Quote:
Originally Posted by Gecko
Ok, did a good bit of research on the Goodyear Wrangler AT Adventure with Kevlar:
$204/tire
42 lbs
Significant number of complaints about vibrations, difficulty balancing, and premature wear.
For the price, thinking of staying away from these.
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Yes, i read those bad reviews. But those reviews should be taken with a grain of salt. You don't know the background...were they rotated truly (not just writing it), were they balanced by a Road Force machine (i can tell you from experience that most mom-n-pops tire shops do NOT have one), were they pressured up correctly to spec, etc..
Here's the thing...if they were all that, then why did Toyota, GM and Ford choose them? I understand the pre-mature wear...now that maybe true. But then again, name me one AT tire that does not suffer from this other than BFG KO2? From reading reviews of all sorts of ATs, they all suffer from this...again, you have some reviewers that are glowing for longevity, others not so much. And frankly, BFG KO2 gets horrendously loud with poor wet performance as they age......so, is keeping a loud and poor performing tire for a long time a good thing?? Many says that it gets unbearable!
I don’t buy AT and plan on keeping it for over 50k. Once they start to get loud or poor performing, then off they go.
If I want good longevity, then I would get Michelin Defenders.
But if Goodyear ATA Kevlars are hard to balance and has tons of vibrations, then i doubt those OEMs would choose because then their initial customer experience will be crap and they would spend millions in warranty costs.
And remember in those bad reviews, were they talking about Goodyear that came on their truck from factory OR were they bought?? There is a difference as I noted above. For example, in 265/70/16 (stock size for Tacoma), there are TWO types of P-metric. One made in Canada which weighs 35 lbs...the other USA made and weighs 42 lbs. 7 lbs of difference (per TireRack). On Discount Tire, it is 42 vs. 37 lbs. Either way, there is a 5-7 lbs difference...the lighter one is made for Toyota/GM/Ford. The heavier one is the one you buy aftermarket. How do you explain this much difference in weight? My guess...construction is weaker in the lighter one to preserve fuel economy for OEM applications.
This is why i separate the reviewers of Tacomas and Canyons etc. from the others.
This is why Goodyear is still high on my list. You cannot get a stronger sidewall anywhere in a P-metric. The tread is pretty good too due to Kevlar. And its weight is not bad...relatively speaking.
