The Nissan Path

smj999smj · Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2014 12:09 pm Post subject:

For my money, the Michelin LTX M/S2's are the best for highway driving under dry, wet or moderate snowfall conditions. They ride great and are quiet with great traction. I replaced mine with Nitto Dura Grapplers, which were a lot cheaper, and I'm starting to regret it a little. The Dura's are a good tire, don't get me wrong, but they definitely make my Pathy feel more "truck-like" and now with a little mileage on them, you can really feel the road surface transmitted to the steering wheel, and not in a good way. Traction and wear have been great; it's just not a good riding tire, comfort-wise. If they ever wear out, I'll spend the money and go back to Michelins. These are on the 06 LE.
On the 08 SE, there are Wild Country Sport XHT. They are okay when they are new, but they wear poorly and fast! This one will likely be getting a set of Hankook Dynapros in the near future.
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2006 Pathfinder LE VQ40DE AWD, Nitto Dura Grappler P265/65R17, aftermarket radiator, Airlift 1000's, Bilstein HD rear shocks

asgard · Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 136 Location: Ontario, Canada

Well I thought I would restart this thread. You guessed it I never did get new tires. I made it back north in Jan no bother on the long trail tires and with little need to change them due to wear issues are still running them.
However, I will be changing before this winter as I an north for the entire time.
Having looked again at the selection I am still not convinced of the winter capability of the Michelin.
I am now looking closely at the General Grabber AT2 as a good all rounder.
Does anyone have these on their Pathfinder, I will be sticking with standard size 265/65/17 .
If you have any input re noise in use, highway mostly and fuel economy as the tire is a little heavier it would be good to here your input.
I live in rural Ontario and the roads are not great, almost off road-ing some times but then again I spend a good portion of my time on the highway.
Thoughts and comments ??
Long trails now at 92k kms, with 5/32 left.

smj999smj · Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2015 4:00 pm Post subject:

The Grabber AT 2 is an excellent tire, but it's all about compromise. It has a more aggressive tread than the Michelin LTX M/S2 and LTX A/T2 tires and is a better tire in light and deep snow, beside the fact that they are less expensive to purchase. They are all about the same as far as ice traction and wet traction. Noise, ride and treadwear will be better with either of the the Michelin LTX's. Being in Ontario, I imagine you see your fair share of deep snow, so the Grabber AT 2 might make more sense.
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2006 Pathfinder LE VQ40DE AWD, Nitto Dura Grappler P265/65R17, aftermarket radiator, Airlift 1000's, Bilstein HD rear shocks

azaizai · Joined: 13 Aug 2014 Posts: 83

I gave my offer for the Cooper Discoverer AT3's in december. Since then these tires have been awesome.

For your deep snow case, I took a roadtrip in february in Missouri with one of our larger snow storms in the last few years. It was a light dusting at noon, and by the time we hit the road it was something like 4-5 inches. The tires did amazing, I didnt even need 4wd once I was up to speed. There was no slipping or loss of traction, it was amazing.

That being said, the tires at that point were about as new as you can get..so realistically anything with that much tread would have been ok. But I really do like these tires. They have a little tire noise when turning at above 40 mph speeds, but on the highway they're pretty smooth.

asgard · Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 136 Location: Ontario, Canada

Thanks again for your input. I decided after more reading and checking on various forums that I would go for the General Grabber AT2 and ordered a set today.
I am now wondering whether I should have the alignment checked after I get them installed. The tires are wearing evenly at 92k so is it worth it. Dealer has a special on for $80 might be worth it for peace of mind - or - leave it alone in case they screw up.

volvite · Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 4:18 pm Post subject:

A good rule of thumb is to always have an alignment done when you purchase new tires.
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08 Pathy LE, 5.6L V8, fully loaded
"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his." George Patton
What did you do to your Pathfinder thread:http://www.thenissanpath.com/viewtopic.php?p=71760#71760

asgard · Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 136 Location: Ontario, Canada

Well I finally went and bought the General Grabber AT2 tires. So far they have driven smooth and they are quiet. Slight drop in mpg getting 12.4l/100kms as oppose to 11.7l/100kms so not a big drop.
They are quite aggressive and I went for the all black version, tired of the BFG white letters.
So far happy, time will tell. out the door under C$950 / $725US bought them at Walmart, road hazard, free rotation, balance and repair, thought that was OK, no Nitrogen fill but that is no big deal.

smj999smj · Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 7:05 pm Post subject:

Unless you are competing in NASCAR, nitrogen filling the tires is really over-rated. "Regular" air in our atmosphere is already 78% nitrogen.
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2006 Pathfinder LE VQ40DE AWD, Nitto Dura Grappler P265/65R17, aftermarket radiator, Airlift 1000's, Bilstein HD rear shocks

asgard · Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 136 Location: Ontario, Canada

Update on the General grabber AT2.
Well after only 200km I had to get them re-balanced , they just started to vibrate. Then after another 270kms they needed balanced again , getting a bit concerned with this outcome and you guessed it after just another 170kms re-balance needed.
Well today I returned again to have the balance sorted and the tires with 650kms on them showed the following out of balance 1/4 out 3/4 in, 1/2 out 1,5 in, 1 in 2 out and 1/4 in 1.5 out =- all ounces of weight.
At this point both myself and the manager at Walmart said they were bad tires.
Luckily I retained my BFG tires and back on they went.
This might be an isolated incident but it was very disconcerting , great looking tire and I had great expectations of this tire for winter driving, but it was not to be.
So back to the drawing board, looking more like BFG long trail as OEM or LTX m/s.

smj999smj · Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 1:30 pm Post subject:

If you want an all-terrain tire, you'll want the LTX A/T2. The LTX M/S2, which I've had, is more of a highway tread. Both are excellent and you'll get a lot more mileage out of the Michelins than you will with the BFG's, which seem to be good for about 35,000. I got twice that out of my LTX M/S2's.
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2006 Pathfinder LE VQ40DE AWD, Nitto Dura Grappler P265/65R17, aftermarket radiator, Airlift 1000's, Bilstein HD rear shocks

not on the rug · Joined: 01 Jul 2013 Posts: 250

skinny2 · Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 5:11 am Post subject:

Just installed my 3rd set of Michelin LTX M/S2 yesterday. Just under 60k miles out of this set and they still had about 4/32nds. I thought about going with a cheaper tire but these have just performed so well over the years I don't think saving $100 is worth it.
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2008 Pathfinder SE 4x4

smj999smj · Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 10:50 am Post subject:

It's tough to beat the ride of the Michelins. That's my only gripe with the Nitto Dura Grapplers with which I replaced my Michelins. The Nittos have been wearing great and have been great in all kinds of weather. They've been reasonably quite, but they just ride harder than the Michelins. Money was tight at the time and they were $155 each compared to $208 each for the Michelins, so I don't totally regret the decision. But, whenever they wear out, which could take some time, I'll likely go back to Michelin.
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2006 Pathfinder LE VQ40DE AWD, Nitto Dura Grappler P265/65R17, aftermarket radiator, Airlift 1000's, Bilstein HD rear shocks

skinny2 · Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 3:25 pm Post subject:

Michelin usually has a rebate this time of year. It's $70 if you buy four right now. The best deal was at Sam's Club which has Michelin Radial X LT2's which appear to be identical to the M/S2 and $10 cheaper per tire plus you can still get the rebate. But my club didn't carry that size and they were not sure how soon they would get them in. My shop was $199 each for the tires plus I'll get the rebate. So not bad.
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2008 Pathfinder SE 4x4