Michelin LTX M/S 2 = Good Choice?

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
I will address any comment anywhere anytime I like. Neither you nor anyone else will have any control over what I say.

There is no 'disagreement' on anything between us to my knowledge. I do not follow you anywhere, this is a discussion forum and we talk a lot here. If you're in a thread you don't own it. You may want to look at my post count, I post in a lot of discussions! I am not trying to provoke you, period!

You get to do whatever you like. Just get over it for goodness sake. I'm embarrassed for you now.


Man are you a riot. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. You can't be honest about it so whatever. No need to be emberrassed for me at all. Ah me...

 

[Boss302fan]

Enough guys.... I guess boys will be boys. LOL.

 

[Onug]

I put these on my 2010 F-350 last year and have been very impressed. No change in MPG, but I wasn't expecting one with my tank. I find the tires to be night and day better than the stock Continentals in every way…noise, wear, traction (all weather types) and ride quality.

IMO, I think the added cost will pay for itself in extended life.

 

[hypervish]

I had Destination LE's on my RX300 before, I got about 50k miles out of them. I installed them at 90k miles, and replaced them at 140k miles.

 

[CharBaby]

Originally Posted By: hypervish
I had Destination LE's on my RX300 before, I got about 50k miles out of them. I installed them at 90k miles, and replaced them at 140k miles.

What are you running now? You may have told me at one time!

My SIL had the Firestone Destination LE's on her '01 RX-300 AWD(same year as my wife's RX-300 AWD). Compared to our G/Y ACT's, the LE's handled more aggerssively(a nice feature w/o harsh riding) where the ACT's are a bit mushy even with more PSI in the tires(which I usually keep at the OE Recomended PSI).

Although the Destination LE's became loud(er) over time where as the G/Y ACT's have remained quiet(er), which is why we bought'em! Smooth(er) cruising...We didn't want a harsh or aggressive CUV, just an AWD car!

 

[hypervish]

Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Originally Posted By: hypervish
I had Destination LE's on my RX300 before, I got about 50k miles out of them. I installed them at 90k miles, and replaced them at 140k miles.

What are you running now? You may have told me at one time!

My SIL had the Firestone Destination LE's on her '01 RX-300 AWD(same year as my wife's RX-300 AWD). Compared to our G/Y ACT's, the LE's handled more aggerssively(a nice feature w/o harsh riding) where the ACT's are a bit mushy even with more PSI in the tires(which I usually keep at the OE Recomended PSI).

Although the Destination LE's became loud(er) over time where as the G/Y ACT's have remained quiet(er), which is why we bought'em! Smooth(er) cruising...We didn't want a harsh or aggressive CUV, just an AWD car!


Right now I have Goodyear Wrangler HP's, I hate them. They are really loud, but I got them for really cheap, and I only paid $238 installed.

Not to mention, when I bought the tires they were in new condition, barely used. Another downside, to these tires is that they hydroplane easily.

I can't wait to replace these tires,they suck! But, I think they will go at least another 20-30k miles.

 

[dkryan]

Within the next eight months I'll have to replace the Bridgestone Dueler Alenzas on my Highlander SUV. There's been no issues with these tires in terms of ride, noise, handling, or treadwear quality.

I looked at the LTX M/S2 and the Cross Terrain at Sam's recently and I was taken aback at the prices and the treadwear rating of the Cross Terrains (420, if I recall correctly).

That said, how does the Latitude compare to the LTX M/S2?

 

[Hokiefyd]

Skip the Cross Terrains. They are due to be replaced soon in all sizes by the Latitude Tour. Most sizes of the Cross Terrain have already been discontinued, but some are still out there.

According to Consumer Reports' tire testing, the Latitude Tour and LTX M/S2 are both extremely good performers, with little real difference between the two. CR tests tires and obtains objective performance data from them, but then converts that to the 5-bubble system, which clouds some of the results.

CR tested both the LTX M/S2 and X Radial LT2 (and the results were nearly identical, so I will group them together in this comparison), and they tested the Latitude Tour and Latitude Tour HP (and again, the results were nearly identical, so I will also group these two together in this comparison).

The Latitude tires edged the LTX tires in both dry and wet traction. The LTX tires edged the Latitude tires in handling and hydroplane resistance. All four tires were equally good in snow traction and in ice braking. The Latitude tires edged the LTX tires in both ride comfort and noise comfort.

Keep in mind also that it will depend somewhat on which size you get. Performance does vary with size, and if the size you are looking at happens to be an OEM tire that comes on a vehicle from the factory, its performance may differ from that of the rest of the line. How much it differs is hard to predict.

What size are you looking at?

 

[dkryan]

The OEM size for this AWD SUV is 225/65/17

 

[Hokiefyd]

In 225/65R17, I ~definitely~ say skip the Cross Terrain. My CR-V takes the same size, and it had the Cross Terrains on there when I bought it. They're not great; they're OEM on the Ford Escape, and maybe they do well on that vehicle. I sure didn't care for them on mine.

The LTX M/S2 is not available in this size anyway, so you can probably count that one out. I think your OEM tires were probably Michelin Energy LX4, with a 101S service description. The Latitude Tour (with a 102T service description) will handily exceed all performance metrics of those Energy LX4s. I have this exact tire (Latitude Tour 102T) on my CR-V and they're fantastic tires.

Only trouble I had was finding them. Sam's Club couldn't get them for me; I couldn't find them on Discount Tire Direct or Tire Rack. The only retailer in town who had them was Sears. Sears matched Sam's Club's installed price (which was lower than either online option) and I was out the door a happy customer.

 

[dkryan]

Thanks for the info, Hokiefyd.

The OEMs on my wife's ride were not Michelins. If they had been, I likely would have left them on longer than 27k miles.
For some reason, I want to say they were Goodyear tires, but nothing high-end from GY.

I'll look for the Latitudes in this area. What is the treadwear rating on those skins?

 

[Hokiefyd]

The other OEM tire on the Toyota Highlander was the Goodyear Integrity. That's likely what they were. Frankly, Michelin's Energy LX4 isn't much better in my opinion.

The tread wear rating on the Latitude Tour in 225/65R17 102T is 600 and the tread life warranty is 65,000 miles as I recall. Also: you definitely want the 102T version in this size. There is also a 100T version that is not as robust. Despite the higher tread wear rating (720 vs. 600), the 100T version is an OEM tire and reportedly wears like swiss cheese.

 

[dkryan]

Yep, the OEMs were the Goodyear Integrity tires. Okay, but nothing to write home about.

Thanks for the heads-up on the 102T version of the Latitude.

My only question at this point is, "if they're such a good tire, why is the availability so limited?" As in, Sears only and not at Tire Rack, Discount Tire, or a major Michelin dealer?

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: dkryan
My only question at this point is, "if they're such a good tire, why is the availability so limited?" As in, Sears only and not at Tire Rack, Discount Tire, or a major Michelin dealer?


I think that's why they're so hard to find; they're always sold out. They're also made in France in this size, so inventory probably comes across in bursts. In this economy, I also think stores and warehouses are holding less inventory around.

Tire Rack shows them to be on back order right now. Call around and see if a local store has any inventory.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Note that many major retailers do not maintain the huge stockpiles of tires they used to in a better economy.

Inventory always drops when demand does in a smart retail operation. Sales and promotions will move that old stuff out the door.