another tire thread....opinions?

If you use the search function, there have to be dozens - if not hundreds - of threads on this topic on the forum. It's an unscientific analysis, but the majority of the responses seem to favor some variation of the Michelin tires - usually the Defender series. That's what's going on my truck when the Generals need replacing (though they've been a good tire, too).

Rob

I had TA/KO's on my F350 SRW and I liked them but I found that I got tread chunking as the wore down. I switched to Michelins (like you have). Never expect great mileage on any truck tire. especially when towing because it won't happen. Best I've ever got was 45K and the tires were shot.

freewayrandy wrote:
I have a '15 Chev 2500 D/A and at 25000 miles the OE Michelins are getting thin already. I live in the Sierras and deal with winding roads, snow and ice a lot. I was considering BFG AT KO2's but am starting to hear stories of separations. I do need an E rated as I pull the rig in my signature. Looking for opinions, suggestions and experiences. Thx.

With snow and ice in the picture I'd look for an "All-Weather" tire with the 3 peak mountain snowflake symbol and a good tire tread wear warranty.

AT's I've found with a warranty and snowflake are:
Yokohama Geolander A/T GO15, 80K kms for LT, 18/32 tread depth
Cooper Discoverer A/TW, 80K kms for LT, 16/32 t.d.
Nokian Rotiva AT Plus, 65K kms for LT

These ATs have the 3 peak mountain with snowflake symbol, but come with no LT Tread Wear Warranty AFAIK
BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2
Toyo OpenCountry C/T
Nitto EXO Grappler AWT
Nitto HD Grappler
Kumho Road Venture AT51
Hankook Dynapro AT-m
Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac

Good luck.
I'm leaning toward the Yokohamas.
Locally they can be had at a reasonable price.

brulaz wrote:

freewayrandy wrote:
I have a '15 Chev 2500 D/A and at 25000 miles the OE Michelins are getting thin already. I live in the Sierras and deal with winding roads, snow and ice a lot. I was considering BFG AT KO2's but am starting to hear stories of separations. I do need an E rated as I pull the rig in my signature. Looking for opinions, suggestions and experiences. Thx.

With snow and ice in the picture I'd look for an "All-Weather" tire with the 3 peak mountain snowflake symbol and a good tire tread wear warranty.

AT's I've found with a warranty and snowflake are:
Yokohama Geolander A/T GO15, 80K kms for LT, 18/32 tread depth
Cooper Discoverer A/TW, 80K kms for LT, 16/32 t.d.
Nokian Rotiva AT Plus, 65K kms for LT

These ATs have the 3 peak mountain with snowflake symbol, but come with no LT Tread Wear Warranty AFAIK
BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2
Toyo OpenCountry C/T
Nitto EXO Grappler AWT
Nitto HD Grappler
Kumho Road Venture AT51
Hankook Dynapro AT-m
Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac

Good luck.
I'm leaning toward the Yokohamas.
Locally they can be had at a reasonable price.

I've become a convert for the Hankook Dynapro. My F150 had a set on it when I bought it and I stuck my nose up and figured I'd get Michelins when they wore out. But they ran until they had more than 65,000 miles on them and still could have gone further. Though I hadn't experienced any hydroplaning, I was planning a trip and wanted new rubber and there was a sale as well. Put the Hankooks on it again. The best tires are the ones you don't have to think about. Reasonable price, reasonable traction off road, reasonable road sound and I never really had to think about them. YMMV.

I have KO2's on my 12 Ram 2500 CTD. So far they're wearing fine. I wouldn't say they'll ever get me 50,000 miles though. Probably closer to 40K. About 1/3 to 1/2 of my miles are towing. I will say that they are frickin awesome in the snow. Definitely helps to have a big ole diesel over the front tires while running in 4wd.
As far as towing goes no issues either. I tow a 5th wheel.

I have over 46k miles on my current LT LRE OEM tires, BF Goodrich Rugged Trails. They aren't close to being worn out. There is still plenty of tread left. Over 1/2 of those miles have been towing.

SidecarFlip wrote:
I had TA/KO's on my F350 SRW and I liked them but I found that I got tread chunking as the wore down. I switched to Michelins (like you have). Never expect great mileage on any truck tire. especially when towing because it won't happen. Best I've ever got was 45K and the tires were shot.

freewayrandy wrote:
I have a '15 Chev 2500 D/A and at 25000 miles the OE Michelins are getting thin already. I live in the Sierras and deal with winding roads, snow and ice a lot. I was considering BFG AT KO2's but am starting to hear stories of separations. I do need an E rated as I pull the rig in my signature. Looking for opinions, suggestions and experiences. Thx.

For snow and ice: Treadwright Kedge Grip. Had to guess on your size (2015 Chevy 2500 had at least three different sizes available), but HERE is one of them. Having used the Wardens, they are excellent A/T tires, and superb in snow and (with Kedge Grip) ice.

jkwilson wrote:


...
I've become a convert for the Hankook Dynapro. My F150 had a set on it when I bought it and I stuck my nose up and figured I'd get Michelins when they wore out. But they ran until they had more than 65,000 miles on them and still could have gone further. Though I hadn't experienced any hydroplaning, I was planning a trip and wanted new rubber and there was a sale as well. Put the Hankooks on it again. The best tires are the ones you don't have to think about. Reasonable price, reasonable traction off road, reasonable road sound and I never really had to think about them. YMMV.

Do you tow with that F150? I see you also have an F250.

Reason I ask is that a lot of these winter and all-weather ATs last long when lightly loaded, but do not get very good treadwear when more heavily loaded. Their rubber compounds are just too soft I guess.

brulaz wrote:
Reason I ask is that a lot of these winter and all-weather ATs last long when lightly loaded, but do not get very good treadwear when more heavily loaded. Their rubber compounds are just too soft I guess.

I have to politely disagree with that.

I have 52,000 miles on my Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs on my 3/4-ton Burb.

About 20,000 of that is heavy towing during the summertime, at almost 90% of maximum load rating on the rear tires. You can see my rig below. Another 10,000 miles of that is pulling a 3500-lb cargo trailer. So more than half the miles on the tires are towing.

They do have some road noise, and were a PITA to balance (the Goodyear shop tried three times and failed, then the Firestone dealer got it right).

They're smooth and stable up to significantly extralegal speeds - triple digits, GPS verified. Just experimenting while we were out West. Completely unstoppable in bad weather - snow, ice, no hydroplaning in heavy rain, etc.

I'm debating going one more winter on them, or replacing them this month. About 5/32nds of tread left.

On my Denali, I wanted more of a road tire, since it rarely leaves the pavement. I just got a set of Michelin Defender LTX tires at Costco. Seems to be the near-unanimous king of the hill tire for trucks. DD has it up at college in upstate NY, so I wanted her to have a good highway tire, with good winter capabilities. From what I've seen, those tires should last 70,000+ miles.

I have KO2's on my truck right now and from a performance standpoint they're awesome. I doubt they'll wear great but I got a really good deal on them so that's why I went that way. My two other top choices were a Toyo Open Country AT2 or Cooper ST Maxx. Frankly they are probably both a longer wearing tire than the KO2s but at the time I bought were significantly more expensive.

Tire performance is all about compromises. If you want really long treadwear you are going to give up performance in some aspects. With where I live and how I use my tires, treadwear is not as important performance in adverse conditions. I ask my tires to do more than roll down dry blacktop.