Tire Post, what should I buy now?

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C

Cov man

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I got 74,000 miles out of my 265 75 16 4 ply Toyo Open Country AT's...now its time for some new tires..After searching "Sport Trac" in this forum, I found all these tires listed below in one post or another after only a couple pages of postsand its enough to make my head spin. Tire Rack's site doesnt help either as one review will say Tire X is the best tire ever and then the next post will be, "No, Don't buy Tire X, its crap...."



Unlike a lot of you guys, I don't do much rock crawling or offroad so traction in mud is not an issue although I do like the tire to look aggressive. My wife drives my daughter around in this truck a lot and my first concern is just traction in the rain as my wife has the tendency to whip around curves and on ramps at the same speed regardless of slickness, we do get the occassional snow here in Cincinnati so it would nice not to have to worry about them when the white death comes callin... I'm not too concerned about noise, getting decent wear is somewhat of a priority (I'm happy with anything that lasts at least 40k miles) and as far as cost goes, I don't want to break the bank if I don't have to, I can say I don't want elcheapo specials however.



Can you make some suggestions?









Here is a list that I got from various posts:



Hankook Dynapro rf10 ATM



Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs



Goodyear Wrangler Authority's



Yokohama Geolandars AT/S



Goodyear silent Armors



Falken High Country A/T



Definity A/T's



BFG All Terrains



Michelin LTX AT2's



LTX M/S's



Nokian Vatiiva



Bridgestone Revo



LTS A/T2



M/S2



Firestone Destination A/T
 
The BFG All Terrain is a bit more aggressive than your Toyo OC A/T. I have been through three sets of these on my '85 4Runner and they perform well for what I do and I get good life from them. They are quiet, at least in my experience. They do well on road in water. I think I have paid no more than $125 each and once got a set for $85 each (31x10.5-15, black wall only).



I am on my second set of the Revos on the ST and I like them. They are not quite as aggressive as your Toyos. I got them because I drive mostly street (80%), and off road for access to play areas, which often requires mountain road driving (I went with 265/65-17 to reduce the sidewall, retain the riding height and not mess, too much, with the acceleration (although, eventually, I did re-gear the differentials to 4.10 and that worked well)). With the limited slip and 4WD (and a good eye), they have enough traction for the off road that I do, handle the mountain roads very well (good for whipping those curves and ramps) and they are quiet. These ain't cheap - ~$175 each. The last time I purchased a set of five and got $100.00 off for some reason. I did not complain.
 
I have Cooper 265/75r16 tires they are very good in every condition I have encountered check them out cooper ATP at discount tire online

 
I like these coopers, the way they look. I care about rain traction most of all. Today I stopped by a goodyear dealer, he recommended wrangler armor trac, Tire Discounters was my next stop and they suggested Michelin's LTX MS and I had him price up the latest Toyo's which were Open Country AT II's... including mounting, alignment, balancing, etc, etc. the price from tire discounters was $999, $919, and $835 respectively. So all in all a very frustrating experience as thats a lot of money. I do like the looks of the new toyos but I don't recall how they were in the rain, they are crap now!
 
discount tire guy told me to check out this tire....



http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?ra=searchTiresBySize.do&fl=&pc=10806&counter=2&ar=75&rd=16&cs=265

 
Check Discount tire online you can get a good deal delivered to your door free.. Keep your eyes open. I paid $125.00 each for 4 and got a $100 rebate back in the Mail made it a real attractive deal $400 I mounted and balanced myself, I have my own tire machine and spin balancer.. these tires are like great in every weather I have encountered in the last year.. and wear like IRON.. 265/75R16 Cooper ATP and there made in Ohio..:soap:
 
I have had two sets of LTX M/S's. The first lasted about 85000 miles and the current one have about 45000 on them. Great tires...

 
Nobody can make your tire choice for you. You need to determine exactly what qualities you are looking for in tires.



If you do mostly freeway driving, you probably want something that is quiet with good mileage. Also you need to look at the Temperature and Traction ratings. It's hard to find a Truck tire that has a temperature or traction rating of "A"....and if they have a traction rating of "A" they often have lower mileage ratings because of the softer tread.



Most off-road, MS or All-Terrain tires have poor wet weather traction because of the large tread blocks, but you can have the tires Siped to improve wet weather traction...but it will cost about $10 per tire for the siping. I did that with the Goodyear Wranglers on my 2003 Sport Trac. It make a big improvement in wet weather traction.



I will not suggest brands or models of tires. You need to look at the Treadwear, Temperature, and Traction rating of each tire and see how that fits your type and style of driving. That will narrow your search and then look to other peoples reviews and opinions.



...Rich





 
You need to look at the Treadwear, Temperature, and Traction rating of each tire and see how that fits your type and style of driving. That will narrow your search and then look to other peoples reviews and opinions.
Click to expand...



Except that the grades are only valid comparing tires from the same manufacturers. Each manufacturer is free to set what standards/ baseline the grades mean.
 
Gavin,

The government sets the tire standard just like the EPA sets gas mileage standards. All manufacturers are required to follow the guidelines and standards in conducting these tests. The government cannot possibly test every tire, nor can they test every make and model of vehicle sold in the USA, but Tire makers must follow the standardized tests for rating tires which should provide an accurate comparison. Do some tire makers cheat? Possibly,...but I don't think they could make enough money to warrant the risk of Government fines and tire recalls, etc.



Just like Hyundai who the EPA said was inflating their mileage ratings on their vehicles. Hyundai, found a small loophole in the EPA's standard mileage testing procedures and used it to their advantage. Hyundai was not fined, but the EPA made specific changes to the standardized mileage test that would nullify Hyundai's higher mileage estimates.



I still think that Tire ratings are where you need to start...Then look at the reviews and opinions of others who have bought and used that tire. If the Tire maker is inflating his tire ratings, consumer dissatisfaction will show in the reviews and opinions of those who purchased those tires, and probably for all tires from that manufacturer.



...Rich
 
I've recently read tire reviews posted by consumers and I noticed that sometimes the reviews are not for the specific model tire I was researching. Some of the reviews were for the same general line of tires, i.e. Goodyear Wrangler, but not the specific SRAs I was looking for, but the reviews were mixed together. It also helps to see what vehicle the reviewer had the tires on, especially if they didn't like the tire. In that case the tire often was not a good match for the vehicle, or was an entirely different type vehicle than what I want the tires on. Make sure the reviews are relevant to your situation. If you're researching tires for a Sport Trac, Joe's experience with his Geo probably doesn't matter.
 
Well, I ended up taking Roamers suggestion and ordering the Cooper ATP's....Im getting them installed Friday... If I get to it before then, I'm going to do the torsion twist myself or else have my mechanic do it. Im wondering now if I should get some other new things, such as shocks, bearings, whatever else I might need to replace on a vehicle with 136,000 miles. I can't say that anything is currently wrong with any of those parts, it just might be a good time to do some stuff while the wheels are off? What do you think? And send me a link to whatever shocks you might recommend.. My concern with shocks is that I won't notice much of a difference. The truck isn't bouncy at all but I dunno...



 
If you have no indication that the bearings are bad, I'd leave them. Typical wheel bearings (2WD) are not expensive, but "hub" or "unit" bearings (4WD) can be. (Can't tell from your profile or your post whether you have a 2 or 4WD.)



If you have the original shocks, they are toast and you will notice the difference with a new set. I have tried the MonoMax and they were okay - a bit soft in the front for me. I now have the Rancho RS9000XL and I like them. They have adjustable damping (simple dial) and a $99.00 price tag, each. They are bit spendy, but you determine the driving characteristics and can change in five minutes, if you want.
 
Thanks, I have a 4x4, I can't spend as much as rich guys like you so Im on more of a budget. The guy at Summit recommended KYB
 
Thanks, I have a 4x4, I can't spend as much as rich guys like you so Im on more of a budget. The guy at Summit recommended KYB
 

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