Tires

[Powderboy]

Ok, I know I could do a search on this but honestly this place is pretty dead. I figure I'm doing us all a favor by starting a topic that generates lots of debate.


I need to re-tire a 96 F250 PS. I have Cooper Discover 10 ply's on it and it rides pretty rough. I need a good winter tire that perhaps has some sidewall give so it tames this old pickup down some. Not sure what ply's were OEM but I had a brand new one back in the day and I don't recall it riding quite so rough.

 

[AndrettiDog]

There was recently a good thread on this topic in this 4M but I don't mind the conversation. I just went with Toyo AT2's on my 2007 Duramax. I wanted a year round tire that worked well in snow/ice and held up well in summer towing a fifth wheel camper. There are a lot of people that like the Duratrac but I was concerned with a few items. One, I had a hard time a finding 10 ply version although I'm sure they are out there. I've also heard that they have a tendency to "drift" as the compound is soft and tall so the tire tread can cause the vehicle to move around. I came very close to doing one of the Copper's or possibly the General AT tire. But I heard so many good things about the Toyo's I had to do them. I haven't been in much snow/ice yet so time will tell. They look good too.

 

[76xlt]

bfg a/t ko,s have treated me well for the past 10 yrs.under my cummins powered ford.lots of heavy towing. they do well in snow and ice.good ride and low noise.i have c rated 8 ply 33 /16.5,s and e rated 10 ply 285/16" .I switch back and forth depending on conditions. ive tried others and always went back.they are not a mud tire really. I will air up and down depending on use and load

 

[brandon227]

I just put a new set of cooper at/w 3 on the truck. These are an all season geared towards winter. Really loving the slick road traction. They are noisier than the hancooks that they replaced though.

 

[Vern]

Just put a set of 285/70-17 duratracs on my dmax because of all the reports on how awesome they do in the snow and that's the majority of use the dmax gets. They only came in a D rating for that size and they do seem a little squirmy, but I have read a few reports that the squirmyness goes away after you get some miles on them but only time will tell. Personally I'm not a fan of the generic "all terrain" tread patterns like the Toyo a/t tires and the likes. They do fine for tread life and dry conditions but I've never cared for there snow/mud performance. I also considered the cooper s/t maxx, and the new bfg at ko2 but the new bf isn't out in my size. I think nitto and Toyo also have a more aggressive all terrain out these days.

 

[arctic viper]

First thing first......you have a 3/4 ton diesel pickup, 1996 version to boot.....gonna ride rough.
Look at the weight rating of the tire not necessarily the ply.
Are you always going to be at the rated weight? If no, lighter ply. IMO it is always easier to air up the tire to rated weight than to air down a tire to a lesser load.
MT tires look cool....that's it. I run them, I like the looks.
AT tires look cool....and work better than MT on almost every surface.
Highway tires look_______. and work better on ice, snow, dry roads, wet roads.
I have run the Fierce Attitude MT (285/75/16, D rated) on an 01 Dodge diesel and loved them......once they were aired properly and broke in. ( I air my tires by getting a contact patch. IMO, all tires need a few heat cycles to release the molding agents and set).
I also have run the Toyo MT (37x13.5x18, D rated) on an 08 Dodge diesel. Great tire once aired properly and broke in.
Both of these tires do great in the slop, Fierce gets the snow nod from me
My next set will probably be the Toyo AT2. Great looking tire. Has to be better than a damn MT in the snow.

 

[rmscustom]

Michelin Ltx at2. 78000 miles on my last ones. Great on the ice/snow. So much better than the sets of good for a year (Goodyear) tires that would last 28000 miles. 06 2500 cummins.

 

[volcano buster]

I run a 2012 F150 for my woods truck therefore I run E rated tires for rock protection. I just pulled Toyo AT2's off after 42K because the wet pavement traction was gone. I figured if I couldn't get across a wet intersection without the traction control kicking in, they would be useless on slick winter roads. The tires had more rubber left but financially not worth risking them. I installed Cooper ST Maxx in a taller size (255/80-17). So far they have only run blacktop and glare ice. They do lean over a bit more in the corners so I have to slow down more than I am used to. Hopefully I get more than 14 months out of them.

 

[motodad383]

LOL "Good for a year". Aint that the truth. How did you get 28000 out of them

 

[summ8rmk]

good year duratrac 50% gone in 14,000 miles.
Absolutely the worst tire i have ever had on a truck. It takes about 5,000 miles to wear the tread down enough to get rid of the squirmy feel. And unless they are studded, the ice traction sucks.
I have mud tires that have better snow traction and last twice as long.

 

[rmscustom]

good year duratrac 50% gone in 14,000 miles.
Absolutely the worst tire i have ever had on a truck. It takes about 5,000 miles to wear the tread down enough to get rid of the squirmy feel. And unless they are studded, the ice traction sucks.
I have mud tires that have better snow traction and last twice as long.

Way to soft of a rubber compound or something. My biggest problem was with the gravel roads I run the lugs would chip right off and eventully rocks were puncturing them. Goodyears answer was they weren't wore enough to do anything about it. I guess 2/32" is considered good yet. $1200 JUNK. Put Michelins on and never looked back.

 

[Vern]

I've heard the duratracs wear pretty quick, but my dmax gets drove probably <5000 miles a year so they should last me a while. Tread life aside I'm hoping they'll perform ok, they seem to get pretty high praises so im hoping for the best. anything's better than the Bridgestone duravis m700s I just replaced. The Bridgestones lasted longer than any tires I've had before, but they were horrible for traction in anything but dry conditions.

 

[Dirty Steve]

Hankook Dyna Pro for me. On my third set over two different diesel trucks. They wear well for 40k plus miles, not noisy and work well in all conditions. Very good price on load range E tires.
I also think they look good.

 

[summ8rmk]

Hankook here too.
Only 2 places they don't do well, mud and wet heavy snow. Great on ice and dry powder. Great ride and long tread life 40k +.

 

[yamahahaha]

Put NITTO exo grapplers on my new Dodge its a 3500 longbox crew diesel. Have only put 1500 miles or so on it but they seem pretty good.

 

[Powderboy]

I realize an old 96 stroker is going to ride rougher than a new pickup. But it sure seems like the 10 ply Coopers are extra rough? Could be my imagination who really knows. The overall performance of this tire I've been very happy with. I considered the Duratrac's because sounds like the soft sidewall my tame this old ride down some.

 

[Vern]

What air pressure you running? Maybe drop a few psi, that should soften things up some

 

[AndrettiDog]

Michelin Ltx at2. 78000 miles on my last ones. Great on the ice/snow. So much better than the sets of good for a year (Goodyear) tires that would last 28000 miles. 06 2500 cummins.

Honestly, this is probably the best tire I ran on the highway. Best (lack of) noise, best ride, best on highway ice. They don't look great if that bothers you. But the reason I left this tire is that they glaze up like doughnuts in the parking lot when you need to drive through some crummy snow pulling a couple sleds in an enclosed trailer. No bite away from the plowed roads. Others might feel different but I couldn't do them again. They also wear really well (last a long time).

 

[summ8rmk]

Honestly, this is probably the best tire I ran on the highway. Best (lack of) noise, best ride, best on highway ice. They don't look great if that bothers you. But the reason I left this tire is that they glaze up like doughnuts in the parking lot when you need to drive through some crummy snow pulling a couple sleds in an enclosed trailer. No bite away from the plowed roads. Others might feel different but I couldn't do them again. They also wear really well (last a long time).

Same problem with the same tire.
I had a set on my explorer. i got stuck in my driveway when i tried moving my 4place. And towing my little 2place on snowy roads, it would literally push me sideways around corners. I put BFG allterain on and that 2place never pushed again.
Great hwy tire though. Probably could have got 90,000 miles on the freeway.

 

[ndC7M8]

Load range E Hankook DynaPro ATM, I believe it's ATM. Anyway, had a couple sets on 1 ton dodge diesels, really happy with them. They look really good I think for not being an off-road tire and work well all around.

Had a couple sets of Toyo Open Country MTs. They're nice if you're gonna be in dirt/mud/gravel fairly often, especially if you need to pull anything in those situations, but definitely not a nice highway tire. Too expensive to burn off just rollin down the interstate all the time. I stay away from the NITTO tires, because all your buying is a different looking Toyo. It's the whole basis of the company, Toyo basically created their own competition to generate revenue. A trail grappler MT and an Open Country MT are in the same league, but the Nittos are supposedly softer and wear a little more easily. They're just a side brand with cool looks to appeal to car & truck guys looking to be different.

I'd like to try coopers sometime I guess. Never heard anything bad about them....