New Michelin LTX AT2 tires installed

[MikesTE]

I made the switch from the LT(C)265/70/17 GY DuraTracs I bought about six months ago to a set of Michelin LTX AT2 LT(E)265/70/17 tires yesterday...

The GYs made a bit too much road noise for me and I was looking for something slightly milder and compared these Michelins to the Firestone Destination AT tires (which I actually used on my 2010 4runner, but those were 'P' rated). I went with the Michelins because I remembered pretty vague steering on the road and have always been relatively happy with them on other cars. For background, my 4Runner is not lifted nor possesses any suspension mods. I use it on the road for 95% of its life and offroad on actual rugged desert trails (lots of sharp rocks, sand, bumps) the other 5%.

First, they looked a lot more rugged than I thought they would - but they're certainly no DuraTrac.

The road noise is non-existent - I'm very happy with that aspect.

Steering effort / tracking in a straight line is superb. The DuraTracs seemed to hunt a lot and were certainly not very precise on the road. I'm thrilled with this too.

I haven't really panic braked with these tires yet, but with the E load range they are certainly more firm than the DuraTracs were. I have no doubt it's in my head but the truck doesn't seem to nose dive as much.

I took them off road for a short jaunt and have no issues to report - everything handled well, no real slippage, and the tires aren't beat up.

All in all I'm pleased. Having said that, the look of the truck now is certainly nowhere near as cool as before... I only hope these LTX tires hold up off road as well as the DuraTracs did - there is plenty of rubber on them so I'm hopeful.

More to come after a few months, I suppose.

 

[NSW550]

At2

Sounds like you made the right move for what you are looking for and better road handling and control. Just be careful of the sidewalls if you go near rocky terrain. Needless to say I had a set of Michelin MS2 that handle great in the rain, snow, and light trail use. Also were great in rain but you probably don't get a lot of that in vegas.

 

[Ivy Mike]

I'm running that exact tire on a Sequoia and have been very pleased with the performance and wear. Sounds like a good choice.

 

[JB.]

Just be careful of the sidewalls if you go near rocky terrain.

The sidewalls are likely as strong or stronger.

The Michelin is a load E so by definition the ply material is stronger than the Load C Duratrac. From there, in terms of resistance to cuts and holes, it's just a matter of rubber thickness, the relative differences of which we don't know, but the Duratrac would need a fair amount more rubber to offset the ply material difference.

 

[desertred]

You went with the Michelins because you remembered that the F/S Destination ATs had vague steering? The P rated Destination ATs are one of the tires I'm interested in. Would the vague steering be possible due to the softer sidewall of the P rated tire?

 

[MikesTE]

Perhaps it was - I know the current michelins don't wander. That's what I remember from the firestones, just not as quick to turn in as the factory tires, which is no big surprise given how the tire treads are oriented in comparison. In all honesty I could be biased by how much a difference the current switch made. For your SA I ran the P firestones at 32 PSI, the duratracs at 36 PSI, and the new michelins at 35, which is how they set it at discount tire. They feel very firm now even at 35 due to the robust sidewalls. At this point the michelins are my favorite of the lot.

 

[MikesTE]

I spent more time today off road and the tires worked fine. Again, a firm ride, but in the sand and rocks no issues. Having said this, once I was back on the road, there was significant noise/vibrations from the rocks I picked up that wedged their way into the tread. I pulled over, picked most out and waited to hit the highway to take care of the rest. Sure enough, at highway speeds there were lots of rocks being thrown out of the tires. I'd say the tires picked up more rocks than the factory Duelers and waaaay more than the DuraTracs, which were superb given the wide lugs. There was another T4R reviewer (or maybe it was on TireRack - everything is blending together) who reported similar rock attraction from the Michelins. Something to realize for anyone considering similar shoes!

 

[1engineer]

I spent more time today off road and the tires worked fine. Again, a firm ride, but in the sand and rocks no issues. Having said this, once I was back on the road, there was significant noise/vibrations from the rocks I picked up that wedged their way into the tread. I pulled over, picked most out and waited to hit the highway to take care of the rest. Sure enough, at highway speeds there were lots of rocks being thrown out of the tires. I'd say the tires picked up more rocks than the factory Duelers and waaaay more than the DuraTracs, which were superb given the wide lugs. There was another T4R reviewer (or maybe it was on TireRack - everything is blending together) who reported similar rock attraction from the Michelins. Something to realize for anyone considering similar shoes!

I posted the same thing for the Cooper AT3's. Little rocks and gravels get wedged in there too. I loved your tires for everything except mud, which is unfortunately what we have a lot of here.

 

[MikesTE]

I wanted to follow up on the LTX AT2s - about to hit the road for the weekend and wanted to know what the tire pressure should REALLY be at. I called Michelin, they looked up the 4Runner and recommended 50PSI for these tires in the LT/E load range. He cautioned me about going under or over that. Discount Tire initially set the tire pressure at 35. I added three more but clearly that wasn't cutting it. I have set the tires at 50 and will provide feedback at that setting. I'll add that I've 'panic braked' twice with the new tires and both times things seemed a bit squirrelly under foot/with the tires - like they slid a little or ABS was angry. Perhaps that was related to the tire pressure too. We'll see.

 

[MikesTE]

50 psi worked very well. Firm, but truck handled well. Even went off road at that pressure, which was REALLY firm. Next time I'll pack my air compressor. AT2s did great in sand and sandstone though.

 

[DesertDog]

Gas Mileage differences?

Thanks for the great information on the Michelin's!

I'm considering this tire in both the P and LT version for my stock 2012 SR5. I don't rock crawl, but in order to get to some trailheads in Colorado for hiking/photography, I do some fairly rough and rocky mountains roads (and desert trails in New Mexico, Utah, and AZ). For off-road comfort/safety, the stronger ply of the LT tires is appealing. However, MPG is very important to me as well (I've already compromised quite a bit on the mpg-front just to get into the 4Runner--had to buy a Camry hybrid for the other car to make my wife happy). Have you noticed much of an MPG hit with the E-rated tires compared to your previous LT C-rated tires and compared to the P stock tires?

I realize there will be some hit to MPG with the LT, but sort of hoping that the less aggressive tread of the LTX-AT2 and their lower relative weight within their class (per Tire Rack Comparison) works miracles and keeps it around .5 mpg...

 

[DesertDog]

Decided to go with the P tires... Will see if I regret it. But after reading numerous posts about E's driving like dump trucks and killing gas mileage, I decided to try to make the P's work. I like the drive better already over the Dunlops.

 

[Glenn_Law]

Are y'all still happy with that LTX AT2 tires?

My factory 20" Geolandars have 55K on them and will need to be replaced soon. I'm planning on getting 17" rims to open up my tire choices. The LTX AT2 seems like a good choice. I'd probably get it in the SL (which I think is what they call the P rating) rather than the E simply because I don't go rock climbing and I don't pull heavy trailers. Like the OP, I drive mostly on-road, but want an AT tire for my occasional offroad ventures.

 

[Ivy Mike]

Have 30k on a set 265/70 17 Load E on a Sequoia and they are wearing like iron, smooth ride, no balancing issues, good in the wet, limited time on snow/ice they were fine but would want something with more siping if they did a lot of snow duty but that's a non-issue in Georgia. Someone was running these in the Ouray, CO trip pics on a TE.

 

[Glenn_Law]

Have 30k on a set 265/70 17 Load E on a Sequoia and they are wearing like iron, smooth ride, no balancing issues, good in the wet, limited time on snow/ice they were fine but would want something with more siping if they did a lot of snow duty but that's a non-issue in Georgia. Someone was running these in the Ouray, CO trip pics on a TE.

..

Thanks. I'm in Houston, so no snow issues for me, either. Just an occasional muddy trail.

Thanks,
Glenn

 

[Chsbrgr]

50 psi worked very well. Firm, but truck handled well. Even went off road at that pressure, which was REALLY firm. Next time I'll pack my air compressor. AT2s did great in sand and sandstone though.

Have you run these off road at less than 50psi? I'm trying to decide between the E rated and the P rated AT2's. I sure don't need the load carrying capacity of the E. Are the E's more puncture resistant? Not being able to lower the air pressure for a more comfortable off road ride sounds like a deal breaker. ATRAC with the factory tires is amazing in deep sand at 32psi or at 22psi, so is there any reason other than load capacity to run the E? Thanks