4 New Tires for my 2007 Pilot

[Stann-I-Lan]

Hi all,

Needed to replace all 4 original tires on my 2007 Honda Pilot. Went to Sears Auto Center to purchase OEM replacements - - Bridgestone Dueler D684, but was persuaded by the sales rep to go with a "better" tire - - BF Goodrich Long Trail T/A Tour. Sales rep said the BFGs handle better in wet conditions, and would last longer than the Bridgestones... for about $20 more. Afterwards, I looked into the tire on the Sears site and found that their tire selector thingy says "the tire does not fit my vehicle". The numbers for the BF Goodrich tires match the OEM specs... 235/70 R16, but the load and speed rating is higher... 107T versus 104S for OEM. I don't know much about tires, but want to make sure these new tires are safe for us to use, despite the higher rating.

Should I be concerned about the tire selector saying these will not fit, despite the fact that the load and speed rating is higher?

Anyone have experience with BF Goodrich Long Trail T/A Tour tires?

FYI... Did the alignment, and added the road hazard warranty & lifetime balancing. Total cost with NJ tax: $766

John - Middletown, NJ

[whizmo]

Originally posted by Stann-I-Lan
Hi all,

Needed to replace all 4 original tires on my 2007 Honda Pilot. Went to Sears Auto Center to purchase OEM replacements - - Bridgestone Dueler D684, but was persuaded by the sales rep to go with a "better" tire - - BF Goodrich Long Trail T/A Tour. Sales rep said the BFGs handle better in wet conditions, and would last longer than the Bridgestones... for about $20 more. Afterwards, I looked into the tire on the Sears site and found that their tire selector thingy says "the tire does not fit my vehicle". The numbers for the BF Goodrich tires match the OEM specs... 235/70 R16, but the load and speed rating is higher... 107T versus 104S for OEM. I don't know much about tires, but want to make sure these new tires are safe for us to use, despite the higher rating.

Should I be concerned about the tire selector saying these will not fit, despite the fact that the load and speed rating is higher?

Anyone have experience with BF Goodrich Long Trail T/A Tour tires?

FYI... Did the alignment, and added the road hazard warranty & lifetime balancing. Total cost with NJ tax: $766

John - Middletown, NJ

Tirerack shows it as one of the tires that comes up if you do a search for your vehicle. I'm sure it will be fine. Sounds like a good tire.

I would suggest you do your tire homework before going to the tire store though. The sales people at these places often upsell you into more expensive tires and/or sell what they have the best margins on - that's how they make their living. Unless you happen to know someone there that you trust, I wouldn't pay much attention to anything they have to say. That being said, I think they did you a favor getting you out of the tire that comes with the vehicle originally - the stock tires that come from the factory are pretty much thought to be bottom of the barrel, selected to reduce Honda's costs and not much else.

- Mark

[Stann-I-Lan]

Thanks for the feedback, Mark. Not knowing otherwise, we were satisfied with the OEM Duelers and were going to stick with them. You're right about the OEMs - - after more research and education about tires last night it seems that they are a lower-rated tire. Many owners who have replaced with the BFGs and other tires are happy with the change. Further, the traction, temperature, load and speed ratings on the Long Trails are better than the Duelers.

On the slightly higher load and speed ratings... I found out that it is OK to move up in rating, but not down, so I feel comfortable about the difference.

Got caught up in the sales pitch, but it turned out OK. Happy ending... I got a price break on the BFGs after finding them on sale on Sears' website, so they overcharged me. Got the refund.

[charly]

Hi Stann-I-lan do mind puting up a picture, cause my tires will need to be changed and I am thinking on those thanks.

[Stann-I-Lan]

Tire Rack has a great shots of the tire. I'll take a picture tomorrow, but until then, here is a link to the Tire Rack site:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....tireModel=Long Trail T/A Tour&sidewall=Blackwall

[armpilot]

Originally posted by whizmo


Tirerack shows it as one of the tires that comes up if you do a search for your vehicle. I'm sure it will be fine. Sounds like a good tire.

I would suggest you do your tire homework before going to the tire store though. The sales people at these places often upsell you into more expensive tires and/or sell what they have the best margins on - that's how they make their living. Unless you happen to know someone there that you trust, I wouldn't pay much attention to anything they have to say. That being said, I think they did you a favor getting you out of the tire that comes with the vehicle originally - the stock tires that come from the factory are pretty much thought to be bottom of the barrel, selected to reduce Honda's costs and not much else.

- Mark

and just to add to Mark's comments...the OME tires are usually picked also because of increase gas milage to boost the total fleet milage. Sounds good, right, however, these tires usually chosen are also cheap and sacrifice handling, braking and noise. Most tires are a comprimise of treadwear, handling, noise, roll resistance etc . The cheaper the tire, the less of a balance between these charataristics. Even expensive tires can be one dimentional ( all handling , not much else)Anybody had a set of OME's like this? I thought so.

[rocky]

I honestly don't think the BFG Long Trail is measureably better than the stock tires. Its a tire I've looked at and discounted it as a replacement for my Bridgestone Alenza. I like the Alenza but want a little better ride than the HR rated Alenza can give me.

[xGS]

Originally posted by rocky
I honestly don't think the BFG Long Trail is measureably better than the stock tires. Its a tire I've looked at and discounted it as a replacement for my Bridgestone Alenza. I like the Alenza but want a little better ride than the HR rated Alenza can give me.

The local Bridgestone-Firestone dealer sells the Dueler H/L Alenza to those who want sharper handling and the Firestone Destination LE to those who want a smoother ride.

In this TireRack test [http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=127], they seemed to like the ride of the BFG Long Trail T/A Tour and didn't find much to complain about otherwise.

In this test [http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ay.jsp?ttid=68], the Dueler H/L Alenza loses out to the Goodyear Fortera TripleTred in ride quality and in this test [http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=114] it loses out to the General Grabber HTS.

[jcantanixon]

So nobody buys the Michelin Cross Terrains anymore? That seemed to be a popular tire around here in 06-07.

[Caf2461]

The Dueler D684's are ranked 48th and the Long Trails are ranked 18th.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...y.jsp?type=HAS

[xGS]

Originally posted by Caf2461


...the Long Trails are ranked 18th...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...y.jsp?type=HAS

...and are often confused with the newer Long Trail T/A Tour.