Opinions on the Michelin X-Radial DT on my 1995 Town & Country

Hi All,

I need new tires for one of my vans, and Costco has a coupon
starting up Jan 7th that will put the price of 4 Michelin X-Radial DT
tires at $347.96 installed and balanced. So far this is the best deal
on an 80K tire out there (discounting the $35 a year cost of the
Costco membership which my wife informs me is a requirement)
that I have found.
Has anyone used these tires on a T&C or Caravan or Voyager
and has any experience with them? The existing tires on there are
these Toyo's that aLes Schwab out on the van a number of years
ago and they are extremely noisy, at highway speeds you can hardly
hear the stereo.

Ted

 

If the tires are that noisy you may have an issue with the vehicle
that is causing the tires to cup. Probably worth your while to have
the vehicle checked and/or repaired by a competent shop before
spending the money on the tires. I wouldn't trust the Costco folks to
find such a problem.

I haven't seen these tires on a minivan application but they are
pretty good on a regular car. Personally I have never had a problem
with a Michelin tire.

Steve B.

 

The tires are wearing at a normal rate for their model, with no evidence
of cupping. I have a lifetime alignment on the van and I bring it in to
Firestone every year to have the alignment checked and reset if
needed.

I'm pretty familiar with the suspension of these vans. A few years ago
I R&R'd the transmission in my other 94 AWD van, of course, you have
to disassemble the suspension pretty much to do it.

Trust me, these are just crappy tires. If you search the archives you
will find others complaining about the same problem.

Sigh. I know - but I don't have an unlimited wallet. It's like a Vegas
gamble here for me. I put my entire wad down, cross my fingers, and
hope it works. If the new tires are quieter, I won my Vegas gamble. If
not, then I'm completely fucked in the ass for another 80K miles, as
I cannot justify the cost to replace brand new tires. And that's on a
van with average mileage between 8-10K a year, so I'll be listening
to them for almost another decade.

Oh, for the days of my youth when I was young and stupid and thought
nothing of dropping $300 a shot into bling-bling on my cars. With kids
and a mortgage, those days are gone.

I suppose it could be worse, though. I mentioned I'm planning on tires
to a co-worker today who informed me he was planning on getting a set
of 4 for his Subaru on the same sale. His car takes "spechul" tires - a set
of 4 from Costco, no less, sets him back $800! And that is every 3-4
years for him. (he commutes a lot longer than I do)

Ted

 

Hey, if you can afford Michelins, go for it. On my budget I put Goodyear
Viva 2 (sold only through Wal-Mart) on my '04 Caravan. I've used these on
other vehicles and found them to be quiet, smooth riding, excellent in wet
weather and decent in snow. They've got a 1-ply sidewall that makes for a
good ride even when you bump up the tire pressure a bit (as I always do -- I
like a firmer ride & better handling, not to mention better tread life with
less-soft tires). I ordered them online for delivery to my local store and
ended up saving $3 per tire...

 

I looked at that tire - it is a 60K mile tire not an 80K mile tire -
and I
happen to have a quote here from Walmart, dated 12/28/07 for a set of
via2's mounted, balanced with road hazard warranty - grand total, $336.04
The grand total on the Costco deal is only $11.92 more expensive, for
a set of tires with 20K more mileage in the warranty. This of course
assumes
you have a costco membership, which I already do.

Ted

 

No Costco in my part of the country. Like I said, if it's a good deal, go
for the Michelins...