The OEM Michelins on my 09 RTL just hit 50k -- still have more in them. But I have a long, steep, curving driveway, goes uphill to the road. (When my wife had a Camry, she'd make it halfway up in the snow, spin it around til it was facing downhill on the grass... She drives a Pilot now...) My last truck was a Suburban, and I loved my Toyo LT's. No problem ever on the hill. These P245s do okay, but I'd like to go to a year-round tire with a more aggressive tread. I know enough about tires to buy a set every few years... But I'm no expert. Why can't I find an LT or A/T tire in the OEM rim size (245/60/18)? Suggestions on a more aggressive tread? I'm not worried about a bit more noise or slightly harder ride. I want traction on snow -- without buying winter snows. Thanks for any advice!
More aggressive tread for year-round tires?
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OEM for 18" is 245/60/18. Just took those off of mine.
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My nephew who sells tires for a living is recommending Michelin LTX A/T 2 for my 2007 Ridgeline which has LTX M/S OEM tires in 245/65-17. The A/T is described as a On-Off Road All-Terrain as opposed to a Highway All-Season for the OEM tire. He installed the A/T tires on his sister-in-law's Pilot when she lived in Colorado. Does anyone have any experience with this tire?
Ridgestalker: Consumer Reports rates the Michelin LTX A/T very high. It's what I'm looking at. CR says the Cooper Discoverer A/T is good, too. Weird thing is, I can't get the 245/60/18 size on TireRack.com website. I'll have to call them. Anyone know what the latitude is on tire size, if I want to use my OEM rims?
Update: I just got TireRack on the phone. They recommend General Grabber AT 2 and Pirelli Scorpion ATR - one size up: 255/60/18. Just a look at the tread reminds me of what my Suburban's tires looked like. The user reviews on the General are very good. Anyone have experience with these? Thanks for your comments!
Thanks, Rickman. The plot gets thicker. TireRack recommended I go from a 245/60/18 to a 255/60/18. To be safe, I ran this by the mechanics at my dealer, whom I trust. They pointed out that the larger tire would goof up my odometer readings - bigger tire, longer to do one turn, odometer thinks I drove less distance. I need to learn more about these numbers! So what's the deal with your 245/70/17's? What does the 70 and 17 mean to your Ridge? You've got me thinking in another direction now - thanks. (I'm trying to avoid winter tires, rather have a more aggressive tire I can use year-round.)
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I'd go with the Michelin LTX A/T in this situation... if I weren't strongly in favour of getting real winter tires.
When I got Toyo Open Country tires on my 4Runner nearly a decade ago, my mechanic mentioned that they had more trouble balancing them than Michelins in truck sizes (no problem with car sizes). I went for the bargain anyway and regretted it. He was right.
More recently, I went with Toyo G02's for my Ridgeline simply because Michelin X-Ice was out of stock. The same thing happened -- they couldn't be balanced quite right, even with road-force balancing.
When I got Toyo Open Country tires on my 4Runner nearly a decade ago, my mechanic mentioned that they had more trouble balancing them than Michelins in truck sizes (no problem with car sizes). I went for the bargain anyway and regretted it. He was right.
More recently, I went with Toyo G02's for my Ridgeline simply because Michelin X-Ice was out of stock. The same thing happened -- they couldn't be balanced quite right, even with road-force balancing.
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That's weird Ian.
I've had no probs whatsoever with my TOYO's and wouldn't hesitate to buy again. I WILL NEVER BUY MICHELINS again, as I was very dissapointed with the longetivity of the tire life and traction was no better or worse.
The thing that really dissapointed me with the Michelins was how it left my WALLET EMPTY!
HeadNick, my tires are taller, giving me a little more ground clearance, and looks nicer in the wheelwell, and more importantly they don't rub with the Mud Flaps!
Tire Size Comparison
Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile Difference
245/65-17 6.3in 14.8in 29.5in 92.8in 683 0.0%
245/70-17 6.8in 15.3in 30.5in 95.8in 661 3.3%
I've had no probs whatsoever with my TOYO's and wouldn't hesitate to buy again. I WILL NEVER BUY MICHELINS again, as I was very dissapointed with the longetivity of the tire life and traction was no better or worse.
The thing that really dissapointed me with the Michelins was how it left my WALLET EMPTY!
HeadNick, my tires are taller, giving me a little more ground clearance, and looks nicer in the wheelwell, and more importantly they don't rub with the Mud Flaps!
Tire Size Comparison
Specification Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile Difference
245/65-17 6.3in 14.8in 29.5in 92.8in 683 0.0%
245/70-17 6.8in 15.3in 30.5in 95.8in 661 3.3%
Check out the Kumho Road Venture SAT KL61's or Cooper Discoverers. Both very good, highly rated, tires. I was trying to decide between the two and ended up buying the Kumho's.
Like I said, I just bought a set, have probably run about 2500 miles with them, and am very pleased with them. I was worried about road noise, as I really liked the noise, or lack thereof, with the stock Michelins. I have not driven them in snow, but the are snow rated (have the snowflake symbol), and are supposed to be very good in slush/snow; because of the wider/self cleaning treads.
The KL61's are just as quiet as the Michelin LTX M/S, have a more aggressive tread, and are about $50 or more cheaper per tire than the Michelin A/T's or M/S's. I got the KL61's mounted, balanced, etc., for $168 per tire. It would have been around $220 per tire for the Michelins. Of course, there are all kinds of deals/cash back incentives going on right now on a bunch of different brands of tires.
If you want to go even more aggressive, look at the KL78's. I didn't want to go quite that aggressive, but the reviews are very good on them.
Like I said, I just bought a set, have probably run about 2500 miles with them, and am very pleased with them. I was worried about road noise, as I really liked the noise, or lack thereof, with the stock Michelins. I have not driven them in snow, but the are snow rated (have the snowflake symbol), and are supposed to be very good in slush/snow; because of the wider/self cleaning treads.
The KL61's are just as quiet as the Michelin LTX M/S, have a more aggressive tread, and are about $50 or more cheaper per tire than the Michelin A/T's or M/S's. I got the KL61's mounted, balanced, etc., for $168 per tire. It would have been around $220 per tire for the Michelins. Of course, there are all kinds of deals/cash back incentives going on right now on a bunch of different brands of tires.
If you want to go even more aggressive, look at the KL78's. I didn't want to go quite that aggressive, but the reviews are very good on them.
Okay, tune out if you don't care for venting. I need to vent. Been looking for A/T tires for my 09 RTL for a couple of days. Now I've got the skinny. I haven't had one significant complaint about my 09 RTL til now. Why'd Honda put 245/60/18's on the RTL -- there's no A/T tire that size. It's a pickup, right?? A light truck, right? The RT and RTS come with stock 246/65/17's -- so does the Pilot. For which there are A/T tires. I know I can go a bit bigger for my TRL, but when you go for the full package you kinda expect you're not gonna get screwed on the OEM configuration. End of rant.
so what if honda put 245/60/18 it does not mean you must go with that size
I have 265/60/18s on mine... or get 255/60/18s it will fit the rim no issues and lots of A/T
I got Cooper discoverer AT/3
I guess teh 3 is the 3rd version of all terrain tire for this model ?
I havent put them on yet but I was told they will be quiet on the road but they are not that aggressive , I wanted a little more aggressive A/T tire than this
its thick solid tread dont get me wrong but they dont look that aggrssive but I am thinking with the more aggressive tread the more your chances of them being very loud on the road ?
I've had three sets of the General AT2's on two different trucks, worked great for me. Plan to get them for the RL once I kill the OEM's a little more.
Can't blame you for your rant, I looked into it before getting my Ridgeline, the 18" wheel is the main reason that I did not consider the Sport or RTL versions. I really wish that Honda offered one with a OEM 16" wheel, even with the 17's I'm worried about pinching tires/bending wheels offroad.
Gouranga: So is that picture the 265/60/18s on your RTL? If yes, those are the stock rims and I've got the same. I'd didn't realize 265s would fit that well. You don't have any problem with the tires scraping your mudflaps or anything else while you're driving over big bumps?
webyrd: Never occurred to me to even check the RTL rims. You buy a pickup, you figure it'll take light truck tires on the stock rims! Smart. Wish I knew you then.
I put a call in to the top mechanic at my dealership - asking what he'd warn about with larger tire on the RTL rim, which sizes he think are least risky. I'll report back. Thanks to all for your advice and info!
webyrd: Never occurred to me to even check the RTL rims. You buy a pickup, you figure it'll take light truck tires on the stock rims! Smart. Wish I knew you then.
I put a call in to the top mechanic at my dealership - asking what he'd warn about with larger tire on the RTL rim, which sizes he think are least risky. I'll report back. Thanks to all for your advice and info!
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I don't doubt that you are satisfied with yours. I am not claiming that they are all problematic. My father uses Toyo G02's as well (in a smaller size) and they are fine. However, my mechanic's advice from broader experience matched my outcome, which has unfortunately happened twice. I'm going to stick with his advice, which is that Michelin really does have higher manufacturing standards. Possibly the latest Toyo generation has improved, but I'll stick with Michelins and recommend them for the time being.
My OEM's also haven't worn as well as I would like, but many people have reported excellent tire life here. My guess is that it's due to a lot of city driving, which is the same thing that wore out my Ridgeline's rear brakes quickly (pick-ups have brakes biased for the rear to maintain control when hauling). However, many people here on the ROC have reported excellent wear from the OEM's.
I'll replace with OEM's because I don't have sufficient reason to try anything different. From http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?p=228094#post228094, "The tires that were developed on the Ridgeline were specially developed for this vehicle to perform safely and handle stable when loaded even beyond its rated payload (which was tested during development)."
I found that the difference in price was small, except for when the independent mechanic was selling the Toyo's at basically his cost. I regret not spending more for the Michelins.
I do have a question for you though: how is your highway fuel efficiency?
RE: Michelin LTX M/S that come with the Ridge. I found them to be good tires. More life left in them at 50K, just not enough for my winter needs. I've used Michelins many times before, always liked them. I think they're priced comparably to other top tires, and Michs are top tires. I've also used Toyos - several years ago, on my Sub. Loved them. Also A/T Revos, which I liked a lot, though I read pretty bad reviews about them nowadays. I'd buy Michs again if I didn't need more traction in snow on hills. But I'll be buying A/T's to replace my stock Michs.
So my dealer mechanic got back to me. Says to go ahead with a 245/65/17 or a 255/60/18. My speedo will be off a bit, but he sees no other issues to worry about. (The service rep was concerned about problems with the differential, but the mech says no.) I'll probably go with the former size. Thanks again to all for your advice.
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