Tire prices today...

[TomC]

I just put two 11R-24.5 16 ply BF Goodrich tires (which are made by Michelin) on my truck that were mounted, balanced with lead weight (would never use liquid balancers-but do use Centrimatics) and was $885.00.  Good Luck, TomC

[gumpy]

I just put two 11R-24.5 16 ply BF Goodrich tires (which are made by Michelin) on my truck that were mounted, balanced with lead weight (would never use liquid balancers-but do use Centrimatics) and was $885.00.  Good Luck, TomC

What's your opposition to liquid balancers?

I have Centrimatics on my duals. They don't make one that will work on the steer and tag with the rims I'm using.

[TomC]

Since the liquid is not contained in a vessel, like the Centrimatics, every time you go over a bump the balancing effort of the liquid is interrupted causing a short imbalance that you can feel until the liquid gets back into its balancing act.  The samething happens if using the powder Equal.  After 1.3 million miles of driving and trying most all the balancing methods, what I've come up with is-when buying a new tire-no matter the position of it, have it spun balanced before mounting on the vehicle, and use Centrimatics.  Good Luck, TomC

[JohnEd]

Having them shave up to 1/32 off the tread to get it round is also a real positive move and can yield even higher miles than leaving it alone.  Not sure but I think that running it a few miles to let it "take a set" was also highly recommended prior to shaving and balancing.  We were really anal back then.

HTH

John

[Barn Owl]

Last spring I put a set of Bridgestones on the drives so I told him when I called that, if he recommended them, I'd put his Bridgestones on the steers as well.  He said "no, I think you should stay with the Michelins".
 

FWIW

Michelin owns Bridgestone and Bridgestone uses Michelin casings. Michelin also owns Firestone.

My bad, it is BF Goodrich. And the ones I just got, the casings are made by Michelin.

[Sean]

... the ones I just got, the casings are made by Michelin.

Technically, the entire tire is "made by Michelin," since B.F. Goodrich is simply a Michelin brand name.  To know which plant produced the tire, you need to look at the DOT code.  Plants formerly owned by B.F. Goodrich (before the Michelin take-over) now produce tires branded both Michelin and B.F. Goodrich, and existing Michelin plants worldwide also turn out tires under the Goodrich brand.

As with many multi-national corporate buyouts, Michelin have chosen to keep the Goodrich corporate assets, such as HQ, R&D labs, etc., intact and operating under the Goodrich brand and moniker, because (1) consumer perception plays a big role in purchase behavior (many people who have a "buy American" mentality will buy a Goodrich tire but would never buy a "French" tire) and (2) it is easier to sell the brand and/or the corporate assets to another player later if you keep as much separate as possible.

Sometimes companies don't grok this immediately, and pay dearly later.  When British Petroleum (BP) bought out Standard Oil (Amoco, aka Standard Oil of Indiana), they immediately re-branded all Amoco and Standard stations as BP stations, and thus immediately lost market share to other brands perceived to be "U.S." brands (such as Exxon and Chevron).  They corrected for it, only after the damage was done, by hanging signs in former Amoco stations under the BP brand saying "Amoco Fuels."

Never underestimate the market power of a well-established brand name.

In any case, the distinction now is purely artificial -- both Michelin and B.F. Goodrich tires are "made by" Michelin.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[luvrbus]

I found out today that people make a mistake by buying a tire that rated for more capacity than the wheels.
Any of you guys ever checked the maximum weight for your wheels I did  today and was shocked a 7800 lb rated tire on a 7260 max rated Alcoa Wheel at 120 lbs.
I had no idea about the rating on a wheel I found this out from a tire guy where I am buying my 9 inch wide rims for my new Toyos and a safety guy from Con Way Trucking     good luck

[PP]

I didn't know about the rim weight limits, but I have noticed that my Alcoa's are rated at less PSI than the tires FWIW, Will

[JohnEd]

Where is the PSI and weight ratings for the rim located?

Thanks,

John

[PP]

Hi John,
My rims are stamped right in the metal with a maximum PSI rating AND Lo and Behold---a weight rating also!! My Bad. The tires are rated at 7390 and the rims are only rated 6710--go figure Anyway, the date of mfg and s/n are all located right next to the fancy black and blue label. Can't miss it. Hope this helps, Will