I just got a quote from tires plus.com for the Michelin cross terrain suv tires for $156.00 each. That is for the factory size of p265/70r18. That is better than tirerack.com at $181.00 each. Sounds like a great deal on what I've been told is a great tire. Any input on quality or pricing would be of help to me.

Great tires. I'd go for it. You will notice a huge postitive difference over the stock conticraps. ;)

How can you feel the difference between the conti's and the Michelins?

How can you feel the difference between the conti's and the Michelins?

Michelins have more lateral support, for better tracking and handling. They are quieter, softer ride, wear longer, better traction. You can compare them if you like on Tirerack.com. The contis are basically junk. My 305 wide All terrain tires on 20" rims are a smoother ride and quieter than the contis. Biggest bang for the buck upgrade in ride quality you can make is to change tires. ;)

I couldn't belive the diffeence on my Mada after almost 40,000 on the stock Conti's, I just replaced with Cross Terrains. It's like driving a new Mada, soft ride and great stability. I have 3000 miles on them with a 600 mile trip towing a 6000lbs trailer and it was worth the money spent already. Nissan dealer had the best deal I could find, $199.00 per tire w/ $60 in mounting and that included 2yrs of road hazzard warranty. Not cheap but sometimes you do get what you pay for.
:)

I just recently bought a 2006 SE Armada and I like to replace my stock contis but still keep my nissan stock rims. I want to replace the tires with something wider tires for looks and also because I heard going wider improves the handling. So is it possible to keep my nissan rims and replace my contis with a wider tire? If so how what is the safe tire width size these rims can accept?

Thank You!

Xterrian immpressions:

I never had the opportunity to ride with the Contis as My 04 was bought from a dealer who had already switched to the michelins. They were fairly new, the sidewall injection nubs were attached and fairly long. put 24000 km on the xterrains ansd offer my experience

ride is getting better, I have found that michelins soften as the age. the truck tracks straight and true ( although there is a bit of bump steer due to the stiff rear suspension).
xterrains are no substitute for a proper winter tire, they do a great job in deep snow but can be a little dicey on slushy, patched ice. Would suit a subruban warrior who does not drive off off major urban / suburban raods. just take it easy on the back roads.

lately, probaly due to tread wear ( about 1/2 gone ) i have noticed that roads with alot of standing water are causing a bit of hydro planing, nothing too serious, but something to watch for as the tread wears further.

In Oct/ Nov i'll be switching to the Revos for a better snow clearing tread and will post with updates of winter performance

I just recently bought a 2006 SE Armada and I like to replace my stock contis but still keep my nissan stock rims. I want to replace the tires with something wider tires for looks and also because I heard going wider improves the handling. So is it possible to keep my nissan rims and replace my contis with a wider tire? If so how what is the safe tire width size these rims can accept?

Thank You!

Stock rims are very narrow. I think you can get up to 285 on them. Problem is, they don't make any tires in the correct sizes. 285-65 is perfect, but I haven't seen any out there. That's why I changed rim diameter. There may be one now but I don't know of any. :(