Rich Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I'm considering my next set of tires for my Eldorado. I'm on my second set of Goodyear Eagle GA 225/60/ZR16 (factory issue) but am leaning toward Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 225/60ZR16, mainy due to the superior snow traction I've read about. I live in NY (all hills it seems) and rely on my Eldorado for transportation year round, including through winter weather. Does anyone have any experience with these specific tires (Pilot Sport A/S) in the snow? Any other comments regarding these tires is welcome. More to the point of my post, regarding tire rotation, these tires (Pilot Sport A/S)are unidirectional. The Cadillac owners manual suggests rotating front tires to rear, same side with the rear tires crossing over to the opposite side up front. Obviously, this rotation pattern can't be followed with the Pilot Sport tire. Mavis Tire Center refused to rotate my Goodyear tires according to the factory recommendation, stating belt separation as a problem associated with cross rotating tires. Has anyone else encountered this problem, and what rotation patterns do you all follow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I use the Cadillac recommendation with my nondirectional Michelins with no sign of separation. When I was considering a unidirectional tire, the store manager and I discussed the rotation issue and he offered to break down tires / rims each time to accomodate the cross-over on the rears. You might ask your tire dealer about that approach. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Regarding the tires, those Michelin Pilot Sports will be a HUGE difference over your Eagle GAs. Even the A/S variety is a very aggressive tire and I doubt would provide a heckuva lot of snow traction, but I could be wrong. I have used my Pilot XGT H4 tires in the snow and they're very decent. A far cry from a Blizzak, mind you; and I think the Pilot Sport A/S tires would be an ever FURTHER cry from a good snow tire. If you are interested in snow traction, I'd probably recommend one of the Pilot XGT varieties. They sell H4s and Z4s. Both are great tires. I love my H4s (on my second set, will be on my third in another 10k miles probably) and I know BobD loves his Z4s. I guess you could have the shop actually dismount the uni-directional tires each time you rotate and flip them on the wheel. The H4s are a non-directional tire, so you can spin it in either direction...that might be a plus for you (it is for me). I don't like people other than myself working on the car, and the idea of someone mounting and dismounting tires on my car every 5000 miles doesn't appeal to me personally. Regarding tire rotation, I always do it at home, and don't have the means to easy cross-rotate them. I do, however, rotate front-to-back and side-to-side every other rotation. For example, I might rotate front-to-back this time. Then next time, I rotate side-to-side. After 4 rotations, each tire is back where it originally was...and the process continues. I do this often enough where I don't think belt separation is an issue. The OE would not recommend a rotation pattern that was destructive to the tires. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I was thinking the same thing as jadcock when I read your post. If I am not mistaken, Michelin is rating their tires from within THAT class, and what is a 9 in THAT class may be a 4 in another class. I had the H-rated XGT on my Seville the winter we got slammed all winter with snow and that tire was outstanding. The Z-rated tire looks awesome but it was 'too much' of a tire for my 91 Seville's suspension. Good Luck, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry94 Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I've had a set of Bridgestone tires on my STS for many years. I always rotate as per Caddy suggests, front to back, back to front (crossed). Other than more wear on the outsides (not enough air pressure - raised now from 32 to 36), the tires are fine. If the Goodyears separate by cross rotating, what does that say about the tire.!! I think my next purchase will be the Michelin Pilot XGT H4 . As per jadcock, and many others, they are very satisfied with them Barry 2008 STS V82016 Colorado Z711970 Corvette LT-1 Coupe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 I've had a set of Bridgestone tires on my STS for many years. I always rotate as per Caddy suggests, front to back, back to front (crossed). Other than more wear on the outsides (not enough air pressure - raised now from 32 to 36), the tires are fine. If the Goodyears separate by cross rotating, what does that say about the tire.!! I think my next purchase will be the Michelin Pilot XGT H4 . As per jadcock, and many others, they are very satisfied with them Barry Barry, why not the Z-rated XGT, your suspension can handle it, no? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Maybe I'm missing something here but if the tires are directional then front to back is all you want to do. It's tires that wear not rims. If they're unidirectional then by all means cross them. I doubt any caddy owner pushes their car far or fast enough to really stress a "good" set of tires to the point of steel belts coming undone unless the tires are driven beyond their treadwear limit. I have to confess that I did have a few belts poking out on one of my previous Eagle GAs but only because I used them past the wear indicator and rode those tires like a cheap saddle....yeehawwww!!! But remember that it's only a Recommendation and not gospel. GM makes cars not tires. Of course I could be wrong but after another beer I know I'll be right. -kg "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadiKing Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 kger2. you slay me! :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 Maybe I'm missing something here but if the tires are directional then front to back is all you want to do. It's tires that wear not rims. If they're unidirectional then by all means cross them. You theoretically want to have each tire on both sides of the car, to cause the most even wear (they say most turns are right turns). Just as tires wear differently front to back, they also wear differently side to side, although the differential is much less side to side I would imagine. Anyway, if you cross fronts to back, and move the back tires forward (like the OE recommends), each tire will be at their "original" spot in 4 rotations, just like if you do it the way I do (alternately front to back and then side to side). It's much easier for me to alternate because I only have to jack one side of the car at once...either the left or the right, or the front or the back. I just set a jackstand under one side, take the tire to the other, jack it up with the hydraulic, change that tire, let it down, and go back to the other side and change that tire and remove the jackstand. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillydude Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 no matter what you decide, make sure that there are a total of four tires on the car when you are finished, roughly one at each "corner" of the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 Maybe I'm missing something here but if the tires are directional then front to back is all you want to do. It's tires that wear not rims. If they're unidirectional then by all means cross them. You theoretically want to have each tire on both sides of the car, to cause the most even wear (they say most turns are right turns). Just as tires wear differently front to back, they also wear differently side to side, although the differential is much less side to side I would imagine. Anyway, if you cross fronts to back, and move the back tires forward (like the OE recommends), each tire will be at their "original" spot in 4 rotations, just like if you do it the way I do (alternately front to back and then side to side). It's much easier for me to alternate because I only have to jack one side of the car at once...either the left or the right, or the front or the back. I just set a jackstand under one side, take the tire to the other, jack it up with the hydraulic, change that tire, let it down, and go back to the other side and change that tire and remove the jackstand. Hmmm good argument there. Perhaps people favor the right turn but remember that those same people favor the right side of the road. My physics is a little rusty in this application but on crowned roads that applies different force as opposed to force applied while making right turns. Of course in the land of flat roads (generally in the South) right turns would prevail in the tire wear war. Interesting stuff. -kg "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry94 Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 Barry, why not the Z-rated XGT, your suspension can handle it, no? Mike Hi Mike, I guess my thinking is that I rarely drive the STS that fast to warrant the "Z" rated tires. Just my frugal nature to save a buck by getting a "H" rated tire. I have not priced the Michelin's yet, maybe there isn't much of a price difference between "H" & "Z". I have the Corvette for my high speed fixes. Barry 2008 STS V82016 Colorado Z711970 Corvette LT-1 Coupe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg P. Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 Mavis Tire Center refused to rotate my Goodyear tires according to the factory recommendation, stating belt separation as a problem associated with cross rotating tires. I remember this used to be a problem with American radials back in the 70's but haven't heard of it since. I'm guessing someone at Mavis Tire is living wayyy in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STS Scott Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 I am also considering this tire, in the 245/50R17 size. Tirerack.com is a great site for researching tires for your vehicle (or a specific size, too) Here is the page with responses from all the people who have shod their cars with the Pilot Sport A/S's. The one guy with the Benz got 45000 miles out of them, and rotated every 8000 miles. http://www.tirerack.com/survey/SurveyComme...commentStatus=P good luck! " ...'took my Cobra down t' the track, hitched to the back o' my Cadillac..." - Jan & Dean, 'hey little cobra' Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonW Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 i just bought a set of continental tires for my eldo from mavis after 2 sets of badyear tiresThe tires high speed balance 4 wheel alignment and rear brakes cost $719 total. Continentel is used on beamers and mersades. car rides like on air no vibes 0-100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
growe3 Posted July 14, 2004 Report Share Posted July 14, 2004 I have been using Michelin Pilot XGT Z4 and have about 68k on them. I have rotated front to rear on two occasions, and the are just now hitting the wear bar. Tire pressure kept at 30 PSI; 80% freeway and about 20% town driving. The tires have worn down very evenly and always held the road, wet or dry. Time to get my next set. -George Drive'em like you own 'em. - ....................04 DTS............................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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