Tire Replacement - Michelin and FMCA

[DSL417]

So the day came...two 365s and six 315s. Tires were $6200 and change including excise tax. Used FMCA. Easy. Mounting and balancing $80/tire for $680 including a few extra materials. No sales tax in Oregon...something to think about because it would have been approx $550 in Nevada.

I went into this not knowing for sure it was time. Tread looked OK on all but the tags which showed scrubbing and river-ing. 5.5 years and 60k miles. The tires had mid-2013 dates. Once off I saw the following: the four corner alignment done by Spartan in Charlotte held well for 5 years, right steer had a little outside edge wear (alignment tomorrow), every one of the tires had cracking.

I never knew where to look. Now I do, near the rim, but most obvious on the edges of the lettering.

Some observations from the tire place (and reviews were good as was my view), Wyatt Tire in Eugene OR), follow:
- don’t use any treatment to make them shine. It actually increases susceptibility to sun damage.
- covers extend longevity, but not a lot
- many of thes guys won’t touch The various types of bands some use against blowouts
- Toyo tires, half the price but have a bad tendency to crack along the ribs on the inside (I only say this as some have recommended this alternative to save)

Bottom line...another big expense, but glad I got it done.

[Grower15]

Dave, Thanks for the good info. We’re probably two years behind you for tires but will keep Wyatt on the short list. All’s well here at LVMR.

[DebbieMH]

Nice! I got all new tires this fall as well. Probably will do an alignment at Spartan next time I go for service this fall. I also used the FMCA program and it did save some $$$. Safe travels ...