Re: [Chrysler300] 300M Tires, Followup

["Keith Langendorfer" <langendorfer@xxxx>]

Folks:

All this 300M conversation is good...it confirms the fact that many of us
"took the plunge" on the revival of the letter car.

We ordered our 300M in early April, 1998, before details on the car were
clear (my brochure even shows "green on black" gauges, before they decided
to use the LHS "Retro" look). It was going to be our first brand new car
since 1980 ("Letter Fever"!). We checked the box for only two options : a
full size spare (I know how much replacement mag wheels can cost), and
something called "Performance Ride and Handling Package". We did not know
what this included, nor how much that option (nor the car itself) would
cost. When we took delivery in late May 1998, I was delighted to see that
this option cost only $255 extra (actually less as we paid "tissue" plus
$400) and that it eliminated the 118MPH limiter and brought the top speed up
to a 143MPH (more in keeping with the Letter heritage). This brought with it
the less attractive (in my opinion) 16 inch wheels and Michelin Tires
(again, we did not know what "checking the box" would mean).

We have had some significant issues with this "low VIN" car. This includes:
serious water leaks, electrical problems, front pads that are shot at 30K,
and a steering rack that decided to go bad shortly after the warranty
expired. It is also has more wind noise than our Audi (which has 200K miles
on it). Now, at 70K Miles, I think we have worked the bugs out. One issue we
have never had (thankfully, based on my review of the server messages!) is a
problem w/ the tires. The Michelins have been great and after they were
worn, I replaced them w/ Bridgestones (which I use on my tricked-out 1991
20V 200 Turbo Quattro) and they have been fine as well. All this seems to
lend credence to much of the dialogue concerning the Goodyears (which pains
me as someone who has always had good experiences w/Goodyear, including
Invictas, Eagle TA's, GT's and ST's).

Regards,

Keith


-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Miller <tfm@xxxx>
To: kdkblk@xxxx <kdkblk@xxxx>; Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; tfm@xxxx <tfm@xxxx>
Date: Sunday, December 02, 2001 5:44 PM
Subject: Re: [Chrysler300] 300M Tires, Followup


>Well gang, I did temp fate this afternoon and rotated my 300M's Michelins.
The car now shows 49,000 miles on the odometer (25,000 miles since I got the
Michelins, and 41,000 miles since the front of the car was smashed, reapired
and realigned). I'm pleased to report that she still goes straight down the
road with absolutely NONE of the dreaded shakes to be found anywhere between
0 and 85 MPH. I'd also say from the looks of things, these tires might just
have another 25,000 miles in 'em! Here's a link to them from Michelin's web
site:
>
>http://tires.michelin-us.com:80/catalog/tires/pilotxgtz4.html
>
>and here's a link to them over at the Tire Rack mail order place:
>
>http://www.tirerack.com/tires/michelin/mi_pilotxgtz4.jsp
>
>
>They're kinda pricey, but have been worth it. I'd probably buy them myself
if I had to.
>
>Best Regards to all,
>
>Thomas F. Miller
>300M, 300C
>
>tfm@xxxx
>
>614.975.4164 voice/page
>
>
>
>
>>>> "Thomas Miller" <tfm@xxxx> 12/02/01 10:45AM >>>
>Ken,
>
>I've had vibration problems with my '99 300M also. Here's the story:
>
>I purchased my 300M in November of 1998. It had about 80 miles on it as
the dealer I purchased it from had done a swap for another new car to a
dealer in another town. The car was built in August of 1998, had an
aftermarket spoiler on the back of it and was sitting right in the middle of
the showroom floor her in Columbus, Ohio at Bob Caldwell Chrysler-Plymouth.
Oh, the thrill. I finally get my turn in life and am driving a brand new
Chrysler 300!, and am driving it right off of the showroom floor no less!
It was a big moment for me.
>
>In May of 1999 with around 8,000 miles on the clock, I had the misfortune
of smashing the front end of my car. Hard. About $12,000 worth. Not hard
enough though to bend wheels, pop tires and the such. Hard enough though
that it was off the road for 6 weeks in the body shop. Frankly, I wanted
the car totaled, as I had leased it for 5 years and didn't want stuck with a
car that was beyond repair for the rest of the lease period. My trusty body
shop cam through for me though as the car looked straight and drove straight
without a lick of vibration or pull in the front end. I was pleased.
>
>In the fall of 1999 at around 18,000 miles I decided that it was time to
rotate my tires (still the original Goodyear Eagles). So, I put the car up
on four jack stands and and rotated my tires by swapping front for back on
the passenger side, and front for back on the driver's side. Here's where
my vibration problems began. things were really OK at highway speeds of
65 - 80 MPH. But, around town, at 30 MPH, a rather annoying shake would
cause the steering wheel to move back and forth about an inch! Puzzled, I
took the car to my local Goodyear dealer and dropped $40.00 on "lifetime"
balance for all four wheels. Now, my shake was gone at 30 MPH, but I had it
at 60 MPH. I took it back and talked to the tire dealer about it. They
balanced the wheels again, but this time broke the tires of the bead and re
positioned them 180 degrees around from where they were originally mounted.
Still no difference. I had the shakes at around 60 MPH. I was pretty
disappointed to say the least. Now what do I do? I'm certain that the
Chrysler dealer is going to notice that the car has been hit and tell me to
get lost, the Goodyear dealer hasn't a clue, so I'm feeling pretty screwed
at this point.
>
>A few months later at around 24,000 miles, I stop by to see my dealer
friend to see what's new a generally shoot the BS. He asks me how my 300M
is doing (knowing that the car had been smashed pretty hard) and I told him
how pleased I was with the car except for this annoying shake problem. He
looked at me and said, "yeah, we've had some problems with the Goodyear
tires. I'll have our service manager order you a new set of Michelins. "
To which I replied, "Oh, OK. Pro-rated on tread, right?" To which he
replied, "Nope, no charge to you, under warranty!"
>
>Three days later, my 300M had 4 brand new Michelin Z rated Pilot Z4s
mounted and balanced and my shakes were gone! Boy oh boy was I a happy
camper. Free tires at 24,000 miles! The dealership's service manager told
me that they had had numerous problems with the Goodyear tires. He said he
had one customer that he had put 3 sets of Goodyears on trying to solve the
"shakes" and couldn't make them go away until he switched that customer to
Michelin.
>
>I'm now at almost 50,000 miles on my M, and the shakes haven't been back.
I'm going to tempt fate today and go rotate my tires!
>
>As much as I like to "Buy American" I'm about done with Goodyear. We now
have Michelin tires on our 300M, 98 Dodge RAM pickup (40,000 miles with no
problems), and on our Maserati TC (Michelin MXV3 V-rated) with no problems
either. On the Goodyear side of things, my '95 LHS came from the factory
with Goodyears and they were noisy and I barely got 45,000 highway miles out
of them. My experiences with Goodyears on my '87 Shelby Lancer and '86
Turbo Daytona (both purchased brand new) were also marginal at best.
>
>For the life of me though, I can't come to grips with the science behind
what the heck threw my tires permanently out of balance just by rotating the
entire assembly front to back? Anybody have a hypothesis on this one??!!
>
>Best Regards to all,
>
>Thomas F. Miller
>300M, 300C
>
>tfm@xxxx
>
>614.975.4164 voice/page
>
>>>> Ken Krull <kdkblk@xxxx> 11/30/01 11:03PM >>>
>
>This summer I bought a 99 300M with less than 18,000 miles. Because of
>a shake in the steering wheel they replaced one tire then, because of a
>bad belt. Just had tires rotated and the shake is back. Haven't called
>the dealer yet. Have others had similar problems? Makes me wonder if
>Goodyear hired Firrestone's Quality control department. The tires are
>Eagle LS 225/55R17.
>Ken Krull
>New Paris, In.
>
>
>
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