Greetings,

After 50,000 miles I finally replaced the OEM Goodyear's with a set of 16-225/70 Michelin LTX M/S tires on the stock aluminum wheels.

The first comment is they look much "beefier" that the original tires. They are quieter on most roads, but are actually noisier than the originals on one road I travel on frequently :<. I do find they are very "squirelly" going over steel grating on bridges and overpasses. Much more so than the Goodyear's. I don't find a large difference in handling, but they don't squeal at all whereas the Goodyear's squealed a lot around sharp corners.

One thing that has me curious. I checked my speedometer before I switched the tires and at an indicated 60 mph was actually doing about 59 mph. Now at an indicated 60 mph I'm doing 61.5 mph. I knew that the new tires would indicate slower, but I guess I was surprised at the differential as this is quite a bit more than my calculations would have indicated.

Then I realized the old tires had worn down to the tread indicators and were nowhere near the original OD. For any of you with a newish Element out there, would you please measure your tread depth (to the wear indicator please) and report back? Thanks!

how much did you spend on them per tire?

how much did you spend on them per tire?

Waaaay too friggen much. I live in Slidell which is outside of New Orleans and none of the few tire places which are open would mount tires from outside. Too busy they said. So I got them from Walmart for $139 a piece. It was almost $600 to the penny out the door.

I was looking at the Geolandars but they don't seem to have the wear capability the Michelins do, and there is no one even close to here that sells them.

L8R

i've been thinking about getting a set of those tires....either those or bridgestone duelers.....whenever my current tires wear out which will be awhile

Good info as I plan to replace my Goodyears with the LTX M/S. Great job on getting 50k out of the old Goodyears...wow! :D

Anybody ever looked at Perelli Scorpions (can't spell today) I had these before and the wore and rode great. But mine are 2 new to swith right now:roll:

Regarding the speed difference:
working from nominal size difference, I'd expect about 2% change.
working from revs/mile of the respecive spec tables I get 1.6%
You got more like a 4% change. Wear of your old tires may account for part of this (according to the spec tables, the new HP tread depth is 10/32, about typical). However, accuracy in your speed readings might also be a big factor. It is hard to read the speedometer to better than 1 or 2 mph. You alsp didn't say how you measured the actual speed (gps? highway mileposts?).

Regarding the squirelliness on steel grating, that has a lot to do with the tread pattern. The LTX has 4 circumfirential grooves, the HPs had only 3. If the LTX grooves line up with the grating, you will feel it more.

paulj

I've had LTX M/S for about 8,000 miles now. I think they are really great. The handling is really nice, and the ride is pretty smooth for such a beefy tire. No complaints whatsoever. And the improvement over the OEM's (which I dumped at 18,000)?? ..well...I won't even go there.

I was looking at the Geolandars but they don't seem to have the wear capability the Michelins do, and there is no one even close to here that sells them.

L8R
This is why www.tirerack.com (http://www.tirerack.com) is so good...buy what you want and have them sent to the installer of your choice (choose them off the tirerack website via zip code). Usually delivered and installed in a matter of days. :D

Regarding the speed difference:
working from nominal size difference, I'd expect about 2% change.
working from revs/mile of the respecive spec tables I get 1.6%
You got more like a 4% change. Wear of your old tires may account for part of this (according to the spec tables, the new HP tread depth is 10/32, about typical). However, accuracy in your speed readings might also be a big factor. It is hard to read the speedometer to better than 1 or 2 mph. You alsp didn't say how you measured the actual speed (gps? highway mileposts?).

paulj

I drive the Causeway over Lake Pontchartrain (http://www.thecauseway.com/) every day so there is ample time to do speed checks. I checked the speed two ways:

1) I've got a palm pilot with an application called "MPH/KPH by Markers". It's a little app that you trigger at mileage markers and it calculates speed. It does 5 times and averages out the values for a total.

2) There is a radar speed indicator at mile marker 16 on the bridge.

Both methods correspond to the difference. So before I could set my cruise control at 1 mph over the limit, now I set it at 1 mph under the limit.

Looking at the excel spreadsheet I have for calculating mph and such compared to the original. If I subtract 2 X 9/32 from the diameter (I hadn't used up all the tread), I get a 4% difference in the speed with the new tires. That explains it.

Thanks for the info.