OT: Truck Tires

[banffboy]

Time for new tires on my 2000 Silverado Z71. Used in all seasons. Any suggestions? Looking for good tread life and winter performance/all around use. ?

[Pozi]

An excellent all around tire is the BF Goodrich AT - KO. I used to work at a Goodyear dealership slinging tires and I went down the street to Discount Tire Co. to buy my tires there. ? It's the only truck/SUV tire I will buy for my daily drivers.

Discount generally as the best tire prices I have ever seen.

[Eagle426]

Check out www.nittotire.com they have some truck tires called the Terra Grapplers that are sweet. They have great traction and are unbelievably quiet with that tread pattern. Discount Tire Warehouse had them at $117 each for the 17" Ford wheels.

[Eagle426]

Not Discount Tire Warehouse:

www.discounttiredirect.com

www.wheelsforless.com

and also National Tire and Wheels in Wheeling, WV

[Eagle426]

I have heard a lot of great things about the Bridgestone Desert Dueler A/T REVO tire as well. I am just not sure about the Bridgestone/Firestone thing!

[banffboy]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm going with the BF Goodrich's AT/KO. ?

[live_to_ride]

I had those on my truck and they only lasted about 25k miles. They hooked up well off road, but they were a little on the soft side. Some people who drive like grandmas have had them last longer though. I hated the price to life ratio with those tires. Very expensive and short life.

[SMD]

Highly recomend Michelin LTX M/S. Just clocked over 40k on the Silverado with a set. No issues, great ride and wear.

Discount and Costco usually have a good deal around here. ?

[Chaindrive]

I have a set of BF Goodrich Mud Terrain T/A's (35" x 16.5) on my big crew cab Chevy 4x4 (the tires are 6 years old) that wear like iron and provide excellent traction.

The BFG All-Terrains are OK if you don't ever go off-pavement when it is wet and snowy or muddy. They are not good in any real mud and not as good in deep snow, but are a little better on ice because of the siping. If you drive gravel roads a lot, avoid all-terrain (siped) tires and stick with large lug mud-terrains if you want any life expectancy. Gravel destroys all-terrains quickly.

I tried a set of similar-looking 33" mud-terrain Coopers (Discoverers) on my diesel Dodge 4x4 and they suck!! One is already egg-shaped and impossible to balance after just 1 1/2 years. The tread life is lousy, too. They were a little cheaper than the BFG Mudders but I got even less than I paid for! They don't even have as much tread depth when new as the BFG's do after several year's wear. I'll never buy another Cooper tire; no matter how cheap!!

Pay the money for the good BFG's!! They have triple sidewalls, too.

[Eagle426]

How are the BFG's in reguards to road noise? Then again, no 35" tires are probably quiet! 6 years for tires is good, but how many miles approximately.

[Chaindrive]

As far as noise goes, the BFG Mud-Terrains are a lot quieter than the Coopers. Having said that, you should know that

1) I have bad hearing (VERY BAD if you listen to my wife; which I apparently don't... )

2) I drive an 18 wheeler for a living, so ANYTHING seems quiet in comparison

3) 300 watt stereo

As for miles (I knew someone would ask that): I honestly don't know. The BFG's were on my ol' rusty-trusty '75 Chevy @2 years and then transfered to my '88 crew cab over 6 years ago. For the past 2 years, the crew cab has not seen many miles since the Cummins' fuel mileage is twice that of the 454. [i keep waiting for someone to t-bone the Dodge so I would have a good excuse to put the Cummins in the Chevy, which is a WAY tougher truck: old body style w/ solid Dana 60 front axle, 205 t-case, custom leather & oak interior, custom suspension, etc. ] Prior to buying the Cummins-wrapped-in-a-Dodge, the tires saw a lot of miles as each Chevy truck was my only/daily driver. I allowed a bit for that by saying 6 years since I have had the tires in service for at least 8. (at least 40K would be my guess?). They ain't what they used to be, but are wearing very well and have some life left. I even bought 3 of them as blems (no white lettering; which I don't like anyway)!

I am a bit compulsive about checking tire pressure and rotating (a bad tire can really ruin your day in a semi), and I know of other owners who weren't as impressed with their BFG's, but they ran All-Terrains instead of Mud-Terrains and drove on gravel a lot, same as me. Like bike tires: I want the gnarliest and toughest truck tire practical. I hate getting stuck as much as I hate paying for tires!! I thought I would "save" a few bucks and try the Coopers on the Dodge; big mistake! Now I need new ones after only 2 years... Too bad the big BFG's won't fit.

The mathematical logic of fewer-revolutions-per-mile for the big tires might be a factor in their longevity, as well. ?

[PumpkinHumper]

I had the 32" BF goodrich AT's on my 87 chevy 1/2 ton 4x4(3" lift). They were good for a while. But after a few miles, maybe 20,000 they became really slippery in the rain. They still had plenty of tread but they would just spin when taking off from corners. I hated them. I switched to Mud terains and loved them. They were a bit noisy. They sucked in hardpacked snow. But in deep snow they ruled. I could push thru like 2' of snow with them.

I've been looking at the Bridgestone Revo's for the wifes Wrangler. They are the highest rated tire out there right now. Check out www.tirerack.com they have pretty good prices.