Another Tire Question - Service or New Rims?

[JakeV]

I have a new-to-me 2000 SR5 with 140k miles. It's currently wearing Bridgestone Dueller HTs (260/70/16s). They are garbage on icy/snowpacked roads; on a 5 mile round trip drive I had probably 5 noticeable slides/traction losses while creeping along at 10-15 mph. I expect that has more to do with the tires than the truck; they were pretty clogged with snow by the time I parked.

So, new shoes. I think I've narrowed it to ATs that are snow rated, since most of my driving is to head to the mountains to either ski or kayak, and we swap snow tires onto our other vehicle for deep snow days - I want the T4R to handle snow, but it's not our dedicated snow vehicle.

Of the tire shops near me, Les Schwab is the only one that seems to be able to manage balancing lug-centered wheels. They've got Wild Country XTXs at $877 installed, or Back Country SQ4s for $955 installed. Upside to this option is that they offer lifetime balancing and rotation, as well as insurance.

For the about the same money, I could head over to Tire Rack and get something like the Geolandar AT mounted to basic blacked-out wheels and not have to screw around with fussy lug-balanced wheels anymore.

So, what's the better value proposition, lifetime service or new wheels? (and if anyone has strong feelings about the tire options, I'll take that advice too)

Thanks.

 

[reelamin]

I have a new-to-me 2000 SR5 with 140k miles. It's currently wearing Bridgestone Dueller HTs (260/70/16s). They are garbage on icy/snowpacked roads; on a 5 mile round trip drive I had probably 5 noticeable slides/traction losses while creeping along at 10-15 mph. I expect that has more to do with the tires than the truck; they were pretty clogged with snow by the time I parked.

So, new shoes. I think I've narrowed it to ATs that are snow rated, since most of my driving is to head to the mountains to either ski or kayak, and we swap snow tires onto our other vehicle for deep snow days - I want the T4R to handle snow, but it's not our dedicated snow vehicle.

Of the tire shops near me, Les Schwab is the only one that seems to be able to manage balancing lug-centered wheels. They've got Wild Country XTXs at $877 installed, or Back Country SQ4s for $955 installed. Upside to this option is that they offer lifetime balancing and rotation, as well as insurance.

For the about the same money, I could head over to Tire Rack and get something like the Geolandar AT mounted to basic blacked-out wheels and not have to screw around with fussy lug-balanced wheels anymore.

So, what's the better value proposition, lifetime service or new wheels? (and if anyone has strong feelings about the tire options, I'll take that advice too)

Thanks.

I grew up with a local tire store then Les Schwab showed up and put every local store out of business. Used Les Schwab tires 50% of the time up until the last 10 years. Even today I will buy my Name Brand tires from Les Schwab if they have the best price to justify it. Now I buy 90% of my tires off the internet and drive to have them installed because Les Schwab can't come close to the price.

I just pay for any flat repairs and still save a noticeable amount. (Last ones from Discount and it is a 130 mile trip.) I had a 1/4" bolt through my brand new KO2's (less than 50 miles) on the sidewall side of the crown. Les Schwab refused to even try fixing it. From the very nice employee who I know "If you had bought those from us we would replace it for free". Me...I can buy a brand new tire have it mounted/balanced by you and still be money ahead. Him...."Good Point". So, I just called a private tire shop 30 miles away $16/Large Truck Patch, and 1000 miles later its all good.

So if you have not noticed I think "LES SCWHAB's tires" suck compared to others. They do have great service (within their guidelines) and awesome employees. I always run a winter tire and a summer tire mounted on rims. I try to get aluminum (used craigslist) just for the weight savings for storage. I have some steel because the rim price was perfect as in free.

History to help understand my answer. I would go with a P Series pure snow tire non-directional from one of the name brand companies. I have used several of the Les Schwab "Wintertrax" tires. They work great for the first 2/3, but they don's last as long as others.

 

[LifeIsStout]

I have been eyeing the Kumho Road Venture AT51 as replacements myself. Looks like there are some good deals around, they are snow rated, and I can order them on amazon prime if I feel like it. Local shops seem to be the best option around here for mounting and balancing. I picked up an extra set of tacoma rims that I am going to run them on, and will probably become my year round tire.

 

[Co4Fun]

My choice would be new hub centric (which we know are hub AND lug centric) wheels in 17's. And take the chance to get any backspacing you might want as well. Decent alloys are had for well under $100 a wheel.

Though tire rack prices are tempting there's the shipping and I've found that a hassle as most local shops will really nail you for mounting and balancing for tires that are not theirs plus if you do need a repair down the road you'll have no safety net. Wheel/tire combo will likely provide the best deal all around or you would do better with bringing internet-bought wheels into a local shop and still getting the mount balance if the tires are purchased from them. But, most tire chains can get most wheels and most of the generic alloy ones are all the same manufacturer anyway just sometimes branded a bit different. Do you have a 4 wheel parts around you?

 

[gamefreakgc]

In my area, believe or not the Toyota dealership had the best pricing on tires. They also offer all the same warranties, lifetime balancing, flat repairs, etc. that the other shops do.

HT tires will never be all that great on snow, they are not made for it. You'll want "winter" rated tires, the ones you listed might be just that. Just know that if you got for them you might get extra noise and lose an MPG or two in the summer months. There's no tire that's perfect in every scenario.

Reason why I bring up the Toyota dealership is that no one balances or aligns Toyotas better than... Toyota. So I never have to deal with bad tire jobs, I know they will do it right the first time.

 

[rct127]

I put the Kumho AT51's on my 4th Gen about 1200 miles ago. Better in snow than the Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armors I took off.

2 things to be aware of: they are definitely louder with more road hum and although good so far in snow, not as good as my wife's dedicated Blizzak winter tires.

If you can swing the second set of rims get winter snows and run whatever you like in the summer.

 

[Co4Fun]

I put the Kumho AT51's on my 4th Gen about 1200 miles ago. Better in snow than the Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armors I took off.



2 things to be aware of: they are definitely louder with more road hum and although good so far in snow, not as good as my wife's dedicated Blizzak winter tires.



If you can swing the second set of rims get winter snows and run whatever you like in the summer.

This for a driver that sees a lot of snow. You'll get multiple years on them if you swap them in the summer. Craig's for a second set of stock rims!

 

[JakeV]

We have Blizzaks on our other small SUV, so it seems overkill to run 2 sets on the Runner as well. As for "winter rated" or "snow rated" AT tires, that's the only category I'm looking at right now.

I haven't found another shop besides Schwab that can balance the stock rims that's anywhere near me, so getting tires online and mounting them locally sounds like it might not be an option.

It's a good point about the upsides of buying a tire/rim combo from a local shop vs tire rack. I'll have to price that out.

Why the recommendation for 17s over the stock 16s?

 

[daniresch]

We have Blizzaks on our other small SUV, so it seems overkill to run 2 sets on the Runner as well. As for "winter rated" or "snow rated" AT tires, that's the only category I'm looking at right now.

I haven't found another shop besides Schwab that can balance the stock rims that's anywhere near me, so getting tires online and mounting them locally sounds like it might not be an option.

It's a good point about the upsides of buying a tire/rim combo from a local shop vs tire rack. I'll have to price that out.

Why the recommendation for 17s over the stock 16s?

It's not a bad idea to opt to 17s if you're buying new wheels anyway. Typically more tire options in 17s, and better steering response on 17s if your running larger than stock tires. However, 17s are more expensive.

The best AT tire IMO are the BFG KO2. Nothing else compares.
Discount Tire is my go to place when purchasing tires, check them out online.