Favorite highway tire?

[TFin04]

I've come to grips with the fact that I don't need nearly as aggressive tires as I bought. I have a friend who is interested in my lightly used ST Maxx and I'm going to replace them with a much lighter, less aggressive tire that better fits my average use. It's a 2nd gen Xterra, daily driver, with 2-3 long trips per year that include a lot of sand and packed dirt trails. I can almost always avoid mud by going around the big holes.

I've been happy with Cooper in general, and drove on a set of Cooper HTP's all winter and was impressed with them. I'm leaning toward them or the Cooper HT3, and I know the Michelin LTX MS2 is what most highway tires are judged by.

Anybody else driving dirt with mild tires? What has worked for you?

 

[ultraclyde]

I'm running Cooper AT3s but haven't really had them on that long. So far I'm pretty impressed. I mostly run dirt roads and such, but they've done well on pavement, on the red clay roads when things were muddy, and on the woodland hill and dale I've crawled around on. They're C rated, so I don't know how long they'd last in rocky terrain, but I'm in south Georgia, so it's not a real requirement.

 

[aukaiiki]

I'm running narrow BF Goodrich AT tyres (245/80 - 17) (E Rated) on my 2007 FJ Cruiser and they have been excellent on the road and even on the road towing a 3000# popup trailer. We live in the PNW and we towed the trailer back and forth from western Washington to central Indiana.

I now have 40K miles on these tyres and I will replace them with the next generation of BF Goodrich AT KO2s.

 

[Explorerinil]

Nitto duragrappler, Michelin LTX ms2, Toyo at2 are pretty darn good on the road.

 

[Happy Joe]

For (grocery getter) street/highway/dirt-gravel (secondary, maintained) roads (only) BFG AT, or Goodyear wrangler AT if I can't get the BFGs.
For off/on road, highway/interstate use; camping and light to moderate (not difficult) wheeling BFG MT tires.

 

[exare1200]

It seems wrongheaded to put AT's on for a grocery getter. Michelins look solid, but why add huge tread and weight for highway driving? I haul loads of things long distances and then hit light gravel/sand/trail, still wouldn't put the AT's on because they're knobby and soft. My factory Dunlops are about done, need to get new tires, myself.

What am I missing in this argument??

 

[Airmapper]

I have Cooper AT3's (P rated) on my 4runner, they are just aggressive enough to look decent but not really all that off pavement oriented. They mostly haul me to work and back.

I rarely go off pavement, last time I did was a even with unpaved parking that got pretty slick, they did well, I idled through a spot where a huge diesel 2wd pickup about embarrassed himself rolling coal and winding it out to move. I just slipped it in 4wd and feathered the throttle with the new AT3's. (I didn't want to sling mud everywhere....)

I've heard other say they are a bit slick on wet roads, I guess I could agree. I've never felt they were unsafe, but I'm not driving crazy on wet pavement, but they will spin if I goose it, and 3rd gen 4runners are not exactly known for being peppy, unlike a 2nd gen X which doesn't roll, it moves the Earth underneath it.

 

[yfarm]

I have Michelin LTX ms2 on a Tacoma reg cab, great in the rain and snow, wear is great with 40k on tires with over half tread remaining. As tires have worn have developed low speed howl at 40-60 that decreases as speed gets over 70. Bad enough to consider replacing as truck is DD. Have Raptor with new ko2s that are quiet compared to Michelins. Have used some in mud, Michelins did fine.

 

[robert]

My last set of tires were Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armors; they held up well, were quiet and only gave me issues in red clay mud. They were definitely quieter and had better road manners than the Duratracs I've got now . The BFG Rugged Trails that came on the truck pretty much sucked all around.

 

[kpredator]

I am very happy with our
Michelin’s. Great tread life
Good luck
Kp

 

[ultraclyde]

It seems wrongheaded to put AT's on for a grocery getter. Michelins look solid, but why add huge tread and weight for highway driving? I haul loads of things long distances and then hit light gravel/sand/trail, still wouldn't put the AT's on because they're knobby and soft. My factory Dunlops are about done, need to get new tires, myself.

What am I missing in this argument??

The looks I guess. If you are a looks over function person, that's the ticket.

Personally, I ran Michelin LTX MS2s on a 2wd Explorer over every maintained secondary dirt/clay/gravel road imaginable and never got stuck or had a flat. Granted, there's no snow here though. They were awesome on the highway. They looked like street tires, but they served well. I only move to more aggressive tread (or vehicle equipment for that matter) when the current, mild setup keeps me out of somewhere I want to go. Some people prefer to work the other direction.

 

[Stumpalump]

I went from Km2 to MS2's on the 8000 pound E350 4x4 because I pull light trailers. It was night and day difference in handling. I do drive easy but the few times I've had to make evasive maneuvers the tire advantage was obvious. Dirt roads with a few rocky sections don't chunk the tires but I don't really "off road" the van. Soft sand or places that you need to dig need a major adjustment in driving style. Put it in 4wd early then a little wheel spin and momentum are needed. Back up at the first sign that you are digging in because the tread does not have to voids to throw dirt or claw thru much of anything. Michelins are the best compromise if you want a tuff tire that is a dream on the road.

 

[rruff]

I know the Michelin LTX MS2 is what most highway tires are judged by.

That's what I would choose. Not only for good performance and longevity, but better MPG.

 

[Happy Joe]

It seems wrongheaded to put AT's on for a grocery getter. Michelins look solid, but why add huge tread and weight for highway driving? I haul loads of things long distances and then hit light gravel/sand/trail, still wouldn't put the AT's on because they're knobby and soft. My factory Dunlops are about done, need to get new tires, myself.

What am I missing in this argument??

There is no argument the above are, simply, what I have found works for me.
ATs do not have "huge tread"... for that matter neither do most mud tires.
For significant off road warm dry conditions, ATs are barely (if at all) adequate, for me (based on many years of experience with many brands)...
Looks are meaningless, IMO.... Traction is everything(as long as the longevity is adequate)...
ATs typically get fair street life with fair mileage and fair street traction; thus, since no one can predict the future and the grocery getter may be called upon, in extremis, to do some light off road or some on road snow duty; ATs are the minimum tire for me... Note; your usage demands and preference may be different.

I use mud tires by preference because I don't care to change between multiple sets of tires on the same multi-use vehicle.

Cost, for me, is largely not an issue or I would be driving a moped...

Had Michelins in the past, they work in many cases; use what you want.

 

[TFin04]

Thanks for the input, guys. I decided on the Cooper HT3 which seems to be their best competition to the Michelin LTX MS2. I have been happy with Cooper's on three other sets, and these are a great price and come in a C load range which I think matches my needs well. I'll save 9lbs per tire so I'm hoping for a nicer ride, better mpg, and less road noise. Time will tell.