I've Been Rescued!
Written: Jul 20 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Smooth, quiet, straight ahead ride.
Cons: cost, but you get what you pay for.
The Bottom Line: Buy these tires if most of your driving is on the highway mixed with mild off-road stuff. Cross Terrains are the best technology available for that situation!
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| slammin_ammon's Full Review: Michelin Cross Terrain SUV Truck/SUV Tire |
I just purchased a used 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with 90,000 miles on it. At the time of purchase, the Cherokee had 4 pretty good looking Michelin Symmetry 225/70R16 101S tires on it. The previous owner had put these on at 78,000 miles (making his third set of tires on that vehicle). The right front tire was re-balanced at 84,000 miles and then re-placed at 86,000 due to violent shaking on the right front. The previous owner went to the Jeep dealer and had the steering dampener replaced and everything had worked well right up to the test drive that persuaded me to buy it 4,000 miles later.
I was fairly happy with the ride it gave until at 92,000 the front end began to shake like gangbusters (again). Well, I thought the 3 month old steering dampener had failed once more so I headed for the local Jeep dealer. They put the car up on the rack and notified me that the tires were all in need of replacement and the right front was separating and had to be replaced before they would even consider worrying about the 12 month warranty on the steering dampener unit.
I went straight to epinions to see what others had to say about SUV tires. My final candidates were the Michelin LTX M/S and the Michelin Cross Terrain SUV SR. The Michelin web site had a nice chart comparing the two and the choice seemed easily in favor of the Cross Terrains based on my driving situation. The Cross Terrains, on a scale of 1 to 10, scored a perfect 10 on Quiet Ride and Winter Traction. They scored 9 on Tread Wear and Wet Traction. They were only an 8 on Handling and a mere 6 on Mud Traction. Overall rating was 8.9! The LTX M/S was 7.7 overall and only received a better score than the Cross Terrains in the area of Mud Traction (LTX M/S - 7 and Cross Terrains - 6). I was also impressed with the UTQG tread wear rating of 700.
Today, the 4 new Cross Terrains were installed and I was out the door, tax and all, for $610. I admit to being a little nervous about a vehicle that had, inside 14,000 miles, mangled a set of Michelin Symmetry's rated for 65,000 miles of tread wear. I just knew there was something wrong with my suspension, my steering dampener or something that would mangle these new Cross Terrains as well.
Wow! Am I happy to report that the tires (and the Cherokee) suddenly ride like a dream. No shaking or vibration at any speed (0 to 100 mph - for just a few moments to conduct a little vibration research) and, in my opinion, they are super quiet and the handling seems excellent.
I will update this review when I have a few months experience and return from some 4WD excursions we have planned for this summer. However, as of today, I am thrilled with the difference in how I feel about my used Cherokee. I'm thinking "Wow" again.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $ 138 each
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Epinions.com ID:
slammin_ammon
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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