Time for new tires....opinions?

Super-G

Super-G

New member
So my 02 4R Sport is due for state inspection next month. I'm looking at my tires and they appear to be borderline passing. Add to that the fact that old man winter is on his way and it's most likely time for new tires for my 4R.

My current set up is a set Michelin XC LT4 tires in the factory size of 265/70/16. I like how these tires fill out my wheel wells and also give the appearance of a nice all terrain tire. I don't like the look of a 4WD vehicle with car tires.

I like an all terrain tire for a few reasons. First of all I live in an area where we get snow in the winter. When it snows, I need to be able to get to work. I also own a vacation home in the Pocono Mts of PA and my family and I go up in the winter for skiing. I need to get up and back in snowy conditions as well as getting around the mountain roads in snowy conditions. So for starters I need a tire that gives great snow traction.

Secondly in the summer I use my 4R to drop my small fishing boat into a few lakes. When I drop the boat into the lake I back down a dirt/stone covered road and back partly into the water to drop the boat. I normally use 4WD for extra traction. So again I prefer an all terrain type of a tire as opposed to a car/handling type of tire.

Other than that, my 4R is my daily driver and will NEVER do any off-roading.

I am looking for a nice mid range all terrain tire in the stock/factory size. I don't want cheapy Pep Boy's specials but I also don't want to spend $2000.00 on a set of tires.

In the past, I've had good luck with Cooper Tires. I have a set on my 68 Firebird and I have no complaints.

I saw a set of Cooper Discoverer tires. It looks like there is an all terrain tire called the Discoverer AT3 and I'm wondering if any one has any feedback on this tire.
 
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Super-G said:
So my 02 4R Sport is due for state inspection next month. I'm looking at my tires and they appear to be borderline passing. Add to that the fact that old man winter is on his way and it's most likely time for new tires for my 4R.

My current set up is a set Michelin XC LT4 tires in the factory size of 265/70/16. I like how these tires fill out my wheel wells and also give the appearance of a nice all terrain tire. I don't like the look of a 4WD vehicle with car tires.

I like an all terrain tire for a few reasons. First of all I live in an area where we get snow in the winter. When it snows, I need to be able to get to work. I also own a vacation home in the Pocono Mts of PA and my family and I go up in the winter for skiing. I need to get up and back in snowy conditions as well as getting around the mountain roads in snowy conditions. So for starters I need a tire that gives great snow traction.

Secondly in the summer I use my 4R to drop my small fishing boat into a few lakes. When I drop the boat into the lake I back down a dirt/stone covered road and back partly into the water to drop the boat. I normally use 4WD for extra traction. So again I prefer an all terrain type of a tire as opposed to a car/handling type of tire.

Other than that, my 4R is my daily driver and will NEVER do any off-roading.

I am looking for a nice mid range all terrain tire in the stock/factory size. I don't want cheapy Pep Boy's specials but I also don't want to spend $2000.00 on a set of tires.

In the past, I've had good luck with Cooper Tires. I have a set on my 68 Firebird and I have no complaints.

I saw a set of Cooper Discoverer tires. It looks like there is an all terrain tire called the Discoverer AT3 and I'm wondering if any one has any feedback on this tire.
Click to expand...

I think that the Cooper AT3s are one of the best values out there in a moderate AT tire right now. You cannot beat the price with the rebate that is out till Nov 5, 2013. I got mine for under $500 after rebate including everything but tax and alignment. In P metric, they are basically as quite as a factory tire. Loads of siping will be great for wet and winter use.

I dont have much mileage on them at this point to comment much further but you can read my write up and see pics here...

Cooper Discoverer A/T3 265/75/R16 SL Load

 
I have coopers on everything I own or am responsible for.

AT3's are on Grammys 04 Grand Cherokee Limited.

ATR's are on My 04 Grand Cherokee Laredo

The AT3's look better and on the Limited with Quadra-Drive its all but unstoppable.

Edit. Will be putting AT3's on the 4Runner puppy hauler this fall.
 
Coopers are a good value (I have them on my rig), but my personal opinion is that the Michelin LTX MS is the be-all-end-all for a truck tire that will not see off-road duty. They just last forever.
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the BFG All-Terrain K/O. I had them on my Tacoma and loved them. They performed well, they look good, and when I had one fail due to me waiting too long to replace it, it failed well (front driver side blowout at highway speed with no loss of control).

I was planning on buying a set for my "new" 4runner as well. Is there something I'm not aware of about this tire that makes it a poor choice?
 
Brique said:
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the BFG All-Terrain K/O. I had them on my Tacoma and loved them. They performed well, they look good, and when I had one fail due to me waiting too long to replace it, it failed well (front driver side blowout at highway speed with no loss of control).

I was planning on buying a set for my "new" 4runner as well. Is there something I'm not aware of about this tire that makes it a poor choice?
Click to expand...
BFG AT KO is a great tire, but the OP stated he will only use the runner on the road, so it's a little overkill IMO
 
Cooper AT3 is a good tire and made in the USA. I had them on my previous Tacoma and loved them. I'm in Alabama so I can't speak on how they handle the snow, but they were quiet, had a nice ride and looked pretty aggressive. I would have put them on my 4Runner but when I bought it it had one new Hankook Dynapro ATM on it so I bought 3 more trying to save some money. I can't say anything about the Hankooks either. They are very comparable to the Coopers.

 
I have Cooper AT3's on my tundra and they throw rocks on gravel. Just put a set of Cooper ATP's on the 4runner and they are alot better. $122 apiece at Discount Tire Direct.com 265/75/16
 
personally id go with the michelin ltx m/s2 tires, similar to what you have. they are gonna last a lot longer(6yr/70,000mi warranty) than the coopers, sure they are gonna be more $$$(you can get 4 for under $750 with no coupons or sales, so if you look around you might find them even cheaper) but you get what you pay for, the michelins are a much better tire IMO, they have been a leader in tire design and innovation as well as technology. it is very very hard to beat a michelin tire, especially for how you are going to use it.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=LTX+M/S2
 
Destination LE2s. Just got them on the Rav4 and will be putting them on my 4rjnner at the end of the month. Highest rated Highway all season on tire rack, above the Michelin ltx ms2s. And they're less expensive . If it weren't for the price diff though, I'd get the Michelins though.
 
the kid said:
personally id go with the michelin ltx m/s2 tires, similar to what you have. they are gonna last a lot longer(6yr/70,000mi warranty) than the coopers, sure they are gonna be more $$$(you can get 4 for under $750 with no coupons or sales, so if you look around you might find them even cheaper) but you get what you pay for, the michelins are a much better tire IMO, they have been a leader in tire design and innovation as well as technology. it is very very hard to beat a michelin tire, especially for how you are going to use it.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=LTX+M/S2
Click to expand...

Can you show me where you can get 4 for under $750?
 
Rocky5000100 said:
Can you show me where you can get 4 for under $750?
Click to expand...

another couple of clicks and you would of been there...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ite Letters&partnum=675TR6LTXMS2OWL&tab=Specs

no discount coupons or cored or rebates, find a couple of those, add them in there and bam! -note tirerack is not the cheapest place to buy tires, there are other places that offer cheaper prices, i just use them as a base line and for finding info about tires. and yes, i have bought from them before and they are a good source, but not always the cheapest.
 
the kid said:
personally id go with the michelin ltx m/s2 tires, similar to what you have. they are gonna last a lot longer(6yr/70,000mi warranty) than the coopers, sure they are gonna be more $$$(you can get 4 for under $750 with no coupons or sales, so if you look around you might find them even cheaper) but you get what you pay for, the michelins are a much better tire IMO, they have been a leader in tire design and innovation as well as technology. it is very very hard to beat a michelin tire, especially for how you are going to use it.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=LTX+M/S2
Click to expand...

I will second your stance that you cannot go wrong with a Michelin.


Personally, I'm looking at a set of Goodyear Authority Wranglers.
Goodyear Wrangler Authority Tire LT265/75R16 - Walmart.com

These are a walmart-exclusive tire made by Goodyear (obviously). Now, before you say, "I don't want any walmart piece of shit..." like I did, read the reviews!!! I've been researching tires for about a month and am almost positive that I'll put these on my '97 because of their outstanding reviews.

Good luck with the search.
 
the kid said:
another couple of clicks and you would of been there...

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ite Letters&partnum=675TR6LTXMS2OWL&tab=Specs

no discount coupons or cored or rebates, find a couple of those, add them in there and bam! -note tirerack is not the cheapest place to buy tires, there are other places that offer cheaper prices, i just use them as a base line and for finding info about tires. and yes, i have bought from them before and they are a good source, but not always the cheapest.
Click to expand...

Wow thanks! I've been searching for months and couldn't find that tire for less than 220 a tire. Maybe because I was looking at the 265/70/17 size? Idk. Weird though. Maybe I'll get these instead now.
 
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