Best Tires for Colorado?

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Weil186

New member
Hey all,

New to Colorado from Maryland and looking to see what will be the best tire. I will be upgrading soon from stock. Don't much off roading besides camping. I have a stock 03 Limited.

I have read a ton of reviews on the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo
, Firestone Destination A/T, General Grabber HTS. Basically the top 3 on Tire Rack. I like the idea of the Generals, I just want to make sure they can really put up with the snow.

I live in The Springs and want to see what everyone thinks since there is quite a big cost difference between the 3.

Thanks,
 
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The peeps here know that I am a big fan of the Pirelli Scorpion ATR. An all terrain tire gives great grip in snow and slush. Here in Alaska and crossing the Yukon in winter I have grown to trust them. On dry roads and rain the Pirelli racing rep goes a long way. They are tenacious and fit well with the stopping power of the 4Runner. They get my vote.:driving:
 
Weil186 said:
Hey all,

New to Colorado from Maryland and looking to see what will be the best tire. I will be upgrading soon from stock. Don't much off roading besides camping. I have a stock 03 Limited.

I have read a ton of reviews on the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo
, Firestone Destination A/T, General Grabber HTS. Basically the top 3 on Tire Rack. I like the idea of the Generals, I just want to make sure they can really put up with the snow.

I live in The Springs and want to see what everyone thinks since there is quite a big cost difference between the 3.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

I would also consider Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor. Why?

1. It is snowflake rated for severe winter conditions.
2. Its sidewall is strong enough for your occasional camping/off-roading...last time i was up there in CO, i went on some of the off-roading trails in the mountains and saw plenty of sharp rocks that can tear your sidewall.
3. It is a good tire for all-season and on the highway.

The only negative that i have read about is the slight drop in fuel economy, but i think that this applies to all All-terrain tires.

Oh yeah, i also don't buy tires from small tire companies, but that is my personal preference. So, if you are force to pick only those three tires you mentioned, then i would pick REVOs. (Firestone is good too, but past experience with one of their new tire was not that great.)
 
Thanks for the input so far.

Not really a fan of Goodyear, too many problem with past tires. The Pirellis are nice just a little pricey. I have also heard of horrible noise problems from the geolanders.

I took a look again and found some new Kumho's that are priced nice, $129 a piece. Any one have any truck experience with them? I have only had Kumho's on a sports car and they were great.
 
Here's another vote for the Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor. I've used them off road, on highway, and on snowy/icy roads in Colorado and am very satisfied with them. I bought them for the 3 reasons Thai listed, and have found no decrease in mileage (I should note I bought stock size).
 
Cooper Discoverer M+S

It's hard to beat the BFG AT K/O but it may be more off-roadworthy than you need (and much more expensive.)

For snow/ice/general all around driving I like the tire I had previous to the BFGs, and was the Cooper Discoverer M+S. It has the snowflake rating, is excellent on packed snow, reasonably quiet and long lasting. It's also very reasonably priced.
 
I second the Cooper Discoverer M+S. I'm new to CO and currently running these. They're excellent for my lack of snow driving experience.
 
I have been running Hankook DyanPro ATMs for probably around 25k miles or so - paid a little less than $650. 20k of those miles were put in in the Colorado Springs area, with trips to and from Breck almost every weekend during ski season for 3 seasons (both on 24 and I-25/I-70). Only off-roading were groomed trails to go shooting/car camping. I now have 10/32 left on them after the drive from CO back to OH. So fairly decent tread life for an all-terrain tire.
In CO I didn't notice a ton of road noise or any wah-wah-wah sounds :) But all the roads in CO are generally loud (I had a GTI with 18's), rough and gritty from people using studded tires all year round and the composition of the roads are different out there. I can tell you I notice the wah-wah sounds back here in OH because the blacktop on the highways are smooth - so I wouldn't worry about it out there. The Springs gets torrential rain storms in the summer and these tires performed great at all speeds. Drove it a lot in the snow on Hoosier pass and down the dreaded down-hill from Eisenhower tunnel to the Silverthrone area in a white out blizzard - did really well. Drove it this morning in the snow in 4wd, flying by everyone without issue. Hope this helps.
 
Weil186 said:
Hey all,

New to Colorado from Maryland and looking to see what will be the best tire. I will be upgrading soon from stock. Don't much off roading besides camping. I have a stock 03 Limited.

I have read a ton of reviews on the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo
, Firestone Destination A/T, General Grabber HTS. Basically the top 3 on Tire Rack. I like the idea of the Generals, I just want to make sure they can really put up with the snow.

I live in The Springs and want to see what everyone thinks since there is quite a big cost difference between the 3.

Thanks,
Click to expand...


Get the Michelin LTX M/S2's and just drive and enjoy Colorado!

There are lots of really good tires available but after fifteen years on the LTX M/S first and second generation, I'm convinced they're one of the best, if not the best tire for Colorado roads, some good back country fire roads and some of the passes like Ophir... that can get you to and from the 14er trailheads with no problems.

Problem with aggressive tires I've found is that they either make a lot of noise on the pavement or they're not that long lasting a tire.

The Michelins are smooth as glass and very comfortable and quiet on the highway, very good in the snow and in the rain, and very durable off pavement. I have never had a problem in any of my 4 x 4's with the Michelins in either the snow or rain.

Sure, there are tires that do one thing better than the others. But you're going to be on pavement 98% of the time and the other 2%, you don't need a really aggressive off road tire. Here in Colorado, when someone says they're going camping, they're either going to the trailheads or off on some mellow unpaved forest service road.

YMMV.
 
Climb14er said:
....But you're going to be on pavement 98% of the time and the other 2%, you don't need a really aggressive off road tire. Here in Colorado, when someone says they're going camping, they're either going to the trailheads or off on some mellow unpaved forest service road.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
I also have Michelin LTX M/S2 tires, and I'm happy with them. They are great on roads, and they seem to handle water OK. In snow they are about as good as any all season tire, but I'm sure real winter tires would be better. If you can, get a set of winter tires, too. They don't really cost much extra because using them saves wear on your normal tires, so the cost per mile is similar. And they wear slower the more you drive on snow. If you don't want a second set of rims, Discount Tire will change them out for $50, I think.

My tires have handled everything I've done off-road so far. I've done Rollins pass (really bumpy with lots of little sharp rocks), 4th of July Rd, West Magnolia, Switzerland trail, Bunce School Road, Loch Lomond and the southern part of the road to Kingston Peak (up to the winter closure, I need to go back and do this in the summer). Maybe I'll destroy a tire one day, but that's what the spare is for!

These will be the last tires I buy for this truck for a long time (unless I get snow tires). They should easily last 70,000 miles, and I only drive about 10,000 miles a year, so they should last 7 years, By the time they wear out the truck will be 15 years old, and I'll probably want to get a 6th gen!
 
m85476585 said:
...If you can, get a set of winter tires, too. They don't really cost much extra because using them saves wear on your normal tires, so the cost per mile is similar. And they wear slower the more you drive on snow. If you don't want a second set of rims, Discount Tire will change them out for $50, I think.
Click to expand...

I don't fully agree with this statement, only because he is living in the Springs. If he lived up near the passes or regularly traveled up in the mountain range I might be inclined to side with you. I lived there for 5 years and only a couple times did it snow bad enough that I wish I had designated winter tires (that's with a civc, two wranglers and a GTI). IMO, its' just too dry and sunny in the Springs (and most of the Front Range) to really justify putting on a winter/wheel tire setup - they will just get eaten up by the roads and lack of moisture in the winter. I do however agree that getting a highly rated all-season tire might be the best route based on expected regular driving conditions.
 
Another vote for Michelin LTX MS/2. Just got a set last month and they are sooo smooth. I also drive Berthoud Pass all winter long and they are really capable in the snow and ice.
 
Weil186 said:
Hey all,

New to Colorado from Maryland and looking to see what will be the best tire. I will be upgrading soon from stock. Don't much off roading besides camping. I have a stock 03 Limited.

I have read a ton of reviews on the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo
, Firestone Destination A/T, General Grabber HTS. Basically the top 3 on Tire Rack. I like the idea of the Generals, I just want to make sure they can really put up with the snow.

I live in The Springs and want to see what everyone thinks since there is quite a big cost difference between the 3.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Personally, I run BFG A/T KO's and love every bit of them. However, if you don't do much off roading you really don't need this aggressive of a tire. For a less aggressive tire, I have run the Hancook DynaPro ATM's and it was a really great year round tire, especially for the price!
 
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Silent Armors

I've got to highly recommend the Silent Armors. They are perfect for what you are looking for. The best tire on snow/ice that I've ever used (and there have been plenty over the years here in South Dakota), and then it does great on everything else too. If I hadn't wanted to go a little more aggressive I would have definitely been back in some Silent Armors.
 
Bigrupp said:
I've got to highly recommend the Silent Armors. They are perfect for what you are looking for. The best tire on snow/ice that I've ever used (and there have been plenty over the years here in South Dakota), and then it does great on everything else too. If I hadn't wanted to go a little more aggressive I would have definitely been back in some Silent Armors.
Click to expand...

^ I was going to suggest this too. I have the BFGs and they are great. But if you want a little less aggressive tire then that, they seem to be a great alternative. Ive only had on road experience with the Silent Armors via a heavy vehicle, and they performed fine.
 
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