Feedback on these tires, please

[Outrider]

It's time to replace my Michelin LTX M/S2 tires with about 65k miles on them, which I loved dearly. I have never had such a good compromise light truck tire. "Compromise" meaning that they do everything well, but not necessarily anything extremely well.

This is what I loved about them: For over half of their life, they simply did not hydroplane. They do now, though, with the tread is low and the rubber hard, after 7 years. They never ceased to amaze me offroad for the first 50k miles, but they are getting bad now. They did quite well in 1-2 inches of snow on the road, as well as light ice, when the tread was good.

I would love to buy them again, but my local tire store does not carry them in the size that I need (265/70/16). I really don't want to screw with ordering them from Tire Rack or somewhere and having them shipped to my local tire shop.

I have narrowed down my search to these possibilities, and I would appreciate some feedback on them. I am looking for personal experience with them, and not copy/paste of online published reviews, which I always take with a grain of salt. If replying, please give your feedback relating to my needs: Heavy rain on asphalt, offroading a 2WD vehicle (gravel, red clay and stream crossings, snow and treadwear.

Here are my new tire choices:

1) NOKIAN TIRE ROTIIVA HT

2) MICHELIN DEFENDER LTX M/S

3) MICHELIN LTX A/T 2

4) HANKOOK DYNAPRO AT2 RF11

5) FALKEN WILDPEAK H/T HT02

I am hoping to narrow my choices down with the info I get here. Thanks in advance.

 

[spartacus]

why not stick with the same tire or Michelin defender series. you've had great experience withe the ms2.
you can get Michelin at Costco or firestone. tire rack ships for free and mounting is like 90 bucks.
edit. Walmart sells these too.

 

[T4R2014]

Defender LTX MS is basically what you have now. Excellent tire. I remember back in the day the original LTX MS was made in japan.

 

[rightyouareken]

Do you have a Discount Tire near you? They can easily get whatever model/size they carry at any store within a day or two for free. And they carry Michelin.

 

[Kanoe]

I'd be wary of the nokians. I had them and found the 4runner to be very squirrely with them. Took them off and got something else and problem solved.

They may be OK in LT ranges but in P metric they seem to have very little sidewall stability.

 

[Outrider]

I'd be wary of the nokians. I had them and found the 4runner to be very squirrely with them. Took them off and got something else and problem solved.

They may be OK in LT ranges but in P metric they seem to have very little sidewall stability.

Just the kind of information I was looking for. First hand experience. Thank you.

A red flag did go up for me, when I saw those tires listed, at a very good price, with a "BEST" tag on them. I had never heard of the brand before, and Discount Tire must be pushing them real hard.

 

[Kanoe]

Just the kind of information I was looking for. First hand experience. Thank you.

A red flag did go up for me, when I saw those tires listed, at a very good price, with a "BEST" tag on them. I had never heard of the brand before, and Discount Tire must be pushing them real hard.

They are pretty common in Canada, and a pretty reputable brand. I have worked on fleet trucks that run them in LT ranges so in some configurations they must be OK. In P-metric for the 4runner they were not nice on dry pavement. They are super light weight compared to others so I think they lack sidewall stability.

 

[jgue467]

michelin ltx at2s are even better than your m/s2s - at2s aren't a compromise tire, they do everything very well, especially for what you mentioned you want out of a tire. Luck.

 

[HiLife]

I ran Hankook Dynapro AT2. It was rated a good tire from feedback by other members.
My experience with them was mixed. Good tire when it's dry out. Things changed when there was any water on the road. Almost got into multiple accidents because of poor wet tire grip. The Hankooks was far from worn out and about 3 years old.
When I changed out to K02's the wet grip was night and day better.

 

[RunningForNow]

Don’t know if you’re committed to M/S and M/T tires, but I’m very happy with my Cooper Adventurer A/T that I got at Pep Boys. I’ve had them for about 6 months, and they have been great in all conditions. Quiet on the pavement, and they do well in rain, mud, dirt and snow. I know most people go for M/Ts for the looks, but I don’t need my truck to look aggressive, and the Coopers are nice looking as well. I’d highly recommend them, especially if Pep Boys is running a sale. Got mine for $740 with an alignment OTD.

 

[dcshipwreck]

I know they're not the exact tires you're asking about but I've ran hankook dynapro m/t as well as my current tires which are wildpeak a/t and they've both done great on and off road.

the wildpeaks have only seen about 3k miles at this point but they're holding up better so far than the dynapro m/t which is to be expected from an a/t and so far in snow/rain/dry they've kept up with the dynapro but the one place i'd say the m/t shined was in thick ass deep mud.

current tire is a 255/80/17 falken wildpeak a/t3w 118s

 

[Outrider]

OP back again, with an update:

I ended up going with the Falken Wildpeak A/T3W tires. I had mistakenly listed the Wildpeak H/T HT02 in my OP, when I meant the A/T3W.

These:

Falken Wildpeak A/T3W Tires | Passenger Truck All-Terrain Tires | America's Tire

It was a very difficult decision for me to make, and I kept finalizing on one, then another, and another. I arrived at the A/T3W decision more often than any others, so it was like winning a 3/5 coin toss for me. I had read lots of very positive reviews on them, and if they don't last quite as long as the Michelins, I will be fine with that because they are about $200 less, overall.

I'm getting them with my tax refund, which is already a pending deposit, so I ordered them yesterday from Discount Tire. They were not in stock, had to be ordered, and I scheduled an appointment for this Saturday. I got a call today, and it seems like they are in heavy demand, so my metro Atlanta store had to order them all the way from Spokane, WA.

I look forward to trying them out. Since my T4R has been semi-retired to utility only usage, it will be used as much or more offroad than on. But is has been an extremely wet winter in the Atlanta area, I hate mud and I hate even more lying on the ground and hosing off my undercarriage. So, my offroad testing will have to wait until this mud dries up some. I imagine they will perform quite well for my 2WD usage, which isn't too frequent, but when I go, I often go places that I wouldn't normally take a 2WD vehicle, because it does so damned well at that.

Oh, and I think they look pretty badass. :becky:

 

[Slyfox4]

I'm getting them with my tax refund, which is already a pending deposit, so I ordered them yesterday from Discount Tire. They were not in stock, had to be ordered, and I scheduled an appointment for this Saturday. I got a call today, and it seems like they are in heavy demand, so my metro Atlanta store had to order them all the way from Spokane, WA.

I just ordered Falken Wildpeaks last night (265/70/17) from Discount Tire Direct for a total of $488 (they took off $80 with a promo code). They'll be here 2/26/20. Not sure what size you got but I'm not surprised they're out of stock!

 

[Outrider]

I just ordered Falken Wildpeaks last night (265/70/17) from Discount Tire Direct for a total of $488 (they took off $80 with a promo code). They'll be here 2/26/20. Not sure what size you got but I'm not surprised they're out of stock!

If only I could be so lucky as to get a discount or rebate. Mine come to right at $700, installed. My size is 265/70/16.