All Terrain / Off Road Tires

[Halwg]

My job requires me to travel off road to well sites and pipeline rights-of-way. Because of this I need an all terrain tire. On my 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010 XLTs I always ran an all terrain tire from either Michelin, Cooper or Hercules. But these were 16" wheels.

The 2014 XLT I am now driving has an odd size 18" tire and I'm looking for an all terrain tread to use. Has anyone put such a tire on their XLT with the 18" wheels. The stock size is 245 60 R18. I've found several all terrains in 265 60 R18, but nothing in the stock size. I have upgraded sizes before, and I think I'm probably going to have to go that route with this vehicle.

Has anyone done this, and if so, how did it affect handling, mileage and speedometer reading. It looks like only about a 2 mph difference in the speedo, but I'm wondering about gas mileage since I'm averaging 25 on the highway and 18 in town with the stock Michelin Latitudes.

 

[peterk9]

It si recommended that with any change in tire size that you stay within the accepted diameter variance of 3% maximum. The size you (265) exceeds that variance (3.19%). The pop up message says that exceeding the 3% may lead to possible brake failure.

Peter

 

[walterhudson]

Tirerack.com

 

[Halwg]

It si recommended that with any change in tire size that you stay within the accepted diameter variance of 3% maximum. The size you (265) exceeds that variance (3.19%). The pop up message says that exceeding the 3% may lead to possible brake failure.

Peter

I don't see how increasing the size to 265 would lead to brake failure. And if we are looking at 3%, there is enough variance built into the actual size of tires that the difference between 3% and 3.19% (round back to 3), would be negligible. Now if it was 5% or 6% I might have a problem with it, but not at 3.19%.

Anyway, neither poster answered my question as to whether anyone has substituted this size and what it did to the fuel economy. About 1.5 - 2 mph on the speedo at 60 - 70 mpg is not a big deal. Most speedos are off that much anyway.

 

[peterk9]

I believe the note about the brakes is likely because of the extra weight of the wheels. That is only a guess since the note doesn't go into specifics. Since the tire you are considering is wider, I would expect some decrease in mpg due to more rolling resistance on the road and aerodynamics. When I replaced my OEM 20" wheels with 17" (245/65R17) ones for Winter, the speedo read 1 mph slower. Can't really comment on MPG since the colder weather would affect that as well.

Peter

 

[jade97]

Michelin LTX MS has an all terrain tread. We have them on our 2011 xlt, in the stock 18 inch size.

The MS has a different pattern than the MS2.

 

[2TimingTom]

The brake failure thing is because as the diameter increases, the force the brake pads need to create to counteract the moment from the increased lever arm (distance from contact patch to hub) is higher.

But 3% is lawyer speak for "we're retarded and we need to cover our *****".

Look at the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gen sections. Guys running massive tires. Yes, braking distance goes up. I have 33s. Stock is something like 29. 4" larger- over 10%. Some guys have 35s and bigger. No brake failures that I've ever seen.

The real issue is putting AT tires on what essentially is a minivan. You might easily get over confident in the tires and end up in a situation you can't get out of. What ever tires you get will be fine. Handling on the road might go down, road noise will go up, rolling resistance will go up, mpgs will go down. But that's the trade off with AT tires.

 

[Halwg]

Michelin LTX MS has an all terrain tread. We have them on our 2011 xlt, in the stock 18 inch size.

The MS has a different pattern than the MS2.

Yes, I don't like the tread on these as well as on the AT2.

And I agree with 2TimingTom, someone pulled 3% out of their butts. As far as being overconfident with AT tires, not gonna happen. I have been driving 4WD SUVs since 1973 when I first got a Chevy Blazer. I've driven Blazers, Cherokees, Toyota Land Cruisers, Ford Broncos, Explorers and Expeditions. And I've gotten in some pretty tight situations over the years.

That's not going to happen on this essentially AWD car, but I do need a more aggressive tire for where I need to go.

I'm going to upsize to 265 60 R18.

 

[jade97]

Just to note, I have AT2 on my F150. They're great off road, but are terrible in the snow (no siping).

 

[2TimingTom]

Just to note, I have AT2 on my F150. They're great off road, but are terrible in the snow (no siping).

I have the BFG AT tires that are essentially the same tread design as the General AT2s. The BFG have the "mountain snowflake symbol" suggesting that they are good in the snow. But I think they are absolutely horrible. They'll accelerate like a scalded dog in the snow but don't stop for squat. They suck in the snow.

 

[jade97]

Let me clarify: Michelin LTX AT2. These are terrible in snow.

I should have put the BFG All-Terrain on it. Went through 2 sets on my F250 & they were great all around.

 

[2TimingTom]

Oh yeah, I should have inferred that.

I've had 2 sets of the BFG AT tires- first set saw lots of snow in the 30" x 9.5". They were not as good as the rating would suggest. My current set at 33" x 12.50" have only seen snow while off-road. I'm kind of scared to drive it on the street in the snow seeing how they are more like skis now. Too wide for how light the Explorer is. The 9.5" were manageable but nothing like dedicated snow tires (also with the snowflake symbol).

 

[Halwg]

I wonder how the LTX MS tires do in the snow? Also looking at the Cooper AT/3.

 

[jade97]

I wonder how the LTX MS tires do in the snow? Also looking at the Cooper AT/3.

They work great on our 2011 XLT. Drove from Rochester NY back to Philly-Allentown area of PA with it snowing all the way without issue.

 

[peterk9]

The issue isn't only how they perform in snow but how they perform on cold bare pavement. That is the difference between a dedicated Winter tire and a so called all season. That is why they also are no longer referred to as 'snow' tires. Winter tires remain flexible in cold weather while non Winter ones begin to lose optimum traction at 43 degrees. Tests have shown that a dedicated Winter tire can stop in up to 30% shorter distance than all seasons. It has to do with different rubber compounds. That is why I and many other have two sets of tires and some jurisdictions have made Winter tires mandatory during a certain period of the year.

Peter

 

[colintrax]

Just to clarify, the 3% has to do with the ABS and traction control systems. The brakes on new explorers are pretty beefy. I bet they could lock up a 35 on dry asphalt.
OP good luck finding a good AT in that size. For what it's worth I loved my Faulken Rocky Mountains until they got wore down

 

[15MagGreyXLT]

If anyone has done this could you post pictures. i also have the 18" tires and am interested in a larger a/t tire.

Thanks, Kevin

 

[Halwg]

This body style has been out since 2011 and a lot of the vehicles have 245-60 R18 tires. They are a size that I could not find even a semi-all terrain tire. I've looked for something to replace the stock Michelins that has a more aggressive tread design.

Has anyone had any luck with this? On my 2014 XLT i put on Cooper WeatherMaster winter tires and ran them from November to April. But nothing that was all terrain. Now I have the 2016 Base with the same tires, and the availability doesn't seem to have changed?

Anyone have suggestions, or found something I have overlooked?

 

[cwescapexlt4x4]

From tirerack.com - Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=Geolandar+A/T-S&partnum=46HR8GEOATS&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

[Halwg]

I had not seen those before. They look like a decently aggressive tread.