michelin LTX AS no traction when wet

[The motor guy]

I have michelin load range E tires on my truck and it doesn't take much at all to spin the tires when it's wet. They have plenty of tread on them and have always had this problem. Ive driven trucks before and I know they usually spin because there is not much weight in the back. But these are like driving on ice. No grip at all. They seem to be lasting a good long while though. I think they are 265/70r/17 tires. Anyone else have this problem? I am babying this thing and yet it still will break free if your not paying attention. About a week ago I went around a corner from a dead stop and the back end of the truck just swung around would have had me completely sideways if I didn't correct it.

 

[The motor guy]

Is this normal for a truck or is it the tires? Maybe next time I will throw some perellis on there.

 

[dparm]

Sounds like they're lousy tires and you should replace them.

http://www.tirerack.com/survey/SurveyCom...tirePageLocQty=

There are some complaints about poor wet traction.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I have michelin load range E tires on my truck and it doesn't take much at all to spin the tires when it's wet. They have plenty of tread on them and have always had this problem. Ive driven trucks before and I know they usually spin because there is not much weight in the back. But these are like driving on ice. No grip at all. They seem to be lasting a good long while though. I think they are 265/70r/17 tires. Anyone else have this problem? I am babying this thing and yet it still will break free if your not paying attention. About a week ago I went around a corner from a dead stop and the back end of the truck just swung around would have had me completely sideways if I didn't correct it.

When my Step-Moms Ram needed warranty work at a dealer a few years back, I drove it over there for her. It had been raining. It had these same brand tires on there, though not E rated. I went around a corner from a dead stop and the back end came around so fast it made my head spin. Definitely not just you. They are hard as rocks and last a heck of a long time, and I think thats probably part of the problem.

 

[The motor guy]

It's fine just as long as your prepared for the rearend to break lose at any moment. I could never let anyone drive my truck though because of these tires.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
It's fine just as long as your prepared for the rearend to break lose at any moment. I could never let anyone drive my truck though because of these tires.

I was just barely on it. It didnt help it was my first time driving anything RWD. Also, it was 3.92 LSD out back.

 

[The motor guy]

Well on a rear wheel drive vehicle usually it just sort of hops going around a corner if you give it too much gas. If it's wet it will do it very easily but NEVER have I had it slide all the way around like it did with both of us. The hopping which im sure you know about is just one wheel trying to turn faster then the other so one kind of skids and the grips again and then skids and grips.

 

[The motor guy]

Yeah these michelins hold up well though. Just poor traction in wet weather.

 

[FordFocus]

I have a customer who had these on his dodge and he loved them. He said he got 100k out of them and wanted them again. If you need more traction go with the Michelin LTX M/S

 

[tomcat27]

I had the same experience with them on my dakota: long wearing but spun easily when wet. I've used many other brands and not had that problem.

 

[Jim 5]

I am considering these for my Sierra 2500 because I am wearing out the Toyo Open Country's really quick.

Has anyone run these LTX AS's in the snow? Rain is not really an issue for me. I'm looking for something that will wear like iron, but have some traction in the snow. I guess I might be dreaming the impossible dream.

BFG AT's have good traction in the snow/ice by my standards. Does anyone have anyone have any feedback on this point?

 

[Colt45ws]

LTX M/S 2. 70k treadlife warranty.
Though they are not "Snowflake on the mountain" if you needed that.

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
LTX M/S 2. 70k treadlife warranty.
Though they are not "Snowflake on the mountain" if you needed that.


Good to know. I probably do need that snowflake. It's a bummer, because with the torque these diesels make, it's hard to get a decent amount of life out of a tire that performs well in the snow. I was looking at the LTX M/S's at Costco the other day and the tread blocks were significantly smaller with way bigger voids in between - and plenty of siping. Almost like a dedicated snow tire. It just seemed to me there was less rubber on the road to share the tire wear and I kind of suspected the tread life on them.

I suppose I could grow up a little and keep my foot out of the throttle a bit more.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
........Though they are not "Snowflake on the mountain" if you needed that.


Some info that might be of interest.

The original purpose of the "Snowflake" symbol was a request by the Canadian government to distinguish winter tires from all season tires - and do that by a test. The passing minimum was pretty arbitrary - and some all season tires and many all terrain tires would pass.

The Canadian government wants to do an upgrade and while the new regulations are being written, they've asked the tire manufacturers not to mark any "NEW" tires with the snowflake unless they are truly winter tires - meaning all season and all terrain tires could pass the current test and not be marked.

So be careful how you interpret the lack of a snowflake.

 

[cchase]

Is this vehicle new to you? I'm just trying to figure out if you are not used to driving a truck in the wet or whether these tires are that bad. I'm skeptical that a new tire, even a "bad" one, would be as "dangerous" as it sounds these are.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
........Though they are not "Snowflake on the mountain" if you needed that.


Some info that might be of interest.

The original purpose of the "Snowflake" symbol was a request by the Canadian government to distinguish winter tires from all season tires - and do that by a test. The passing minimum was pretty arbitrary - and some all season tires and many all terrain tires would pass.

The Canadian government wants to do an upgrade and while the new regulations are being written, they've asked the tire manufacturers not to mark any "NEW" tires with the snowflake unless they are truly winter tires - meaning all season and all terrain tires could pass the current test and not be marked.

So be careful how you interpret the lack of a snowflake.

I'd heard it was a pretty weak test to pass. Good info. I personally dont think its significant that it lacks it and would use those M/Ss in snow in .51 seconds.

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted By: cchase
Is this vehicle new to you? I'm just trying to figure out if you are not used to driving a truck in the wet or whether these tires are that bad. I'm skeptical that a new tire, even a "bad" one, would be as "dangerous" as it sounds these are.
No it's not I don't usually spin the tires because I am aware of the condition. But if someon else were to drive my vehicle they would be in for a surprise. I was just curious if others had this problem.

 

[CapriRacer]

The more I read this thread, the more I am convinced there is some fundamental wrong.

Mr. Madman, may I call you by your first name - Motor?

On every vehicle sold in the US, there is a vehicle tire placard that lists the original tire size and the proper pressure for that size. On Dodge trucks, I'll bet this placard is on the driver's doorframe. Go find it and write down what it says for tire size and pressure. Be sure to include the letters before and after the numbers in the size - they are important.

While you're there, you should check your tire presssures.

Got all that? Good! We'll wait:

:::whistles some indecipherable tune and off-key at that:::

OK, you're back.

I'll bet the original tire size was a "P" and you have "LT"'s on there. I'll also bet that the pressure in the tires now are higher than what is on the placard.

OK, so how good were my predictions? More importantly, how much money did I lose on my bets!?

 

[The motor guy]

I put 45 in the back tires. That is what is stated on the door for when the truck is empty. 70 psi when fully loaded. It's a 2 wheel drive truck. I always run around empty. Mainly I only have this issue when I am on asphalt and not pavement. But like I stated since I know they spin easily they very rarely do. It's just that if someone else got into the truck they would be spinning like crazy and have the truck sideways in no time. I was just asking a simple question which was do others have the same problem with these tires. There is no reason to insult my intelligence and think I don't know how to drive. After all nobody made you read these posts. BTW tire size is posted in the first post.

 

[cchase]

We're just trying to figure out what's at the root of the problem here. Although I don't know what LTX AS tires are (I know of M/S and A/T and the 2nd generation variants) it's unlikely the dry traction would be substantially different under normal driving conditions from any other mainstream tire.

That said, I gather from your posts that this is at least a 3/4 ton truck with load range E tires (LT tires) with a diesel engine and new tires, lots of torque available.

New tires inherently have less dry pavement grip until they are "broken in", which is another thing to consider.