which all-terrains are right for me?

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SierraDan

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Looking for a new set of tires for my 4x4 4Runner and my 4x4 Suburban and while the Michelin LTX M/S tires on the Suburban are great I prefer to have all terrains because we've been getting nasty winters and I drive to and from work at odd hours and often the roads haven't been plowed at all, and even in 4WD the tires don't grip too well on packed down snow.

So i'm looking for advice, the most offroad they see is dirt roads so offroad capability is not an issue. I'd like a set that lasts long as far as A/T's go, ride well on dry roads and do well in snow/ice. Right now I have Firestone Destinaton A/T's on my Sierra and the 4Runner now and those do very well. My truck is 2WD and open diff and I haven't had too much issue if I have the bed loaded but if not I try not to drive it. They're pretty cheap but i'm wondering if there are better options.

I've read the BFG A/T's and similar Pro Comp and General A/T's don't do as well on wet roads as the less aggressive A/T's like the Destinations, so looking for the less aggressive ones. I've driven trucks at work with Wrangler SilentArmors but they're pricey, especially the load range E Pro-Grades that I need for the heavy Suburban. But now they have the Wrangler Adventure Pro Grades which are a good bit cheaper and look great but no reviews being so new, and same with the new Dick Cepek Trail Country.

Anyone have any thoughts? Hoping someone else has some insights on those new tires I mentioned, also because the Trail Country tires come in load range E in the 4Runners's stock size.
 
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Well, the Cooper Discoverer AT3 is about the best AT tire on the market.

Discoverer A/T3 Tire | All Terrain Tire | Cooper Tires

But having said that...a tire that gets a lot of GREAT reviews from people who live in snowy climates is the Hankook Dynapro ATM. I loved them myself but unfortunately sold them too early to go to a bigger size. I've read others say they are the best snow tire they've ever used.
 
Honestly if you have the available funds for a good long lasting tire with great reviews I would highly suggest the Michelin LTX A/T3. I have personally ridin in a truck with these tires in some sketchy ice/snow and other situations.

Yes they might not look aggressive like my personal fav BFG AT's but they get the job done.

If they are a little out of your price range I would also suggest the BFG Long Trail or Firsestone Revo A/t.

I use to be a service advisor when I was younger and would have tons of customers that lived in the MT's.

LTX A/T2 | Michelin Tires
 
check out the Hankook danapro ATm or the wild country XTX one of the few AT's rated with the snow flake and as a winter tire.....
both tires out preform their price range
 
i just got some firestone destination A/T's and I love them. Price was right and I tore up sundog trails here in OKC the other day. Havent tried them in sketchy weather yet but I was really surprised how well they did in the mud.
 
Aviationtech said:
i just got some firestone destination A/T's and I love them. Price was right and I tore up sundog trails here in OKC the other day. Havent tried them in sketchy weather yet but I was really surprised how well they did in the mud.
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They suck in mud! Dirt, rocks, snow and ice they do well, not great but well. I've put 20k on mine in 2 years with a lot of wheeling, snow/ice driving and road trips and have been pleased with them. I got them before I started wheeling and will eventually get a set of km2's for summer and keep the firestones at my winter tire. They hold their own in the snow but I really miss my studs! I would also check out the General Grabber at 2 as a possibility.
 
Im not saying they will do as good as a M/T tire or maybe even BFG A/T's, but they do great for an everyday tire that does good on the street. I got in some pretty deep holes and i could feel the tires grabbing and I was able to have alot of fun with them. There is minimal road noise on the highway due to the not so crazy aggresive tread design. Overall im very happy with them. I got the 255/75/17's on a stock set up.
 
i can say that i have the bfg's on my 4runner and the General at'2 on my Sierra. while bith are good the AT'2s are that much better plus they have a warranty and better treadwear. i have had absolutely no problems in the rain or wet roads on either tire.
 
I have loved my BFG KOs. I am on my third set (285/75R16D) I will not run anything that is not at least a D load rating as Utah is full of jagged rocks and I hate flats, sort of ruins your trip. Traction is excellent on ice and snow, sand, rock, almost anything except gooey mud which we don't get too much here in the west. I would expect these to go about 70k like the last sets did. Far superior to a mud tire on winter roads. The 3-ply sidewall is tougher than most other tires can offer even in an E load rating. They are quiet on the road. These rate high on the peace of mind scale, whatever happens, I'm ready. Some of the new comers like Cooper's new tire (AS-3??)look promising, but I haven't tried them. I did try a set of Nitto Terra Grapplers but I like the BFGs better especially off road.
 
I have had both the Firestone and hankook tires. The Firestone on my f250 diesel and the hankook on my 4runner now. I've found the hankook to be a more capable tire in all situations from snow to offroading. Stock size too.
 
I went with a set of BFG Rugged Terrains. These replaced the old Rugged Trails (which were kind of crappy).

Ultimately they're designed for vehicles who see a lot of road time but still need some offroad grip. They're not as pricey as the BFG KOs and still look pretty good:

http://i.imgur.com/Ige7xTb.jpg
 
I'm still interested in trying out the new Goodyears and Dick Cepek's I mentioned. Like I said never had any trouble with the Destinations and I like the price but I like to try out all the options to see what's best. Also looking into the Yokohama Geolander AT-S tires, which i've read are great for their price too.

Real interested in the 2 new ones, the Goodyears look a lot like the SilentArmors which i've driven with on work trucks, and if they can keep a dually stable on snow then they should be good on anything. The DC's look similar to them as well and both aren't too expensive, cheaper than the SilentArmors and BFG AT's.

Not getting HT tires that's for sure. The LTX M/S tires aren't too bad but on a Suburban the weight helps a lot. In our heavy dually work trucks we have Wrangler HT's on the front/rear right now and during the last snow storm they were like ice skates on the rear, and locked very easy when braking (no ABS).
 
I went from Firestone Destination AT's (265/70/17) to Cooper Discoverer AT3's (255/75/17). I was happy with the Firestones, but wanted to try something new. I really like the 255's by way of proportions, but that's a different discussion altogether. I had the Firestones for about three years and the Coopers for about a year. The Coopers look slightly more aggressive than the Firestones and both seem to surprise people with their offroad capabilities. MT's they are not, but I've never had a problem with either on or off pavement. They both do well in snow, rain, sand, and moderate mud and rocks. They're both quiet on the highway and don't waste any more gas than out rigs already do.

I've enjoyed BFG KO's in the past. They look the part and were definitely capable offroad, but they're not cheap and can be noisy on road. I don't think the AT3's or ATs are any less capable. Based on the OP's intended use, I'd recommend the Discoverer AT3s or Destination ATs -- they will eagerly accept more demanding terrain than what he plans to subject them to. In this case, it just comes down to price and willingness to accept they may not look as cool as they perform.
 
Billynath1988 said:
Anyone have any experience with Pro Comp Xtreme AT?
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My co-worker has them on his jeep. Other than for balancing issues & a bad belt in one they are wearing well and he has had excellent traction on all but the muddiest trails. They are definitely not quiet though.
 
Spenser said:
I went from Firestone Destination AT's (265/70/17) to Cooper Discoverer AT3's (255/75/17). I was happy with the Firestones, but wanted to try something new. I really like the 255's by way of proportions, but that's a different discussion altogether. I had the Firestones for about three years and the Coopers for about a year. The Coopers look slightly more aggressive than the Firestones and both seem to surprise people with their offroad capabilities. MT's they are not, but I've never had a problem with either on or off pavement. They both do well in snow, rain, sand, and moderate mud and rocks. They're both quiet on the highway and don't waste any more gas than out rigs already do.

I've enjoyed BFG KO's in the past. They look the part and were definitely capable offroad, but they're not cheap and can be noisy on road. I don't think the AT3's or ATs are any less capable. Based on the OP's intended use, I'd recommend the Discoverer AT3s or Destination ATs -- they will eagerly accept more demanding terrain than what he plans to subject them to. In this case, it just comes down to price and willingness to accept they may not look as cool as they perform.
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I too would love to hear something about the new Dick Cepek Trail Country, but all that seems to be out there is a repeat of the same roll out verbiage from Cepek.

I was very interested to read the quote above on the AT3 and Destination AT, since they're 1A and 1B at the top of my consideration list. I rarely go off road but when I do it's for destination purposes as the only choice to remote beaches. The only thing that counts in that case is how a tire works for mostly highway, but through real mud onto coarse deep sand.

I've been disappointed in the past with KO's loading up with gooey mud surprisingly easy. I think the tread design being at a 30 degree or so angle that works great on sand of the trail, isn't lined up well to shed mud. However while the Cooper and Firestone do have milder looking tread designs, they seem to have tread which lines up favorably to low speed spin the mud straight off.

Spenser do you mind sharing which of the two between the Cooper and the Firestone you thought performed better in mud?

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
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