Tire Question--I know, I know, this has probably been beat to death....

[Bouma]

Looking to get a new set of stock size all terrain tires. I am not an off roader however snow traction is very important. I will list the tires I am thinking about and concerns I have. I do pull with the truck so I can't run any big lug tire, from my experience they will not live long on the back of the truck.

Firestone Transforce AT-Probably out live some of the other AT tires, however traction in snow?
Firestone Destination AT-Probably good traction, however life and tread depth. These have 15/32 's of tread. THe others in this comparison have 16-17/32 's of tread.
Nitto Terra Grappler-Hear good and bad, not sure
Toyo Open Country AT2-Not much info
Cooper AT3 or ATP-Rated well, don't know anything abut cooper.
Goodyear Silent Armor-Treadlife, never had luck with Goodyear
MIchelin AT2-Traction,
BFG All Terrain-????

What did I miss?

Looking for the best tire not the cheap tire. From what I am seeing there is about $100 difference between any of the sets listed.

 

[spin05]

i just bought my truck and it came with Kelly tires safari model. Very impressed so far.The guy i bought the truck from said it was his 3rd set and had been getting 50,000 plus miles outta of em.

 

[JR]

The Silent Armors are no longer available but have been replaced with the GY Adventurer w/ Kevlar. Essentially a new and improved design with a 60k mile warranty. I ran a set of the Silent Armors and they wore better than any other tire I've owned on my truck.
They are also snow flake rated. Not many if any of those tires you listed are.

 

[Got HO?]

Throw the Hankook DynaPro ATM's into the mix. I stumbled onto these after having used Michelins and Bridgestones, and they have been excellent for me. Very good snow traction, quiet and reasonably long lived. About 50k per set. I'm on my second set now (Truck is for sale) and I can definitely recommend them without reservation.

 

[cerberusiam]

Ad the Falken Rocky Mtn ATS as another option. So far nice ride, good traction. and handling in a 34" tire. If they last more than 35k it s a win. Supposed to be a 50k tire but all of them that are SUPPOSED to be don't neccessarily do it on every truck.

 

[p-Bar]

Nitto Dura grapplers. More a street tire with a coarse tread . So far I like them

 

[Jim W]

I am using Michelins LTX M/S2 tires on my truck third winter with them on the truck. I have had no issues with them they seem to provide traction and stopping ability on the wet pavement and snow covered pavement. Oswego is 35 miles west of Chicago and we have received a decent amount of snow this year. I will use 4-wheel drive sometimes but most of the time it is in 2-wheel drive; too much scrubbing when I use 4-wheel on intermitted snow patches when driving.

Jim W.

 

[RDeFayette]

1st and foremost get somewthing with an "E" load rating.
seems that a lot of the DW issues are caused by a lower weight rated tire ie. "D" range tires.
then the DW goes away when the CORRECT "E" rated tires are put back on the truck.
Remember the Cummins weighs a lot and with the engine and all the other weight over the front end these trucks need/require "E" rated tires.

 

[Bouma]

I plan to get the stock size and will not get anything but a 10 ply. I stopped at the tire store around the corner from my house to order BFG All Terrains yesterday. They asked me to rethink it. They said they have never had luck with them. This is a small, vey small store where the owner and one other person are the only people there. They suggested Mastercraft Courser C/T's. They said they are a heavy tire that will hold up. They run them on a fleet of F350 diesels that plow in our area. Any experience with these? Look more aggressive than I had in mind. Snow traction? They are much cheaper then The BFG I planned to get. I need to buy tires this week do to a long trip planned this coming weekend pulling a trailer in the snow.

 

[JR]

MasterCraft is a division of Cooper Tire who IMO makes a good quality tire. The only experience I have with Coopers on my truck are the set that came on my former 00 when I bought them, and they did not wear well at all. That being said the P.O. also had 8 ply tires on it, no good in my book. Any other Coopers I've ever owned I've had good experience with.

 

[jgillott]

I had one set of MasterCraft tires on my former '05 Silverado work truck. They were much cheaper than any name brand tire at the time and I gave them a try. Absolutely the worst set of tires I've purchased to date. Not only did they wear out in less than 15K miles, they wore very rough and uneven even with constant rotation and several attempts at banancing them. Don't waste your money.

Another from your list that wouldn't suggest is the Michelin LTX AT's. We had 2 sets on our '04.5 and they didn't wear well. Great traction when new, but not up to the treadwear standards that we have come to expect out of a Michelin tire. Less than 30K on both sets if I remember correctly.

I do have a set of the LTX MS 2's on my 1/2 currently. They are wearing quite well and offer really good traction on ice and light snow. I put a lot of miles on that truck and I appreciate the tread wear so far. They aren't very agressive in the mud and or deep snow, but you can get by. Those tires on my truck also see a lot of rough gravel access roads and so far, I haven't seen any problems with the sidewalls etc.

I am on the second set of Firestone Transforce AT's on my '07. The offer OK wear, I think I got over 40K on the first set and only removed them for the winter. They could have gone at least a few more thousand miles on them. Very good in deep snow and mud. I'm sure I will buy another set when these wear out.

 

[JR]

jgilliot what u described as your wear problems are exactly how the Cooper ATs wore on my truck... I wrote it off as it being due to the fact they were 8 plys and I worked that truck alot, but could never understand why they wore so uneven. I drove myself crazy trying to find something wrong with the front end of that truck, and even had 3 alignments done within a year thinking something was out of wack. I replaced those with a set of 10 ply GoodYear Silent Armors and never had a tire wear issue again as long as I owned that truck which was well beyond 350k miles

 

[jgillott]

JR, I'm not happy that you also had that sort of trouble with those tires. But it does make me feel a little better knowing that I was not the only one. I sort of blamed it on the GM IFS set up when it first happened, but it looks now like it was tire quality.

 

[RDeFayette]

FWIW,
I had Cooper Discoverer H/T's (50k miles warranty) on one of my '03 got 85k miles out of them.
After I aligned the front end (have access to a FEA rack) -0- problems with the tires.
just checked air pressure rotated every 6-7k miles and that was it.
Haven't touched the front alignment since.
BTW, I will not let anyone touch the FEA.
unless it wasn't done correctly in the 1st place, something wears out and gets replaced or you hit something (curbs, potholes, etc) FEA's don't wear out. They aren't brake pads afterall.
Ir the tires are wearing ok or not all leave it alone.

 

[Shadrach]

I had BFG All Terrains on my truck when I got it. Most of my driving is on highway but living where I do I do drive in snow but felt, for my personal liking, that I wanted something a little less aggressive next time. I ended up getting BFG Rugged Trails with the chrome 6 spoke stock rims from the dealer as take offs. They cost me about the same as 4 new tires alone would have. They came with chrome hub caps and nuts and were already filled with Nitrogen. I am happy with them. David

 

[JJPage]

Nitto Dura grapplers. More a street tire with a coarse tread . So far I like them

These have my interest...in an 18" x 35"

 

[Bouma]

Ok, so sounds like people have had issues with Coopers. However I killed Goodyear Silent armors twice. Once in under 10,000 miles (replaced by goodyear under warranty) and wore down to 2/32 nds by 24,000 on the next set. They have all worn smooth and flat. No chuncking, not overinflated or underinflated. I had Michelin LTX M&S tires and they were worthless unless sunny and 70 and all pavement was dry. I have Firestone Transforce AT's on it now and they are around 35,000 on them. Could go farther if summer, but winter in Michigan isn't going to let that happen. I dont want oversized tires, cost too much in front end parts and fuel, guess I grew out of that. SO, BFG All Terrains are out, Cooper is out, Goodyear is out, Firestone has done the best so far, Toyo would be worth a try but the only dealer here selling them is Belle Tire and I wouldn't buy a gum ball from them (terrible experiance with them and many others I spoke with) Running out of idea's, need an all terrain tire thats good in the snow and lasts under a diesel that tows. Also I need them this week! Help!

 

[JR]

Bottom line, stick with what works for you. Most people on TDR trash GY but I've owned 2 sets and they are the best tire I've owned. Lots of variables that are thrown into each opinion. Stick with what you know and you will be fine.

 

[Bouma]

Bottom line, stick with what works for you. Most people on TDR trash GY but I've owned 2 sets and they are the best tire I've owned. Lots of variables that are thrown into each opinion. Stick with what you know and you will be fine.

I get it. Just surprised at the Cooper issues. Did you know they discontinued the silent armor? I stopped at the goodyear store in town and they said they could still get some but they no longer make that tire. Loved the snow traction of it. Just sick of getting let down by tires. Ill let you know what I end up doing.

 

[JR]

Yes, Silent Armors are discontinued and replaced by the Adventurer. Same basic composition with the Kevlar but with improved mileage ratings. They are also snow flake rated.