No clue - Tires.

[jaebird82]

Pulling the trigger on a 2003 V8 Sport Edition 2wd with 22k miles (yes crazy) tomorrow and got it inspected by Toyota. The orginal tires are rotted and I need to swap them asap.

Being 2wd, obviously won't be doing anything crazy off road but do a lot of mountain/back road driving and wouldn't mind doing some easy fire road type trails once in awhile.

I want something that looks cool but is also more road friendly. Budget friendly if possible - do they exist? Not sure where to start. Suggestions?

 

[knightsfs4]

Get a set of BF Goodrich A/Ts. They're cheap, cool, and they make them in almost every freaking size.

 

[jaebird82]

I keep seeing those brought up. although when i look them up they are called T/A. But there are a few variations? can i get a bigger size without them rubbing? im on a stock lift.. even though i might do a mild lift sometime soon.

Get a set of BF Goodrich A/Ts. They're cheap, cool, and they make them in almost every freaking size.

 

[knightsfs4]

Assuming you have 17" rims you can do a 265/70/17 with probably little to no rubbing at stock height. They're a great tire and last forever.

 

[Acidmeld]

For your use you could go with a bfg t/a, Goodyear duratrac or silentarmor, Nitto terra grappler. Lots of choices in 265/70/17 all terrain tires.

 

[JB.]

Pulling the trigger on a 2003 V8 Sport Edition 2wd with 22k miles (yes crazy) tomorrow and got it inspected by Toyota. The orginal tires are rotted and I need to swap them asap.

Being 2wd, obviously won't be doing anything crazy off road but do a lot of mountain/back road driving and wouldn't mind doing some easy fire road type trails once in awhile.

I want something that looks cool but is also more road friendly. Budget friendly if possible - do they exist? Not sure where to start. Suggestions?

Something to keep in my mind..

You'll be choosing among two different tire types: (P) passenger tires, which come stock on the 4runner and are the tires around which the vehicle was designed; and (LT) Light Truck tires which are heavier, run hotter, don't grip the road as well (especially on wet), carry less load at the same psi, have lower speed ratings, and cost more (this is a tire type difference, it has little to do with the aggressiveness of the tread). Sometimes people accept these tradeoffs to get a tire more resistant to hard, off-road abuse. Often, they just aren't aware of the differences. The dominant destination of choice for tire research - Tire Rack - doesn't help because if omits the P or LT prefix in the tire sizes, e.g., P265/70/17 or LT265/70/17.

The BFGoodrich All Terrain TAs and Duratracs that always get mentioned, for instance, are LT only.

You may want to stick with a passenger tire. If so, here's how to identify. On the tires themselves, there will be a P (instead of LT) in front of the size numbers on the tire (if neither, consider it the same as P). For Tire Rack, look for information in the UTQG column. P has the info, LT does not.

If you want a bottom line recommendation, Kuhmo Road Venture KL78 or Cooper Discoverer AT3. Both were high scorers in Consumer Reports AT tire tests while being below average in price.

 

[OHP]

I just put the BFG's on two days ago and so far I love them. According to the lift sticky, the 265/70/17 BFG's will rub on the stock suspension. I guess knights has a different idea of what is "cheap" than I do. My set was well over $1000 mounted and balanced. To me, that ain't cheap for tires.

 

[deedst4r]

I love my cooper AT3's! They are super on road friendly and have a nice off road ability with a rugged tread.

 

[Dewfang]

I keep seeing those brought up. although when i look them up they are called T/A. But there are a few variations? can i get a bigger size without them rubbing? im on a stock lift.. even though i might do a mild lift sometime soon.

I just got these bfg's in stock size 265/70/17 load range c. I have the bilstein 5100's in front @ 1.75" and 1 1/5" lift springs in the rear. Perfect fit no rubbing and the ride is much better than the stock Bridgestone duratracs.

 

[MikeInNH]

Sometimes people accept these tradeoffs to get a tire more resistant to hard, off-road abuse.

Or they buy them because they live in Snow country. Off-road tires also make very very good SNOW tires. You can get a All-Season P rated tire, but it's no where near as good as a AT type tire in the snow.

 

[sonerick]

I have Firestone Destination AT's in the LT255/75/17 size. I've noticed a decrease in gas mileage due to their additional weight, but they are an awesome tire.

They were relatively cheap (I think I paid 185/tire, mounted and balanced), they have great on-road manners (pretty quiet), they are excellent in the snow, and seem to also do pretty well in the wet (don't hydroplane easily).

I'm not sure what sizes they come in, but there are P-rated versions available as well.

 

[JB.]

Or they buy them because they live in Snow country. Off-road tires also make very very good SNOW tires. You can get a All-Season P rated tire, but it's no where near as good as a AT type tire in the snow.

Why compare an LT all-terrain to a P all-season. Are you conflating AT and LT?

 

[krupnation]

I have Firestone Destination AT's in the LT255/75/17 size. I've noticed a decrease in gas mileage due to their additional weight, but they are an awesome tire.

They were relatively cheap (I think I paid 185/tire, mounted and balanced), they have great on-road manners (pretty quiet), they are excellent in the snow, and seem to also do pretty well in the wet (don't hydroplane easily).

I'm not sure what sizes they come in, but there are P-rated versions available as well.

Ditto to what sonerick said. I think for what you're looking for you don't need to go with the more expensive BFG A/T's or Duratrac's. Stick with the Firestone Destination A/T (P rated) as they are a great bang for the buck. I had them on my old 3rd gen runner and loved them. They are cheap on tirerack's website, looks like right now you also get a $70 rebate!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ESTATOWL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

[galactic_04]

check my signature for pics of the Kelly Safari TSR. They're not as cheap as I got them anymore, but they're an awesome and quiet tire for what they are. I've had them on for 20k miles now and can hardly see any wear on them. I have the 6-ply so I could get the white wall. They have the look of a mudder with the quietness of a bfg AT. I just looked and they're $220/tire now though. That's crazy that they went up $40 in a year!! I guess they lost the edge of price over the Duratrac now!

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

The Firestone destination at is a great tire for the money. If you want something more aggressive, it's hard to beat the duratracs. If you go with duratracs, you can get $100 mail in rebate if you're a tread lightly member. If you're not, you can sign up, it's $25 a year so still a $75 savings.

 

[boondoggle]

Here ya go (if this works).

I saved some screenshots of Tire Racks ratings/reviews for tires in the 265/65/17 size a while back. The Goodyear Duratracs and some other don't' show up on here because either Tire Rack doesn't sell them, or, they don't come in a 265/65/17 size. Might save you some time.

On/Off Road All Terrain ratings

Highway All Season (better MPG, decent MPG some snow)

Crossover/SUV Touring (better MPG tires)

General Tire Survey

 

[superman3043]

actually you'll find Duratracs here: link

top of the list

 

[boondoggle]

Yeah those Duratracs are badass. A buddy has them on his Wrangler.

They don't come in the stock 265/65/17 size though. I think you can get away with a 265/70/17 on stock lift, without rubbing, but I've heard mixed reports. Not sure if they would fit a 2WD since it naturally sits a little lower than a 4WD. The Duratracs might be a little bigger than a regular AT with all those grippy tread knobs.

If I were getting a 2WD just to drive around I don't think I'd bother getting an AT tire. I'd probably go for the Michelin LTX MS2. They last forever and get good gas mileage. Or, for a similar highway tire, maybe even the Conti LX20 Ecos. They offer similar advantages to the Michelin but cost less.

The ATs look good but it sounds like OP is going to be on pavement 98% of the time. May as well save gas, get a long lasting tire and have good rain traction.

But that's my practical side talking.

 

[rebelbowtie]

Here ya go (if this works).

I saved some screenshots of Tire Racks ratings/reviews for tires in the 265/65/17 size a while back. The Goodyear Duratracs and some other don't' show up on here because either Tire Rack doesn't sell them, or, they don't come in a 265/65/17 size. Might save you some time.

On/Off Road All Terrain ratings

Highway All Season (better MPG, decent MPG some snow)

Crossover/SUV Touring (better MPG tires)

General Tire Survey

Take all of this info with a grain of salt since majority of tire reviews are subjective and purely opinion. Personally I wouldn't put most of those non aggressive all terrains like the Dueller Revo's or Firestone AT's in the same category as BFG T/A KO's or Duratracs or Cooper ST let alone tank them higher. They're more warranted for street driving IMo

 

[jaebird82]

wow..

Wow, tons of great info. I think after reading some of your advice, I'll go with a P tire, even though the Duratracs, BFG T/A and the Kelly Safari look badass.

But I will be driving 98 percent roads as someone stated so I guess it wouldn't be practical to get an LT tire. Plus I want to keep the torquey feel of the v8 so the lighter the better. I dont really know if heavier tires take that away or not though. This will be my first truck.

Any P tires that look pretty cool and have a semi-aggressive tread design? I'll take a look at the Firestone Destination's A/T P as they seem to be in my price range.