Michelin X1 Tires

[Dave Fernandez]

Michelin X1 Tires.

I just purchased two used (Take Offs) Michelin X1 Traction Tires for the Alpine. I made a Great Deal on them. It all started at the FMCA, WMHA, Rally in Indio with Pete’s Tire here in Southern CA. New tires started with 16/32 and these have 14 left, and the price included installation on the Motorhome they also gave me a great trade-in amount for the four tires and wheels. (I do not want to give prices on the form)

I’ll find out how good they are when we go to the Alpine SoCal rally in AZ.

Here are a couple of pictures of them.

[JoeandMarcia]

Good to hear someone getting a good deal these days.

Did you check the date on the tires? The tires we replaced last year had plenty tread left, but they were old tires.

[dgerstel]

Dave,

How wide are they, hard to tell in the photo. They don't look much wider than one of the old duals. It also looks like you might have better access behind the tire than with the duals. I wonder if you will have any handling issues with different tread tires on front and rear, hope not. I will be interested to see how you like them. They do look nice!

[madrone]

I question the wisdom of these new single tire dual replacements for RV use, they are designed for 18 wheelers and a blowout of one does not take out all tire on one side. On a long wheelbase RV a rear blowout is going to set up a really dangerous situation
at highway speed, rear blowouts are actually far more difficult to control than front in a four wheel vehicle.

[Dave Fernandez]

The date on the tires indicates they are a year old so they have plenty of life left in them. As for a blow out I am not to worried about one because it is an Alpine and blowouts do happen they are not as common as getting a flat. If I were to get a flat on a Dual I still must stop and get it fixed because one tire will not hold the weight of that corner even though you can limp on one tire, but you cannot limp‑in if you were to loose a front tire so you are in the same boat. If I were to destroy the rim from a flat I can put on duals on as a temporary measure to get into town. I do have a TPMS so I just have to keep an eye on it just like with the duals.

The tread width of the tire is 15” and I should not have any problems with tracking since it will not get into the ruts made in the highways as it did with the duals. Since the fronts tires are steering tires (designed for steering) and the rears are drive tires I foresee no problems, only time will tell.

I also check this forum out before I decided to make the change.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f84/miche...res-46361.html

[JoeandMarcia]

I missed the one tire replacing two tires, I don't think they have been out long enough to be too concerned about the date.

We all will want to know how they work out for you for over the next few years.

[EngineerMike]

The only blowout I've ever had on any rig ever was yesterday. Inner rear left dual. Torque multiplier came in handy to remove & re-install the duals.

The most useless thing in my tool kit appears to be our Good Sam "Platinum" roadside service. They sent a real yo-yo. I went and got a replacement tire; Ann located the shop to mount it; I took the lugs loose w/my tools. But the yo-yo did drive the wheel & tire to the shop to have it mounted. GS continually gave wrong instructions and burned up nearly 4 hours getting a solution mapped out that would work w/their "system" which you will note is in quotes & italicized.

Anyway, big bang, coach shook but not a bunch, then sound like reverb thru metalic springs. I pulled over & didn't find the trouble right away, sat back in the driver's seat & checked the SmartTire which was flashing & had the cutest faint beeping going in time w/the flash. LR inner dual read 1psi. Went back & checked it closely to find the rip where tread separated partly along second rib in from outside, then migrating to the upper sidewall, about 24" rip. GS didn't know sickum about 22.5" tires, where to get a traveler wheel/tire till Monday when everybody's open, so I went across town to Camping World & picked up a replacement & hauled it back. The yo-yo didn't show for another hour, and then didn't know what to do w/a non-mounted 22.5 tire. I'm guessing, but think the tread separation woulda been apparent from a closer inspection full circumference, say before a trip. No indication from the inside of the blown tire, just a flat spot in tread (that mighta been from the incident itself, but as I say I'm guessing woulda been mostly there some time before).

So Dave- you now have the only "pro-street" looking Alpine. I hope you have good luck, and can really do those 4-wheel slides better than before!!

[Old Scout]

EM--post-mortum on the tire please--brand, miles, and age?

[Wayne R]

Mike, No temp warning from SmarTire over temp? Or should I say DumbTire. Glad you were able to work through the problem. What brand of tires do you have? So was GS Platinum worth while? Is your Smart Tire reporting through a Silver leaf monitor?

[Wayne R]

Dave, Great looking wheels!

[Tom and Patty]

Wow Dave's got some "Fat Rollers". Looks good!!

Can't wait till you add the twin turbos and the propane injection!

[zinom]

E-Mike, In my past life, transporting, I had to use coach-net on numerous occasions for tire problems. They always found the local guy who knew RV tires. The good news is that I've not had to call them for my Alpine's tires. Matt

[EngineerMike]

Goodyear G-670 tire, 3.0 years old (1207 is the DOT code, that's 12th week of 07, right?).
No warning from the SmartTire.
Good Sam Platinum was like training employees; if we had not taken matters into our own hands to supervise, we'd be stuck there still. I'm sure Coach Net is way smarter about getting proper service located, motivated, and involved. The "mechanic" that showed up expected to do the whole job w/a 3/4" breaker bar & a cheater. I supplied the torque multiplier & torque wrench (got no idea how he figured to get the lugs to proper torque; maybe beat his calibrated forehead on the cheater bar till it didn't move any more?). He started w/the torque multiplier's reaction leg against the ground and his foot on it; I didn't realize that his foot was to keep it from lifting off the ground. Once I got involved and flipped it around to push against the pavement, he agreed that was better than using his foot pushing down on one part & him pushing down on the other (duh). Maybe he'll become an electrician in his spare time, and thin the herd.

[wardy]

Dave,

What about the ride, better or no noticeable difference?