I made it safely to Oregon on my very aged Michelin XZA3s (almost 9 yrs old), and replaced them with a set of 6 Falkens (by Ohtsu, and made in Japan) for $2630, mountd, balanced, new or rebuilt valve stems.
My first impression after 1150 miles with them is that they were great. I felt less wandering from them than the Michelins, altho that could have been that I was pretty well loaded (still had 2150 capacity left, tho, even tho the bays were full). These are "California Legal" for trucks, meaning they are "EcoRun" tires that are supposed to have less rolling resistance. VMSpc reports that I got 8.6 mpg over the entire trip of 2300 miles, with 8.7 on the return with the new tires. Arguably, no difference there.
My 1150 mile trip was from Salem, OR down I-5 for 65 miles, and then over the Willamette Pass and then down US 97 to Klamath Falls and then CA 139 (which is in terrible condition) to Susanville. Then US 395 to Reno and down thru Las Vegas to Kingman, AZ on Hwy 95. I finished up on I-40 back to Havasu. So quite a mix of roads, and 2 days of over 400 miles each. I am very content with them.
We are facing new tires in the next year or two. Thanks for the report. :)
Craig
Would not expect the new tires to get much better MPG until they have 10,000 miles on them plus full tread tires never get the mileage that worn tires do. Tire rolling resistance drops 20% from a new tire to one that hits the wear bars.
An estimate would be the new ECO tires will get about the same MPG as your old tires now with an increase to 5% better when they have the same mileage as the old ones you took off.
Pierce
Here is a comparison between the Michelin sizing and the Falken sizing for those worried about it being different or "too big". As you can see, the Falkens are .78" wider in total...meaning they are .39" further out from the center of the wheel out to the inner and outer edges. Not enough to be noticeable in my wheelwells...but that extra 7.2% width does really add significantly more to the actual footprint you are steering with.
I'm no expert, but I like math. Assume a normal tire has around 6" of front to back road surface contact. 6" times a 10.83" wide Michelin footprint gives it 64.98 sq in of road contact per tire. 6" times an 11.61" Falken footprint gives it 69.66 sq in road contact. Each Falken tire thus has 7.2% more surface contact.
The 0.2 mph speed increase for the same revolution per mile at 60 and above is just a little frosting on the cake to me.
I don't know about today but in the past Michelin and Goodyear made that size specifically for RVs with a more flexible sidewall for a softer ride. Possibly the reason the Falkens seem a little more stable. For companies that recap, Michelin has been toward the bottom for casing longevity and Bridgestone at the top but have not seen anything about Ohtsu.
The 275/80/22.5 and the 295/75/22.5 for all practical purposes, are the same diameter with the 295 slightly wider as noted in the post above. Really excellent tire size calculator. Where did you find it?
Pierce
I stumbled upon it at: Tire Size Comparison (http://tire-size-conversion.com/tire-size-comparison/)
More than you may want to know... but here is the Falken story. Falken Tires - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falken_Tires)
An interesting list of 10 truck tire brands with comments: Top 10 Best Commercial Truck Tire Brands. | This is just the beginning of (http://mdcsiteuno.wordpress.com/2012/10/06/top-10-best-commercial-truck-tire-brands/) I have no experience with casings or aging but will file this away for consideration.
I know some RVs buyers specify a Sumitomo tire on their new rigs. Either a ST710SE or a ST778SE for steer tires. Lot of good brands out there.
Pierce
If you take the input from the guy in that link (and I'd say it has some value if he really worked recapping tires), then we can see why Michenlins tend to crack and look bad after 5-10 years.
Trucks recap tires many times. Trucks don't cover their tires, but they do roll a lot. But, I see old trailers with ancient tires that aren't all cracked.
Wonder why the Falken tire brand is not included in the above list of tires ?
Maybe so good they just do not need rated by this opinionated wannabee expert ?
Me, I will stick with the old expensive,dumb & stupid Michelin's, they work for me.
I have been running Ohtsu's 295/75/22.5 for about 2 years, so far no complaints. I have a friend with a 42' SOB that runs Sumitomo's lots of miles every year loaded heavy with a heavy foot no problems. As others have said lots of good tires out there other than the old stand buy's. If one was to get to looking the big 4 tire companies own just about all of the smaller tire manufacturers.
Hard to find these good brands...who spend more in R&D than they do in Advertising, I guess.
Interesting opinion about the casing/retread problems with the Michelin. The xza3 has a 700,000 mile warranty for 7 years or 3 retreads. Another opinion from Wayne, the chassis guy at Foretravel. Recommends Michelin over any others. Sez fewer problems.
The original unihomes suspension settings were designed to match the pilot michelins. That's what cm fore told us at the unihome introduction meeting in Texas. Like the Europeans do is what he said. Build the chassis to match the tires.
Who knows since? I am afraid to take off my 05 front xca-1's that have no cracks at all because of the absolutely string straight driving and still have good turning habits.
Are the xca-3's the same in those respects?
Bob
Brad,
Could you tell me the exact Falken tire model designation/number you fitted?-- And the place you were able to get all six installed at that price?
I've been looking for an affordable alternative to my original Michelin's ( 275/80R/22.5 XZA-1 Pilot's) as I get closer to finishing the restoration of my 1995 U300SE 40-footer.
And if others have suggestions for the compatible tire marketed under the Ohtsu branding, that would be helpful.
Thanks,
Michael
I had Michelin XZA1+ tires for three years and replaced them 18 months ago (7000 miles) with XZA3+ tires. I have not noticed any difference.
Take them off, but keep them in case you need to switch back.
Personally, if the tire looks to be in good shape and hasn't been abused, I'm slightly skeptical of the hard 10yr rule.
See above, Michael, for the difference. But the Falkens are 295/75 R22.5. Ohtsu is/was the parent company. Falken is the brand of these tires, made in Japan. And yes, $2630 for all 6, mounted and balanced and new or rebuilt valvestems. My original quote had been $2605, but no sense in scrimping on valvestems...expecially when saving over $1200 for the set of 6. on edit...forgot to say it was Les Schwab in Salem, OR. Ask for Don, the manager. I know he said they went up slightly.