What are the best Tires?

[Don Schobert]

What is the best Michelin tire for my 2007 Contessa 39ft.

[Edward Buker]

If they make it in your size I have had very good results with XZA2 Energy tires. (Ride, Quiet, Wear, Balance) They were recommended to me by an engineer at Michelin for my application which is a non tag 2002 Marquis.

later Ed

[Gerald Farris]

Don,
The recommended Michelin tire for your coach is a 295/80/22.5 XZA2 Energy in load range H.

Gerald

[Don Schobert]

Thanks for the help on the tires.

don

[Jerald Cate]

Has anyone tried the Michelin XZA3+ yet?  I've been calling around about tires as I plan to replace 6 of mine in the next couple of months.  I was planning to go with the Michelin XZA2 but they seem to be hard to get in my area.  One nationwide dealer said he can get the XZA3+ within a couple of days and it is a upgraded version of the XZA2.  Of course it's going to cost me a little more but thinking down the road if I have a tire failure it may be better to go with their latest model tire now rather than one I may not be able to get in a couple of years.

[Gary Winzenburger]

We have the Michelin XZA3 as our front, steering tires and they seem very good. I didn't put these on, so I don't know what the differences are between the A2 & A3. Maybe someone can help. They were just inspected and found good to go for another season. I had been keeping the pressure at 105 lbs, but the service center reduced them to 90.
Good Luck,
Gary

[Gerald Farris]

Gary,
If a service center reduced the pressure in your tires without having the weight of the coach, but just used the coach tire placard by the driver's seat, you probably have a problem. The weights that Beaver used for tire pressure in the 90s was very inaccurate in most cases. Therefore, your tires may be underinflated, and that can be the very worst thing that you can do to your tires because it is the number one reason for tire failures on a coach. That is the reason that I say to run your tires at maximum inflation unless you have the coach weighed, and then set the tire pressure by the coach weight.

Gerald  

[Gerald Farris]

There is a problem with using XZA3+ Evertread tires, and that is that Michelin does not make them in the 295/80/22.5 size that most late coaches require. In XZA3+ tires you would have to use either 11R22.4 or 275/80/22.5 tires instead of the 295/80/22.5 ones that are recommended. These XZA3+ tires are rated at 670 pounds less capacity each in a single application than the 295/80/22.5 XZA2 Energy tires that are recommended. This loss in weight capacity can be dangerous on some coaches. However, if you do not need the weight capacity, the ZXA3+ tires should give you good service.

The XZA2 Energy tire are not an old line that is about to be discontinued. They are state of the art tires that use the latest technology to achieve a very low rolling resistance, and therefore save fuel.

Gerald

[Gary Winzenburger]

Gerald,
What the sticker shows on our Marquis is the front axle has weight rating of 13,200 lbs with 275x70x22.5 tires at 110 lbs of air. What I have is Michelin 275x80's GreenX, XZA3 with reduced pressures to 90 lbs. I was running them at 105 lbs. I'm really confused on what I should have in both size, type of tire as well as amount of air pressure. I was running 100 lbs. on the rears, but they reduced those to 90 lbs as well. I'm not going anywhere soon, so I have time to adjust.
Thanks,
Gary

[Jerald Cate]

I believe Michelin has made the decision for me since they don't make a XZA3+ in the 275/70R/22.5 the closest I can find is the 275/80R/22.5.  Looking at the spec sheet for the tires the 275/80R22.5 has a diameter of 40.1 inches.  I already have the XZA2 275/70R/22.5 on the front and their diameter is 38.0.  Sometimes in a slow tight turn I hear a tire rub so I don't think I can increase the diameter, plus I looked at my coach tonight sitting with all the air out of the system and it has not more than 2 inches clearance above the tire.  Looks like I'm going to wait on some XZA2 tires to be delivered.

[Gerald Farris]

Gary,
If you go to the Michelin website and look at the load and inflation tables for your tires, you will see that if you have 90 PSI in your tires the maximum load rating for your front axle is only 10740 pounds if you have LR (load range) G tires, and 11390 pounds if you have LR H tires. These weights are a lot under the 13200 that you should have on that coach unless it weighs that much less and I doubt that.

The proper way to set air pressure in your tires is to weigh the coach and adjust the pressure by the load and inflation tables for your tires. Until you weigh the coach, the safest inflation is to use the maximum inflation that is on the tire sidewall.

Gerald

[Adam Hicklin]

Gerald, why not just run the tires at the maximum pressure all the time?  Can a person really tell the difference in ride quality between a tire at 120psi and 110psi?  I don't think I could.  Seems like an awful lot of weighing and adjusting.  

[Gerald Farris]

Adam,
Everyone does not feel the same as you about tire pressure. Some owners are looking for as good a ride as possible. Personally, I agree with your view point. My coach should be running 110 PSI to 115 PSI, but I like to error on the side of safety so I run 120 PSI in all tires. However, if my coach was lighter or if it had a tag axle, and I could run a lot less pressure, I would probably reduce the pressure. But I would still run 10 PSI to 15 PSI above the recommended pressure.

One of the reasons to weigh your coach, especially the 2002 models and older, is to be certain that your tires are adequate for your weight even at maximum inflation. My 2000 Marquis came with 11 R 22.5 tires, and when I weighted it, I found that I only had one tire (the right front) that was not overloaded at 120 PSI. So I replaced the all most new tires (I received almost half price on the 11 R 22.5s for trade-in) with 295/80/22.5 tires for the extra load capacity. I have had a blowout on a motorhome before, and I do not want another one. That made the peace of mind gained from the extra weight capacity worth the price of tires.  

Gerald    

[Richard And Babs Ames]

We had a 1991 Baronett that had a wear problem on the front and going 10 psi over chart pressure at he reccomendation of JoSam in Orlando cured abnormal wear problem.

[Gary Winzenburger]

Gerald, this is all very, good information. After looking at all the information and the tires I have on the front of our Marquis, I will get it weighed as soon as possible. My tires are rated at 6175 LBS at 110 PSI, so I'll add air up to 115 or so hoping they will carry the 13,220 lbs if the front is that heavy until I can get them replaced.

Thanks,
Gary