Community Forums

unfinished91 · 10-04-2007, 08:50 PM

I was recently at my Excel dealer and looked at a newly arrived Excel. It had the disc brakes with 17.5" Michelin tires. The tires were 215/75R17.5, load range J. In looking at the Michelin data for this tire , it appears to be rated for 62 MPH. Can you confirm this?

unfinished91 · 10-04-2007, 08:50 PM

I was recently at my Excel dealer and looked at a newly arrived Excel. It had the disc brakes with 17.5" Michelin tires. The tires were 215/75R17.5, load range J. In looking at the Michelin data for this tire , it appears to be rated for 62 MPH. Can you confirm this?

ChiefJohn · 10-05-2007, 03:08 AM

unfinished91,
That's correct

-- there is an extensive discussion on this tire and the Goodyear 614s on this forum.

215/75R17.5 XTA LRJ

On edit, added link to tire specifications.
John

ExcelRVGuy · 10-05-2007, 06:12 AM

I'm not positive but I believe that is true. Unfortunately, for the added weight advantage you're going to have to sacrifice speed.

The PRIMARY reason we changed to 17.5 tires/wheels with the disc brakes was to allow for some extra room between the wheel and the calliper hydraulic tube. With the 16" rims, the tolerance is nearly ZERO.

That brings up the point that if you have disc brakes you might want to check the calliper tube for clearance occasionally. We check it during installation and again before leaving the factory. We have had some issues where the wheel rubs the calliper tube during delivery and of course, you lose your brake fluid when it rubs a hole in the tube. We have had very few issues providing we catch it at the factory.

The problem is that Dexter doesn't always make their calliper tubes with exactly the same bends and sometimes they don't seat well into the calliper groove.

You can see the tube fairly plainly from looking between the holes in your rim.

Thanks for the question.

BT

LindaH · 10-05-2007, 12:22 PM

Bryan, we have the rig shown in my signature with the MOR/Ryde IS and disc brakes. The 2007 30xxx models have a GVWR of 15,000# rather than the 17,500# of the 2008 models.

Can we replace our 16" tires & rims with the 17.5" tires and rims, or would we need to have higher-rated axles?

ExcelRVGuy · 10-05-2007, 06:02 PM

Linda,

There is no reason that you couldn't replace your 16" rims with the 17.5". The overall size of the tire is virtually the same so it won't raise your coach any further off the ground, nor will it have any adverse effects.

Bryan

unfinished91 · 10-05-2007, 07:37 PM

ChiefJohn, thanks for pointing me to the previous discussion on the 17.5" tires.

Bryan, is the Goodyear tire that you mentioned as being unavailable the G114 215/75R17.5 H?
It appears to be identical in all ways to the Michelin with one big difference, the Goodyear is rated at 75 MPH.

Does anyone know much the Michelin tire will be affected by exceeding the speed rating by 3 to 5 MPH? I really like to maintain a 65 to 68 MPH speed when the terrain will allow it. Living in West Texas, that is most of the time.

Bruce and Jenna · 10-06-2007, 12:31 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ExcelRVGuy:
The PRIMARY reason we changed to 17.5 tires/wheels with the disc brakes was to allow for some extra room between the wheel and the calliper hydraulic tube. With the 16" rims, the tolerance is nearly ZERO.
BT </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
We own a 2007 L33RSE with disk brakes and no MorRyde suspension. And Goodyear 235/85R16 tires. Should I be concerned about clearance too? And thinking about bigger tires?

ExcelRVGuy · 10-06-2007, 03:25 PM

Bruce & Jenna,

It wouldn't hurt to check your clearance between the calliper tube and the rim. If it hasn't caused a problem by now, chances are it won't. However, if you have a flat or need to change a tire, be careful when remounting the new wheel.

Bryan

Still Working "NOT" · 10-06-2007, 09:54 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by unfinished91:
I was recently at my Excel dealer and looked at a newly arrived Excel. It had the disc brakes with 17.5" Michelin tires. The tires were 215/75R17.5, load range J. In looking at the Michelin data for this tire , it appears to be rated for 62 MPH. Can you confirm this? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

In the HDT Rally this week this did come up. This tire is used in the trucking industry for low profile trailers. What speed do they drive?

Do what you feel is safe for you,

MakinSmoke · 10-07-2007, 01:33 AM

I was with Larry at the HDT rally when the local tire dealer made his presentation. He opened up his presentation stating that Goodyear has a problem with the G614 but that they had not officially nor publically acknowledged it. His opinion of why it was hard to find G614's is because they were working on a manufacturing fix. We were also told that Goodyear currently has no program to help us get out of the G614's and into something else.

PLEASE remember that this fellow was NOT a Goodyear representative, he simply sold Goodyear tires. He said that if your RV is damaged, you can get Goodyear to fix your RV IF you are persistant. There was some discussion about saving the carcass of the old tire but he told us he had seen them even pay for damage without the old carcass.

He also said that the G614 tires had more polyester in the sidewalls than in the tread and that the steel belts were separating from the tire because the polyester was designed to stretch as the tire expanded. Side walls stretching, steel belts on the sidewalls not stretching causes the tread to separate and sometimes leave the tire, sometimes with the tire still holding air but with part of the tread missing.

He also told us that there was much less (or even no, I can't remember) polyester used in the 17.5 tires, that their manufacturing process was different and that they were made for the trucking industry. We were shown a 17.5 inch Michelin tire in use on a dump truck on an Alcoa Rim. They were being used on the "extra" axle for lowering when the truck was loaded. (I'm with Larry, I don't think the truck drivers are going to worry about speed.

The Alcoa rims online at
http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/p-3179-175-x-675-fo...le-stud-piloted.aspx
are $289 each.

Be careful on the rim pattern, could be 6 or 8 and also be careful on whether they are stud piloted or rim piloted. We use stud piloted on our Excels.

I did NOT verify tire costs but was told that the Goodyear 17.5 was $230 each but that the Michelin was $330.

I am convinced that this 17.5 inch tire will solve my tire concerns but if my numbers are correct, it is going to cost me about $2500 to change over to the new tires. After making the conversion, I will have the confidence to drive any speed I choose as I believe these tires have been thoroughly tested by the trucking industry for me already.

Bob Wilson · 10-07-2007, 05:43 AM

Hi Virgil,

Checked out the link to the Alcoa wheel and noticed that it says the wheel is rated at 3500 lbs. That seems low ... my Alcoa wheels look a bit different (see the Goodyear 235/85R16 thread for a picture) but are rated at 6,050 lbs per wheel and cost me $240 at Discount Tire.

Bob

MakinSmoke · 10-07-2007, 02:12 PM

Wow Bob, that's great. You must have really heavy duty axles.

Bob Wilson · 10-07-2007, 02:28 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Wow Bob, that's great. You must have really heavy duty axles. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Well, I think they're 8,000lb axles; and since the 17.5 tires are good for 4,500lbs to 6,000lbs depending on size, why have wheels rated less than the axle capacity ... especially if there are cheaper alternatives with higher ratings.