I need new tires for my Silverado Truck. Tire prices have gone way up since the last time I checked. I spend 90% on road and 10% or less off road. Looking for a tire that is quiet on road and has a little bite for off road. Any suggestions appreciated.
Tight Lines,
Jet
Depending on your price point, Cooper discoverer’s are the least expensive that are worth buying. A little aggressive, but relatively quiet. BFG AT’s are next, a little quieter, still moderately aggressive, and will last longer. Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armour are going to be the best, quiet, pretty darn luggy considering they are ridiculously quiet, and last a long time. But the GY’s are pricey…
Just my .02
Had a little experience with that last week…
My friend just purchased a used pickup…I asked if he took care of the tire situation as usual which means tires rated E which equals the old 10 ply designation…he said no since the tire guy said the old tires still had 80% tread…we go into some brutal areas and this time we weren’t a mile into a rocky area on still a very good road…sidewall ripped open and a day wasted…
I wouldn’t cut corners…turns out the tires that were on were “P” =passenger…yes the ride was soft and quiet…get at least “LT” = light truck…
We ended up with 10 ply / E rated with a fairly aggressive tread…we could “feel the road” more and maybe a little firmer ride.
My .02…? Years ago I had a shop and sold tires…maybe thousands of them…
Yes they can be expensive, but, you get what you pay for…Buy the best you can afford, and you’ll be happier longer…M.D.
Jet369 -
On my Toyota Tacoma, I’ve been running Les Schwab Toyo A/T Open Country 6 ply tires. They make a bit of noise, but not bad. I do a lot of off-pavement driving, including some really gnarly roads in remote back country settings. So far, so good.
Got over 70,000 miles on them, and only changed them out when I did because I was headed into some really rough areas over the summer and figured I would want new tires before winter anyway, so I jumped the gun to have the added margin of safety and convenience in the backcountry. The ones with 70,000 miles on them are in my garage, and probably have another 10-20,000 miles on them, if I ever decide to put them back on.
The price kind of surprised me when I bought the tires a couple months ago, but I still figure they are a good value.
Les Schwab has really good service, at least in this little town ( Rigby ) in SE Idaho. That makes it easier.
John
I have tried them all and now only use Michelin tires, they last for the money and wear the best. Yes they cost more, but you get more for your money.
I tend to spend my summers with a lot of ‘retired’ folks. RVers who all have left their jobs behind and are now ‘seeing America’.
One of my favorite lines is “Last time I ‘retired’ I went with Michelins. Now I won’t have to ‘retire’ again for a long time”.
I’ve got well over 100K miles on this set of Michelin truck tires. (I’m not hard on tires). Should get another 50 before I have to retire again…
Cheapest tires I’ve ever owned if you count miles per…
Buddy
Like they said…I agree…Michelins are awesome…and for my .02…Les Schwab rocks…
…ModocDan
sent a couple of PMs on tires.
Rick
We use BFG A/T tires on all our vehicles at the FS office where I work. And several of our employees use them on their personal vehicles. Mine are Les Schwab tires, which is great except it is a long drive to get them rotated and balanced. I got them in Montana last fall after the fish-in (no sales tax), still cost me $800 (265/75 16) I got about 60K on the last set, got a bit more aggressive tread this time since I drive on gravel and in snow here in CO.
Buy the best you can. Cheap tires are never worth it in the long run.
OK, I’m a huge Les Schwab fan…but I guess that doesn’t help our original poster…I don’t think they are in his neck of the woods.
My rancher friends in the episode I related above told us in that neck of the woods at least Les’ tends to be the most expensive…but I think their service and included things…free flat changes/free tire rotation/warranty…and whatever…still gets my vote
By Les Schwab tires do you mean Toyo? …they are good…
My understanding is Coopers are good for this type of driving also.
Wish Schwab’s handled Michelins.
Duck -
Looks like they are close by - but for some reason posting a link to Schwab’s Store Locator doesn’t want to work ?? If you go to Les Schwab’s site, go to the locator and put in Lincoln CA, you get three locations within five miles, or something like that.
Yep - Toyo. We also have their A/T Open Country ( 4 ply ) on my wife’s RAV4. They’ve got close to 60,000 miles on them and are looking really good - probably another 30-40,000 miles left.
John
John,
I spend half my time on farm roads, 4X4 during winter months, dust and dirt during winter months. Tried Cooper, Goodrich, Generals, Bridgestone,etc. So far the best tire for my kind of driving has been the Goodyear Ranglers. They are a bit pricey but worth the money for my kind of conditions which are pretty severe some times during the winter. Good Luck
Beaver
I do around 30000 miles per year 50 % on and 50 % off road and the best I have seen are Goodyear workhorse 10 ply or the Goodyear work horse XT 10 ply
I have tried em all BF all terrain ,mud terrain, goodyear wrangler, michelin lt, cooper and bridgestone.
Jocelin
I ended up going with the Michelin? LTX? A/T2 which were expensive but I have heard of people a lot of miles on them. They had a $80.00 off on a set. My 2 back up tires I was considering were the Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor & BF Goodrich Rugged Trail T/A.
Thanks again for the help.
Jet
My experience with American Tire Depot has been good. Excellent products backed by one of the best warrantees in the market. Just be sure to have them rotated by a dealer every 5,000 miles (free) and you are good to go. They sell Goodyear, Bridgestone, Michelin, Continental, Firestone & More. The salesmen I have used are honest and easy to deal with. Hope this helps. Go to www.americantiredepot.com for your nearest store. Jim
You might want to check out Tire Rack if you are going to have the tires shipped to you. If you want a tire from an American owned company then you will have to order Cooper Tires. Last I knew while almost all of the manufactures still make tires here the only American owned tire company is Cooper but I could be wrong.
http://www.tirerack.com/indexA.jsp
I do not have a truck or SUV anymore but the Goodyear Wrangler seems to offer a very good balance of street/off road performance. Decent sidewalls, good wear, very good traction on and off highway, just a tad bit on the “spongy” side for off road but they are not a dedicated off road tire.
The majority of tires we ship to the military are B.F. Goodrich T/A All Terrain, Goodyear Wranglers and Cooper. All of these are very good tires. Really boils down to how much you want to spend. All will deliver good performance but the higher priced units will be superior. Oh, check the local Sears and Wal Mart tire centers. They sometimes run some great deals too.
Last I remember hearing customers rated these as the top 3 manufacturers for satisfaction:
1 Michelin
2 Bridgestone
3 Cooper
I had Goodyear Wranglers on my truck from the factory and they were the worst tires I ever had. I then put on Cooper Discoverer ATR’s and never looked back. 70,000 mile son the first set and I’m on 30,000 on the newer set. The original AT’s were kinda noisy but the ATR is an updated tread pattern that took care of the noise. They also make a HT version that is more of a highway tire. My buddy uses them on his Suburban and he had close to 100,00 miles on them. Cooper is priced right and they are a quality tire.
JMC2c
Rich
I also have BFG A/T on my Ford F250. In my part of the country we don’t need to do to much off roading to get to the fishing spots. But the few times I did the tires worked great and they also handle the snow well. I would / will get them again.
Les Schwab is a pleasure to do business with!
Doug