I had a good experience with the people I bought my Michelins from and I told them I'd pass on the favor by sharing the info with everyone.

I've been looking for tires to replace my worn 38" Gumbo Mudders and have been interested in the Michelin XML series tires but haven't been able to find a good source for them in the size I wanted until I came across Michel and Michele Knautz up in Montreal. It turns out they have a ton of ex-military tires to sell and they have excellent prices.

The tires I bought were 325/85R16 Michelin XML's and they quoted me a price of $80 per tire for 10-25% worn plus shipping. Michele first quoted me $30 per tire for shipping but it ended up being $270 total for freight. She apologized for the mistake and sent me tires with almost new tread depth to make up for it. Final cost was $670 for five tires which is still a kick-butt deal.

Michele is the person to e-mail, mknautz@total.net or 450-424-2399 (I think) and say that Dustin told you about this.

Here's the info on the tires/wheels-

The wheels are 16x7 from a '92-'96 F-250/350 and E-250/350. The backspacing is 4.25". The overall width of the tire is 12.5" at both 10 and 22 psi. The tread blocks extend flush to the sidewall so the tread width is 12.5" as well. The tires that were shipped to me have tread depth ranging from 16-18/32". I took some measurements while putting the tires on the truck.

Height, 38-1/8" @ 10 psi, 38-1/2" @ 22 psi, both off the truck. Loaded height @ 22 psi is 37-1/8"

Width is 12.5"

Tread depth is 16-18/32"

Tire/wheel combo weight- 153 lbs.

I ended up having the tires at 32 psi for the road and they

Pictures of the 38" Gumbo Mudders and the Michelins for comparison purposes- http://users.superford.org/ylobronc/tires/michelins/

I drove them on the road some more today, no real big vibes at 70 mph considering they're not balanced at all. They ride pretty smooth up to 60 and some small vibes from 60-70. The outer lugs are definately felt at slower speeds. I aired up from 22 psi yesterday to 32 psi today which feels a lot better on the roads. I also let all the air out of one tire to get an idea of how much they flex and I am very impressed- http://users.superford.org/ylobronc/tires/michelins/0psi.jpg I estimated the sidewall thickness at about 3/4" by feel.

Hope this helps anyone looking for 38-40" tires for a good price or any 36"-54" size if you ask them what they have on hand.

That one is already flat.:rolleyes: Hey are these DOT approved? Also what do they have in the 37"-38" range?

Whattya mean flat? I let all the air out of it intentionally :flipoff2:

Yup, DOT rated, has all the necessary DOT markings on the side. I believe they have some 9.00-16 and 11.00-16 XL's, which are about 36" and 38" true dia.

those tires are designed to run really high air pressure.
more like 80psi, check the site for yourself.
you can run them any pressure you want but if you are going to do a long hiway trip, and/or haul some wieght, crank the pressure up.
those rims the Accuride ones? thats what I went with for my 11.00r16s

Yeah, 16x7 accurides, bought five for $150 at a local yard. The load rating for these particular tires is 5070 lbs @ 65 psi. I'll be playing around with the pressures for a bit till I get what I like.

those are sweet tires and they look good too.
wish the other manufacturers would step up and make tires that quality.

Yeah, Denman, are you listening?

I emailed them and no responce, what gives?

Ron

they available in 16.5"?

Somewhere I had found a PDF file on the Michelin XML's and the other Michelin off-road tire (XL I think?) that listed the compostion and available tire sizes. Can't find it now (of course) but maybe someone will have it.......

Here is the Michelin truck tire web page:
http://truckus.webmichelin.com/
Link from there for the XLs and XMLs.
How does the 9.00x16 actually measure in real use. Seams like a rather shallow tread depth, for this diameter tire at 17/32s.

Find your local semi truck semi and you can order any HD type tire youd like, and usually find yourself a used set for cheap as well...

Tread depth is 16-18/32"




Isnt that the same as 1/2" to 9/16" :flipoff2: