Tire help

[sethsport]

Just redid my front suspension, both lowers, both uppers, both outer tie rod's, camber bolt kit, and sway links. While doing this saw that my tires were shot due to poor alignment so before I go get an alignment I want to put some new tires on. I was wondering what are the best tires to run on a 2003 Ford Explorer sport trac xlt 4x4. The rims are stock and I believe are 16 x 7 with a 12 mm offset. I want to run some pretty aggressive all-terrains. It is a stock suspension although after the front end suspension upgrade my front fenders are a couple inches higher than what they were. Any input or suggestions are appreciated thank you

Also, I'm going to be posting a write up for the front suspension rebuild I just did

 

[crankyjew]

I had goodyear duratracs on my 02 Ranger, and found them to be excellent in mud and deep snow, and very aggressive looking. however not the best on ice, and somewhat noisy.

I have BF Goodrich AT KO's on my Sport Trac, and have been really really pleased with them. excellent in pretty much everything, probably the best winter driving tire I've had. Quieter and ride nicer than the goodyears. Not the best in slick mud, but really any AT tire is going to have a hard time with that.

I hear that the new AT KO2's are everything the older KO's are, but even better.

 

[01STrunner]

What are you looking for in a tire? What kind of driving do you do? Ever offroad? How much are you worried about fuel economy? Would you be willing to slightly twist the torsion bars up?

Sorry for all the questions, but there's a lot that goes into choosing tires, at least in my mind. I would agree with crankyjew though, in that your best AT options are KO2s, DuraTracs, General Grabbers, and Cooper AT3s.

 

[sethsport]

I like to go off-road but the highway tires I have turn to slicks in no time. I'm going to torque down my torsion bars some before I get the alignment and I'm not too worried about gas mileage. I like the BFGs but I don't have that kind of cash, especially after the front end rebuild, My buddy has the general grabbers and they are nice, good price and great reviews. I've been doing research on the KUMHO VENTURE AT 51. That seems like a good tire but not a ton of reviews on it but from what I've read it's good. I'm looking at 255/70/16. I have stock 16 x 7 rims with a 12mm offset. Was even thinking about going to a 265. Any opinions on that?

 

[01STrunner]

I would go with the larger size, maybe 265/70s if there are any tires in that size. I've heard of the Kuhmos, but like you haven't really heard anything about them good or bad, but I'm not the biggest fan of the tread pattern and sidewall. I don't think they look very aggressive once installed. If too or nit made a 255/70-16 I would highly suggest either the AT2 or G2 Terra Graps.

 

[sethsport]

How do y'all feel about the nitto terra grapplers? 265/70/16 ?

 

[SoCal2V]

How do y'all feel about the nitto terra grapplers? 265/70/16 ?

I have those on my '08 Explorer in 265/70-17 and have been very happy with them. Not sure how many miles I have on them, been on almost two years so probably about 40K. They have worn well, good traction in dirt and mud and adequate in snow considering that truck is RWD, quiet on the highway/freeway. No complaints whatsoever except that a new set in another 10K miles will cost a bit more than the $620 I got the first set for.

 

[01STrunner]

How do y'all feel about the nitto terra grapplers? 265/70/16 ?

Great tires. If you get LTs (do they even offer p-metric sizes?) they'll last forever on an Explorer.

 

[sethsport]

What are these LTs you speak of? I called my local guy today for a quote and he said the only ones he could find in a 265/70/16 were the "plain" terra grabbers. He said everything else was 17s. It got me wondering about what other models of terra grabber there were. I just painted one of the four stock rims on my sport trac ( I'm painting them before I get new tires so I don't care about getting paint on the old ones) and they're looking mean. I want some nice aggressive ATs to set them off without having to go full MT. How do I post pics so y'all can see?

 

[SoCal2V]

"LT" stands for light truck. Tires with that designation listed before the tire size (ex., LT265/70-16) as opposed to the usual "P" (passenger car/suv) designation basically means it is suitable for light trucks capable of carrying or towing a heavy payload. There's another version with LT listed after the size, not positive but I think those are meant to fit on odd sized wheels like 18.5" diameter or something.

The sidewall construction of LT tires is a bit more heavy duty to accomodate higher weight ratings. Not sure why it was mentioned above that they would last longer than the regular version but I can only suppose it has to do with them being constructed of a harder rubber compound maybe, that's generally how a tire gets a treadwear rating (larger number in that category suggests longer service life).

In terms of needing an LT tire for your truck, you don't. If it were an F250 that you intended to use the way an F250 is meant to be used then that would be a different story. But if you wanna spend the little extra on an LT go for it, otherwise the regular version will serve you well.

I just checked on Ebay for these tires in the 265/70-16's right now and there are a few sellers with decent prices at the moment; $530/free shipping for all 4. I'm not sure if they make an LT version or not in 16" sizes, didn't see any on Ebay right now but maybe check tirerack.com.

 

[sethsport]

Tires plus has them and it's 570 before taxes which comes out to 604.00. The quote from my local guy was like 597 and if that's taxes and everything then he's the winner, again. Can't wait to get the new rubs on my painted rims. Now I'm thinking possible body lift soon

How do I post photos?

 

[01STrunner]

How do I post photos?

Look at Post #2 with the pictures.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147920

 

[sethsport]

Ahhh I see, it has to be on the internet already. Bummer.

 

[sethsport]

Stock

Not stock

It took me forever to tape that design off and cut it out but I think they came out great. I used the harbour freight truck bed liner to paint them. It came out really even and rugged with kind of a satin look. Which is exactly what I wanted. I highly recommend the "iron armor" truck bed coating from harbor freight.

 

[sethsport]

Also, my thought is once the lug nuts are installed it'll look like the closed end of a wrench. Woohoo

 

[Accarguy]

If you go on tire rack website and you can put in your tire size you want to go with then you can compare performance ratings and reviews of different tires.

If you are going for an aggressive, I would suggest the BFG All-Terrain KO2s.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

Stock

Not stock

It took me forever to tape that design off and cut it out but I think they came out great. I used the harbour freight truck bed liner to paint them. It came out really even and rugged with kind of a satin look. Which is exactly what I wanted. I highly recommend the "iron armor" truck bed coating from harbor freight.

I like!

I'd like to do something similar - concept, not necessarily design - on my '01 wheels, but I don't have the patience to do a design like that. Or the artistic ability. Seeing your design and knowing the time it no doubt took you to do it instantly reminded me of when I polished a tunnel ram mostly by hand. I saw results instantly, but by the middle of the project I was wondering why I ever started. Of course I had no choice but to finish and it turned out pretty good.

 

[sethsport]

Yeah tell me about it. I got this one done and I'm like...****, 3 more to go. Lol. But it'll be worth it, I think with the new rubs they will look awesome installed

 

[Edge10984]

I'm running the General Grabber AT2's in P265 70 16, they are a fairly aggressive treat but stil well mannered on the pavement. I love them.

 

[sethsport]

I'm running the General Grabber AT2's in P265 70 16, they are a fairly aggressive treat but stil well mannered on the pavement. I love them.

I don't have the cash for the BFGs and I think I'm pretty much set on the nitto terra grabbers but the grabbers are my second choice. My buddy has a set of those and they are nice