Michelin Costco Defender 22s - Failing road force balance. Next steps?

[Whhrheb]

My local Costco said they have the 115 and 116 but couldn’t install the 115 unless my truck had 115 or the sticker said 115 was ok (mine has pirelli 116’s on it).

Did your Costco not care about the 115 or did your truck somehow confirm 115 was ok? I’d love to pay $300 a tire for 115 instead of $400 for 116

They did not question the 115s. They were happy to put them on.

Sponsored

 

[Whhrheb]

Minor update - Swung by the Costco shop over the weekend and shared my story. The guy there was one of the techs and plainly said he didn't know what road force testing was, but advised I talk to the manager when he was in -- but he wasn't in at that time. So, I'll get around to calling him at some point and see what if anything they want to do.

But, this also means I've had more chance to actually drive the truck. Honestly the vibration seems more minor now than it's been -- somewhere in the rotation and balance that Rivian did, I suspect they improved it a bit.

Based on the thoughts in this thread, sounds like the likely truth is that if there's a flaw, it's in the mounting and balancing rather than the tires and that the truck is particularly sensitive to mounting and balancing variations. If I get Costco to replace the tires, there's a chance they work out smoother and there's plenty of chance they won't. But I'll write back here when I know more.

 

[jplblue]

Anyone else have this issue from Costco with the Michelin Defender 22? I'm scheduled to get mine mounted this Sunday (through Costco) and wondering if I should cancel/return the tires.

 

[Whhrheb]

Made an appointment with the manager to look at them Thursday.

 

[CANCERDOC]

Anyone else have this issue from Costco with the Michelin Defender 22? I'm scheduled to get mine mounted this Sunday (through Costco) and wondering if I should cancel/return the tires.

Keep us posted on what Costco says. There’s a 10 ply E load rated defender 22 but given that an E load rating the stock pressures won’t apply. From Michelin E load rating (around 3000 lbs per tire vs the 2700 lb 116 rating) the stock 50psi pressure only supports 2300 lb load vs 2700ish for an XL 116 rated tire. So an E rated tire (the more expensive michelin) will need a higher psi (maybe 65psi) to carry the 2700 lbs per tire per spec. E load rated tires max out at 80psi and that’s the psi that hits the payload rating much like the XL 116 load rated tires hit their max payload rating at 50 psi.

 

[Chinna]

Made an appointment with the manager to look at them Thursday.

Any update ?

 

[ndmiller]

I remember from a few years back that a lady returned a dead Christmas tree after Christmas for a full refund. I don't see why they wouldn't take back a set of defective tires.

Costco will make it right period.

I inherited my grandmothers 1970 Buick LeSabre 455 V8 in the early 90's. Alternator was flaky and went through batteries almost every month or so. I didn't have any money so bought a Costco battery and had it replaced when it died 18 times in 2 years. No questions asked ever. Finally sold the car and Costco tech used to call and see if I was ok as they hadn't seen me in a while.

 

[Whhrheb]

Very delayed and anticlimactic update: some work priorities overtook the appt I had set up to talk to the tire manager. Over the next few weeks, it seemed to me that the shake reduced noticeably. I've just continued on with the truck without issues and haven't changed anything. I'll be coming up for another rotation soon, and be curious to see how it feels after that. If I really wanted to pursue it further, I would probably find a tire shop that does Hunter road force balancing and just pay them to dig in and remount and balance the tires.

 

[Whhrheb]

Further update - became due for the first rotate + balance after the initial install. Took it to the same Costco, and after that service was done, I have no shake at all.

 

[cevans]

Good update.

This thread is old but wanted to add a note that the case of tires never balancing smooth the fix is to take the tire off and remount it in a different position. Since no circle is perfect the "high spot" of a wheel and a tire can line up and cause a vibration that the balancing won't see unless its road force.

Sponsored