180,000 miles on my goodyear marathons!

[2airishuman]

as chance sometimes happens,

about 3 days after these pics,

on a routine morning 'preflight' pressure check...

i measured the street side rear tire at 45 psi...

while it had been at 65psi a day earlier, as were all the other tires...

so it was time for a quick change-a-roo to the spare, b4 leaving the rv park.

the spare (1 of 2 i carry) was manufactured the 7th week of '05....

just a few weeks b4 the trailer was assembled in j/c....

the spare went on without issues, except the steel wheels WILL NOT fit with centramatics in place....

the steel spare DOES have lead weights, so either it was balanced or the lead was added for show...

here is a shot of the newer (chinese) tire next to the older (canadian) tire...

imo the newer tires have a better mold and surface compound, along with a thin 'scuff ridge' ...

i towed with the spare at 65 psi without issues for 1500 miles or so...

before having the original plugged/patched, it had a very small nail/staple in the outer 1/3 of the treadline...

click pic for bigger view!

cheers
2air'

[2airishuman]

while changing the flat,

i took the opportunity to inspect the brake pad and rotor...

these disc brakes are kodiaks, on henschens axles/hubs, with the actibrake controller...

and were part of the original a/s factory build.

rotor looks GOOD imo...

and the pad still has PLENTY of material, with no signs of edge/heat decay...

(sorry no pic of the inside pad, but it looked healthy too)

at 50,000+ miles of service.

that's VERY GOOD imo, and since these pads are often replaced at 10-15k.

the plan is to change brake fluid next month (3 years) and replace the pads at that time.

cheers
2air'

once again, click pic for BIGGER VIEW of pads and bits...

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, 2air. If you split the difference between the the noise maker and it's reflection in the rotor, it looks like you still have a lot of brake lineing left. But that zerk fitting sure looks awfully dry. [Just kidding]

[2airishuman]

no kidding robert!

wait aren't those the bleeder valves?

i'm gonna keep/save these oem pads and try 6 sets of ceramics next.

cheers
2air'

[ticki2]

Getting 50k out of pads you may want to stick with OEM , the ceramics might be too hard on the rotors . Just a thought.

[fotochop]

caveat: I'm no expert

BUT..I had the OEM pads on my '03 Odyssey replaced with (mechanic recommended) ceramics and it was a disaster. wobble, wobble every time I braked.

replaced ceramics with OEM and perfect. quiet, smooth.

my 2c

[2airishuman]

thanks for the suggestions regarding pads tiki' and 'chop...

and we all should be mindful of messing with a good thing.

i spent considerable time properly bedding in these rotors and tempering the pads...

and believe this is a key issue to a long service life.

i will definitely report back on what happens next with tires or brakes.

cheers
2air'

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I had ceramic pads on my Ford Explorer and the stopping power increased with no ill effects. My Navigator has them on the rear [ceramic pads] because the OEM pads were getting thin and I will have them on the front pretty soon. If they last as long as the OEM pads and take the rotors with them, I'm OK with that too, but that hasn't been the case yet. Whatever you do, do not replace any pads without machining the rotors; That's asking for problems. My vote is for the ceramics.

[2airishuman]

last year i purchased 2 extra alcoa wheels while in j/c...

since the alcoa wheels have been discontinued a/s was dumping the leftovers...

one was bare and the other had a tire mounted.

the tire looked a little lumpy but my only need was the rim, so into the truck they went....

recently i polished up these wheels in prep for mounting tires...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/552721-post12.html

on closer inspection the tire had an indentation (left arrows 9 and 11 o'clock ) which isn't a hazard,

but it also had a small longitudinal bulge (right arrows 3 and 5 o'clock) on the front and back...

this bulge was very subtle, but definitely a bulge...

my photos don't show it well but it looked EXACTLY like this one...

Tire Tech Information - Sidewall Indentations, Undulations and Protrusions at The Tire Rack.

this tire is a canadian made gym from april 2005.

click pix for larger view...

cheers
2air'

[2airishuman]

so i decided to visit a local g-y shop with the tire.

i had no expectation that they would replace the tire, but the shop was on my route anyway.

so i explained to the tire guy, that this was a back up spare for a travel trailer,

and that it was unused, it was still covered with the rubber whiskers/nubs...

the tire guy checked the sidewalls, looked at the manufacture date (april 05-canada) and wrote up a ticket.

when he finished writing, he said...

"if you'd like to wait we can change it right now"

"how much will a new one cost?" was my reply

he handed my the work order and smiled... "that will cost ya 25 cents"

"i can wait" and "i'll take it!" i said with a laugh....

below are pics of the new (2008) chinese gym, which matches my last 6 tires...

i asked him about the replacement policy and he explained that...

under 5 years and ANY covered defect is replaced, pro-rated for wear.

no wear=100% replacement coverage.

so i encourage all of you to CHECK YOUR SPARE TIRES...

if they've got bulges and were manufactured after mid 2003...

you might visit a goodyear shop with the tire and some pocket change!

cheers
2air'

mounting/balance were included and they even used adhesive weights (per my request)

click pix for larger view....

[marinanc]

Okay, thanks for the opinions. This was a very helpful forum for me because I am replacing my GY Marathon tires with the same. I researched other brands and found that the other brands had more questionable reputations, ie Carlisle and Kenda/Loadstar. 2001 Classic 28' we'll be hitting the road in MI soon and don't need problems.
Mariananc