Super singles (yes or no)

I think you have more problems then them super singles...

 

I made a mistake on this post, the company that i purchased tires from were a dunlop and bridgestone dealer in that time frame and i found out they didn't sell super single dunlop tires, so the tire i had a problem with was a bridgestone, sorry for my mix up.

 

Michelin recently came out with the Xone XTE. These resist side scruff much better. The problem with the XTA on a split is they get wrecked with side scruff around turns.

 

Wow. I run all winter long in the northern tier, including the Dakotas, and I have never had a problem with wide based rubber. Second winter on these Michelins that I ordered on the tractor from the factory. I think where folks go wrong with these, is they do not follow the manufacturer recommended air pressures in these tires. So many folks just fill them up to whatever they were running on regular tires and think that is how you do it. Wide based, to be effective in all categories, run a lower air pressure than most would think. I run between 95 and 100 PSI in mine. When I checked tread depth at 220,000 miles, I still had 18-20/32's tread left and no uneven wear. I have gotten into places with ice and snow, bobtail, that I had trouble getting into before with my previous truck running duals. These last two winters with this truck on wide based are the first winters I have not had to get the wife on my ag tractor to get me, bobtail, pulled up the elevated driveway on our farm in the ice and snow.

 

If I ran my Michelin SSs on surfaces that required more traction I would run them down around 100 psi cold, but for fuel mileage I run mine at 125 psi cold and only run 57 mph with no uneven wear issues. The steer tire shoulder wear stopped on my Volvo with the higher psi too.

 

Correct...

 

I have compared. My truck had duels when i bought it. Low tread, so they were as good as they were going to get. Switched to new singles and saw a big improvement after about 30,000 miles of break in.

 

Improper axle offset puts too much stress on wheel bearings causing failure. Just cause you can swap ss on a truck spec'd for duals doesn't mean you should. If you haul mostly lightweight it might not be a problem.

 

I realize that some go with the higher pressures to chase mpg. I like mpg also, and get a comfortable mpg out of my truck. I just never got into the high pressure game. There is a lot more to what a tire needs to do than mpg. It has been shown, that running the higher pressures can put more abuse on suspension components, with some instances of decreased bushing life and cracked components. Tires are designed to absorb a lot of shock that would make it to the suspension. Then there is stopping ability. I am not talking about the following too close stuff, but the unforeseen stuff like a mother not paying attention because her kids are giving her grief, and she pulls out in front of me. I need to stop quickly. Running higher pressures does take some away from that.

No. I will not cotton to some trucker radio stuff about tires. The manufacturer has invested a lot in R&D and they know what pressures their tires need to run to do all that they are called upon to do and at the same time maximize tire life. To me, doing stuff outside of what the tire manufacturer recommends is the same as throwing glop into my engine because some company thinks that the high quality engine oil I use is insufficient and needs their help.

My mpg is down right now, but I have been running heavy most times, all in the northern tier of the country, and bucking 30+ mpg winds most of the time. The other day I got a lighter 38K load, only had a mild breeze and temp was in the 40's, ran about 65 mph, doing the rolling hills of Iowa and I got 8.4 mpg on that tank. I am comfortable with that. I am not going to max out my tires to tweak out a tenth.

 

Had a few minutes the other day and thought of it, so I measured my wide based rubber tread depth. 248,000 miles on them and have an even 18/32 on all tires all the way around. No irregular wear at all. If the claim is true, that most of the wear occurs early on, then these tires are going to get darn near 500,000 before changing out. I figured to change them at around 8/32, give or take.