Gearheads: Looking For New Tires- What's Good?

[Jellybean]

So, I'm honestly not much of a tire connoisseur, and reading reviews on the tire buying websites is driving me mad as in typical internet fashion, there is no good info, just the usual "everything is awesome" to "everything sucks about them" review range.

I've had a few lined up I thought would work, but either they seem to have very low mileage before needing to be replaced, or you've got other issues like folks complaining about blowouts and such.

I'm kind of stumped here, so I figured I'd tap into the M4C gearhead hive-mind and see what you guys think.....

Specs;

2003 Ford Explorer EB 4WD
265/65 17 size (yes, I want to keep the larger size)

Desired properties:

I drive a lot of highway miles back and forth to work (60-75MPh is the norm speed range). That being said, I live in a rural area, and also do a lot of driving on gravel as well. I'll be putting around 15k miles or better on these things in a year, easy, so having a tire that is long-wearing is also a preference.

I do NOT want just a plain ol "city slicker" tire. :p
I DO want something with a little more traction to it- something that can handle the highway driving, but also is "better than average" in wet/muddy/snow conditions.
The poor handling/traction of my previous vehicle's tires in inclement weather the last couple years has brought this concern to the forefront, and I definitely want something better in this area.

I guess maybe more along the lines of what would classify as a "light truck" / "mild off-road" tire?
So, something that seems to be around the realm of a Hankook DynaPro ATM RF10 (look awesome, cheap, but doesn't seem to have good mileage warranty/wear specs), Continental CrossContact LX20 (seems to have good snow rating, also cheap but have seen some "catastrophic malfunction" complaints on top of the usual "wore out in five minutes" complaints), or Michelin LTX A/T2 (seems to have decent manufacturer ratings, but expensive, and still consumer complaints of poor wear and dry rotting and apparently terrible in snow).
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuu.......!:bad:

Price range; I really don't want to spend more than $700 for a set of 4.... I'd like to spend less if I can help it...
Of course, if it's the best damn tire on earth for what I want, well, go ahead and list it anyway...

Ideas input and suggestions?

:help:

[Hank6046]

Falken Rocky Mtn ATS's, love them for the price. I have a 2007 Nissan Xterra that I do a lot of highway driving and can still get around 20mpg, at the same time on the weekends I'm driving down some old rutted dirt roads to get my dog out into the woods. I also love these in Snow, the only issue is Black Ice type conditions of Minnesota, but not many tires really excel at those conditions. I was going to get some B F Goodrich Tires Rugged Terrains but for the money the Falken's do an awesome job.

[Eurodriver]

I loved my BFG A/Ts before I started wearing a suit and ditched the truck. :o

[Honu]

had good year silent armor on my truck and they did a awesome job my buddy also had these and had good luck with them :)
also they are a true winter rated and were awesome in the snow !!!! actually shocked at how good they were
I used to come back from the islands and teach snowboarding in the winters so for a Maui dude who now lives in AZ I had a ton of time living in the mtns driving around :)
I had more mud tires and bfgoodrich AT and the silent armor blew these away by a mile in the cold stuff

which might be worth looking into since you mention inclement weather and figure you get snow there in the winters ?
for sure a on/off road tire but mine were very quiet on the road

they might be more with the pricing but again check out true winter rated tires maybe ?

I run good year wrangler dura trac these days nice off road tire that is good on the road also

[Honu]

almost all the off road guys here get tires at discount tire shop and get the road hazard and have never had issues getting replacement
which is a nice insurance if you do any off roading and worrying about hurting side walls etc...

[VooDoo6Actual]

Hankook Dynapro AT-M are superb.

http://www.hankooktire.com/global/light-trucks-tires/hankook-dynapro-at-m-rf10.html

[jstalford]

I have General Grabber AT2s on my Jeep and they are pretty sweet. Long wear rating and awesome in the snow. Also cheaper than some other options. Read a bunch of reviews and on forums and they seam to be generally well regarded.

[MBtech]

I've had Kelly Safari TSR on my 2003 S10 ZR2. Appx 70k miles out of the last set, rotated every other oil change (6k). I really like them, they do great in snow, mud, off road and the truck goes where I point it. I will say they'll get a little noisy after a while from some cupping/feathering on the edges. That bothers some people but I really don't care as it is my work truck. My other choice would be BFG A/T.

[TacticalMark]

Toyo A/T2's http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/open-country-at-ii-on-off-road-all-terrain-tires, BFG A/T's are good also.

[Tigereye]

I've got the Toyo's on an F150 and the BFG's on my Jeep. I like them both on (mainly) and off road.


Toyo A/T2's http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/open-country-at-ii-on-off-road-all-terrain-tires, BFG A/T's are good also.

[wildcard600]

the goodyear duratrac gets pretty rave reviews from the DD jeep crowd -

https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/wrangler-duratrac

IMO, however having a second set of wheels with offroad tires with normal street tires on the primary wheels is the best way to go if you have to DD your offroad vehicle.

[Shorts]

Cooper Discoverer AT3
Running 285/70/17s on a Ram 2500 4wd diesel. Great tire so far. Impressed with their grip on wet slick streets. Haven't had much time off the pavement yet but they were purchased with the intention to be road friendly with light AT capability, good mileage, reasonable price.


Been through BFG AT, BFG AT/KO, Nitto Terra Grapplers, Toyo Open Country. The Toyo AT2s get great reviews and were second on my list to the Coopers as far as being a good tire, but wasn't a fan of their aggressiveness for an AT. My options were more limited in Load Range E for the size, but you should have easier pickins.

[MAUSER202]

+ 1 on the Dura tracs, they are an awesome dual purpose tire. I have also had 3 sets of the BF Goodrich all terain and you can't go wrong with those either.

[C-grunt]

I'd stop by a Costco tire shop and talk with them. They don't get paid on commission and will tell you what they see come back in a lot.

[HD1911]

Kelly Safari TSR or Toyo Open Country A/T II

[Watrdawg]

I've had 2 sets of Duratrac's on my GMC 2500 and love them. I'm getting between 45K and 50K miles on them. Getting ready to put a 3rd set on in a month or 2. If I had to make another choice it would be the Toyo AT's. They were what was on my truck when I bought it and they did a pretty good job both on and off road. Only reason I changed was the price. The Duratracs were cheaper and had just as good reviews.

[philcam]

BFG KO2

[JBecker 72]

I just got a set of BFG AT KO2's and have about 500 miles on them. Initial impressions are good, but that's the case with most new tires. BFG has never steered me wrong with truck tires though.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s73/hownowbrowncow_02/Cars/15E69C62-5DC0-4706-AD04-F4B0447560DD_zpsodavo67b.jpg (http://s149.photobucket.com/user/hownowbrowncow_02/media/Cars/15E69C62-5DC0-4706-AD04-F4B0447560DD_zpsodavo67b.jpg.html)

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s73/hownowbrowncow_02/Cars/9C7A6BD4-C82D-403F-AE74-A0B1A6CD87BC_zps8cf377wl.jpg (http://s149.photobucket.com/user/hownowbrowncow_02/media/Cars/9C7A6BD4-C82D-403F-AE74-A0B1A6CD87BC_zps8cf377wl.jpg.html)

[CRAMBONE]

Hankook Dynapro AT-M are superb.

http://www.hankooktire.com/global/light-trucks-tires/hankook-dynapro-at-m-rf10.html

Mine have been awesome. I have 70,000+ miles on them. Mine are E rated because my truck is a 3/4 ton but they ride reasonably comfortable for what they are. Sometimes I wish the tread was more aggressive but the. I wouldn't have gotten the miles out of them that I have.

[brickboy240]

I always run BFG All Terrain KO's on my 4WD pickups. Have a set of 34" All Terrains on my current 2012 GMC 2500 and love them.

Ran BFG AT's on both my Tundras and my old Silverado.

Ran the Toyo Open Country AT's once and they were good tires for the price but wore down awfully fast in my opinion.

[VooDoo6Actual]

Mine have been awesome. I have 70,000+ miles on them. Mine are E rated because my truck is a 3/4 ton but they ride reasonably comfortable for what they are. Sometimes I wish the tread was more aggressive but the. I wouldn't have gotten the miles out of them that I have.

Indeed mine as well. I have found the other tires mentioned here were too soft in their compound composition & wore out far too fast including GoodYear, BFG, Pirelli, Toyo, Falken et al. For those critical thinkers it's all about the $ & consumerism as a Economic model so it's in the best interest of tire companies to make tires that ONLY last so long & NOT last 70,000 mi. as yours & my experiences have shown. The Consumer Driven Economic Model concept of "Planned Functional Obsolescence" still hasn't sunken in to many Americans yet. Think outside the box in Computer Virus updates, upgrades new APPLE products such as redundant iPhone models that really offer no real technology upgrades but a shiny new name & case, new Viruses created for new Vaccines etc.... It's all part of the BORG's "Technocracy" & it wants your SOUL & the SOULS of your young & unborn....

HUGE clue: You want a softer tire for OTHER (i.e. inclement of weather) road conditions ? Let a small amount of air out until desire effect acheived then remember to put back in or carry solar or battery air compressor.

[JBecker 72]

Well, I agree for the most part, however a softer tire isn't necessarily a bad thing when it comes to performance, especially off road. There is always a trade off with tires. Do you want better grip and less life, or less grip and longer life? I figure I spend enough time on trails, dirt roads, and snow that the trade off is worth it.

YMMV

[interfan]

I'd stop by a Costco tire shop and talk with them. They don't get paid on commission and will tell you what they see come back in a lot.

Very good advice. They can usually order something that isn't in stock locally too. It's also nice to drop the car off for a tire rotation while shopping, rather than wrenching at home.

[brickboy240]

I would NOT let workers at Costco, Wal Mart, or Sams touch my vehicles.

I actually like my vehicles and want them to last a long time.

[Honu]

costco guys are actually very good costco hires good people and pays them well and not like walmart who seems to hire rejects and not pay them :)




I would NOT let workers at Costco, Wal Mart, or Sams touch my vehicles.

I actually like my vehicles and want them to last a long time.

[krisjon]

BFG A/Ts are all I have run for years and years on my dual-purpose 4x4 SUVs and trucks. Great traction on and off-road and good on the freeway. Plus, with rotations, I have no trouble getting 50k+ out of them.

[brickboy240]

Yep..I get 50k easily out of a set of BFG AT KO's on my trucks. Rotate them every 5-7k and don't do anything too crazy and yeah...50k miles is no problem at all.

[six8]

These (http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?ra=filterTireProducts.do&fl=&pc=18339&counter=0&ar=65&rd=17&cs=265) are good

[just a scout]

BFG AT KO. I got 100k off the last set on my jeep. Great traction on/off road, good on street. Great in chicago winters. I highly recommend them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ForTehNguyen]

just look up the class of tire you want of your vehicle and they are ranked by category, under surveys

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=265%2F&ratio=65&diameter=17

[Jer]

For me personally (after decades of first-hand tire testing on dozens and dozens of vehicles owned) the ONLY tire I run on 4x4's is Duratracs. The ONLY tire I run on sport sedans is Conti DSW's. In my personal experience these two offer the best all around performance in any season (I've lived in Nebraska & Colorado that have all weather conditions to consider) with the best road noise, longest tread wear and lowest price. Sure some will do certain aspects better at a lower price or some come close at a higher price but these two tires are all I go with now and I've been happy with every set I've owned.

(since we're posting pics...)

Duratracs:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PWgfuKox4hQ/VSRxgrINPhI/AAAAAAAAMMo/bkEYv9J8bxg/s1440/20150407_173419.jpg

Conti DSW's:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VgQ1IBSI_kQ/UHiKjuTjhyI/AAAAAAAAF50/HQ5aoTSVHc8/s1280/IMAG0514-1.jpg

I've got plenty of pictures of past vehicles with them but these are the two I have now with those tires. They don't make a DSW in a size that will fit my beater Hyundai Accent so I have a set of Pirelli's on that whooptie. That tire is just okay and fits the needs of that application but I wouldn't recommend them highly or anything.

[JBecker 72]

I almost got Duratracs instead of the BFGs this time. But got a great deal on the BFGs through a friend. $180 a tire delivered to my door was too good to pass up.

Nice Taco BTW.

[BIGUGLY]

Hankook Dyna pro, love the ones I have on a Sequoia, work great in the winter, good road manners and performs well in fields too.

[Jer]

I almost got Duratracs instead of the BFGs this time. But got a great deal on the BFGs through a friend. $180 a tire delivered to my door was too good to pass up.

Nice Taco BTW.

Thanks. I paid about $150 per tire (265/75/16 Load C 6ply) a couple of summers ago. Find a local Chevy/GM dealership that can order tires. A few times a year they'll match a written estimate plus give you a $100 mail in rebate. I had a buddy that works at a tire shop prepare me a quote for a few bucks over cost. Took it in and got them to match and tires were installed later that day and rebate came a month or two later making the tires cheaper by far than I was able to get anywhere else. For me, even if it's a few bucks more it's money well spent based on all the elements I listed above. My truck is supercharged and I drive like an a-hole on concrete and also live in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and spend time wheelin' too. This means I need a tire capable of true all-terrain, all-season performance and the Duratrac has never let me down. From mud to snow to racing sports cars that aren't ready for the Brown Streak these tires really do do it all. Guys on the Tacoma forums are even seeing 75k+ miles out of a set of them. I guess if you live in an area where snow/ice performance isn't a concern or you aren't worried about road noise (this can vary GREATLY from tire to tire) or don't care about wearing out a set of tires soon you can get something that's cheaper or does the things you need better but I'm hard pressed to recommend a tire that does EVERYTHING better than this tire does at a killer price/tread wear ratio to boot. I know I sound like a commercial right now but when you get as old as me you gain wisdom that soon becomes your only benefit to the rest of the world so I'm trying to do my part for society I guess. lol

[brickboy240]

I can get 65k miles easily, out of a set of BFG All Terrains.

That is on a 3/4 ton diesel GMC 2500...a heavy pickup that can actually haul things! LOL

Unless you never rotate or drive crazy....you should get as good or better mileage out of BFGs on smaller, lighter trucks.

PS: for our sedans....Michelin Super Sports are the only way to go.

[sjc3081]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=LTX+M%2FS2&partnum=665TR7LTXMS2OWL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes
This tire is great 70,000 mile warranty great on highway, wet, rock and dirt. i use them on my Tacoma also run the LX 20 on my wives Lexus and they are very good highway rain and snow tire.
A feature is love about the LX20 is that is has a very deep recessed rim flange. It is nearly impossible to scratch your wheels against a curb.

[Caeser25]

I have General Grabber AT2s on my Jeep and they are pretty sweet. Long wear rating and awesome in the snow. Also cheaper than some other options. Read a bunch of reviews and on forums and they seam to be generally well regarded.

They only have a 2ply sidewall, bad for towing and off roaring(if applicable).

I was pleasantly surprised by the mastercraft courser hsx that came on my jeep grand Cherokee. No problems whatsoever through the snow and ice this winter.