New member seeking recommendation on tire selection

I've searched and found many threads on tire, but nothing came close to answering my question. My recently acquired 04 2500 4WD has the original rubber (Michelin LTX A/S as you all know) which is due for replacement. I tow ocasionally (approx. 8k#), and looking for more agressive tread for light off-road and snow with good wear limits and maintain an "E" load range index (no less). Rickson seems to be the norm, but out of budget for know. Here's what I came up with in no particular order:

1. Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S LT265/70R17

2. Toyo Open Country A/T LT265/70R17 (looking into the new 10 ply LT285/70R17 P/N 310480, but concerned about affected performance and effective ratio reduced to 3. 5 - stock ratio is 3. 73)

3. Hankook Dynapro MT RT03 LT265/70R17

4. Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor ProGrade LT265/70R17

5. Bridestone Dueler A/T Revo LT265/70R17



Any recommendations on which is best and what to stay away from.

Thanks !

 

Sounds like for your traction & ride requirements, you might look to the BFG Allterrain. I believe you can get it in a load range "E" tire as well. I've been running this tire for 41K miles on my '05 4x4 CTD. It's quiet, wears even, is beautiful in snow and mud laden trails and wet grass. I need a little more aggressive tire though so will be replacing these with a set of Cooper Discoverer STT or BFG Mud Terrain runbber? My All Terrains are only about 65% at 41K miles, even with a few burnouts on them :-laf so it may be awhile before I get around to it.



-Ryan

 

You will hear all kinds of opinions, different things are important to different people. I like Michelins because they are perfectly round, most are not. Wheel weights won't correct an out-of-round tire. I also like the fact that they require much less wheel weights to balance them. They wear well, you get to wear them down as far as you like. They do not separate like so many do. They are a high quality tire and you will pay for that but you get it back in longer wear and a smoother ride. Look up the JD Powers report and see the report on over 500 tire stores in the midwest. Customers had complaints on all brands except Michelin which had no complaints. Mine have the "E" rating (LTX M&S 265s) Original are 245s. They are about an inch greater diameter and make the truck about a 1/2 inch taller. When you go 100 miles the odometer will say 96. No big deal. They fill up the wheel wells a little better if that is important to you. I found some aluminum wheels (2 inch offset) and put on some black plastic fender flares and I like the way it looks. I hope the 4 inch wider stance makes a difference in stability, I can't really tell. -- email address removed --

 

I gotta throw my vote in for BFG A/T's also. They rock out in the snow and wear quite nicely.

 

Don't make your decision without checking out Pro Comp. I have Xtreme AT's on my truck now and love them.

 

I had a set of the bridgestone Dueler AT Revos on my 95 Ram and loved them. Good grip, great in the wet, and good tire wear.



When the stock tires on my new truck wear out I will buy another set of the Bridgestones.

 

On my former 92 truck I had michelins that had over 100000 km before I replaced them with michelins. The new truck came with BF Goodrich, but when the time comes the replacements will be michelins. Yes, they are fairly expensive, but they run very well on the highway and last a long time. That is my experience.

 

i replaced the stock michelins with toyo open countrys in the stock size-

265-70-17 load range e. they work reasonably well off road and seem to be

wearing very good. i now have 22,000 on then and they still look almost new.

 

Ive had a set of bf goodrich a/t seperate on me and so has a friend. Guy at tireshop says those tires dont hold up well to really rough gravel roads. Seems to be true.

Be aware .



P. s ive had the toyo a/t on my truck fer 50,000 kms not too bad .

 

tires

I would go with Procomps or the BF goodrich. Procomp has a buy three get one free deal going on this month.

Mike

 

I've run Toyo AT's and BFG AT's, both good tires, both gave good mileage. The BFG's did outperform the Toyo's in snow and mud. Fuel mileage was about the same. My next set will be the BFG's again.



CD

 

305/55/20 Nitto Terra's :-laf



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I've got the Procomp Xtreme A/T's also, and have been happy. Last I knew the BFG A/T's were NOT available in e-load range.

 

Thanks guys ! As far as I know, the BFG AT KO is only available in C range up here (go figure on that one). I've looked on the US site and they have the LT265 in E range (P/N 55086). I praised them in the winter, I had a set on my GMC. The new Toyo AT and their LT285 is not yet available here in E range, however it is quoted on their web site as P/N 301480. The Canadian Toyo Rep says it should be available Q1 2007. I'm just not confortable downgrading to an 8ply tire when the vehicle was certified with a 10ply tire. Just the engineer in me not wanting to compromise on vehicle performance, capability, capacity and safety.



Any comments on the Toyo M/T LT295/70R17 and the drop in effective gearing (3. 50 vs 3. 73:1) one might expect, and not counting a whopping 320$ a pop ???. This ain't gonna pass with DW.



BTW, sharp ride CBradford !

 

I am also trying to decide what to replace my stock Michelins with. The one thing I don't like about them is the sidewall flex. I thought it was the truck until I put a set on my Grand Cherokee and realized that it is the tire. I think a stiffer tire would increase steering response and stability. I would not trade those things for a significant loss of ride quality though. The perfect tire would be quiet, long wearing, great wet and snow traction, and great steering response. I'd even give up some of the long wearing part and maybe even a little in the cost department for the other issues. I don't see getting any tire that is less than a load range E for our heavy trucks.

 

I had the same concern but it is not anything anybody should be concerned about. Michelin makes the sidewall that way to produce a better ride. They carefully guard their secret methods. Their machinery is covered with sheets of some kind to keep tourists from seeing their machinery when they do allow a tour. My "E" rated look like any other tire as far as the sidewall is concerned. you can run 80 pounds or air if you need to. I run 70 in mine and would not go below 65. A Schrader or Milton air gage is what I use. The cheap stuff is not always accurate. -- email address removed --

 

The Revo is hard to beat. I have them on a Durango and a Jeep Cherokee and have found them excellent in rain, snow and ice. I will be putting new rubber on my Ram next week and it will be 265 load range E Revos.



It is my understanding that the 285 by 17 Load Range E will be available early summer of 2007.