[Premixyz]

Stock tires were E rated 245/75 16 – Great ride, great handling – one of my favorite long drive vehicles ever.

Second set of tires were D rated BFG AT/TA 265-70-16 – Great ride and still great handling, terrible tread life and a bit of road noise (still a good tire) but not E rated :frown:

Now I have the MS2 E rated 265-75-16 (3.8% larger than stock) – one of the most recommended and highest rated tires I could buy.

My problem is now (with the 5[SUP]th[/SUP] wheel trailer and 75psi in the tires) or unloaded with 60psi, 70psi or 75psi in the tires it feels like I am driving in a 50mph cross wind all the time. If I hit the brake hard (unloaded) the truck actually wiggles back and forth – as if I have a flat tire or something.

Searching the truck forums I have not heard of any similar complaints. People always talk about ride stiffness due to tires and pressure and I totally follow those conversations, but not this type of issue.

The truck handles so poorly that I am uncomfortable going over 65mph, where previously I could cruise at 75mph and just relax. This went from one of the nicest driving vehicles I have driven to the worst. Could I have gotten a bad tire or even a bad set?

I also run airbags but have them set to about 5psi right now.

Sorry if this is a dead duck topic but I could not find anything using the search engine provided by gmtruckclub in this forum.

 

[ChevyFan]

How many miles on your truck? Any vibration or anything gown down the road? Any front end damage recently?

I've had tires that felt like that before, designed for a softer ride but they make me feel like I was floating slightly left and right going down the road. So it could be the tires, (or one or two of them), but it could also be something else.

 

[Clunker]

I have an '08 1500 4x4. I just put those same tires on my truck today. Except they are 275-55-20. It rode great on the way home, but I've only put about 10 miles on them. The guy at the tire shop recommended getting an alignment. He said Chevy's are known for going out of alignment in the first 10,000 miles as the suspension breaks in. You don't notice till it's too late. You might have it checked. I'll keep you posted if I experience anything like what you describe. Good luck.

Mike

 

[Premixyz]

2005 1500HD 55,000 miles (on my third set of tires because I pulled the first set off with 50% tread wear) and second set had 10k miles when I put them on, wear has always been perfect.
No vibration or any other oddity.
I have not hit anything ....at least nothing worth noting.
A friend at work says he runs his E tires on a 2500HD at 45psi front and 35psi rear - Not sure I want to go that low but I will try to drop it a bit tonight before I drive it home. He also said his stock shocks only made it 50 or 60k miles :-(

 

[MrShorty]

FWIW, I just put the exact same tires (265/75/16 E LTX MS2) on my K1500 Suburban. I didn't notice any real change in handling, and certainly nothing draggy or swervy. Mine are inflated to a much lower pressure (~40 psi) because, with a 1500, I'm never going to load them up to their full carrying capacity.

Could you maybe one by one, put the spare on and see if one of the new tires seems to be the cause? Also, any other possible problems (wheel bearing or other suspension component)?

 

[Crawdaddy]

I just put a set of Michelin LTX MS2 235/85R16E tires on my Suburban, and don't have any weird handling issues as a result of them. I first ran them at 45psi, and then cranked them up to 80psi and they rode well for both pressures.

 

[GTAamn]

I also put these same tires on my truck about three months ago and so far have no complaints about them. In fact these have been the best riding tire I have ever had on any of my vehicles. They ride really smooth, have great wet weather traction, and very low road noise. My truck is only a 2004 1500 Z-71 and I have never pulled a trailer with them.

 

[Enkeiavalanche]

What are you doing with 70-80PSI's? Too much!!!! Michelin has always been a hard riding long lasting tire... You should be between 38-50 tops..

 

[Premixyz]

I pull a 10,000# trailer with a 1700+ tongue weight. I need at least 75psi in the rear when I tow. Dropping the rear tires down to 35 when I am not towing and back to 75/80 every other weekend is a bit of a hassle. I have been out of the country for a few days and wont be back until mid next month. When I get back I will try to drop them all down in the low 40s and see how it rides. I am sure that I can make them work, it will just be a matter of compromising between having an E rated tire at 80psi and a ¾ ton truck that drives and rides well.

Thanks for all of the input!
I feel better about the $1000 purchase, just need a bit more time to sort things out.

 

[redneckchevy]

I've had these tires on my truck when i bought it. they were 265/70/17 and rode perfectly fine put about 15000 miles on them and still rode like new. I kept them at about 35 psi cause i drive a 1500. I never had any problems with them.

 

[chew246214]

not trying to take sides on the tire debate, but 70- 80 psi is acceptable if the weight in your truck justifies it.. michelins that are e rated max psi is 80... You need a lot of weight but regular driving I have noticed on my dodge diesel unloaded I would run around 40 psi but when I had my trailer on the rears needed just over 60psi and fronts bumped up to 50 ish.... there is a really easy way to know exactly what pressures you need loaded and unloaded.... you need a parking lot or dead end street and some chalk... do it loaded and unloaded then write it down on a sticker and put it on your driver's door edge so you don't have to keep remembering just look... http://www.nitrogentiremachine.com/proper_tire_inflation.htm if you don't know the chalk method, not perfect, but overall a great start that will get you pretty close to what the truck needs either loaded or unloaded.... (on a side note this method I went almost 91,000 on a lifted jeep cherokee on a set of 33 inch bf goodrich a/t's with 26 psi in front and 24 rear I thought it was way too low but the tires were great at that pressure over many years and got rid of them due to weather cracking)).
I don't know if this helps, but this is what I do and I am also very anal about tires and it works well enough for whaat I need....... btw I run the michelin ltx m/s2 on my 1500 suburban and absolutly love them, but not e rated I like them for the comfort in the "family cruiser" and man are they quiet....

 

[Vanman07]

Same problem with Michelin ATX M/S2 tire size 265-75-16
Same exact tire; same exact problem but 2 years later. The handling is ok at lower speeds but over 60mph my 3500 van drives like I am fighting the wind. I run the recommended PSI (80 rear and 60 front) in my vehicle and never had a problem with my earlier Michelins (ATX M/S). Not sure if anyone checks this link being 2 years old but I would like to know if Premixyz ever figured it out or if other people had or have problems.

 

[TimTom64b]

Have you gotten an alignment? I always get and alignment when I put new sneakers on my vehicles. I had one set of new tires... perelli scorpions that when initially installed was like driving on ice... had to drop tire pressure until the glaze was scuffed off and broke in a little.

- - - Updated - - -

One more thing... double check the torque on you lug nuts... loose lug nuts will cause those handling issues.

- - - Updated - - -

One more thing... double check and re-torque your lug nuts. Improperly torqued lug nuts will cause bad handling issues.

- - - Updated - - -

Having problems posting so if this is a repeat I apologize... check your lug nut torques... I've had similar issues with loose improperly torqued wheels.

 

[Premixyz]

Sorry for the much delayed response.

1. My truck had a fresh alignment when I put these tires on.
2. The truck now has 75,000 miles and runs / rides like a champ.
3. What I found with these tires is that they are rather picky when it comes to air pressure. It is not a daily driver (2005 with 75,000 miles) so it took me a while to sort out. With a full load of wood, or hauling the toy hauler everything is great, when I am empty I need to make slight adjustments to the air pressure or the truck basically becomes undrivable. My reference point might be a little skewed because the other two cars I drive handle and ride pretty well (one small sports car made on an island too our west and runs on rice and one small coupe that runs on sauerkraut). I spent a few days changing pressure by 4lb increments (one day front one day back) until I found a balance that works pretty well. If someone is interested in the actual numbers I would need to check at home tonight and post. My guess is about 70/70.

 

[Vanman07]

Thanks for the response. I am going to try the air pressure and see if that helps. I would appreciate it if you could check your pressure. Not that I would expect to end up in the same place, but it gives me a target. You are the only other person that I am aware of that has had this problem. I report back with my findings.

- - - Updated - - -

First, I apologize for not responding quickly. My computer died and had to get a new one. Thanks for your reply. I did have an alignment and did verify that the torques were correct. I will try decreasing the air pressure as described by Premixyz.

 

[Premixyz]

Thanks for the response. I am going to try the air pressure and see if that helps. I would appreciate it if you could check your pressure. Not that I would expect to end up in the same place, but it gives me a target. You are the only other person that I am aware of that has had this problem. I report back with my findings.

- - - Updated - - -

First, I apologize for not responding quickly. My computer died and had to get a new one. Thanks for your reply. I did have an alignment and did verify that the torques were correct. I will try decreasing the air pressure as described by Premixyz.

Just so happens that I am towing this week, so I just did air in my tires - my truck again is the 1500HD - Same as a 2500 frame, weight, drive train. 6l gasser.
6,000# empty. Front is 70psi and rear is 66psi (empty truck) and remember I have the E rated tires! Dont try this in the D rated tires - When I have the trailer connected and am putting weight on the truck I set the cold air pressure in the back to 80psi and front at 75psi. Air temp will make the air pressure change by about 5psi. It was 85deg out when I filled them last night and 50 this morning which caused them to drop evenly 5psi all around.
Another note, after I aired the tires tup to 80/75 I had to go get gas - wow, the truck felt like it was in the wind storm again

-- since nobody on here knows me I will also let you know what my background is --
Trucks = little experience, I have owned three 1500 chevys but am not really a "truck guy"
..kinda *******, grew up in Western NY - drove trucks and tractors and other utility vehicles since I was 10
.. more into sports cars, track days and auto cross....the truck is a tool, not really a toy.
45 years old
Engineer (electrical by schooling, Systems Engineer in practice)
I would never claim to know more or even as much about this **** as other people on this site, just adding my two cents in and hoping I can help someone.

Paul