No Michelin Defender LTX in 16"?

[lsbrodsky]

The Michelin site shows no Defender LTX's in the correct size for the 16" now. Their chat rep says discontinued in that size and buy the Agilis, for which there are no reviews yet. Apparently a Euro tire meant for commercial apps. Time to consider a different brand, I guess.
Larry

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

The Michelin site shows no Defender LTX's in the correct size for the 16" now. Their chat rep says discontinued in that size and buy the Agilis, for which there are no reviews yet. Apparently a Euro tire meant for commercial apps. Time to consider a different brand, I guess.
Larry

What? I have them..225/75/16 E.......best to look elsewhere...agilis ? Another Michelin tire...might be good...nice tread design

[PKI]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

The Michelin site shows no Defender LTX's in the correct size for the 16" now. -- snip --

The 235 comes up. That is what we use in the 15 size. Does it not fit in the 16 size? Seems like a better choice if it does. Pat

[lsbrodsky]

The correct size for the 16's is LT225x75R16, which according to Michelin was discontinued on April 1. There are plenty in stock at various places but why would you want to install new tires that are no longer manufactured in your size? I won't put Agilis on my trailer because of the lack of US experience. I am ready for new tires and will probably go to the Yokohama Geoland G056.
Larry

[vintageracer]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

I won't put Agilis on my trailer because of the lack of US experience. I am ready for new tires and will probably go to the Yokohama Geoland G056.

How many of you guys have EVER had a BAD new or old design Michelin tire?

[czunc]

I run Michelin LTX Rib 225/75/16 and love them. This is a commercial tire with Steel belted sidewalls unlike the LTX. This does make them a little more stiff but i set my PSI to 60# and all is good. In Texas is gets extremely hot and we have 80MPH speed limits so i don't play with tires.



This is the same tire that we run on car haulers or hotshot trailers.

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

The correct size for the 16's is LT225x75R16, which according to Michelin was discontinued on April 1. There are plenty in stock at various places but why would you want to install new tires that are no longer manufactured in your size? I won't put Agilis on my trailer because of the lack of US experience. I am ready for new tires and will probably go to the Yokohama Geoland G056.
Larry

......... a Michelin agilis ..experience?....michelin has lots of experience...been round longer than the rest of them...

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by czunc

I run Michelin LTX Rib 225/75/16 and love them. This is a commercial tire with Steel belted sidewalls unlike the LTX. This does make them a little more stiff but i set my PSI to 60# and all is good. In Texas is gets extremely hot and we have 80MPH speed limits so i don't play with tires.



This is the same tire that we run on car haulers or hotshot trailers.

..run low air..they flex...and create heat...the flexing will eventually break the steel in the sidewalls ....then they go boom..steel all over the place

[crispyboy]

If you have to make a change there are many good commercial LT tires available in the LT225/75/16 size. Look for a tire with a "HT" (highway tread) designation and "E" 115 load rating.



Just to name a few:
Michelin LTX Rib
Firestone Transforce HT
BF Goodrich Commerical TA All season
Yokahoma Geolander HT
Good Year Wrangler HT
Cooper Discoverer HT3

[czunc]

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

..run low air..they flex...and create heat...the flexing will eventually break the steel in the sidewalls ....then they go boom..steel all over the place

I had the same thought but i have monitors on the tires and they don't climb more that 6 or 8 psi. This was after towing from Dallas to Jackson Wy.



Michelin recommended that I run 45 psi with the weight that our Airstreams weigh. I gave them 7800# but mine doesn't weigh that much so I don't know?

[jcanavera]

This is very interesting. I ran into this sizing issue last fall. My tow vehicle as well as my Airstream use 225x75R16 tires. I had a valve split on my right rear van tire. The tire was flat at the campground and I had the van towed to the nearest AAA approve tire facility in Benton Harbor Michigan. It was a large tire dealer and he informed me that the tire would not seal on the rim (probably because we had to roll the tire flat at the campground to get access for the tow truck) and he did not have a tire for any brand in that size. As a courtesy he called all the tire dealers in Benton Harbor before finding a tire at a Discount Tire dealership, who only had one in stock. He noted that they have very little demand for that size any more.

Not a big surprise then to hear this news. Glad I got my replacement Michelin's for the trailer ordered this weekend. They got shipped yesterday. Oh FYI if you wondered why I didn't use the spare? Well, its a space saver spare and has never been on the ground. The van is almost 15 years old. In 45 years of towing I've only lost a tire once while towing and thankfully on that vehicle I had a full sized spare. I may need to rethink my spare issue in the future. While I could replace the space saver spare, I'm not sure if there is a space saver that has the capacity for a 3/4 ton van loaded.

Jack

[AirMiles]

Looks like this is the new Michelin option in LT225/75-16: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...omCompare1=yes

It might be a little more of a winter tread design than the Defender LTX M/S.

[jcanavera]

Just noticed it's max inflation is 90 psi, if you need max inflation to carry it's rated weight 2,680 lbs the same as the Defender. Many of us carry full inflation on the Defender's (80 psi) to deal with Interply Sheer forces. I think 90 psi is still within the specs of the currently manufactured Sendel T-02 wheels.

Jack

[lsbrodsky]

As for the Michelin reliability question above, I did have a set of Michelins, cannot remember the family, on my Mercedes that starting throwing chunks off the tires. Turns out Michelin was having problems with many tires in this "new" family. They refunded my money and I put Conti's on. I have always relied on Michelin but I have a bad experience with a new tire family so I will not buy the Agilis tire without a lot more US experience. I posted this Defender size issue because it caught me by surprise and Tire Rack knew nothing about it. Like I said, I am ready for new trailer tires and Michelin does not make the correct size in the Defender line any longer.
Larry

[Bill M.]

I suspect the reason for dropping the tire size is that very few people buy the 225 and the 235 is really not much wider (less than 1/2 inch). My 15" Michelins on the trailer now are 235. I would not run the 15" tires if my trailer was heavier. But with 5700 lbs loaded for the road (CAT scale) on the axles I have plenty of overhead in weight capacity. If I do end up with more fresh water or sewage aboard than the 2 times I weighed it I still have overhead.

[jcanavera]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

Like I said, I am ready for new trailer tires and Michelin does not make the correct size in the Defender line any longer.
Larry

At least as of this weekend, there were plenty of offers for Defenders from many sites. It's just a matter of searching them out. I did a lot of shopping before I bought mine. From my own experience the major online outlets sell fresh tires. I've bought 3 sets of multiple branded tires from Discount Tire Direct through their Internet site over the past 7 years and found none to be more than 6 months old. I would expect then those major outlet sites will sell their supply of Defenders in the size we use fairly quickly. I think my LTX MS/2 tires were 12 weeks old when I received them.

Jack

[lsbrodsky]

Yep, you are right, there are plenty around. But, I am not going to buy tires that are now obsolete. If I have to replace a trailer tire, I would care less about mileage on the other tires than brand and family of tire. My tire replacement is always going to be based on age, not miles. I cannot even begin to camp enough to wear out tires on the trailer. Still amazes me that Michelin had the LT225x75R16 in the Defender series for only about 5 years.
Larry

[switz]

The Michelin “XPS Rib” is still available in LT225/75R16/E and is a commercial tire so will be more pricey. May be 0.1” larger in diameter than the discontinued model I used in 2014.

[drbrick]

Well now - this make me glad I decided to stick with the 225/75R15 GY Endurance, run them at 65psi so far no problems

[tjdonahoe]

Originally Posted by drbrick

Well now - this make me glad I decided to stick with the 225/75R15 GY Endurance, run them at 65psi so far no problems

Good move...