Tire Options?

[dhirocz]

I ran Michelin eco's for steers, they lasted me 150k. I might have gotten 180k out of them but I got a bolt in one of them so I just replaced them with Bridgestone R283a's. So far I like them. I noticed my michelins wore around the shoulder alot, something I didnt like. It made the truck a bit touchy as the tires wore down, and I could not find a cause for this in the front suspension.

Yes, please rotate your drives. I added this into my yearly maintenance regimen. Ive been using an X pattern, dont know what else others have been doing.

I recommend staying away from the aggressive, deep lug high grip designs unless you realllly need them. I made the mistake and bought 726ELa's that are still on the truck, (half worn, I'm approaching 140k on them) they cost me more in rolling resistance under load than they are worth in higher fuel costs alone. Dont rely on a tire sales guy to have your best interests in mind. They have ratings for rolling resistance online on several truck tire websites. Its not worth loosing .6 mpg by buying a novelty tire you dont need. When these wear out, ill be replacing them with M710's or a similar high rated virgin tire not made in china.

I do run crossfires and balancers on my wheels. They do seem to wear better and more even on each wheel end. And yes, shocks are also a must if they are old. I dont get much more than 60-80k out of a set of monroes.

Make sure your tire guy changes the valve stems. For some reason, alot of them dont like to do it.