Need opinions on a tire that will age well.

[GM Guy]

hey guys, I am tire shopping for the 91 GMC diesel. it is my baby, so it never sees a winter road, and I would like to keep the miles low on it.

So I dont need a tire with long lasting tread, I just need a tire that will age well without cracking. Something with a good rubber compound that will age well.


any recommendations?

size will of course be LT235/75R15

might eventually need one in LT225/75R16D or E

thanks guys!

 

[schiker]

I guess I have only had age related problems with trailer or tractor tires. And think most of the problems with trailer tires are the set they take sitting in one orientation??? How long do you think you'll have them? I would say with a UV protector like 303 spray or other the set orientation thing will be harder on any name brand tire moreso than UV age / dry rotting. I would think you could expect 10 yrs life from about any auto/truck tire???

 

[schiker]

Anyone want to confirm or comment on orientation set thing. I have heard tires like to be driven as it helps keep them pliable by warming and bending them to keep "oils" distributed throughout the rubber evenly. And of course the sun is what is hard on things left outside. UV protection is important too.

 

[btfarm]

Michelins seem to hold their age well as have BFGs for me. A sprayed on uv protectant can't hurt and storing inside on stands is the best policy with a monthly tire spin or drive would be my recommendation.

 

[trouttrooper]

buy tire covers or cut some plywood to fit in the wheel wells. Don't let the sun touch them.

 

[DieselSlug]

Michelins seem to hold their age well as have BFGs for me. A sprayed on uv protectant can't hurt and storing inside on stands is the best policy with a monthly tire spin or drive would be my recommendation.

x2 on Michelins! Can be costly but they have some 60-70k mile rated tires. I would believe with the better mileage rating meaning the rubber is tougher? Maybe more prone to ageing? Lauras Escape has a set on there. Still look brand new and have been on for almost 2 years.

 

[tanman_2006]

My michellins have about 60k and they are weather cracked and only 2yrs old. They have alot of hard towing and gravel road miles, I bet all the dust could suck the oils out of the rubber.

I was impressed with Goodyear silent armors more than any others. I have a set of goodyears with 30k and are r yrs old and still look decent weather wise and have alot of tread left.

 

[GM Guy]

unless those silentarmors use the same rubber compund as the commercial goodyears, no consumer grade goodyear will ever touch any of my stuff.

the michelins i have come across are long wearing buggers, but the carcass gets crackly before you are out of thread. still had some tread on the 12 year old michelins I took off my 93, but they were cracking horribly.

 

[tanman_2006]

Goodyear is about the only thing that rolls the ground down here. Ive gotten better service out of my last goodyear silent armors than this pair of over priced michellins.

Not sure what your beef is with goodyear but Ive only had 1 issue with some 8yr old Gyr work horse tires (cheaper farm truck tire). I had 2 get a ballon on the sidewall the other 2 were fine and are actually still on the road today.

 

[GM Guy]

goodyears come in good and bad around here. got some combines running Dyna torque IIs and we have been very happy. Dyna torque radials on the tractors, also happy. four rib front tractor/rear combine, has a flap in the tread in the mfg process that allways comes loose and tears the tire apart. loose many buttons on the R3 tires also.

truck tires, we have some that are still solid squishy rubber, some old ones that you can put a finger in the crack around the bead. very hit or miss on quality. the G159 unisteels are allways good to us.

pickup tires, they all seem to crack out around the bead, eventually getting to where they cant hold air. yes, they are older and wore down, but when a comparable year tire is in much better shape then it is disappointing imo.

the work horse line may be cheaper, but IIRC, it is more commercial rated, so less features, but more rugged. think Duramax powered 2500HD with work truck trim vs. sierra Denali.




also, where does everyone buy their tires these days? got a 800+ dollar quote at the local dealer for some tires, go on tirerack, and they are under 600.

 

[tanman_2006]

I just go to the dealer. The firestone dealer puts my good yr tires on my truck lol. The goodyr dealer actually uses tire rack to order tires then marks them up.

Basically use a tire shop you trust or find one at a reasonable price. By the time I order from tire rack, pay shipping, then pay the dealer to mount them then I am actually loosing money. I get a better price by having the dealer get the tires and get a discount on mounting (50% off mounting and allignment when you buy tires from them). When/if I get new wheels+tires I will order it all from tirerack

 

[someotherguy]

I'll throw my opinion in on the Michelins too; I've seen lots and lots of Michelin light truck tires with tons of tread left but dry-rotted beyond being safe...not good for anything except "rollers" for a parts truck stashed in the yard. So if you plan to lay in a bunch of miles in a short time period, Michelins are a winner as they do take forever to wear out! I had some of their sportier tires on a classic BMW 6 series a few years ago, similar story, plenty of tread left but in this case no cracking - but the compound had hardened so much that the car was undriveable in the rain. The slightest amount of loud pedal and the car was spinning all over the road. Replaced them with some BFG Comp T/A KDWS and man, what an improvement!

If the truck sits outside any tire will suffer from extended exposure to the sun, follow the RV'ers example and cover the tires if you know you're not going to be driving it for a while.

Richard

 

[RI Chevy Silveradoman]

Michelin, Goodyear, Firestone. Bridgestone. I think they all use rubber from China. I had good luck with my General Grabber HTS tires. Still going strong after 4 years. I have about 44K on them right now and the outsides are strong and new looking. No cracks or fading. Plenty of tread left. And wearing evenly.

My stock OEM Bridgestone Duravis tires looked like they were 10 years old with dry rot cracks in the sidewall and fade after only 44K. I won't buy them at all.

 

[someotherguy]

I should have added, I'm not knocking the Michelins for being bad, they were REALLY old as confirmed by checking the date code on the sidewall.

Richard

 

[Turbine Doc]

Check out BF Goodrich commercial TA radials, awesome hiway tire marginal offroad (good thing I'm 4x4 with locker in the rear), but I'm coming up on 60K on the set I installed in 2009 and still some very good tread life in them. I used up some on the rears recently showing off for a one legged cowboy from NC that was down this way last week

Tim

 

[someotherguy]

I just installed 2 BFG Commercial T/A's on the front of my '58/'94. I wanted an E load tire that was made in the USA, and I'm fairly comfortable with the BFG brand. Once I do the suspension work I'll probably get 4 more for the rear. Don't want to do it now or the bed's wheelwell cutouts will just slice 'em up...leaving the junkers on there for now!

I like BFG's but this is my first experience with the Commercial T/A's so I really can't comment on anything other than they're round, black, and seem to fit the wheels which is a more honest review than you'll find on most tire websites where someone buys a set of tires and then immediately posts a review before they've even made it down the block.

Richard

 

[Turbine Doc]

I looked long and hard last go round that I needed tires, I was doing a lot of commuting back in 08 & 09 when I was running a Diesel locomotive overhaul shop in Waycross GA. joint maintenance contract with GE/CSX RR.

A 500 mile commute 1 way to home in MS 4x-6x per month to my apartment in GA, so I've had much road time evaluation for the tires, I think you will be happy with them in the long run, the recommendation for them for me came from Bill Heath as that is what he runs on his rigs he is one of the 6.5 pioneers if not the 6.5 pioneer.

 

[GM Guy]

Tim, you didnt exactly say what you were running, but I assume the same as richard, the BF Goodrich Commercial T/A's ?

I have seen them around, they are a good looking tire. I would like a little more closed shoulder, but if it is the best, I will go for it. IIRC, there have been some members here that had some bad BFGs blow and BFG took care of all the damage repair.

Also tim, seeing how you are a 6.5L pioneer as well, we cant give heath all the credit, can we? very proud of what you two and others (Slim Shady, etc) have done for this little motor. thanks again!