going back to stock tires

[EricBu12]

After having 2 different types of AT tires, the BF goodrich AT. . TA, and a off-brand AT tire that is like a halfway between a At and a MT called Wild spirit DTX. I have 13K on them now and they are wearing very badly especially when I tow a 10K trailer... .



I am going back to my origional tires I had when I got the truck. the Michelin M/S E rate 265/75-16



I have heard of most of you getting 80K on these tires and with the fuel prices the way they are, I need every advantage I can get... .



I had the tires before I bought a trailer and I know they are good but what is the full experience with these? any good off-road? Ice? snow?



TIA.

Eric

 

[GIT-R-DONE]

Eric, I have got 35,000 miles on the truck right now. The tread is about 1/2 wore ( Michelin's) As far as snow /ice goes... . not really had any problem with them. I have been thinking about what tires I will replace them with in the future. I probably will put on either the sock Michelin's or maybe try the Cooper Discover tire. I have had them before and got good wear and mileage out of Cooper too.



I tried the Goodyear Wrangler A/T on a First generation truck I had before and only got 15,000 miles out of them and they were JUNK.

 

[Tomscreek]

Well, I've heard many high mileage reports on the stock Michelins but I sure didn't like them. They were wore out at 30,000 miles and were the worst traction tire I've ever seen. Spin the tire in snow and you were done. I drive a curvey paved secondary road a lot so I've never got real good mileage out of any tire but these were lousy tires in my opinion. I have B. F. G's AT now and like them. Looks like they'll go 40,000 and they have good traction.

The michelins are probably a good tire for straight highway running and towing.

 

[bpenrod]

I have the stock Goodrich Rugged Trail AT on mine, seems to be the best factory tire I have had yet. It has decent off raod traction and is wearing well. As expected the on-road traction is great.

 

[GIT-R-DONE]

I wonder if there are different grades of tires that would be the reason why some go 50,000 and others wont last 30,000. Maybe different compounds or what makes the difference? I don't believe the driving style is that big of a difference. Granted, doing burnouts is one thing but every day driving should'nt be the cause for 20-30,000 mileage difference in tires.

 

[Cowboy Medic]

35,000 (x2) on the factory michelins. Decent tire for highway but slipped like crazy especially with the duals whenever I was on any wet stuff, snow, ice wet grass, you name it. I had two sets, with the generals below in between. The second set I used because I got them for $50 a tire when a friend bought a new truck and right away switched to BFG's



Got some real cheap General Grabbers. They lasted about 19,000. Better traction, but wore terrible. would only use them again if someone paid me to put them on.



First set of BFG's AT's I got 45,000 out of. Awesome traction. I actually felt like I had a chance when it came to bad weather. (i. e. snow)Pretty quiet on the road. Interstate I cannot tell a difference between any of the tires for handling or for road noise, but on the dirt roads, out in the fields, and in the snow and ice the BFG's walked away. Granted some of that is that they are an AT tire versus radial, but to get better life on top of the improved traction was enough for me to put the same BFG's on again last friday. 6 tires for $746 at Sam's Club. I had a friend that mounted and balanced so I feel like I got a good deal. 235/85/r16's had to be ordered in I placed the order online on monday and picked them up on friday. Costco was like $60 dollars more for the set and most other tire delaers were $150 or better more than what I paid. Throw in their mount and balance prices and I was looking at almost a thousand dollars. Definitely like the route I went better.

 

[BarryG]

Eric:

I got 62k out of my stock Michelins. I would have got probably another 20k or more out of them based on treadwear pattern but due to bad alignment and improper inflation they were toast (or in other words my laziness to correct becasue I hated them). So I did get decent mileage out them all things considered but they weren't good in the rain, the snow or the mud. As long as it was dry on/offroad they did ok. I switched to Bridgestone Dueler REVO's and have been quite happy with them. It looks like I will get 50-60k out of them. They are far superior in rain and snow to the stock ones they repalced. In mud they are much better but are not great.

 

[EricBu12]

I went ahead and got the stock tires... . I am in the snow country but not in the wilderness so most of my driving will be fair weather.



I tow a 10K trailer and I want the best mileage for that, again with the fuel prices and all. All towing if poss. will be fair weather and any off-roading I do, will be dry as well. (hate cleaning mud from underneath... )



So I got a pretty good deal at Big-O ... $970 out the door. they were a little higher than discount tire but I got a quote from them online and big-O matched it.



Great buch of guys there... able to talk to them and hang around the bays watching them and bs'n... like TDR Guys!



Anyway, thanks for the input,

Eric

 

[Tomscreek]

"I wonder if there are different grades of tires that would be the reason why some go 50,000 and others wont last 30,000. Maybe different compounds or what makes the difference? I don't believe the driving style is that big of a difference. Granted, doing burnouts is one thing but every day driving should'nt be the cause for 20-30,000 mileage difference in tires. "



I've pondered this a lot and I'm convinced driving style has a LOT to do with tire wear. I never do burnouts and I drive very easy and I never get real good tire mileage. I think that paved curvy secondary road just eats tires, along with a fair amount of town driving.

 

[ChillyDog]

I have well over 60,000 miles on my BFG AT's and I am sure they have a good 20,000 left in them before they are shot. It sure is strange how there are such huge mileage differances in the same tires.

 

[Guest]

My Michelins took abuse like no other, excessive burning and you name it, I had 20000 miles when i sold them and they still had plenty of life as long as they werent abused like I did to them...

 

[John - K5AWO]

Anyone used the Big O brand? I am looking at their top of the line 16" tire for my dually.



I have had extremely good luck with their 15" premium tire (the ones with the wide center tread and rain grooves) on a Lincoln and a Suburban (15"). Both experienced new looking tread after 2 years use before I lost them in the big D I V O R C E . . . .



I value quietness and smoothness almost equally with wet traction running a tie. The two tires mentioned did good in mud and snow considering they were street treads and I didn't get real stupid. ie, 4-5 inches of snow and maybe 1 or 2 inches of mud a short distance.



I was thinking that with the 4x4 and caution, I should be okay. My last dually was a 2x2 and in the mud, it was a sled... packed up the treads and between the tires. No go real fast.



99. 5 percent of my driving is on dry pavement. Hasn't rained in Arizona Desert since 1992 !! well a couple times it wet the hood since then <grin>

 

[JR2]

Remember that tread life is dependent on a bunch of stuff. One of the items that seems to get overlooked a bunch is what your roads are made of. I remember reading in a thread on tire wear a while back the the folks in CO. got way less miles on there tires since the rock in there pavement was granite...



By the way, I have about 42K on my stock tires and they will have to be replaced before winter. I am going to look at Toyo's.

 

[Dell (WA)]

Eric... ... ... ... . donno about others, my original 1995 Goodyear AT's? 16-245 (E) on my 2wd 3/4T w/AT got 98K miles before I replaced them in 2000 for a trip from Tacoma to Los Angeles hauling my Son off to College. I replaced them with Les Schwaub's house brand AT 265's (D). I have just hauled him back after graduating from Univ So Calif and I now have +60K on Les's and look likes they'll go +30K more. I bumper haul +7000# livestock trailer +200 miles several times a year.



Biggest cause of low tire milage is under inflation/overload.



2nd is road surface, (I went thru a set in 10K miles on Big Island of Hawaii driving volcano based asphalt). In 1959, I was shocked that my '52 Ford V-8 needed new tires at 10K but my Dad said his job cars never got more than 5K, he was a backcountry land surveyor. Later the company machanics would complain that he was too eazy on his trucks 'cuz his tires and brakes were never serviced before manditory trade-in for new vehicle (50K) He was daily commuting on pavement 100mi each way.



3rd cause of low tire mileage is driving style, I drive my Dodge pretty much like I drive my BMW's. (yeah, my BMW 2002 has a little more gitt-up and go, but its a 1969 with 380K miles and 165hp non-standard engine and gitts 100K on tires nowdays, thankyou) I love the twistys, but I'm smooth. You think yer smooth? try driving with a full buckett of water on yer floorboard. How much ya spill-out? (tip: use a catch-basin) ... ... ... ... ... Dell, who is always amazed at low tire milage complaints

 

[Muleskinner]

M/T Baja MS tires

I replaced my stock 265 75 X16 Michelin tires at 48,000 miles with Mickey Thompson Baja 305 70 X 16 tires because I wanted a larger tire. The truck rides considerably softer, as the tires work well with 35 pounds rear and 45 pounds in the front. The tires are noise free. On the road the truck tends to wander a bit more than it did with the stock tires. After having the new tires for about 5,000 miles, I believe I will downsize to a 285 75 X 16 when these tires wear out. Not sure how happy I am with this large of a tire on the truck.

 

[Turbo Thom]

I change to Toyo from Cooper and am a little disappointed in the milage I see now. At 28K on these I might have 12K left. The Coopers get good milage but road hard. The Toyo is just softer rubber, I guess. The wife has Michelins on her's, a 2500, and it's doing a fine job. Good wear and they balance very well. I was told I need to go to a steer tire. We'll see.



. . Preston. .

 

[HOCummins04]

I had the stock Michelin LTX AS on my 01. Great tire on dry pavement. Wet pavement in the hills of West Virginia another story. Wet grass was worse. One time with slushy snow on the roads I just about slid off the road down a 30 foot bank. Pucker factor was high for a few seconds. I was not going that fast.



On this truck, I went with the BFG AT, and so far they are worlds better. With only 1600 miles on the clock, no indication of longevity. Traction is superior in every way.

 

[duaneparks]

Originally posted by JR2

Remember that tread life is dependent on a bunch of stuff. One of the items that seems to get overlooked a bunch is what your roads are made of. ...

I have to agree John. I hear of people getting 60K out of BFG AT's. My BFT AT's are almost to the point of needing replaced at 32K miles. Inflation was proper, balance and alignment are meticulous. My stock Michelins only lasted 22K under similar conditions.



Factors I believe affected the life of these tires:

My right foot (both accelerating and braking)

Weight of the truck

Driving in stop-and-go traffic

Curvy roads

City streets with tons-o-patchwork

Most streets/highways were concrete (limestone?)



I didn't haul enough heavy loads or tow heavy trailers to significantly affect the wear. These tires have more surface area than the stockers (295/75's vs 265/75's), and deeper tread.



Duane

 

[bpenrod]

The last set of BFG AT's I had I bought at Discount Tire with the road hazzard that gives you free rotations. Those guys hated to see me coming! I was driving around 1000 to 1250 miles a week so once a month I was in there for a rotation. I had 50k+ when I finally swapped them out.

 

[bpenrod]

Sorry, after thought, there are also two different compounds used in that tire, an aftermarket softer one and a harder OEM one. A 31 10. 5 OEM on a truck has the harder rubber. My buddy has an S-10 highboy and found that out when he went to replace one tire from a puncture.