tires

[christopher]

are bridgstone transport tires any good $411.76 in new hampshire?
12r22.5

or xz2 (with blemishes) for $460.00
I can also get bf goodrich new ones for $460.00
Thanx
Chris
mci 5c

[Lin]

I just bought 4 Kelly Springfield KSE 11R22.5 for about $225. each.  I had Bridgestones all around and the four on the rear were cracked.  The two on the front looked new and flawless even though they were about 4 years old.  They really had not been used much.  Anyway, I figured that I should put the newest tires on the front, so we mounted two the the KS's on the front, two on the right rear and put the Bridgestones from the front on the left rear.  I was surprised by how much better the ride was.  Since I guess that most of the improvement I noticed was from the front axle, I question whether buying a more expensive tire would be any better than these.

[Kristinsgrandpa]

Check these prices, if you buy 8 you get free shipping.

http://www.tireauditor.com/trucktires.php


Also these prices. Also free shipping on 8 tires.

http://www.waynebuilt.com/truck_parts/tires.htm

Ed

[Sean]

Check these prices, if you buy 8 you get free shipping.
...
Also these prices. Also free shipping on 8 tires.
...

That's great, except neither of those sites listed even a single 12R22.5 tire, which is what the OP was asking about (at least when I looked, about five minutes ago).  So not a particularly helpful link, in this case.

To the OP's question:  Hard to answer you without the actual Bridgestone model name/number.

Tire brand is a religious discussion -- you will get many opinions.  That said, there are some immutable facts:

All brands make different kinds of tires for different applications.  Using the wrong kind of tire for what you intend will cause problems, no matter what brand you choose.

Make sure that the tire you select is rated for the speeds at which you will drive, the loads you will put on them, and the type of driving you do (mostly long-haul, freeway driving, mostly around-town with rural two-lane, off-pavement, etc.).  Those decisions come first, before looking at brands.

I would also make sure that any (new) tires you look at have date codes no more than 8-10 months in the past, preferably less.  There is a lot of 2-year-old product out there.

After that, personally, I would buy the cheapest tire that meets your needs, irrespective of brand.  It is hard to imagine the average bus conversion owner dishing enough abuse to a any heavy-duty truck tire to have any effect whatsoever.  Many will disagree with this stance.

Note that finding 12R22.5 tires with 75MPH speed ratings in, say, load range G, is a non-trivial task.  Many bus tires targeted at the transit market, for example, have 55mph or 65mph limits on their ratings.

Not everyone's cup of tea, I know, but we put "regional service" rib tires on the steers and tags, and a regional/off-road open-shoulder traction tire on the drivers, to get us through the mud and dirt.  We've been very happy with Bridgestones all around, but I have since replaced all the rib tires due to alignment-related wear issues, and I had to change to Goodyear and Firestone due to availability issues at the time.

HTH.

-Sean

[JohnEd]

Chris,

Those prices seem excessive.  Shop around.  Nwe Hampshire doesn't have any sales tax and people up there are extremely proud of that.  My experience is that California prices were half the NH retail and Ca does have Sales Tax.  Check out of state for mounting and if you have them shipped have them drop shipped to the shop that will install them.

John

[TomC]

12R-22.5's are hard to get, and more costly.  About two years ago I bought 6 Michelin (the best brand IMO) 11R-24.5 16 ply XZE's (75mph) that have very close to the same load carrying as the 12R-22.5's. Since I'm 5,000lb under the gvw of the bus, I wasn't concerned, and the 11R-24.5's are a bit bigger in diameter (478rpm vs 485rpm for the 12R's).  With mounting, balancing, FET, sales tax, they were $2900.00 for the six.  I'll buy Michelin again and again.  Good Luck, TomC

[Sean]

12R-22.5's are hard to get, and more costly.  ... 11R-24.5 ... have very close to the same load carrying as the 12R-22.5's.

Note that this change will require changing wheels.  For some of us, that's not even an option (24.5" wheels are not available in Euro-spec hubs).  But when it is, it will almost certainly negate any savings from the cheaper tires.  Remember, most bus conversion owners will go through only one or two sets of tires the entire time they own the coach.  You'd have to find someone who was pretty much willing to make you a straight swap of the 24.5" rims for the 22.5" ones you have now.

I agree, by the way, that Michelins are the best tires out there.  But they charge a hefty premium, at least in my sizes, and it's just not worth it to me for the kind of use I have.  (Also, the tires I would want from them always seem to be "out of stock").  I'll either wear the treads out or have to chuck the tires due to age before Michelin's advantages will ever come into play.

If I was running a bus charter company, I'd be on contract with Michelin in a heartbeat.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[luvrbus]

I have never had a problem finding 12r 22.5 for my bus here in the West cut one down in McCall  ID and the tire co there had 4 in stock

[tekebird]

12r22.5's being hard to find is a myth......true: Jo Bob Midnight truck road service might not have them...but what he does have he will overcharge you for anyway.

Carry a spare if your bus is equiped with a compartment for such a thing...and withing 24 hours a tire can be on your bus pretty much anywhere in this country.

Note:  Dealing with certain tire sales places that may not be familiar with bus tires may be reluctant to try to get you one...even if they can....

[Lin]

If you want to go to a more common size, 11R22.5 will work.  Of course, there is a very slight possible loss in fuel mileage and speed.  I think that that is probably generally overstated anyway.  After all, although it is true that you will put in a couple of more revolutions per mile, the machine should be working a little less to turn those revolutions.  I have heard from several sources that Michelin tires are the best on the road, but they tend to age faster.  Since we are more likely to lose tires to aging than to mileage, that would sound like a reason to consider not buying them even if they were competitively priced which they are not.  I believe we are best going for the best ride you can get for the price.  A $250. decent tire will probably give you as much service the the $450. gold. 

[Sean]

If you want to go to a more common size, 11R22.5 will work.  Of course, there is a very slight possible loss in fuel mileage and speed. 

Careful with this.

First off, most 11R22.5 tires are not approved to be fitted to 9" rims.  So you can only make this substitution if your rims are 8.25" (which is more common, anyway).

Second, load ranges are different for 11R22.5 than 12R22.5.  Load Range H (Ply Rating 16), for example, in an 11R22.5 is good for 6,610 lbs (single), while Load Range H in a 12R22.5 is good for 7,160 lbs.  Across all eight tires, the difference in carrying capacity will be 4,620 lbs -- over two tons.

Lastly, you will lower your ride height and ground clearance, which may adversely impact your handling and angles of approach and departure.

BTW, it is not clear to me that 11R22.5 is "more common" than 12R22.5.  Most class-8 trucks are either on 11R24.5 or 12R22.5, it's really only the lower classes (duty) than can use an 11R22.5.  So I guess it depends on whether any particular dealer services more the long-haul class-8 market or the regional MDT delivery market.  YMMV.

My advice (not that you asked) is to stick with the OEM sizing.  That's what the coach was designed for.

FWIW.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[Stan]

If you surveyed every bus company in North America, you would find every brand of tire in use and the tire supervisor would have a list of reasons for using that particular brand. If there was only one 'best' tire, there would be only one tire company.

When looking for tires for a bus conversion, don't overlook all the import brands. There are many tires from Japan, Korea and maybe even China that will meet your needs.

[TomC]

Actually Sean, 11R-24.5 is a American size that is not very widely used anymore.  Most dry van trailers require that the fifth wheel height not be 49" (old measurement with 11R-24.5) but be down around 46" (with 295/75R-22.5) to facilitate 110" tall inside dry vans.  The most popular tire size is the low profile 295/75R-22.5 or Michelin size 275/80R-22.5 (Michelin just has to be different).  11R-22.5 is used mostly in regional use and 11R-24.5 is usually with flat bedders or some owner/operators.  On buses now is the 315/80R-22.5 (metric version of the 12R-22.5) that can support up to 18,000lb at 75 mph or a 20 ply version for 20,000lb at 65mph (steering axle).  Some buses are going to 365's on the steering and tag and 315's on the drivers-getting mighty heavy.
I changed my bus from the 12R-22.5 to 11R-24.5 since, one my truck had the same size and two knew the 12R to be hard to find outside of big tire centers-usually truck stops won't have them in stock.  Good Luck, TomC

[Sean]

Tom,

I defer to your expertise on the truck tire market.  My only point was that I dispute the notion that 11R22.5 tires are universally more common that 12R22.5 -- what you'll find in stock at any given tire dealer depends on what segment of the market he serves.

You are right that truck stops do not generally stock 12R22.5 tires.  I've spent a couple hours on the phone calling truck stops along a route looking for them.  But that, in itself, is not a good reason, IMO, to go to tires with much lower load capacity, lower RPM, and lower ground clearance than was intended for the vehicle by its engineers.

Incidentally, we've gone to 315/80R22.5 on our steer axle, and we'll change the drivers over to that size the next time they need replacement (IF we can find block treads in that size -- 315/80s are even harder to find than 12Rs).  Not because we need the load capacity -- 12R22.5 is fine on that score -- but because we'd rather have the extra tread width and run lower air pressure to help us out with sand and other soft surfaces.  I did go to 9" rims when I changed to Alcoas to facilitate the larger tires.

The really big tires, as you know, require even larger rims, which can't be dualed.  That's what Prevost is putting on as standard equipment on all its slide-out equipped conversion shells.  Some of the coaches coming out of the major converters are right at the 54,000 lb federal bridge limit (and some, methinks, are actually over that by a good amount).

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[basil]

Sean, you mentioned when we were visiting that you like block treads on the drive tires.  Is there really a significant difference when you are on dirt, and do you get more road noise?  Any other factors to consider on that choice?