[Chief of the 60's]

Toyos are horrible and known for chopping. You will get a year or so out of them before they sound like tractor tires going down the road. Toyos are cheap tires for cheap people. Hankooks are not bad, many manufacturers are using them as OEM tires. Michelin will always be king but will dry rot before they go bald. I have used Michelins on all my trucks but like you, I only use my truck for towing or plowing and put 5000 or so miles a year on the truck. The Michelins on my truck now have almost all its tread but the sidewalls are all cracked. There are now 4 new Continentals in the bed waiting for me to put them on.

I love my Michelins but hate getting rid of tires that look like new. I hope I'm not going to regret it.

[SRR]

Originally Posted by Chief of the 60's

Toyos are horrible and known for chopping. You will get a year or so out of them before they sound like tractor tires going down the road. Toyos are cheap tires for cheap people. Hankooks are not bad, many manufacturers are using them as OEM tires. Michelin will always be king but will dry rot before they go bald. I have used Michelins on all my trucks but like you, I only use my truck for towing or plowing and put 5000 or so miles a year on the truck. The Michelins on my truck now have almost all its tread but the sidewalls are all cracked. There are now 4 new Continentals in the bed waiting for me to put them on.

I love my Michelins but hate getting rid of tires that look like new. I hope I'm not going to regret it.

I have Firestones on both my 95 Jeep and 01 Marquis. USA made. The China made tires look great and are reasonably priced but 6 months later ride like rocks and are noisy. No thanks.

[mgarblik]

I sell a fair amount of tires and have my own computer balancer and tire changer. For the majority of my customers, If they are willing to pay the extra, I recommend Michelin tires for most applications. They make my life easier because they are by far the most round tire by a wide margin. Not sure how they do it, they are just very round. They also require less weight to balance within a size grouping than the other brands. For more cost conscience customers, I have had pretty good luck with Cooper and Firestone Destination LE as well. By far the worst name brand tires out there in my experience are anything made by Goodyear for passenger cars and light trucks and trailers. Terribly out of round, belt separation, requiring 3-4 times as much weight within a size catagory. About 20% just can't be used at all and have to be sent back for replacement. Their ultra high performance and race tires are OK. As usual, tires are a" you get what you are willing to pay for" item.

[goatless]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

As usual, tires are a" you get what you are willing to pay for" item.

Yes and no. There are a lot tires I've paid "premium" prices for only to be unsatisfied with the performance or life span. My last truck needed tires but I wasn't planning on keeping it for long. I put on a set of Kuhmo Road Venture AT51. They were the cheapest LT rated tires on Tirerack but also had very good customer ratings. I've got to say they are the best damn truck tires I've had! Traction, handling, smoother ride and wear are all fantastic. I put about 15k miles on them before I traded my truck in. The new truck had Firestone TransForce Has on it and they were awful! Rode hard and were downright dangerous in the rain. I replaced them in the first week with another set of Kumhos- got them from Amazon for $130 each for LT285/70/17 with free shipping.

[Chief of the 60's]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

I sell a fair amount of tires and have my own computer balancer and tire changer. For the majority of my customers, If they are willing to pay the extra, I recommend Michelin tires for most applications. They make my life easier because they are by far the most round tire by a wide margin. Not sure how they do it, they are just very round. They also require less weight to balance within a size grouping than the other brands. For more cost conscience customers, I have had pretty good luck with Cooper and Firestone Destination LE as well. By far the worst name brand tires out there in my experience are anything made by Goodyear for passenger cars and light trucks and trailers. Terribly out of round, belt separation, requiring 3-4 times as much weight within a size catagory. About 20% just can't be used at all and have to be sent back for replacement. Their ultra high performance and race tires are OK. As usual, tires are a" you get what you are willing to pay for" item.

99% of the people don't know there is a difference and don't realize how much of a difference that makes and is one of the many reasons why I like Michelins. I just wish their sidewalls would at least last as long as their tread.

It is rare, almost unheard of, for me to put 2oz. of weight on my 275/65/18 Load Range E truck tires. Try and do that with any other brand.

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

I sell a fair amount of tires and have my own computer balancer and tire changer. For the majority of my customers, If they are willing to pay the extra, I recommend Michelin tires for most applications. They make my life easier because they are by far the most round tire by a wide margin. Not sure how they do it, they are just very round. They also require less weight to balance within a size grouping than the other brands.

^^^^^ THIS

Michelin by far has been the best tire I've ever had on my electronic spin balancer. Fantastic tire bar none. I run a set on my duramax and my father runs a set on his truck as well. Only tire I trust to do a lot of towing with.

I just wish they made more sizes. If they made various 15's I'd be running them on all the cars here.

My daily drivers, the Formula and the Z are running BFG's, mainly because it's one of the few brands that even make the sizes I need. No problems with those tires.
I run MT's on the Chevelle and the GTO, another car with Uniroyal, Kuhmo on another, Nexen on another.

[Bills Auto Works]

Originally Posted by Formulajones

^^^^^ THIS

Michelin by far has been the best tire I've ever had on my electronic spin balancer. Fantastic tire bar none. I run a set on my duramax and my father runs a set on his truck as well. Only tire I trust to do a lot of towing with.

I just wish they made more sizes. If they made various 15's I'd be running them on all the cars here.

My daily drivers, the Formula and the Z are running BFG's, mainly because it's one of the few brands that even make the sizes I need. No problems with those tires.
I run MT's on the Chevelle and the GTO, another car with Uniroyal, Kuhmo on another, Nexen on another.

I wish they made Trailer tires on their low rolling resistance Defender LTX-MS platform, I would have them on both my trailers in a heartbeat!

[Formulajones]

Originally Posted by Bills Auto Works

I wish they made Trailer tires on their low rolling resistance Defender LTX-MS platform, I would have them on both my trailers in a heartbeat!

I agree. I looked all over but no dice. I'd have them on all my trailers if they made them.

[Firedup6975]

I have to admit I don’t even know what’s on my Mercury. Mike takes care of that car stuff. All I know is whatever the Ford garage sells, as he got them while the car was there for inspection.