Best Street Tire

[kamiller42]

My tire needs are: 1) Quiet on the road. 2) Great traction. 3) Long mileage.

I don't need an all terrain tire or off-road tire. I have my choices narrowed to two, but I'm open to others. All opinions are welcomed.

I am looking at the Uniroyal Liberator & Firestone Firehawk Indy 500.

Should I bump up the size of my tires? Would that help for road travel?

 

[11lariat]

michelin ltx m/s. don't even bother looking elsewhere

 

[toypaseo]

I'll second the LTX vote

I have Firestone Firehawk INDY 500's on my Toyota, size 195-50-15. I got them since they have the best ratings that I found online in snow in that size, just incase I ran into a late snowfall. I like them. Not the quietest I have had, but not mud tire noisy. If you are a mild driver, like I am mostly, then they should last long. They actually have respectable ratings on Tirerack. Price was cheap in my size also

I had Firestone Firehawk SS20's before these. Same tread pattern, renamed to INDY 500, as far as I can tell.

 

[Anime]

Third on the LTX M/S here. Best highway tire that works as an all-terrain.

For pavement only, the Michelin Cross Terrain SUV is also a good choice.

If you want the sportier "NASCAR" truck look or something, I guess the INDY 500 would do, if the price is right versus the Michelin. I wouldn't put Uniroyal anything on a vehicle. Horrible, horrible traction.

Bumping up the size of your tires won't really help anything. You can get a wider, lower profile tire in place of the stock size though, for looks. For instance, you can get a 255/70R15 tire in place of a 235/75R15.

 

[IAmTodd]

Look into the G/Y Fortera TripleTread. Heard very good things about them. Good dry/wet/snow traction.

 

[kamiller42]

Thank you everybody for your responses. I am reading about all of your suggestions. The LTX M/S seems to have strong positive response here. It's a little more than I wanted to spend, but we'll see. It is available at Costco which helps.

Anime4x4, I looked up the Cross Terain at Costco and Discount Tire and found there are numerous entries with the same name. Their prices differ by 5 or 10 dollars. Do you know what the difference is between these SKUs?

IAmTodd, I currently have Fortera HL's on the Explorer. I am a little surprised I am having to shop for new tires. They made it 35,000 miles. Seems a little premature. Is my mileage expectation for SUV tires too high?

 

[dkchrist]

Fourth for michelin LTX M/S hands down

Saw a suburban with 80k on a set and still looked decent

 

[ExplorerDMB]

fif on LTX votes (fif-chappelle show fans)

-Drew

 

[SensRanger]

Anyone know the difference between Michelin LTX M/S and A/T ? I looked at both but went with the ATs because my previous tires were 235-75-15 AT's and they were excellent. Plenty of tread left when I replaced them because they were 7 years old, and most importantly, excellent traction which saved me from an accident more than once. I decided to get the 31x10.5x15 this time and so far they are great.

 

[BrooklynBay]

So far, the best tire I've seen is the Michelin Hydroedge. Here's my review: http://www.explorerforum.com/reviewpost/showproduct.php/product/227/cat/500

 

[Nasty350LT1]

I love my Michelin LTX M/S... No question about it.

 

[kamiller42]

Wow. I don't know if I've ever seen so much agreement on a forum. Is this board sponsored by Michelin? Michelin LTX M/S it is then.

 

[ric232]

Another for Michelin LTX M/S. I'm on my second set (since the original Firestone's). The AT's (All Terrain) will be rougher on the street.

 

[Anime]

So many votes for the LTX M/S because they have the tread (four channels with sipes) for rain and snow, and a compound thats soft enough to grip but wears like iron. You want high mileage SUV tires? Get them. I replace mine at half tread or so which typically happens at ~50,000 miles. With proper rotation, balancing, alignment, and air pressure, these things can probably last 80-100K. They SEEM expensive at first, but if you do the math on replacing the $60-80 tires every 30-40K, the LTX M/S costs LESS.

The Cross Terrain SUV tire should only come in one entry/SKU for a size, I don't think there are different ones for this tire. The LTX M/S however, comes in LOTS of different kinds. There is the "base" which is a "P-series" size thats a regular load tire and is rated for 35 psi air pressure. These are good for street use and are the least expensive, ~$100. There is a "P-series" XL rated which is an "Extra Load" tire for heavy loads or trailering. There is also an "LT" or Light Truck model, which is what I use, and it's made a little tougher for off-road use and has a higher air pressure of 50 psi for airing up if you use it on a heavy vehicle or heavy load.

The A/T is Michelin's LTX version of an All-Terrain, the difference from the LTX M/S being the tread. I think really it's just a market filler for other countries where they don't sell the BF Goodrich Radial All-Terrain.

 

[jp450]

I have a little over 80k on my LTX's and I will probably get another 10K. Love them. As stated before the inital cost is a little bit more but look at what you get!!!

Jeff

 

[pabille]

I have a little over 20K on my stock sized (235/75R15) G/Y Fortera Triple Treads and they look in great shape. That's nothing compared to on-road performance. Great on rain slick streets and excellent road handling wet or dry. Fairly quiet on the highway. They're not cheap but I don't discount safety and performance.

 

[kamiller42]

Thank you guys for the recommendation. The LTX M/S are great tires.

A funny thing happened on the way to getting them. Costco had the lowest out the door price, but I had to order them. Since I could get reward points on my credit card by ordering at their web site, I did just before Christmas. The credit card company kicked it back because of the amount and it was my first purchase at that site. Since it was the holidays, I did not address the issue till about mid-January.

It turns out it was a good thing the initial order was kicked back. In January through 2/4, Costco has a sale on Michelin tires, $60 off 4 tires. Sweet! That covered tax and then some.

 

[spotdog14]

I have fortura Triple Treads, and they are the best thing ever! Ill put a vote in for that.

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

Fourth for michelin LTX M/S hands down

Saw a suburban with 80k on a set and still looked decent

i'm not a michelin fan, but he is right, i bought a set of used ones from a guy at work, had 75,000 miles on them and they still have 8/32nds of tread, incredible, he replaced with a new set of michelin's, said the new ones are even better, nice and quiet and great traction

 

[smisco]

I have 235 75 15 Michelin LTX AT's on my 2000 Explorer Sport now and they have held up well. But they seem a little noisy on the highway. I would like to change to 265 70 16 tires and get something that is a little less noisy the highway. Would the MS's be less noisy at highway speeds than the AT's are?