Michelin XMLs -- anyone broken with/from them?

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Right Turn Clyde

Right Turn Clyde

Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Threads
39
Messages
148
Location
Logan, UT
I've read and read and read and read the threads....and need some final input on XML's.

I've got a line on some XML's in the 38". I'm wondering about life with them. I don't anticipate $ for 5.29s this year. I have the Marlin tcase gears. I don't DD it. I go to Moab and vicinity. I'm light on the right foot. 6" Slee. Flares are gone.

I'm curious if XML users have broken anything yet? Heard of breakage with them? At 115lb ea they're 40ish pounds more than the 35 Trxus I have now.

I like the Trxus (esp in N. Utah snow). And they are good in Moab. But they are wearing down, and I prefer to save them for winter use. And then use the Michelins for the other 9mon.

I would put them on 8" stock rims (since i have them).

Forgive the absurdity of even asking this, but I'm also curious what they did to users' mpg. :rolleyes:

RTC
 
No experience with an 80 but on the larger military trucks with about 5lbs of air they widen out and grip pretty well however an 80 may only weigh a 1/3 of some of the larger vehicles the tires were made for. They may stand up on there own with no air on an 80.
 
You'll likely be happier with a truer mud tire such as the BFG KM2 or the Toyo Open Country Mud Tire. They are also pretty bulletproof while having the grip you'll be looking for on rocks.
 
When you mount 115lb tires on a car that was designed for 40ish pound tires youre bound to break something. And that's without including wheels, which I assume would be of the heavy beadlock steel 16.5 variety. Im sorry, I have no experience with these, but if these cars start to suffer in the long run due to 315/75R16 mud tires that weigh maybe 70 pounds I dont wanna even imagine running these monsters
 
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Uhmmm ... So I guess the question still stands, though I feel like I've asked 'is running with scissors doing to get you hurt?'

So, has anyone actually put an eye out (or a Birf) using XMLs?
 
lugueto said:
When you mount 115lb tires on a car that was designed for 40ish pound tires youre bound to break something. And that's without including wheels, which I assume would be of the heavy beadlock steel 16.5 variety. Im sorry, I have no experience with these, but if these cars start to suffer in the long run due to 315/75R16 mud tires that weigh maybe 70 pounds I dont wanna even imagine running these monsters
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I wouldn't recommend putting a tire designed for a 16" rim on a 16.5" unless you looking to loose a body part when it blows off of the rim :hillbilly:



Haven't wheeled too hard with mine yet due to other problems i'm dealing with. I imagine I will break a birf sooner or later but i'm not that heavy footed when wheeling.

I have a few trail spares but I am going to upgrade to longs at some point.
 
Thanks, Al.

Did you get a beat down in mpg and braking with the big meats?
 
Right Turn Clyde said:
Thanks, Al.

Did you get a beat down in mpg and braking with the big meats?
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Not really since I already had steelies and 37's on before I went with the alloy wheels and the xmls...... it wasn't a huge difference in size or weight.
 
Don't know bout on 80 but talked to guy running them on chevy pick up he had nothing good to say other then the price he could get 4 of them for 150 bucks? Said Shiite mileage heavy and would break stuff he was using them primarily as a mud tire as in mud boggin hope this helps I guess there is a 43 tire from mich now also
 
ajax1 said:
Don't know bout on 80 but talked to guy running them on chevy pick up he had nothing good to say other then the price he could get 4 of them for 150 bucks? Said Shiite mileage heavy and would break stuff he was using them primarily as a mud tire as in mud boggin hope this helps I guess there is a 43 tire from mich now also
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Id take four of them for $150!!! Let me know if he ever plans on selling them!
 
Right Turn Clyde said:
I've read and read and read and read the threads....and need some final input on XML's.
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Greetings,
I was directed over to the 80 forums by my 80-driving friends to supply an opinion on a topic I am quite passionate about… Michelin Military tires.
I ran the 325/85/16 XML’s on my S/O BJ74 for many years. Here’s my thoughts.

My first advice is to get them siped. This will help with traction.

The rubber is actually relatively soft, and sticks to the rocks really well. I ran the XML’s over the Rubicon without lockers, and other than getting wedged into Volkswagen rock, never got stuck. The reason I had no lockers is because I twisted a rear axle on Walker Hill that jammed up the locker gear. Didn’t break the axle, but couldn’t engage the locker. Is this ‘breakage’ because of the tires, or because I was running 250:1 gearing through the one tire I had on the ground, wedged between rocks? The tire had the traction, can’t blame it for that!

I ran the XML’s sister tires, the XL’s, on Moab last spring , and was never wanting for traction. I think I spun rubber maybe three times all week. Great traction. The reason those tires are bullet proof is not because of rock hard rubber, but 4 layers of steel belting in the tread, and even a layer of steel belting in the sidewall. That’s why they are so strong! The rubber is a bit better softer than your average MT, I would say.

The only other thing I broke of note was a birfield. I was trying to turn around on a trail to go back and pull someone out of the mud… cranked the wheels to full lock, reverse, and with one wheel jammed in a rut, instantly snapped a birf. Is that because I had big heavy tires, or because I was at full lock in reverse with a tire wedged in a rut? That’s what I thought too.

Let’s get real. Your tires don’t break parts. How you drive breaks parts. The weight of the tire makes them hard to balance, but doesn't in itself contribute to breakage. The sticky tires and the 18" of leverage that your torqe acts upon may break stuff, but you can't blame your tire for sticking to the rocks! Drive accordingly.

The Micheling Military tires, especially the XL’s, but also the XML’s, absolutely come alive on gravel or dirt roads. They eat rough roads for lunch. This is what they were designed for, after all.

They are terrible on ice and wet pavement. Siping helps, but this is the big weakness. They are hard to balance. On dry pavement they are surprisingly good. Loud, but not ridiculous. They are radials, so the track nicely down the road. The rubber is soft, so expect about half the life of the all-terrains on your mom’s K car.

I destroyed one tire when it got peeled fully off a rim in a very bad situation. Never could balance it after that. I moved into Iroks for crawling and winter use, and the Michelin XL’s for expedition type trips. The Iroks are a superior tire for traction, for sure, but I’ve had two sidewall leaks in on my Iroks. I never had a flat repair in the years of running the XMLs (well, if you excuse the time when I yanked a tire completely off a rim!) I trust the Michelins with my life, and are my go to tire for expedition trips when my well-being may be at stake. The Iroks are for fun, and come with an accessory called a Tow Rig and Trailer to get them home.

Hope this helps.
 
Peter ran the Alaska Cruiser Trek a couple of times on the Michelins. To and from the Trek on the Alaska Highway as well. They served admirably in the muck of the marshes, and the wet rocks and sand/gravel of the river beds. When you get into wide fields of knife sharp shattered rock on a glacier or in the pudding pits full of superstaturated silt with the same rocks mixed in, you really appreciate the toughness of these tires.

Peter, when you siped the 53s, did you open up the voids as well? Tiny is finally climbing back on the radar here and I have been pondering what (if anything) to do to his shoes.

Mark...
 
Question for all regarding these tires and Peters comment on "Leverage" and the 80 axle. What im hearing more and more is that added leverage with lockers/larger stickier tires and bad situations.........may be causing more axle torsion/flex and contributing to side loads on the splines/ shafts causing breakage?

How much of this would be solved with say a beefier axle like the Ruffstuff with the 30spline shafts and ARBs (vs elockers)........or are the 30spline/longfields still going to be a weak link.????

It would be nice to stay with a fairly light Ruffstuff housing (compared to D60) if they would alleviate some of the side loading on the shafts and prevent a %age more breakage.
 
Mark W said:
Peter, when you siped the 53s, did you open up the voids as well? Tiny is finally climbing back on the radar here and I have been pondering what (if anything) to do to his shoes.
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I siped my 11.00R16's (38's), my 325/85/R16's (38's) , and now my 12.50R20's (41's). I never did sipe the 16.00R20's (53's). (Yes, I've owned a lot of Michelin military tires!)

But, I did groove up the 16.00R20's pretty heavily. I opened and cut in the existing voids, as well as cut two parallel center strips down the middle of the tires. I found that they open centers strips provided excellent side hill traction.
 
Duh...grooved, not siped. Yeah I knew that. ;-) I just could not remember of you widened the voids that were already there.


Mark...
 
Mtbcoach said:
Well said Peter, just picked up my first set (9.00R16's) for my 80.

I used 10 oz of air soft pellets in each and balanced well. I haven't had a chance to get them off-road yet, hope to do a big exped trip this summer with them...
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I briwdly had a set of the 9s but the looked too small for my SO mod. they are great tirea and a nicr size though.

I tried golf balls for balancing. didnt really work too well. It was amazing how worn out the golf balls were after just a few thousand kms.... worn right down to the rubber cores.
 
Mark W said:
Duh...grooved, not siped. Yeah I knew that. ;-) I just could not remember of you widened the voids that were already there.

Mark...
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i just depened them. I did not have a bit formy groover large enough to widen them in a single pass. I did cut the center lugs to make a single narrow center lug with a void on either side of it. those two center channels were all lined up lug around the tire. the freah sharp edgws on the lugs and center grove increased traction dramatically. after some experimentation i fould that 2.5 lbs air was perfect. Amazing traction. i am starting to miss that truck now...
 
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