Soliciting Tire Recommendations
 

I drive a 2015 4Runner Limited with all season tires and considering changing them out for all terrain tires for better winter handling. We make several ski trips each year to either West Virginia or New England, not to mention the one or two winter events locally. I'm a New England native and generally comfortable with winter driving. Just seeking a better tire for those brief winter exposures without the hassle of maintaining a second set of true winter tires.

I'm looking at the Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac. Thoughts?

I went with Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac (C load) for my New England/WV snow driving and off-roading. They came highly recommended by all my snow plow work truck friends.

It's an aggressive tire with more focus on off-road, snow handling and durability. I love them, they not only perform well in snow/mud/rock they look cool. lol

The only negatives are:

Not as good in the rain as a street highway tire.
Can get noisy if you don't rotate every 5-10k. I personally feel they are quieter than many others of the same class AT.

If you are not off-roading or need a heavy use tire there are probably less aggressive street all seasons that may perform better in road snow/rain.

Thank you!

MN driver here. I have had success with the Kenda Klever A/T2. Snowflake rated and very good pricepoint.

Downside: says "Wrangler" on the tire (I mean, Ford made goodyear make tires that omit that word to put on the Bronco).

Other than that, I have no input on that specific tire. I have Grabber ATx on my F150 right now, they are not great in rain and ok in snow but the Falken Wildpeak AT3W were a better all around tire (heavy though). I'm looking at Toyo Open Country AT3's as soon as I get my 4Runner.

I've got BFG Ko2 on my suburban z71, and I've got New Toyo AT3 on my 4runner.
Had the BFG on Ice and snow last year, Flawless operation. They are not noisy at all and last pair lasted 46k miles.

Just put the Toyo's on the 4runner, They are much noisier on Hwy and waiting for some ice and snow to find out how they perform but I wish I would've just put the KO2 on and forgotten about it.
BFG Ko2 all the way.

I have always had good luck with Nitto Ridge Grapplers and also Mickey Thompson ATZ p3

How were the KO2's in the rain/wet? That was one of the main reasons I went with Duratracs over the Ko2's. Did you go C or E load?

I mean they're great all-around tires that shine in snow and ice. Never had hydroplaning issues or braking when in the rain issues with the KO2's.
I've got E-rated BFG on the Suburban. My AT3's are also E rated.
A C-rated tire on a 4wd vehicles is almost criminal. :)

I just went from some falken at3s to the new pirelli scorpion at plus and am pretty happy so far. Ended up taking a road trip with heavy rain, no issues. They look the part too. Falkens are maybe a tad more aggressive looking. These are silent on highway so far but falkens we’re at first too. I feel as though they did get noisy pretty quickly in their age. Hope these stay quieter longer.

That's good to hear, seen too many comments on how they are not good in the rain but still a great over all AT tire. Coming from Michelin PSS on my cars its hard to get used to AT tire rain/wet handling. lol

Doing an E load on a 4R is just mean. lol

I run all terrains on all my 4wd vehicles, any other slick passenger tread on a truck or 4wd is just a lapse in judgment and being unprepared for the unforeseen circumstance. E-rated 10-ply is just extra insurance over a 6 ply C rated. Semper Paratus.

The DuraTracs are the best winter tire of all the ATs. I have the KO2s now and have used several. The DuraTracs surpass them all. I use KO2s and true snow tires now but if I were to have one set, it would be the DuraTracs.

I agree, why have 4wd and not put an AT on there. Its like buying a sports car and not putting on high performance tires.

However I disagree with the E rated 10 ply that's designed for much larger and heavier vehicles on a small SUV like the 4Runner. It just burdens the whole drive system and will cause more wear and tear on the whole drive system.

100%. All the snow plow guys around here seem to love there DuraTracs for snow.

Yeah, the E ply is not the best idea for ride quality, component longevity, or fuel economy. The only E worth it is the DuraTrac and its 6-ply-rated tread is significantly thinner than any AT or MT I have seen. A lot of Jeep guys use that one. If you take a look at the DuraTrac's tread pattern and shoes, it is halfway towards a dedicated snow tire. Plus the rubber compound is slightly softer than anything I have used. It is pretty impressive on snow. While I prefer the MTR Kevlar off-road and on rocks, the DuraTrac is not far behind there either, while being lighter and better on snow and wet conditions.

I use 87 in the 4R and 91 in the Merc but only because it calls for it. Both have 4.7L V8s so sometimes, I forget and use 91 in both. I am sure 87 will be fine. I don't drive that much so 91 works.