Let's talk factory Bridgestone H/T Tires

[rotorhead6]

When I got my 5th generation it came with Bridgestone Dueler H/T 684II tires on it. I have also noticed at dealerships that some 5th generations come with Grandtreks. I know that some are saying that the suspension is soft which is what causes the truck to roll when taking turns. I have noticed the factory Bridgestones squeeling when going around a off ramp for example. I can only compare to my 3rd generation which handeled great with Michelin LTX M/S tires on it.

My question is if I replace the tires would this help some of the handling problem? I have noticed after 4500 miles that there seems to be excess wear on the outside of the front tires. They have been rotated and proper air is in place. I'm looking to put a mainly on road tire back onto the vehicle since I do not do much off roading(Maybe the road to camp). Michelin LTX M/S2 seem to be the way to go. Would anyone recommend the E rated tire? Please share your thoughts and suggestions. I want a tire that wears like iron and gives a great ride while going down the highway. I live in Western Pennsylvania so some snow is a factor also. Does anyone know of tire dealers in Western PA that take tires on trade? Thanks.l

 

[DEKA3]

When I got my 5th generation it came with Bridgestone Dueler H/T 684II tires on it. I have also noticed at dealerships that some 5th generations come with Grandtreks. I know that some are saying that the suspension is soft which is what causes the truck to roll when taking turns. I have noticed the factory Bridgestones squeeling when going around a off ramp for example. I can only compare to my 3rd generation which handeled great with Michelin LTX M/S tires on it.

My question is if I replace the tires would this help some of the handling problem? I have noticed after 4500 miles that there seems to be excess wear on the outside of the front tires. They have been rotated and proper air is in place. I'm looking to put a mainly on road tire back onto the vehicle since I do not do much off roading(Maybe the road to camp). Michelin LTX M/S2 seem to be the way to go. Would anyone recommend the E rated tire? Please share your thoughts and suggestions. I want a tire that wears like iron and gives a great ride while going down the highway. I live in Western Pennsylvania so some snow is a factor also. Does anyone know of tire dealers in Western PA that take tires on trade? Thanks.l

looks like we have the same issue. Waiting for some replies from others.

 

[sandcrawler]

i had the Dunlops on my '06 and loathed them; never again.

i had the dealer upgrade my Trail's tires pre-delivery so i can't speak to the OEM's performance on the 2010 knowledgeably, but neither the Dunlops nor Bridgestones are a highly regarded tire.

 

[4wheeler]

Like Grand Treks

neither the Dunlops nor Bridgestones are a highly regarded tire.

I just purchased the 3rd set of Grand Treks for my '05 V8 4-runner. They came with them OEM, and have never had tires last 50,000+ miles on an SUV until then! Now we have 120K+ on the '05.

Just bought the '10 SRS V6 and will have to see how these Bridgestones last. Got a lot of tire squealing yesterday on a ramp at 40 mph that I routinely take at 60+ mph in my '07 Mustang. I guess those days of 60+ are over for that on-ramp!

 

[4RBob]

I just purchased the 3rd set of Grand Treks for my '05 V8 4-runner. They came with them OEM, and have never had tires last 50,000+ miles on an SUV until then! Now we have 120K+ on the '05.

Just bought the '10 SRS V6 and will have to see how these Bridgestones last. Got a lot of tire squealing yesterday on a ramp at 40 mph that I routinely take at 60+ mph in my '07 Mustang. I guess those days of 60+ are over for that on-ramp!

I replaced the Grand Treks on our 4th Gen after 36k miles. I think they still had some good tread left, but did not feel they performed well in wet or winter conditions. I replaced with Bridgestone AT Revo's and got 80k miles out of the first set, we are on our second set which now have about 60k miles on them and lots of tread and they perform very well.

On our 5th Gen, we replaced the Grand Treks with BFG AT's (wanted something aggressive looking) and it did help a little with road feel. But, in all honesty, tires aren't going to solve the body roll issues with the 5th Gen SR5 and Trail (non-KDSS) models. This is something Toyota should solve in the future. I don't really want to lift my vehicle at this time, but I am considering changing out springs and/or shocks to improve the handling.

 

[chaz]

i know some guys say the E load is the way to go for the GY duratracs, not sure on the michelin . have u ever had E load before? side wall strength is better,so theres less flex, they may be alittle heavier & possibly give ya less mpg , some dont like the slightly firmer (more truck like) ride they give, but id imagine the michelin ltx in E load would handle very well on the highway & still give a smooth ride, its a good tire. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/68869-goodyear-duratrac-issues.html http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/60628-got-my-duratracs-mounted-today.html

 

[pel]

I had the dealer replace the OEM tires with Michelin LTX M/S2 before I even picked up my truck.

So far I think it has handled great with the Michelin tires. I have not had any squealing even when taking a corner aggressively. My last truck (Tacoma) also used to squeal going around corners. As soon as I put some Michelin LTX M/S tires on, it stopped.

 

[Koz]

Out of the two OEM tires the Bridgestone are better then the Dunflops. The Dunflops are probably the worst tires I have ever had, PERIOD! I got a set for free off a new Toyota. I had them for three weeks and took them off and gave them away.

E rated tires are designed and constructed with more plies to withstand/carry more weight. They are not going to provide better handling performance. If anything they may take away from performance due to them being MUCH heavier. They will also cause a loss in gas mileage. If you do not plan on carrying more weight or towing there is no need for an E rated tire. If you are looking for better road performance get a better on road tire.

My recommendations;

Best overall on pavement (highway all-season) - LTX M&S2

Best on/off road (A/T)

Wrangler SA - a little better off road + snow
Revo2 - a little better on road

Koz

 

[westwind77]

When I got my 5th generation it came with Bridgestone Dueler H/T 684II tires on it. I have noticed the factory Bridgestones squeeling when going around a off ramp for example.

Slow down then! :lookout: I had a set of Wranglers on my last SUV that would do that, switched to BF Goodrich and never did it again. I have the same tires (obviously) and leaned into it pretty hard on tight on/off ramps and have yet to hear any squeeling. Part of me wonders if air temp, tire temp, road temp, etc play a part in it. I know if you have low air pressure they will squeel a lot.

 

[Quentin]

I'm happy with the stock bridgestones. They've handled the offroad I threw at them and are quiet and controlled on road.

I need to rotate them, though. It has been 5700 miles. :roadkill:

 

[dxntxn]

I've had several sets of the Michelin LTX M/S on my previous 4Runners and even a Highlander. If you don't need a serious off-road tire, they can't be beat. I'd have them on my Limited if they were available in the correct size.

 

[watk69]

Out of the two OEM tires the Bridgestone are better then the Dunflops. The Dunflops are probably the worst tires I have ever had, PERIOD! I got a set for free off a new Toyota. I had them for three weeks and took them off and gave them away.

E rated tires are designed and constructed with more plies to withstand/carry more weight. They are not going to provide better handling performance. If anything they may take away from performance due to them being MUCH heavier. They will also cause a loss in gas mileage. If you do not plan on carrying more weight or towing there is no need for an E rated tire. If you are looking for better road performance get a better on road tire.

My recommendations;

Best overall on pavement (highway all-season) - LTX M&S2

Best on/off road (A/T)

Wrangler SA - a little better off road + snow
Revo2 - a little better on road

Koz

Why is it Dunflop makes such crappy tires?. They put them on Harleys as well. After going down on a bike in a rainstorm at slow speed luckily I switched to Metzelers on the bike. Will never have a Dunflop tire on anything I own.

Going to go with Revo 2's ASAP on my Trail just as soon as I can

 

[bluebullet]

I've had several sets of the Michelin LTX M/S on my previous 4Runners and even a Highlander. If you don't need a serious off-road tire, they can't be beat. I'd have them on my Limited if they were available in the correct size.

+1 On the LTX M/S tires. I only got 45K on Cross Terrains and 50K on LTX M/Ss on my 99 SR5 5sp. Just got the M/S2s put on. Tire mgr told me to rotate at 5K intervals to get the 70K mile warranty. I was rotating the M/S tires every 10-15K which is not often enough. I have only had one bad Michelin tire in 30+ years. Had a blow out on right rear tire on my 02 Chevy Duramax trying to sneak thru Salt Lake City at 3am two summers ago. Good tires are cheap insurance.

 

[Quentin]

The Dunlops on my GTI were excellent. I got right at 40k miles out of mine before a sharp rock gouged a hole in the sidewall going down a terrible road in Montana. I would have bought another set if tire shops in Billings, MT carried anything other than Toyo Proxes T1-Rs in a 225/40-18 (I'm serious, I called at least 6 shops and that was all that was available at any shop). The Dunlops gripped well, were silent, and my fuel economy was about 5% better on the Dunlops than the Toyos.

That said, certain vehicles are probably more sensitive to wheels and tires. I could see the 4Runner being more sensitive due to the fact that it has a pretty high tire to wheel ratio where the tires on my GTI were basically rubber bands around the nice BBS wheels.

 

[Koz]

Why is it Dunflop makes such crappy tires?. They put them on Harleys as well. After going down on a bike in a rainstorm at slow speed luckily I switched to Metzelers on the bike. Will never have a Dunflop tire on anything I own.

Going to go with Revo 2's ASAP on my Trail just as soon as I can

I seems only the OEM spec tires are crap. The higher end ones are fine and some are top rated.


Koz

 

[bluebullet]

I seems only the OEM spec tires are crap. The higher end ones are fine and some are top rated.


Koz

I have always suspected retail tires are superior to the same OEM spec tire.

Does anyone have an idea how much an auto manufacturer saves per tire with the OEM spec vs tires purchased on the retail market? One of my first cars was a used AMC Rambler Classic. I called it a "field mobile" as I would drive it anywhere I wanted. It came with threaded plugs instead of grease fittings. How much did AMC save there? $.05 per plug?

Seems like a tire maker might want to skip making the OEM spec tires to preserve their good name and avoid warranty issues. I have never expected more than 40K out of OEM spec tires. Beyond that the handling seems to suffer and I start to have safety concerns. Maybe I just enjoy worrying.

 

[scagin]

Credit for OEMs

Though somehow I am still waiting on delivery of this vehicle, I am hoping to replace the Bridgestone H/T tires asap. Others on here seemed to have luck swapping out the oem tires and getting a credit, whether from the dealer or a third party. I have had no such luck and, in retrospect, should have made it a demand during negotiations. Anyone know of a third party in the northeast (NH) who will give credit for the tires? I tried VIP and Sullivan.

 

[4RBob]

Though somehow I am still waiting on delivery of this vehicle, I am hoping to replace the Bridgestone H/T tires asap. Others on here seemed to have luck swapping out the oem tires and getting a credit, whether from the dealer or a third party. I have had no such luck and, in retrospect, should have made it a demand during negotiations. Anyone know of a third party in the northeast (NH) who will give credit for the tires? I tried VIP and Sullivan.

I got a good credit on my Dunflops from Town Fair Tire. I believe they are in NH now. It may depend on the individual store though.

 

[rotorhead6]

Does anyone know of a tire dealer in Western PA that takes trades? I would love to trade these Bridgestones for some Michelin's.

 

[captainnemojr]

I've enjoyed my Bridgestone OEMs. I had them on my 4th Gen and I have them now. They are good enough for me. The only thing is they fill up with mud fast. In hindsight I would have traded them for some Revos or BFG, but alas I'll save my $800 and just wait until these wear out.