Anyone running Michelin XZA tires on their bus? What do you think about a set for a bus? Have possible deal on a set of 8 that are 10 years old, stored inside and very low miles?
Retail new for about $8,000 for a set of eight!
Anyone have an opinion they would like to share!
Thanks
Grant
You're kidding, Right? 10 years old...
Will :)
The oils are stale. They have to be rolled on a vehicle at very least once a month to keep the natural oils moving and keeping them fresh so to speak. You could mount those and drive away and Ca boom!... :o
I have 4 Goodyear's and 2 Bridgestones 9 years old that I won't even take on the road until we go to get new ones and can travel again. I scrub them with the black scrubbies every 2 months with soap and water then rub in # 50 sun screen.
Dave
My new Michelin set thru Michelin & FMCA cost $521 each + Tax, Mount/balance. So also wonder about the $1,000 each price.
Ten year old, your kidding right?
Love the 10 year old & used part :o
Dave M
I think using chronological age is a good measure of life left in a tire. I personally have 11 year old tires I'm running. Of course, I do average over 8000 miles per year. My bus has been stored in doors the past 3 years, but had been stored outside before. I think you have to evaluate the tires themselves and determine if they are good to run on. Me, I'm keeping a real close eye on mine and do not have them on the front axle - only the drive and tags.
If the deal is REALLY good you could make an deal where the seller holds your money in escrow for a month or two. You then put the tires on the bus mounting and balancing at your cost non-refundable. If they survive the first few hot drives without any signs of coming apart then the seller gets to keep the money. You then deal with any issues that happen with the tires after the agreed upon "holding" period.
Quote from: Brian Diehl on January 30, 2014, 05:04:46 AMI think using chronological age is a good measure of life left in a tire. I personally have 11 year old tires I'm running. Of course, I do average over 8000 miles per year. My bus has been stored in doors the past 3 years, but had been stored outside before. I think you have to evaluate the tires themselves and determine if they are good to run on. Me, I'm keeping a real close eye on mine and do not have them on the front axle - only the drive and tags.
If the deal is REALLY good you could make an deal where the seller holds your money in escrow for a month or two. You then put the tires on the bus mounting and balancing at your cost non-refundable. If they survive the first few hot drives without any signs of coming apart then the seller gets to keep the money. You then deal with any issues that happen with the tires after the agreed upon "holding" period.
I understand what you're saying, Brian, but
my own personal opinion is that 10 year old tires -- no matter how they're stored or used -- are becoming a big risk. The little cracks that you can see can form and they'll be an indication that the strength of the tire is compromised, but the real danger is coming apart from the inside in ways that are apparent from outside signs.
That's my opinion and I'm not pointing fingers at someone else's but if I had that chance, I'd turn that deal down.
If the tires have not been stored mounted on wheels with air pressure and the price is right like 100-150 bucks each I would buy those for use on the tags and drivers if they are 315/80-22.5 JMO
Here's the easy way to see the value of the tires: Call every truck tire store in a 100 mile radius and tell them you have 8 10 year old tires you are willing to GIVE them. Let us know how many will accept them.
10 Year Old Tires..... Dont Run Them !!
I Bought A Bus A Few Years Ago That Had NEW 10 Year Old XZA's Tires. They Even Had There Tits. WOW...They Were Good Looking !!!
50 Miles Into My First Drive BAM !! Drive Tire Left Me Stranded. I Was Only Rolling About 30 MPH...... And It Wasnt Long And I Had XZAs Popping Like Crazy !!!!
I Have Always Said BS About Tires Being No Good After A Certain Time.
I Have Driven Cars/Trucks/Buses Across The USA With 30 Year Old Tires. NO PROBLEMS...... Well Maybe Once I Did Have A Problem..LOL !!! DONT DO IT.
My Hard Head Has Softened.
If You Like Rolling The Dice...You Will More Than Likely Lose.
Just My Nickles Worth ;D....... 10-4
MrBreeze
It all depends on the compound of the modern tire I bought a set of Generals for my pickup one of the damn things blew out just setting and are less than a year old
I have set of Michelin's on the wife's motor home less than 2 years old and are already showing cracks in the sidewalls and the only sunlight they ever see is on the road and now Michelin tells me those are Ozone cracks and don't worry about it their tire will last I don't know about that one lol
We live in a throw away society only nowadays a tire can only be capped a few times where 20 years ago you could cap one a dozen times manufactures sell tires they are not made to last but if those have been stored right I'll buy them and don't even like the Michelin tires
I have been told the Michelins are prone to sidewall deterioration. Of course, with as many different tires as they produce, that might be true of only certain tires. I would be wary about 10 year old tires, but if the price was cheap enough, like almost a give away, I might be tempted. On the other hand, there is the peace of mind factor to consider.
Shouldn't the question be "how tolerant are you regarding the risk of a blowout on the road?"
Some folks are content to spit into the wind and pull Superman's cape, but others like me know a blowout while traveling at best is an inconvenience, expensive, and assuming not a safety issue, it certainly has the potential to tear up a lot of the bus such as air bags, brake chambers, fenders, etc.
The last two stories about blowouts on the Prevost Community site revealed the owners (who had good tires as far as age) were both exposed to a substantial expense to get back on the road and for the needed repairs.
If you own a Prevost you should keep news tires on those front end heavy suckers lot of difference between a 52,000 lb coach and 30,000 lb coach the 315's are close to max on some Prevost that why you see so many H series with the 365 tires on the front
I have talked to Michelin,Toyo,Bridgestone and others and they can sell a 6 year old tire as new with a new tire warranty if it has never been mounted the warranty for what it is doesn't start till one is mounted, after 6 years it is sold as a blemished tire with a limited warranty all tire manufactures do that and people buy that is why they are in businesses is to sell tires fwiw
Gotta disagree Clifford, or at least explain why you and I are getting two different stories.
The tire companies appear in lockstep on this because at two different tire seminars, one Michelin and one Goodyear they both said the following although the seminars were on two sides of the country.
Both said they honor the 6 year warranty from date of installation. However, they both were emphatic in stating that regardless of when the tire was mounted, if it hits the tenth year from the date code on the tire all warranties expire.
Both also said if a tire has been run at 20% less than the required pressure for the weight carried the tire is considered junk. They know because the inner lining gets a black band around it where it starts to fail as a result of underinflation. That typically results in what they both called a zipper failure.
So age does matter, but equally important is the fact with simple diagnosis they can tell if a tire was abused and that also voids any warranty. The folks telling us this information were factory representatives, not dealers.
That what I am saying they will sell you a 6 year old tire I wasn't talking to dealers I don't believe but maybe 1/2 of what they tell you
The Toyo guy is VP for Toyo of North America and the BridgeStone is over the Western part of the USA I don't think Grant expects any warranty, one is not going to get much from Michelin with a full warranty I never had any luck with the warranty from Michelin
I will see those 2 guys at the Phoenix Open and I'll ask again what their policy is on new old stock tires and make sure All my Michelin warranty papers says is warranty period begins at time of installation so I don't know for sure what their policy is
This has been a very good discussion. I have learned a whole bunch about tires. I was hoping there was a way for Michelin to inspect their own tires and give you some kind idea of how well a set of tires have held up in storage. Perhaps the seller is aware of the ten year mark and that is why they have come out of storage?
Thanks again.
Grant
Oh crap. Is this another tire thread? Hold on, be right back. Gotta go get me some popcorn.
Fulltiming somewhere in the USA
1984 Eagle 10S
www.herdofturtles.org (http://www.herdofturtles.org)
Quote from: Seangie on January 30, 2014, 06:52:58 PM
Oh crap. Is this another tire thread? Hold on, be right back. Gotta go get me some popcorn.
It's Sean's fault this time. I love using this anytime I can....so lol.
(https://busconversionmagazine.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-Rc8k_D3yYoE%2FTw4IyOKMysI%2FAAAAAAAAAls%2FawgasVzJMfA%2Fs320%2FStephen-Colbert-Popcorn.gif&hash=2c0a916db86a5004f5585e58deb40df0d5ccee23)
There are two areas where you should never be cheap about-one is brakes and the other tires. Tires are much more then big, round, rubber black things that hold air. Tires are your connection to the ground for traction and braking. Whatever tire you buy, make sure it is new (within a few weeks) and made for that tire position. Just to give you an idea, Michelin makes over 50 different truck and bus models of tires. If you can't afford to keep good quality equipment on your bus to keep it as safe as possible, maybe a sticks and staples would be more affordable for you. Good Luck, TomC
Tom, I agree that tires are perhaps the most important purchase you can make. I am just wondering why we do not hear more from manufactures that tires after a certain age should NOT be used no matter what they look like! I read the posting from the Michelin group and they say that tires can carry a warranty up to five years, seven years for sidewall cracks. So, that should say something about what they think is reasonable for the life of a properly inflated tire. Again, this discussion has been very educational for me.
Thanks again.
Grant
Only thing I find out about the 10 years is Michelin states on installed tires is most tires will need replacing before 10 years and they recommend tires be replaced after 10 years from the date of manufacturing as a "simple precaution" that is from a bulletin dated Feb 9 2006
This what I find interesting if the vehicle is not in use for 3 months all weight should be removed from the tires by blocking up the vehicle if that is not possible then the tires should be over inflated by 25% from the recommend load pressure to prevent flat spots and ozone cracking
I missed that one and it would have been easy for me with the jacks now I have the ozone cracks even sitting inside the shop lol life is so simple
My first set of Dunlop tires (this is when Dunlops were a good tire before Goodyear took over production) were on my bus for 12 years. But-I also live in L.A. without major weather swings and store the bus indoors. 10 yrs would be a good rule of thumb-shorter if any type of rubber cracking is detected. Good Luck, TomC
So why do all Michelin tires crack more than other brands? It seems that their bus and truck tires crack more than their competitors', Michelin car tires certainly do so (I will never spend their prices ever again for tires for my car: they show sidewall cracks before 40,000 miles), Michelin bicyle tires are almost unsellable in Southern California because they crack so fast in our weather (too bad, because otherwise they're decent tires), and someone in the RV yard here won't use Michelins on any of his motorbikes because of the same reason. All tires have ozone- and UV-inhibitors in their rubber, so does Michelin use different additives, or what? It's definitely sun-related - the XCEs on my bus and on my friend's Gillig and Crown tandems have cracked more where the sunlight or heat reaches them, and the shaded ones fare much better. This makes me think it's not simply age-related.
When I next buy bus tires it will be take-offs for me, and preferably not Michelins.
John
Grant if it were me (an it's not) I'd take the amount of $ you are looking at spending on those tires to the nearest casino or horse/dog track and bet it on whatever suits you.
If you win buy the tires, if you lose don't buy them. The results will be the same in the end.
It's a GAMBLE at best.
;D BK ;D