Replacing the Crumbling Continentals

[Nick1994]

Here we go again! This is for my grandparent's 2002 Chevy Trailblazer LTZ. After 2-1/2 years and 13k miles it's time for another set of tires. The Continental LX20's are crumbling, I've never seen anything like this before. Discount Tire says they usually see this on Michelins lately and they contacted Continental and Continental is going to give a pro-rated discount, roughly 50% off. But we aren't going with this tire again so we get to pick which tire we want. Part of this is probably from driving on gravel/dirt roads, but they shouldn't look like this. The old Michelins didn't do this.

If you remember in the past I posted about the Michelins dry rotting all over the sidewalls at 2-1/2 years, the sidewalls look great on the Continentals with mild cracking that is to be expected in the tread. But the tread is just crumbling off.

Need some tire recommendations, maybe something that can handle some rough roads but nothing too aggressive. These Continentals are also at 7/32" after only 13k miles.

 

[SirTanon]

Good lord! Those things are absolutely chewed up!

I'd be afraid to drive anywhere on those...

 

[dave123]

Trash good to know

 

[AZjeff]

Grandma has been taking the Trailblazer rock crawling. Do all 4 look like that?

 

[mcrn]

Those I believe are low rolling resistance tires. Maybe that type of compound is just not good for gravel roads? Maybe an A/T tire would be better?

 

[Warstud]

Wow...that looks rough..glad you got credited. How does the Phoenix heat effect tires?

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Grandma has been taking the Trailblazer rock crawling. Do all 4 look like that?
Yup all 4. My grandpa and I have taken it out to the desert lots of times, but I don't think they should have done this.

Discount Tire guy says he thinks it's called "delamination"

Originally Posted By: Warstud
Wow...that looks rough..glad you got credited. How does the Phoenix heat effect tires?


Not sure, I've never seen other tires do this.

Maybe CapriRacer will know

 

[slacktide_bitog]

What tire size do you need?

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
What tire size do you need?

245/65-17

 

[Kestas]

To me it looks as simple as the rubber surface is chipped away by the gravel roads. I'd also say the gravel out there has a lot of angular rocks, as opposed to round pebbles that we have around here.

I don't see any delamination. In fact I see a lot of what looks like fracture surface where bits of tire have chunked off.

The dry rot, visible at the roots, looks moderate by comparison. No dry rot visible on the sidewall.

 

[Eddie]

I see abused tires.

 

[Nick1994]

Looking around online I'm thinking the following tires, in order, would look to be the best.

Cooper Discoverer AT3
Yokohama Geolander A/T G015
Pirelli Scorpion ATR
Goodyear Wrangler TrailRunner

My favorite off-road tire is the BFG All Terrain, but they're almost $200 a piece, and I think they'd be overkill. But with the discount we'll have to see the prices.

 

[AZjeff]

Take a look at this Nick. These guys are based in Prescott so they tested in our environment. https://expeditionportal.com/where-the-rubber-meets-the-road/ I was really happy with the Cooper AT3s on the Xterra and recently put them on the truck. Look good, good traction, quiet on the road. They do take a set overnight sometimes but smooth up in a couple of miles. DT has them for $136. I've had good luck with Coopers here and back in Pa.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: dave123
Trash good to know

Originally Posted By: Kestas
To me it looks as simple as the rubber surface is chipped away by the gravel roads. I'd also say the gravel out there has a lot of angular rocks, as opposed to round pebbles that we have around here.

I don't see any delamination. In fact I see a lot of what looks like fracture surface where bits of tire have chunked off.

The dry rot, visible at the roots, looks moderate by comparison. No dry rot visible on the sidewall.

Originally Posted By: Eddie
I see abused tires.

Perhaps these are not the best tires for AZ heat + sharp stoned gravel roads. Maybe he got a bad batch. But not everyone is having a bad time with this tire. I've only got 6K on mine but they still look like new, are smooth and handle great at highway speeds. But then I don't live in AZ, or up a gravel drive (any more).

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Take a look at this Nick. These guys are based in Prescott so they tested in our environment. https://expeditionportal.com/where-the-rubber-meets-the-road/ I was really happy with the Cooper AT3s on the Xterra and recently put them on the truck. Look good, good traction, quiet on the road. They do take a set overnight sometimes but smooth up in a couple of miles. DT has them for $136. I've had good luck with Coopers here and back in Pa.
Great link! Those Coopers sound great.

 

[barkingspider]

I vote for Pirelli Scorpion ATR

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: HangFire

Perhaps these are not the best tires for AZ heat + sharp stoned gravel roads. Maybe he got a bad batch. But not everyone is having a bad time with this tire. I've only got 6K on mine but they still look like new, are smooth and handle great at highway speeds. But then I don't live in AZ, or up a gravel drive (any more).
Yeah I'm not trashing these tires, I think there's probably multiple factors that play together that make this a bad combo for us.

Here's the Trailblazer last Saturday

 

[ejes]

Given they're going through tires quickly likely due to high heat and sharpish gravel, I would go with the cheapest tire I could find that was as close to an A/T tire that was built more for road than off road. To me, the perfect tire would be the Kuhmo Road Venture AT51. Tread is about 85-90 percent on-road, most reviews state it is fairly quiet, but easily aggressive enough for rocky, gravel road work. UTQG heat grading of "A". Quote from their description: "cut-resistant dual silica tread compound".

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp...romCompare1=yes

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994

Here's the Trailblazer last Saturday

They have the right vehicle for that road. Now to find the right tire. I think ejes is on the right track, find something a little off-road-ish. Sorry I don't have a recommendation.

 

[40w8]

Rubber looks good in grooves. I bet that chucking would stop if you stay on pavement.

I don't see anything unsafe about them.