I clicked on Tirerack.com and the Michelin Pilot LTX popped up. It only has a 400 AA UTQG rating and was wondering if anyone knows i can get another brand name tire company over the 500 AA mark?

I know the factory tires are rated like 340 AB, but the Michelins are only 60 better UTQG!

I'm only looking for the factory tire size only < 215/70/16 >

Thanks

For the acronym-challenged amongst us, "Watchu talking about Willis?".

340 is the tires tread life rated by the term UTGQ i think :D

AA.......the first "A" is about temp on the highway, A is the best among "B" and "C" ratings.

The 2nd "A" is traction and is the best among "B" and "C" ratings.

I wanted a 500 UTGQ <and over> AA rating on my next set of tires and was wonding if anyone knew of such a company.

I believe the Geolander has a 500 wear rating. I have had good experiences with Yoko Geolanders.

I just did some net searching for future replacement tires and I am BUMMED OUT. There is a really poor selection of tires available in the stock Element size!

My current favorite tires, the Avid touring and Arizonian Silver Edition are definitely NOT available and not a whole lot of other decent at decent prices options at my favorite sources. :cry:

Cooper (and Mastercraft) makes an OEM replacement tire in the Element's size that has a >500 rating. I have a pair on my RAV, and the tread looks significantly better than the Element's (more rain channels, more siping, more shoulder).

paulj

A friend of mine does the ordering for a tire distribution company and was telling me that the Element's stock 215/70/16 size is a sort of odd size. Only a handfull of new vehicles share the same size. Rav 4 and Aztek to name a couple. This may explain the lack of choices for this size.
I always thought the stock tires were a bit undersized for the shape of the Element. The concept designs were even calling for the tires to be a larger 235/70/16. This is the size I went with in the Bridgetsone Dueler A/T Revo with Unit-T AQ II. Basically it's an advanced aquatread compound that retains it's wet traction for the life of the tire where as most others begin to slip and slide after they get a few thousand miles on them. I chose these because they rated the highest on TireRack for off-road all-terrain tires and had a great looking aggressive tread pattern.They also have a 500 A B rating. I wanted something great on pavement, dirt and snow all in one without needing to switch to a winter set. I've had these on for over 12,000 miles now and they still look and feel great. Even with the larger size there is no rubbing and I think the speedo is actually reading more accurate with the upsize. I know you said you wanted to keep with the stock size but it's just another option to look into with a 500 rating.

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/bridgestone/bs_dueler_at_revo_wl_ci2_l.jpg

A downside to getting bigger tires is that there is no place to store a larger flat tire - unless you have a roof rack mount. The stock size tire barely fits on the floor behind the rear seats. Anything larger would have to stand vertically, or rest on a rear passenger's lap.

paulj

The original tire is 215/70/16, could be upgraded to 225/65/16 or 235/60/16, and keep the same overall height. Has anyone done this with the factory (steel or alloy) wheels?

I don't plan to buy new wheels when I replace my tires.

[quote:3b871eae69=" "]A downside to getting bigger tires is that there is no place to store a larger flat tire - unless you have a roof rack mount. The stock size tire barely fits on the floor behind the rear seats. Anything larger would have to stand vertically, or rest on a rear passenger's lap.[/quote:3b871eae69]

Ya, but once the air is all out, you can squish it down smaller.

[quote:40f82c6817=" "]The original tire is 215/70/16, could be upgraded to 225/65/16 or 235/60/16, and keep the same overall height. Has anyone done this with the factory (steel or alloy) wheels?

I don't plan to buy new wheels when I replace my tires.[/quote:40f82c6817]
A 235/65/16 would be the ideal replacement, but there are few tires in that size. The only decently priced tire in that size at TireRack is the Bridgestone Dueler H/T tire. Unfortunately, the ratings on that tire are horrible, worse than the stock Wranglers. The other tires in that size are $200 a pop.

I am planning on the Yokohama Geolandar H/T-S G051 in a 225/70/16 when I change tires. The user ratings are very good (particularly noise) and the price is right. They are about 3/8" wider and 1/2" taller than the stock tires which isn't bad.

Good luck,