Love my 07 4x4 EB. Has the 18" wheels with Michelin LTX AT right now but they need to be replaced, bad. They got horrible tread life even being rotated regularly (no I didn't keep all the documentation or I would try to get new ones pro rated). I'm looking for an 18" for handling. A little sidewall for looks would be nice but don't need anything too off road aggressive. Mostly just want good cornering properties. Any good suggestions?
The most common reason that people get poor tread life out of their tires is that their tires are under-inflated. When I bought my Expy from the dealer, the tires only had 28psi in them and the door sticker says 35psi. I still think 35psi is way too low. I prefer to run the max sidewall pressure as long as the tread is wearing evenly.
In order to test how the tread is wearing at a certain tire pressure, do the chalk test. Before leaving home, inflate all of your tires to the max sidewall pressure. Find a flat, even stretch of pavement at least 100ft long where people won't bother you, preferably the back of a parking lot. Draw a thick line of chalk across the tread of each of your tires. Drive forward in a straight line about 50ft. Get out and check the chalk lines on your tires. If the chalk is wearing off the tread faster in the center of the tread than on the edges, then you need to reduce your tires pressure. If the chalk is wearing faster on the edges of the tread than in the center, then you need more pressure (unless your are already at the max sidewall pressure). If you can't tell any difference in how the chalk is wearing off, then drive forward another 50ft. You want the chalk to wear perfectly even off the tire so that you know that the tread will wear perfectly even on your tires as you drive down the road.
You want to run the highest tire pressure possible without going over the max sidewall pressure and without the tread wearing faster in the center. Some vehicles need more pressure in the front tires than in the rear in order to achieve even wear, but Expeditions seem to prefer even pressure in all four tires. The new tires on my Expedition wear perfectly even at 50psi, however these are 275/70/18 Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs. Different tires will need a different tire pressure.
Running higher tire pressures will give each tire a smaller footprint. Since less tread will be touching the pavement, your tires will last longer. Other benefits are that the tires' sidewalls will be stiffer, so your Expy will corner better. And probably most importantly, a smaller tire footprint means less rolling resistance, which will increase your mpg. The only downside to running a higher tire pressure is that your ride will be a little rougher. But who cares... your tires are lasting longer, your truck corners better, and you are getting better gas mileage!
I know your asked about which tires to buy, but I thought this information might be helpful to increase your tread life when you buy new tires.
