Tire Tread Choice

Oonrahnjay · October 23, 2015, 02:09:09 PM

OK, there have been some discussions in the past (although "Search" brings them up only obliquely) but let's do a pointed question.

I have a new set of wheels (alloy). They have hard-sidewall transit tires on them now, 275/70R22.5. The tread on them is just OK but the date codes are all within 3 years -- I can live with them for a while but in the medium-term, I'm going to want to go to the best tires I can find. It's good to have a clean slate so I can pick whatever will work best.

My axle weights seem to indicate that I can go down to 255/70R22.5 (not saying that I want to, but the weight capacity would work; they'll carry 20,350 Lb on the rear (dual) and over 11,000 Lb on the front axle. So that gives me a lot of choice.

But my big quandary is tread pattern. Some websites say go with a steer/all position tread at all 6 on a bus for smooth ride and low noise. But even if it's only in campgrounds, State parks, and parking lots, with converted buses we're sometimes on gravel, dirt roads, soft surfaces. On balance, would you pick an all/position tire for your drives, or would you pick a more aggressive, off-road-capable tread pattern? How likely *really* are we to get stuck with all-position tires on a bus? (I'm interested in hearing all your thoughts -- price, noise, smoothness, steadiness on the road, availability in road service situations, utility in low-traction conditions, etc.)

Thanks, Bruce H

Bill Gerrie · October 23, 2015, 04:22:11 PM

I run Michelin steers on the front for the soft ride. They cost me $1500 for the pair. I run Aeolus on the rear at $1500 for 4 of them. They have an aggressive tread like a snow tire as I found on wet grass I can spin a steer tire. If you spin the Aeolus tire you are going down in the mud. An independent research center did a comparison of the Aeolus tire to a name brand and the Aeolus was built more uniformly then the name brand one. I have run them for 2 years now and no issues. I run 12R22.5 as I blew an 11R22.5 years ago. Make sure the tire will hold at least 10% more weight then you will be running. With air suspension the side to side rocking motion overloads a tire momentarily. When I blew the Goodyear 11R22.5 it was explained to me just how much weight transfers to the other side with air suspension.

lostagain · October 23, 2015, 05:04:04 PM

My bus came with from the PO with BFGoodrich ST244 tires all around. They are a steer, rib type tire. Very smooth and quiet. Great most of the time. I have driven them in snow, wet grass, mud, and haven't had too much trouble. I carry tire chains that can go on in a few minutes if needed. When I need new tires, I will look for something with a little more bite. I still want them to be reasonably quiet. When I drove the hockey team's bus, mostly in winter up and down the mountains of BC and Washington, we always had good aggressive tread tires, which is good in a way, but you can hear them sing down the highway. So in the end, there is no definitive answer.

JC

TomC · October 23, 2015, 05:12:41 PM

Highly recommend you go with the standard truck tires now-275/80R-22.5 or 295/75R-22.5. Believe it or not, they are essentially the same size. If you can fit it, the 11R-22.5 would be good too. Unless that will get you too tall. Remember-height of the bus is determined by rolling radius. 275/70R or 255/70R will ride rougher since their sidewalls are lower. Good Luck, TomC

jackhanow · October 23, 2015, 06:54:51 PM

There are several off brand tires that have pretty good ratings and tread options. I'm in and out of Wyoming alot and figure traction is better, I use a closed shoulder traction tire in the back and ribbed on the steers. the open shoulders is where most of the noise is generated and probably a good part of the extra traction. go figure. There are brands that people have come to like that 20 yrs ago nobody ever of. A tip, Korea has better rubber. for now. til they make them bend to the new rules.

eagle19952 · October 23, 2015, 08:05:39 PM

Drove Anchorage to Seattle in October on steer tires at all positions...Micheliens up front and Bridgestone's in the back never puckered once

TomC · October 23, 2015, 07:05:43 PM

Tires are much more than big, round rubber things that hold air with pretty tread pattern. Believe me when I say, Michelin and the other big tire manufacturers put big time research into tread pattern, tire construction, etc to get both the best traction, and best tire life. Chinese tires are just me too tires. They will vary the tread pattern just a little bit so not to be accused of copying. The main thing is who knows what the construction inside the tire is like? There is a real good reason Michelin makes over 50 different models of truck and bus tires-a specific design for exactly what you want to do. Good Luck, TomC

RJ · October 24, 2015, 06:22:14 AM

My MC-5C has all-position tires all around, 12R22.5s.

luvrbus · October 24, 2015, 07:24:22 AM

Strange but the school here has Michelin made in China it's identical to the Double Coin they ran they even have the same plant number, has Michelin got their greedy hands in Double Coin now or what ?

jackhanow · October 25, 2015, 03:24:48 PM

I believe it's mostly like any other brand of anything. Every big brand is selling something made by someone else with their logo branded on it. I worked on an onan generator that was identical to one that said generac. The only difference was the color of the box.

TomC · October 26, 2015, 05:42:11 AM

I looked at Double Coin tire site. Looks good with tires-they have to be DOT approved for highway use.
What was impressive is the giant tires they have. The biggest it 141" in diameter and weighs 8,000lbs for big mining trucks. Tire pressure of 105psi-imagine the noise that would make if it blew? Each tire carries well over 100,000lbs. Good Luck, TomC

TomC · October 26, 2015, 05:58:46 AM

I would look at Hankook tires. It is a Korean company (they still maybe made in China). They are one of the tires Freightliner offers on new trucks. Good Luck, TomC

eagle19952 · October 26, 2015, 10:51:32 AM

Hankook has 5 tire plants, 1 in China, 1 in Hungary and 3 in Korea.

Look here,(and/or get the app) http://www.tiresafetygroup.com/tire-dot-plant-codes-sorted-manufacturer/

luvrbus · October 26, 2015, 11:39:27 AM

To bad tire manufactures don't build a tire like used on equipment they could, equipment live their life in a ever changing environment and tires usually last till the equipment is scraped out 25 to 30 years later

jackhanow · October 26, 2015, 06:02:09 PM

I looked around at what the tour buses are running, most out of SLC and LA around here and most are hankook, samsom, and michilin. All had some cross tread pattern on the drivers and ribbed on the front and tag. We get 400-600 inches of snow here and those buses drive in and out of here all year long. They have a shuttle bus route and they use bridgestones on the drivers. The driver of the shuttle route drives 60-70 mph when everybody else is driving 40 to 50. We have a road here that turns into what i like to call " the superslide" for 2-4 months every winter and he doesn't slow down for that any.