I love how relatively evenly spaced our gears are. My old Durango had the 545RFE and 3.45 gears... 1st gear was ~50mph and 2nd gear would take you to 90!
Couldn't take it anymore
- Thread starter OVERKILL
- Start date
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
There's a twist!!! My dealer buddy ordered BOTH SETS OF TIRES!!! 
In reality, he just didn't cancel the Michelin order, figured they'd be good to have in stock either way.
Looking at the two tires side-by-side, while the tread pattern is very similar the Michelin clearly has massively more siping.
In reality, he just didn't cancel the Michelin order, figured they'd be good to have in stock either way.
Looking at the two tires side-by-side, while the tread pattern is very similar the Michelin clearly has massively more siping.
Michelin sipes look wider as well. I suppose tread compound plays a factor in the overall wet weather performance though.
definitely look how many sipes summer tires have(not many) yet they have really good wet traction.
I'd go with the Conti's. A little more void and slightly deeper tread. They might be better in heavy rain and snow and last longer than the Michelins.
I fell off the Michelin band wagon after I bought a set of LTX ATs in 275/65/20.
I fell off the Michelin band wagon after I bought a set of LTX ATs in 275/65/20.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Yes, the LTX A/T was a blem on what has otherwise been a world-class product line.
Re Michelin,
My understanding is that the tread pattern runs the full depth, down to the wear bars. Not sure this is true with all brands, actually I know for sure this was the case for some tires I have owned.
My understanding is that the tread pattern runs the full depth, down to the wear bars. Not sure this is true with all brands, actually I know for sure this was the case for some tires I have owned.
Probably of little relevance but Continental does have very good autocross tires for the wet. My inlaws in Vancouver always had a set of sportcontacts for the inevitable rainy race days and won with them.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Yup, the PSS I owned had zero sipes and were like epoxy in the wet.
Some of the LTX-ATs had 3 steel belts and no nylon cap plies to hold the tire together at high speeds. The 275/65/20 was one of them, good to 60 mph. The stock size in 2500s and 3500s was 265/70/18 (2019 and older). Those LTX-ATs had 2 ply sidewalls, 2 steel plies and 2 nylon cap plies, and did not exibit high speed issues that made the tires seem out of balance. One tire tech at Costco spent 2 hours trying to balance my 20s while I shopped. The continous high speed shaking on trips across the prairies wore them out in 35,000 miles (60k kms).
Now 11R/24.5s are another story. Used Michelin cases for re-capping are worth more than brand new off-shore tires.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Installed:
Dunno why, but the sidewall design is a bit less aestetically pleasing to me than other tires.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
not a goodyear fan, but i think the duratrac and mtr are good tires in their respective segments.
Yet to find a tire that glues like PSS to the road in wet.
OK, maybe it's time I talked about OE tires.
It isn't that OE tires - the ones that come on new vehicles from the assembly plant - are cheap (inexpensive, poorly made). It's that the design goals are different. The vehicle manufacturer specifies the performance parameters and their emphasis is on fuel economy, and they are willing to sacrifice treadwear and traction to get it. Consumers think treadwear and traction are indicators of cheap tires, so OE tires get that undeserved reputation.
But OE specs only apply to that one size/make/model. Other sizes in the same make and model would be different. Sometimes even the tire you buy at local tire store of the same size/make/model is different, but that is not usually the case.
It's also common that when that size/make/model is no longer supplied to the vehicle assembly plant, that it will revert to replacement market specs. That means that if you buy a vehicle and 3 years later need tires, that make/model tire that came on your vehicle has likely changed.
It isn't that OE tires - the ones that come on new vehicles from the assembly plant - are cheap (inexpensive, poorly made). It's that the design goals are different. The vehicle manufacturer specifies the performance parameters and their emphasis is on fuel economy, and they are willing to sacrifice treadwear and traction to get it. Consumers think treadwear and traction are indicators of cheap tires, so OE tires get that undeserved reputation.
But OE specs only apply to that one size/make/model. Other sizes in the same make and model would be different. Sometimes even the tire you buy at local tire store of the same size/make/model is different, but that is not usually the case.
It's also common that when that size/make/model is no longer supplied to the vehicle assembly plant, that it will revert to replacement market specs. That means that if you buy a vehicle and 3 years later need tires, that make/model tire that came on your vehicle has likely changed.
We have HT's on my wife's Colorado with OWLs and like the appearance very much. Like the tires too!
I think the conti sportcontacts are better, atleast by autocross results, and probably most of the 200tw autocross tires are better too, but not as streetable as the sportcontacts. I do find it interesting the PSS is considered one of the best gripping street tires but they aren't competitive for serious autocrossers?
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
The TireRack results seem to favour the Michelin?
And the ContiSportContact 3 vs the PS2 (which the PSS replaced):
Unless I'm looking at the wrong tire?
