive to alignment, even slight off and the tires will wear unevenly and get noisy. Still better than the Dunlops though.
Sounds like their lifespan pretty much matches the Michelin Latitude Sport 3. That must be some sort of new trend! Although the alignment issue does sound equally crazy.

Ditto in the US - I see mom & pop tire shops with name brand banners but 80% of what they install is LingLong, Ironman, Westlake, Sailun, Leao, Otani or other Chinese/Thai tires. I’m seeing JK Tyre, an Indian brand recently. The rental car companies have been using Chinese tires lately, and I almost always see Chinese tires(mostly LingLong, Ironman or Sailun) on cars seeing Uber/Lyft duty.

I wouldn’t even trust Chinese tires on a bike(maybe Kenda or Maxxis/Cheng Shin but they’re Taiwanese and have been in the business for a long time), the Thai have been making bicycle tires way before car/truck/bus tires. Michelin, Toyo and Bridgestone do make tires in Thailand, and Yokohama has a plant in the Philippines. I think Bridgestone also has a plant in Indonesia making some of their brand but mostly Firestone brand tires. Hankook also has operations in Indonesia. Vietnam has been the latest hot spot for tires - the Chinese makers, as well as Kumho have been setting up shop there.
There are lot of Chinese brands out there I've never heard of like Triangle, Goodride, Blacklion, Wanli and Jinyu. Ironically, all Chinese cars sold here are wearing Michelins or Continentals right off the assembly line, and none of them comes with Chinese branded tires.

There are some Indonesian brands that have actually been around for quite some time, such as GT Radial, and then you have some Taiwanese brands like Federal, Nankang, Presa and Maxxis. Oddly enough, Kumho, which I thought was Korean and has other brands like Marshal under its belt, is partially owned by Doublestar; another Chinese company. I haven't heard of JK Tyre, but an Indian brand that's somewhat popular here is Apollo.

I can understand setting up plants in places like Thailand and Indonesia, since that's where the rubber comes from. I got a set of Yokohama Geolandar H/T G056 (265/60R18 110H) tires for the '18 Pajero in November and they were made in Thailand. All the Michelin SUV tires I've bought over the years, to include the Latitude Cross and Latitude Sport 3, have been made in Poland. I went with BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires (LT265/70R16 112H) for my '00 Pajero, since the Latitude Cross is no longer available. The alternative was Michelin Primacy SUV, which is a highway tire made in Thailand, but that won't do me no good off road. The Pirellis I've bought, to include the P6 Four Seasons, Scorpion STR, Scorpion Verde and Scorpion Verde All-Season have been made in Brazil, the United Kingdom and Mexico.

Seems to me, in this market at least, the only tire company who exclusively only manufactures on home soil is Sumitomo, which includes the Dunlop and Falken portfolio. Bridgestone, Yokohama and Toyo has quite a few tires in their range that they manufacture in places like Thailand.
 
There are lot of Chinese brands out there I've never heard of like Triangle, Goodride, Blacklion, Wanli and Jinyu. Ironically, all Chinese cars sold here are wearing Michelins or Continentals right off the assembly line, and none of them comes with Chinese branded tires.

There are some Indonesian brands that have actually been around for quite some time, such as GT Radial, and then you have some Taiwanese brands like Federal, Nankang, Presa and Maxxis. Oddly enough, Kumho, which I thought was Korean and has other brands like Marshal under its belt, is partially owned by Doublestar; another Chinese company. I haven't heard of JK Tyre, but an Indian brand that's somewhat popular here is Apollo.

I can understand setting up plants in places like Thailand and Indonesia, since that's where the rubber comes from.

Seems to me, in this market at least, the only tire company who exclusively only manufactures on home soil is Sumitomo, which includes the Dunlop and Falken portfolio. Bridgestone, Yokohama and Toyo has quite a few tires in their range that they manufacture in places like Thailand.
I’ve seen Wanli and Triangle on some city buses here too - that would be a violation of Buy America rules and a failed inspection. I rode one of those buses on Triangle tires - they have a bad vibration about 40MPH. They’re buying Conti and BFG for their buses now - they don’t want to lease tires from Bridgestone/Goodyear/Michelin. Yea, ironic about the Chinese cars not coming with their tires - but it was the same tactic Hyundai used in the 1980-1990s. All US-bound Hyundais came with Goodyear or Michelin, you’d expect Hankook or Kumho. VW is now using Giti tires as OE, and supposedly new IC school buses from Navistar come with an option of Goodyear or Doublecoin.

Apollo Tyre made an bid for Cooper that fell through. I’ve seen Thai or Indonesian Sumitomo tires. Subaru and Stellantis are using Falken as OE and mostly made in Thailand.
 
All the Michelin SUV tires I've bought over the years, to include the Latitude Cross and Latitude Sport 3, have been made in Poland. I went with BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires (LT265/70R16 112H) for my '00 Pajero, since the Latitude Cross is no longer available. The alternative was Michelin Primacy SUV, which is a highway tire made in Thailand, but that won't do me no good off road. The Pirellis I've bought, to include the P6 Four Seasons, Scorpion STR, Scorpion Verde and Scorpion Verde All-Season have been made in Brazil, the United Kingdom and Mexico.

That's interesting. All my current Michelins (five sets, no SUV) are made
in France, UK and Germany. Had a set of PS2 some fifteen years ago that
where made in Brasil (which I didn't like).
.
 
Figured I would update this thread.

Ended up buying a set of four brand new 18" Saab 9-7X wheels that were shipped over, and went with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV tires in 255/55R18 109Y XL flavor. This is the first set of French made Michelins I've purchased, and they all were manufactured in December 2021. Also got some chrome McGard spline drive lug nuts.

The ride is definitely firmer than it was compared to the 255/60R17 106V tires on there previously, but that's a good thing in my book. Only put 18 miles on them so far, so I can't say all that much. However, I definitely like them so far.
 

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I'll be the first to ask - performance tires on an Envoy? Why not a good all season?

Tire Rack shows only 7 tires in 255/60R17 and none of them are what you listed. Looks like OEM size is 245/65R17.
That would be dry/hot and drier/hotter: 2 seasons. Both handled very well by summer tires.

Krzys
 
have the alenza 001 on my cx5 for the past 3.5 years/40.000km,been rotating every 5k km and keeping the tire pressure correct,the wear is excellent,can go another 30k kms easy and israel has tough weather.
perfect straight line and corner stability,wet and dry traction is top notch as well.been driving in hell hot and pouring rain weather.drive the car fast.had all sorts of brands and tires from all season to semi slicks,from primacy to r888 in my previous cars so i know a good tire when i have one
only down side is its a harsh tire after 3years but its normal with bridgestone.i strongly recommend as a sporty luxury tire.
 
I suspect something is wrong with the vehicle of OP wore down a set of tires in the equivalent of 2-3 oil changes, maybe I missed it but I’d suspect something is severely out of spec
 
Saab take-offs, Mcgard splined nuts and Michelin rubber, this is a stylish upgrade package!

The “alenza” name has been thrown on a lot of the tires and seems to mean very little. The alenza HL, for instance, used to be a premium tire and was quite good- I had 2 sets. This new alenza 001? I’m not so sure. Bridgestone makes great tires but you’ve got to avoid the cheaper and oem-entry-designed offerings, which tend to be … sad.
 
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