looking for a smoother ride, new tire options

[gamefreakgc]

I have always run Michelin's for a number of reasons. Yes, they are expensive but you can get 80-90K miles out of them if you keep them rotated and balanced along with periodic alignments.

I have run the LTX AT2's (85K) and LTX's. They are both great tires.

If you are a member of Costco - they usually have a $70 off deal every other month or so and if you ask, you can get the ONE CENT PER TIRE install when they offer it. Costco also fills with Nitrogen, has road-hazard, rotation and balance all included for FREE. Most people don;t know that now, Michelin offers free roadside service when you buy a set of their tires. When I bought the LTX AT2's, about three weeks afterwards, I had a flat. Took it to Costco, they found a metal spike in the tire and ordered me a new one and replaced it AT NO CHARGE!

Wow, that's a stinkin good service from a TIRE company! That alone makes the extra price of the Michelins worth it.

Although, I always buy the tire replacement certificates when I buy new tires. I've had several sidewall punctures and large flats to make it always worth the money.

 

[Roamed YT]

Falken seems to be the current go-to these days for something lighter. If I recall, they're the lightest A/T tire available right now. I'd consider them myself on my next wheels, even though the go-to in the north are Duratracs, KO2's or MT55 (if you can find them).

Minor correction though, the OEM tire for the 3rd gen was Bridgestone Duellers. My full-size spare from my '99 is a terribly weather-checked Dueller H/T with a date code of early 1999. Toyota and Bridgestone, both being Japanese have been working together for decades now.

 

[MAST4R]

Falken seems to be the current go-to these days for something lighter. If I recall, they're the lightest A/T tire available right now. I'd consider them myself on my next wheels, even though the go-to in the north are Duratracs, KO2's or MT55 (if you can find them).

.

They are the heaviest P-metric AT available in 265 70 17 that I know of, at 46lb, but also one of the few that can be trusted in harsh terrain if run at street pressures. Of course, 46lb is perfectly fine.

They run quite heavy in LT sizes, especially in LT-C 275 70 17, at 57lb.

How long a tire lasts will depend on how it is used. You can look at the new Discount TIre data that I started a thread about as they list actual store data for how much the various tires last on average (not available for all tires but it is for many). All that is with chiefly pavement use though.

 

[Fern]

If you are ever in San Diego. I have my old Michelins for sale. Have them listed in the Socal classifieds. The are as smooth as can be.

 

[Roamed YT]

They are the heaviest P-metric AT available in 265 70 17 that I know of, at 46lb, but also one of the few that can be trusted in harsh terrain if run at street pressures. Of course, 46lb is perfectly fine.

Shoot! Thanks for the correction! I wonder what I was thinking of?

 

[MAST4R]

Shoot! Thanks for the correction! I wonder what I was thinking of?

I mean, they all range from 39 to 46.5 with the stock 39-40 so I doubt anyone is going to feel much of a difference; ain't no sports car anyway!

With the P-Wildpeaks I am at 10% over stock wheel-tire weight which is nothing really.

I have previously had 15% and 28% but the latter with upgraded pads on my Outback. I had 250 hp and torque on a vehicle 1,000lb lighter than the 4R so it was okay but still not great.

On the 4R I would personally like to stay within 15%, 20% tops.

For me that means 50lb, 54lb tire tops.

The 255 75 70 Firestone MT2 at a mere 47 lb has definitely caught my eye though I don't plan on actually going that route unless I feel compelled by too many punctures or a sidewall burst in a dangerous spot.

 

[Henrythewound]

I am planning on stepping up to a 17" wheel to get back into a C load BFG. The total weight of the 17" wheels and tires will be almost 10lbs lower per wheel/tire than the 16" setup I had with 265/75-16's.

hey thanks for this info. I am toying with the idea of doing the same thing. There are some various 17" toyota wheels on my local Craigslist for not oo much money, what are you planning on going with?

 

[Henrythewound]

We have a 2018 4Runner ith E range BFG ATs for a work field vehicle and the ride is smoother than my 2000. It's not a fair comparison (diff vehicle weight, suspension, etc) but I guess not all E range tires have a harsh ride. They have held up really well on some pretty terrible rocky trails recently.

I'm looking up info on the tires mentioned here to make my decision. I appreciate all the suggestions.

 

[Hepar]

hey thanks for this info. I am toying with the idea of doing the same thing. There are some various 17" toyota wheels on my local Craigslist for not oo much money, what are you planning on going with?

There are a couple of options I'm looking at. The obvious ones are from SCS and FN.

We have a 2018 4Runner ith E range BFG ATs for a work field vehicle and the ride is smoother than my 2000. It's not a fair comparison (diff vehicle weight, suspension, etc) but I guess not all E range tires have a harsh ride. They have held up really well on some pretty terrible rocky trails recently.

I'm looking up info on the tires mentioned here to make my decision. I appreciate all the suggestions.

E load tires are fine for what they're designed for. Which is a vehicle with much more weight than these 3rd gens. The 4th gens are around 1,000lbs heavier, which will make a big difference on how they ride.

 

[Henrythewound]

There are a couple of options I'm looking at. The obvious ones are from SCS and FN.

Sorry, what are SCS and FN? I have been looking at Toyota wheels only but I'm not sure which models have the same backspacing etc. I like the newer 4Runner wheels but I think many people have to use spacers which I'd like to avoid. That may only be an issue for people running much larger tires but I'm not sure.

 

[MAST4R]

We have a 2018 4Runner ith E range BFG ATs for a work field vehicle and the ride is smoother than my 2000. It's not a fair comparison (diff vehicle weight, suspension, etc) but I guess not all E range tires have a harsh ride. They have held up really well on some pretty terrible rocky trails recently.

I'm looking up info on the tires mentioned here to make my decision. I appreciate all the suggestions.

I am a big fan of using P-metric tires offroad, but if you are offroading chiefly in AZ (we also do UT and even MT), then getting a tire with a 3-ply sidewall is not a bad idea, especially in the SOnoran Desert. Sedona and further north is fine.

Discount Tire claims to have LT-D KO2 in 265 70 17, which no one else shows, not even BFG. But that option has been on the Discount TIre site for months.

LT-D gives you the 3rd ply in the sidewall but it will be less harsh than an E-load. Much better imo.

Other 3-ply tires to consider are those in 255 75 17 where you can find a number of LT-C MT tires with a 3 ply sidewall (all except Yokohama 003).

A tire I would like to try is Firestone MT2. It is only 47lb, same as P265 70 17 Wildpeak but very strong and as civilized as MTs get being a brand new design.

A monster offroad worker is the Cooper MAxx but that's a commercial offroad tire and while it will excel offroad it may actually be worse on road than the FIrestone MT2.

 

[Hepar]

Sorry, what are SCS and FN?

They're just a couple of different wheel manufacturers that have wheels designed for Toyotas.