Tires for X5d
Hello,
I bought a slightly used 2012 X5 diesel a few months ago with 11k miles on it.
LOVE THE TRUCK! Love the diesel engine. Love so many things about it.
But I do not love the run flat Michelin Latitude 255/55R18 ZHPs.
Like them or not, I will not have them for long, which is actually my main complaint so far. Since I just got the truck I've not gotten to test it in snow or rain. And I've not driven it with any other tires so I can't compare the handling or other performance characteristics.
But I noted when I bought the X5 that the tires were surprisingly worn for 11K miles. Now I have 16K miles on it and the tires are nearly at the wear bar! And I don't drive hard. On my prior car, a 2001 Acura MDX, I got 70K+ miles per set of Michelin crossterrains and 80-100K per set of brakes. I'm even noticing chunks of torn tread on these Latitudes and I never saw that on the crossterrains. Weird.
These Michelin runflats will not make it past 20K miles even for summer driving and they are probably unsafe already for rain and snow. I know Michelin makes some great tires so I attribute this short life to the runflat design combined with the heavy weight of the X5d. I'll be replacing with normal tires.
Looking for recommendations for a great non-runflat, mainstream branded tire for my X5. I drive on highway a lot, but also high speeds on curvy mountain roads so performance in those conditions counts. In the winter I often drive in the mountains on snow and ice but not quite enough to warrant a second winter tire so I've got to find one set that I can make work year around.
Considering Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza in the W or V speed grade. Also Bridgestone Dueler H/L 422 Ecopia in V grade.
It looks like the Bridgestones have better ratings and reviews than the Michelin Latitude Tour HP with V rating, even though the Michelins are quite expensive.
I'm also a bit tempted to go with something more biased toward off road such as the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo 2 but that might be too optimized around the winter mountain performance vs. the dry highways I spend the majority of the time navigating. Maybe I just like the look of the tread and the idea of using an off-road tire.
Comments? Suggestions?
Thanks!
p.s. - I don't plan to sacrifice the great, large rear storage compartment to carry a mini-spare. I've only had one tire failure in my life and my insurance covers roadside service. I guess I look at tires like all other other parts in my car - I don't carry a spare engine, transmission, etc. Failure is rare, and a mini-spare is a nightmare anyway. When I blew a tire once previously it was a terrible experience driving 300 miles home on the highway at 45 in the slow lane with my emergency lights on, while cars zoomed by at 70 honking and flipping me off. Jeash. I think I'll add a pump and some kind of repair kit to temporarily deal with a simple puncture and just call roadside for a serious blowout.