Minivans eat tires…anyone put XL rated tires on?

[50yr Street Mech]

Glad you never experienced dry rot. Obviously, you have done more driving than me. You get to wear them out before they rot. Good for you ... That's something I never had the chance to do. Jobs too close to home. The fam & I not big on road trippin either. So, the sun and salt dry rots them before treads wear out.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

You will hate yourself for putting an XL tire on. Generally speaking, the sidewall be MUCH stiffer and this will increase NVH and make the ride absolutely miserable. Top it off with an extended lifetime compared to your normal tires, and your spouse will potentially be cussing you for half a decade.

 

[edyvw]

You will hate yourself for putting an XL tire on. Generally speaking, the sidewall be MUCH stiffer and this will increase NVH and make the ride absolutely miserable. Top it off with an extended lifetime compared to your normal tires, and your spouse will potentially be cussing you for half a decade.

I have never experienced “much” stiffer sidewall with XL tires. My current Continental DES06+ on BMW are XL, and still too soft for my liking. O have Defenders on Sequoia that are XL, and if anything, provides better stability.

 

[edyvw]

Glad you never experienced dry rot. Obviously, you have done more driving than me. You get to wear them out before they rot. Good for you ... That's something I never had the chance to do. Jobs too close to home. The fam & I not big on road trippin either. So, the sun and salt dry rots them before treads wear out.

That is news for me as I was running Michelin’s 5-6yrs. But than I don’t run tires longer then that for the same reason I don’t buy cheap tires. Currently Tiguan has Michelin Pilot A/S3+ built 2019, and after this summer they are gone, regardless that they are at 6/32.
But to your point, remember, structural problems are often not observable on tires.

 

[walterjay]

5-6yrs old is where life limit is, regardless of thread.

But not to split down to the cords.

 

[I<3oil]

I have never experienced “much” stiffer sidewall with XL tires. My current Continental DES06+ on BMW are XL, and still too soft for my liking. O have Defenders on Sequoia that are XL, and if anything, provides better stability.

Same. Going to a 19" tire from a 17 or 18" is going to make more of a difference than an XL tire, imo.

 

[edyvw]

But not to split down to the cords.

I'm strictly talking age, if the thread is sufficient.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Purhased a car that had 4 yr old Firestone Fuel Savers on it ( not their best no doubt). Plenty of tread on all 4. Did some minor maintenance . Passed inspection. Took it for a short road trip. Kept smelling rubber. Off came the tires, the fronts were breaking down internally. New tires went on. 5-6 yrs is my limit, even shorter if there is a problem with them. Tread depth doesn't matter.

 

[edyvw]

Purhased a car that had 4 yr old Firestone Fuel Savers on it ( not their best no doubt). Plenty of tread on all 4. Did some minor maintenance . Passed inspection. Took it for a short road trip. Kept smelling rubber. Off came the tires, the fronts were breaking down internally. New tires went on. 5-6 yrs is my limit, even shorter if there is a problem with them. Tread depth doesn't matter.

Smelling rubber? Was it something with suspension or they just fell apart?
I mean, they are Bridgestone budget option. But at least they have decent wet performance. BFG is Michelin budget option. I have their T/A Sport on Pilot that makes maybe 1000mls a year, when in-laws visiting and wet performance is absolutely horrible. It is hard to explain how bad they are. And that seems across the board with BFG.

 

[50yr Street Mech]

Mechanically, the car was fine. Just passed inspection. Local shop dismounted all 4 tires. The front rims were covered in a 1/8" layer of rubber dust on the inside. The rears were fine. Yep, they fell apart. I guess the weight of engine/tranny ( transverse) got to them. He mounted a set of Goodyear's, and away I went. At least I didn't purchase the Firestone's . No problems since then.

 

[userfriendly]

Same. Going to a 19" tire from a 17 or 18" is going to make more of a difference than an XL tire, imo.

Exactly. My daughter’s 2022 Acadia; stock tires 235/55R20 on 20x8 wheels.
Her winter tires; 245/70R17E General Arctic LT 16/32” tread on 17x8 +35 mm offset. Same OD.

 

[RyanY]

I am currently using Continental True Contact Tour on my Odyssey and so far they are doing well. However only two of them are from the original set (two of them were destroyed by a rebar- don't ask!). The original two are currently at about 38k miles and have about 5/32 remaining. I expect another 10-12k from them before they give up the ghost.

These are 80k tires so I don't know how the prorated refund will go, but I plan to replace these two with the newer True Contact Tour 54.