Tire advice

[Chris Boling]

I have 138,000 miles on my '05 and it's time for the 3rd set of tires. I do more miles on the highway than anything else. I replaced the original set with Nexen's at 67.000 miles. What would be a good choice now? It's been a while since I have shopped for tires.



BTW still getting 19.5 MPG on the highway unless I hook the boat to it, then I get 12.



Thanks for any advice!

 

[Mark K 2]

I had Michelin LTX's for 70,000 miles and replaced them with Cooper Discoverer CTS. Smooth ride. Great traction in rain and snow.

 

[Robert Howell]

I have been using the Nokian WR G3 SUVs for the last few years, it is great for up here as we deal with 6 months of snow and ice. These are an all weather tire, I have used winters and summers for years and have been impressed with this tire's wet/snow traction and it's decent wear and ride characteristics.

 

[Ken Hibbs]

I've had the Cooper AT3 for almost a year on two trucks, and I am very pleased with their performance in dry, rain, and tons of snow.

 

[Gavin Allan]

I have been very pleased with the Cooper CTS tires I put on my Trac a year ago. They are quiet, smooth, and great traction and handling. I usually get BF Goodrich Long Trail T/As for my vehicles, but I could not ignore the very low price of the Coopers I got from Sears. They had a Cooper rebate. Sears had a discount. Free shipping. and I got a bunch of bonus points on my savings card from Sears. The final price, mounted and balanced was a little over $100 per tire. These tires have not disappointed me at all, and are showing very little wear.

 

[Jeffksf B]

I've been happy with my Firestone ATs

 

[Sorin W]

Michelin LTX ms2 / have warranty for 70,000 miles and they are awesome, very smooth ride

 

[Rick Kent]

2wd in NC I would not go with AT tires. I am on my 2nd set of Firestone Destination LE (replaced by LE II) tires on my 02 ST. Good wear, good ride and not a lot of road noise generated, good reviews by the pros and consumers.



If you want an AT the Destination AT also gets really good marks and the price is not too bad.

 

[Gavin Allan]

Something makes a chill run up my spine when folks talk about Firestones on their Explorers. Seems like messing with Mother Nature or the forces of evil or something...

:rofl:

 

[Rick Kent]

No need to worry about bad juju.



The Firestone issue was really more about the vehicle and tire combo. The issue was exclusive to the Explorer, Mountaineer and the Mazda Navajo.



The Explorer of the era was over weight from the original specs for the tires, Ford was telling customers to (under) inflate the tires to 26 psi (to soften the ride, compensate for the narrow wheel base).



Under-inflate, overload and over heat a tire and it will fail. The narrow wheelbase of the Explorer made it prone to roll over even during early testing before production started in the 90s.



Ford was so concerned they resumed their relationship with Bridgestone, parent company of Firestone within a year or two of the controversy.

 

[Duane Foster]

My '02 Sport Trac has Firestone Destination LE tires. No complaints 99.9% of the time. They perform fine under all conditions except ice and packed snow. 8" of snow, no problem. But as soon as the plow goes through, the truck won't stop or steer at all. Shouldn't be a big problem in NC, though, unless you're in the mountains.



I'm a big fan of the Goodyear Wrangler SRA. (There are several Wrangler tires. I'm talking only about the SRA.) Had 'em on my '94 Explorer, put a set on my son's '97 Mountaineer, and have a set for the ST. Ran them last winter (in Iowa). I took two 100 mile road trips in snow storms with no problems at all. (It wasn't snowing when I left either time. I caught up with the tailend of one storm, and drove into a surprise storm the other time.) I'll put them on again this winter, then switch them to the other wheels for fulltime use in the spring.