While I'm at it, has anyone put slightly wider/taller tires on a Sprinter? Perhaps 235/75 R16? Have you had clearance issues? I'm not looking to get lectured (Please!) or start a raging debate, I'd just like to find out if there are any success stories out there.
BTW, the search function seems to be limited to the past 12 months. Am I missing something?
Thanks,
-dave-
Hi Dave,
The stock size on a '08 2500 Sprinter is 245/75R16 so you shouldn't have any problem if you have an 07/08. I was looking at going up to a 265/75R16 before the end of the year. Then I came across this .
The wheel is listed in the Mercedes brochure for Sprinter accessories which is on my website under Sprinter reference material. I am trying to find out now if it is available and how much.
Regards,
Keith
The excellent adventures of Keith and Debbie. Observations about life, at home and on the road in our 2008 Sportsmobile Sprinter.
(Warning: Occasional sharp turns to the right.)
I spoke to Conner at TireRack and got a completley different take than what has been posted so far. Before you read on, please note that I am not intentionally trying to step on anyone's toes. I'm just forwarding what I was told.
Michelin XPS Rib - A basic long haul rib tire suitable for drivers who put on thousands and thousands of miles, but don't care about anything other than tread wear. Poor traction in non-optimal situations, and lots of road noise.
Michelin LTX M/S - Not as good as the LTX A/S. I believe he said it has more road noise than the A/S.
B.F. Goodrich Commercial T/A - Not avaliable in 225/75 R16. (At least from Tire Rack)
Firestone Transforce HT, E Load Range - The best tire avaliable in that size, and only $121 each.
dhg wrote: I spoke to Conner at TireRack and got a completley different take than what has been posted so far. Before you read on, please note that I am not intentionally trying to step on anyone's toes. I'm just forwarding what I was told.
Michelin XPS Rib - A basic long haul rib tire suitable for drivers who put on thousands and thousands of miles, but don't care about anything other than tread wear. Poor traction in non-optimal situations, and lots of road noise.
Michelin LTX M/S - Not as good as the LTX A/S. I believe he said it has more road noise than the A/S.
B.F. Goodrich Commercial T/A - Not avaliable in 225/75 R16. (At least from Tire Rack)
Firestone Transforce HT, E Load Range - The best tire avaliable in that size, and only $121 each.
Comments? Has anyone tried the Firestones?
Well that is certainly interesting - I am glad you made the call. The ratings that I found on their web site were from customer surveys and are quite different from that.
The customers rated the XPS ribs 1st, the LTX M/S 6th, the Firestones 11th, and the LTX A/S 28th out of 66 tires in the light truck category. These ratings are for all light truck tires and are not limited to load range E and I suppose that might explain the differences. Otherwise, I am more confused than normal.
Incidentally their review of the XPS ribs says "they are not intended to be driven on snow or ice."
I'll add a bit more confusion, tho' not directly Sprinter-related.... AFAIK (pretty sure I'm right), there's _no_ difference in the LTX carcasses, whether M/S or A/S. It's just a matter or tread pattern (and maybe tread rubber formulation).
When I had the 'wandering' problems with Michelins on my '02 Chevy RT 190, one 'cure' that was tried was switching from the LTX M/S to the LTX A/S. There was no detectable difference / improvement whatsoever in dry pavement driving between the M/S and A/S. The problem, which appeared when the Michelins were put on, only went away when a different brand of tire (Yokohama Geolandars) was put on.
The M/S is the 'better looking' of the two to my eye. I'd love to run them on the Tiger, but after wasting $850 trying to cure Michelin-caused steering problems, I'd sure not buy another set.
Jim, "Talk nerdy to me."
'06 Tiger CX 'C Minus' on a Silverado 2500HD 4x4, 8.1 & Allison ('Loafer's Glory'); '07 Forester 2.5 ( the 'HANDBSKT'); '95 Toyota SR5 V-6 4x4 pickup, ARB locker, Bilsteins, Warn hubs & M8000, etc;
'94 968, M030 swaybars ('DOPPLER')
I'll try to be as nerdy as possible. It shouldn't be too hard. I followed your earlier posts on tires with a lot of interest because I have also noticed some wandering on our van with the OE Michelins. I would have simply gotten a set of the Yokohamas if I could but they do not make any tires that fit Sprinters.
TIRERACK can be somewhat biased in their opinions, and depending on WHO you talk to at TIRERACK:
1. The XPS RIB tire is just that....a rib design and not for traction.
The XPS TRACTION is the one if you want a traction tire.
Also, do not agree with their assessment that the XPS Rib is 'noisy'.
2. For general driving situations, I prefer the LTX M&S. Plenty of traction
for most appplications, and not as aggressive design and therefore typically
smoother wearing tire. Also, the LTX A/S, being a more aggressive tread,
is the noisier one.
3. BFG makes a LT225/75R16 in several different tread designs & load ranges.
4. It is so very difficult for me to believe the Firestone equivalent to the
Michelin LTX or XPS line of tires.
The LTX's rather soft sidewalls do not work well with some tall, heavy vehicles, especially those that carry some weight up high like B's. BTDT, and absolutely proved it to my satisfaction, and at my _very_ considerable expense. Never (nautical expletive deleted) again.
dhg wrote: ... Firestone Transforce HT, E Load Range - The best tire avaliable in that size, and only $121 each.
Comments? Has anyone tried the Firestones?
FWIW, Our shop has been putting Transforce HTs on our local hospital's EMS vehicles for the last year, or two. Reasonably priced and seem to be wearing well. If I'm not mistaken, they have an extra nylon cap overlay (over the belt package) that is typically seen in high performance car tires ... unusual in a LT tire. Only drawback I know is they're not going to do much in mud. Gotta buy a noisier A/T ot M/T tire for that.
I'll throw 2 cents in. I was concerned about the soft sidewalls on my stock Michelins until I raised my front tire pressure from 55psi to 65 psi. The rears were already at 79 psi. That changed the steering and sway characteristics completely. Even when driving in a 20-30 mph cross wind and being passed by a semi, the white knuckle sway is gone. It didn't seems to make any difference in the ride quality, just stabilized the van.
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