Best Buy On Goodyear or Firestone Tires?

NJT5047 · February 02, 2009, 04:29:39 PM

Still kicking the tire thing around. Have found several suppliers, but all are offering $550-$600 each for 315/80R 22.5 major brand tires.
I might replace only the steers this year and put the old steers on the tags. I'm short one tire due to a blowout last fall. Blowing a drive axle tire is doable...blowing a steering tire is foul the driver's seat.
Sean (I believe?) posted a tire chart, maybe about a year ago, that I carefully saved until my old laptop died. I'd like to see that tire chart again if at all possible.
Bus weight is about 35K...what are the thoughts on going with 12Rs rather than 315s?
Any ideas? Time to move on and get this over with. We'll be using the bus in a little over a month now.
Anyone parting out a late model coach with good tires with good dates?
Open to any and all suggestions! JR

John316 · February 02, 2009, 04:36:42 PM

We just put Michelin XZA 12R22.5 on our drives. We have the same on our steers and have loved them. Problem is, they are a bit pricey... (We have a MCI DL3, which is a forty five footer. That is the size tires that came on it. I don't know whether that answers your weight question or not...)

God bless,

John

NJT5047 · February 02, 2009, 04:48:14 PM

Thanks John, the fact that they are OEM on your coach does answer the question.
I checked on Michelin tires...about $700 each.
I just got a name of a tire place up in Ridgeway, Va that was selling 12R Firestones for about $400 each. That may be the best deal so far.
JR

VanTare · February 02, 2009, 05:14:33 PM

Go with Firestone I have good luck with them and Bridgestone on the trucks they are a hard compound tire may not give you the ride of the Michelins but will last longer. I blew a Michelin today and the dealer said for me to pay for it and he would check to see if Michelin would warranty it so I bought 2 new Bridgestones 465.00 each at taxes and all at GRC Tire been there with Michelin before they don't warranty nothing. Save your money Michelin is a overrated and over priced tire for trucks and buses in my view

David

Charles in SC · February 02, 2009, 09:08:07 PM

I have about decided tire warrantiees are very hard to collect on.

Sean · February 02, 2009, 09:39:18 PM

JR,

Unless you have a weight problem on one or more wheels, there is no need to go with the 315s -- 12R22.5 will fit the same rims. They will generally have lower load limits, but hard to imagine you're anywhere near them with a 35k coach. The 12R is a much more common size, so they are much cheaper than the 315s. The ultimate difference will be that you will have to run the 12Rs with higher air pressure than the 315s for the same load, per the load tables. That may mean a slightly stiffer ride (although I expect you will not even notice), and somewhat poorer performance on soft surfaces like sand and mud. Only you can determine if these factors are worth a 25%-30% premium on tire prices, which is what the 315s will cost over the 12Rs.

Remind me what chart you were talking about, and I will see if I can dig it back up. I know I've ranted here before about much misinformation that constantly circulates about tires.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

niles500 · February 02, 2009, 11:03:23 PM

If your not stuck on Goodyear or Firestones - you might try pricing Kumho's in the 315's - FWIW

VanTare · February 03, 2009, 06:42:51 AM

my coach his the 315 they are about the same tire only wider but if i am not wrong they require a 9 inch wheel mine are 9 inch. I am going to change to 12r because of the weight on my coach i see problems now with the 315 on mine when they start blowing at less than 20,000 miles

David

Sean · February 03, 2009, 07:17:18 AM

Quote from: VanTare on February 03, 2009, 06:42:51 AM
my coach his the 315 they are about the same tire only wider but if i am not wrong they require a 9 inch wheel mine are 9 inch.

Most 315/80R22.5 are approved for fitment to 9' or 8.25" rims. 9" is preferred. You need to check with the manufacturer of whichever tire you are looking at to see if 8.25" is an approved rim.

Generally, 12R22.5 can be mounted to either size rim without problem.

Quote
... I am going to change to 12r because of the weight on my coach i see problems now with the 315 on mine when they start blowing at less than 20,000 miles

This statement I did not understand. Generally speaking, in any given make and model of tire, the 315/80R22.5 will be a much higher-rated tire than a 12R22.5. Loads for single 12R22.5 are commonly in the 7,200 lb range, and for the 315/80R22.5 they are commonly in the 9,100 lb range.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

VanTare · February 03, 2009, 07:32:11 AM

Sean the 315's have never worked for me on the trucks or the bus so far and the 12r has could be the brand Michelin and the wide tires on the steering are going to leave also. I just feel better about the 12r tire

David

NJT5047 · February 03, 2009, 08:00:38 AM

Sean, the tire chart that I believe you posted was one page with various sizes of bus tires and the loads and load range codes.
You just picked a nerve with the weight capacity difference between 315 and 12Rs..? With that information, I may stay with 315s on the steering axles and 12Rs on the drive. In any event, the 12s are rated higher than my front axle..by a few pounds.
I don't have any excess corner weight issues. I store the adult beverages in a central location.

Van, if your 315 blowouts were on the drive axle, could be the tires are rubbing on each other, or rocks are getting between them. They are close together on duals.
What started this tire search was a blowout on the LH inner drive. Initially shopped around for a good takeoff to put back on the drive.
Tire guy said I've got a bad air valve on the rim. He thinks that the faulty valve caused the blowout.
Whatever, my dates are stretched so it's tire time. That blowout was a warnings shot across the bow! My tires look excellent. This grieves me...

JR

TomC · February 03, 2009, 08:26:19 AM

The main problem with 12R-22.5's is that they are considered to be bus tires, and most bus companies hoard the tires making them hard to find out on the road. On the other hand the 315/80R-22.5 is the newer metric version that not only is the standard of the industry for trucks and buses in Europe, but is the preferred tire here. The 12R will go up to about 7,200lb per tire, and the 315 goes to 9,100lb per tire at 75mph and a 10,000lb version with 55mph limit for heavy construction equipment. Personally, would use the 315, since no further research is being done on the 12R's since the 315 is the newer metric equivalent. Good Luck, TomC

John316 · February 03, 2009, 08:33:05 AM

TomC,

Yes that is a big deal. The 12R's are hard to find. For that reason we carry a fully mounted spare.

God bless,

John

VanTare · February 03, 2009, 08:43:31 AM

Tomc I just looked at the new Toyo 12r at GRC Monday that will be on the market here in June and it was rated 9000 at 120 psi and I am sure other manufacture will follow as these buse are getting heavier each year.FWIW I know of no H-45 owners that is not having a problem with 315's on the drive axles they flex to much so I am told.This could be a Prevost design problem also I am not putting all the blame on the tires this thing is heavy 51,000 lbs. Any good tire dealer will have the 12r I have used them for years with no problem ever finding the tire

David

belfert · February 03, 2009, 09:35:55 AM

I bought my tires from White Tire in Roanoake, VA. They have locations across Virginia and West Virginia. I bought 11R24.5 Firestone FS590 Plus tires for around $360 each fully mounted and old tires disposed of including taxes and fees. This was in 2006 and prices have certainly gone up since then.

After reading about blowouts and such here I am wondering if my pressures are too low. I had each tire weighed last fall and the shop lowered them to around 75 PSI based on the weight.