Tire Recommendations: Mostly highway miles + some offroad

[Sonoran Explorer]

i know michelin wasn't listed in your OP but since we drive similar vehicles I will add my two cents for what it's worth. I drive a z71 suburban and got 80k miles on a set of LTX A/T II (size 265/70r17), mainly paved but some dirt, mild 2wd/4wd roads & off-road. i probably had another 3-5k worth of life left on the tires but a big multi-state trip left me feeling safer replacing them than taking the risk of leaving them on at that late point in their life. They wore like iron and rode very nice, and quiet. only rotated a few times, never checked the pressure and only added air when the TPMS told me a tire was low = nice way of saying these tires were basically neglected for nearly five years and they still out-performed all other tires i have ever owned. my extended family on my side and my wife's side all run this tire on full-size 4x4s and have all had similar experiences. Good luck on your search & choice..

 

[Falkon]

Casey,

Buy the Coopers with confidence. Im a dad of two as well, and hitting some bad weather on pavement in some MT's just didn't seem like a scenario I wanted to encounter.

I got 45k out of my Cooper Zeons before I sold them, they had at least another 10k left.

- Chuck

 

[jforse]

I have BFG a/t's on my 2500 Ram now and love them on that truck. 90% on road with snow and some light off road. I Run BFG m/t's on my Cherokee that is 50% road 50% trail and they work ok. The GY MTR/K I have on my TJ have been flawless.

 

[Revco]

I love Coopers. I had some ATR's that went 70k+ and still passed state inspection, no noise, good traction on road, good gravel traction, good wet weather traction, and good for light offroad use. I'm running Nitto Terra Grapplers right now, they seem very comparable to the Coopers in my opinion. I've got about 15k on them so far and no complaints, they don't even look like they have 5k on them.

 

[4D55 Performance]

I recently bought some BFG Rugged Terrain tires for my 2005 Duramax and I have loved them. They are very quiet but they have have handled great in the snow. I have been impressed. They also look really good. They are a newer tire design so they have all the latest technology as well.

 

[arveetek]

I recently bought some BFG Rugged Terrain tires for my 2005 Duramax and I have loved them. They are very quiet but they have have handled great in the snow. I have been impressed. They also look really good. They are a newer tire design so they have all the latest technology as well.

I was really looking at those tires too, but I decided I wanted something with a bit more aggressive tread. I agree, they look like really good tires for a daily driver.

Casey

 

[martindc1]

I've put around 200k on BFG AT KO's on a Cummins Dodge with a job I used to have. I'd drive all day then put it in 4wd and drive for miles through rock quarries and coal mines. The terrain was usually steep, the substrate was either high clay mud, loamy, jagged rocks, snow through creeks you name it. I'd get my job done, turn around, drive back to the highway then put it back in 2wd and head home. We tended to get a lot of miles out of a set, like 50k or so. We could have got more miles out of them but at that point traction in the clay mud started to suffer. The size was 285/75r16 on an 8 inch wheel.

 

[67jeepster]

I've had two 1500 4x4 suburban/Yukon XL a '94 and my '03. I put Michelin LTX m+s on them each set has run over 100k with normal rotations. Mostly highway and towing some dirt. If your doing high mileage I'd seriously look at the LTX tires. My current set is pushing 120,000 miles and the tire dealer said I should look at a new set this summer. And they are fairly quiet and I really like them in the snow and rain they are very predictable. ( wife sleeps across Nebraska at higher than normal speeds) if you do check them out go for the LT not the Pmetric. There's my .02

Tony

Ps that means I've bought them 4 times

 

[Joeprunc]

I sorry, but I'm a longtime fan of Fourwheeler mag, but ANYONE who rates the KM2 above the AT KO in snow needs to have their heads examined. I mean serious brain scan type examination!!!

I'm pretty sure since they are an "offroad" magazine, they are referring to deep snow, not a couple of inches on the streets. And yes the KM2 will destroy the KO in the deeper stuff...I had a new set of KM2s on my Tacoma, and a new set of KOs on my wifes Tacoma, so I had experience with both. In the back roads she had a hell of a time breaking trail, but the KM2s kept digging forward. Yes the KM2s were scary on "Icy" conditions, but leaps and bounds better in deep snow.

 

[DT75FLH]

Ive run bfg at. long life and tough tire...did not like the ride after bout 30k miles...the last 20k miles or so they would get hard and shimmy..hard to balance....

ive run toy muds and at...love them both..but for your mostly highway i would run the new toyo at2...only issue with the toyos were I would get around 40-45k on a set towing with a diesel truck...they rode smooth with 1/2 the weight to balance vs my bfg tires. the new at2 are supposed to have higher tread life. they are very tough through the desert.

ive run copper STT. tough tire but they chucked a lil on my truck driving gravel roads. they chucked on my buddys jeep also.

Ive run procomp tires....never again..nuff said

my current towing tire is the nitto dura grappler....similar tread design as the mich ltx but cheaper cost. they work very good in the snow on my buddys truck, and he lives in chicago. for mostly highway and some dirt roads these are what I would choose as its a DD. supposed to be a 60k mile tire also.

my new exploring vehicle is a 00 ford f-250 and I just put on toyo at2 in a 285/70/17 size. they ride like glass on the highway, are quiet, look good, and I know how tough of a tire they are. (i used to run bfg at's and MT's exclusively) they were also a few bucks (bout 20. per tire) cheaper than the bfg's at my local shop.

I ran the bfg km2 on my work truck for around 28k miles (our work trucks all get around 20-30k miles regardles of manufacture) they relly suprised me in the rain..my old BFG mt would be all over the road..

 

[arveetek]

Well, I ended up going a completely different route than I originally intended!

I purchased a set of 5 Toyota steel wheels, with 4 brand new Kenda Klever M/T tires in size 285/75R16, with a nearly matching used spare Maxxis Bighorn in size 255/85R16.

I didn't intend to get such a gnarly set of M/T's for my daily driver, but I really couldn't pass up this deal!

I've only put a few miles on them, but so far I'm pleased! I know I'll be even more pleased after testing them out for an upcoming Central Overland trip!

I've got to get some better pictures... sorry for the low quality cell phone pics.

Casey

 

[daddyusmaximus]

I pick my tire for the worst terrain I am likely to go on. I had BFG All Terrain T/A on my old Suburban. Drove great on the road, real great for snowy roads, packed up easy in the mud. Got Toyo Open Country MT now for my Super duty... way better off road, and still has very good street manners. I'll buy these 'till they stop making 'em.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

I pick my tire for the worst terrain I am likely to go on. I had BFG All Terrain KO on my old Suburban. Drove great on the road, real great for snowy roads, packed up easy in the mud. Got Toyo Open Country MT now for my Super duty... way better off road, and still has very good street manners. My truck is my daily driver as well as camping/expo rig. I'll buy these tires 'till they stop making 'em.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Sorry, tried to edit... did a repost.

 

[redthies]

I pick my tire for the worst terrain I am likely to go on. I had BFG All Terrain KO on my old Suburban. Drove great on the road, real great for snowy roads, packed up easy in the mud. Got Toyo Open Country MT now for my Super duty... way better off road, and still has very good street manners. My truck is my daily driver as well as camping/expo rig. I'll buy these tires 'till they stop making 'em.

You double posted, but I'm going to quote you as well, because I think you are exactly right! My new truck came with Toyo M55s that had only 200 miles on them, so I can't really justify getting the MTs. I hope they work well because every time I look at the tires I wish they WERE the MTs.

arveetek - Nice score on the tires and wheels. Sometimes when a deal comes along, you just have to jump on it. Now you can give us all some feedback on the Kendas!