Update on Micheling Agilis tires

[booster]

We have had the Agilis Crossclimate on our 07 Roadtrek 190P for 3 seasons and about 20K miles. They are oversized for the Chevy at 265/75/16 on correct offset 7" wide steel rims. The Agilis replaced a set of Michelin LTX MS2 tires that we really liked in every way.


Initially the Agilis liked a bit more pressure than the MS2s did, but after a couple of thousand miles it got to about the same pressure for best handling. I have been feeling like the handling was slowly degrading for quite a while, even checking the toe setting a couple of times to make sure it was correct. This year we hit a lot of very divergent temps on our trips where would see 50-60*F temp swings over single days. I suddenly realized that the handling felt significantly better on cold mornings than after it warmed up outside and the tires warmed up. I since have been experimenting with lower pressures with surprising results compared to what we have seen in previous tires.


On our fall trip we just completed I set the tires lower on both the front and rear. That gave us pressures of 71 rear and 58 front which is quit low for us even with the larger tires.



Handling improved quite a bit, and when we got a very warm day on the way home compared to the rest of the trip, the handling got a bit worse.


The Agilis have run a bit hotter than the MS2s since new, and might be a bit more now, but not a lot. We probably get an extra 3-5psi from the extra temp in the tires depending on the air and road temps.


We haven't hit a point in the colder temps yet that the reduced pressures felt bad or odd, so may have a bit more room to reduce pressures a bit more, but it does make me a bit uneasy and I don't have any idea if the whole thing is any real hazard or not. Discount Tire didn't have any idea on why it is happening either.



I think I will just keep dropping a bit more to see if I can get the warm end OK without compromising the cold end of the temp range we see on any given trip. Hopefully, all will be well and not a lot more extra wear of such.


The bit of extra smoothness is nice, but it does give me pause as to what tires I would buy next time. Hopefully, the handling vs pressure will level out soon and stop changing.



I know others have mentioned the higher pressure gains of the Agilis from running hotter. Has anyone noticed the handling being better with cold tires compared to hot tires?