Tire opinions

[extra-medium]

I am shopping around and doing research on tires. The last set I got, Cooper Discoverer A/T 3 in P245/75/16, I spent a lot of time reading reviews and comparing tread design and warranties. My tires have a 55k mile warranty and I have 54k miles on them with a little bit to go.

I am tossing around the idea of going up to a 265 since I have the lift struts, but not sure if I want to give up the reduced fuel economy. I have also tossed around sticking with an all-terrain or going with a beefier all terrain/mud terrain or a highway tread. I live in an area that gets snow so I need something that gets good grip in the snow, but does well in rain, on dry pavement, an can stand dirt/gravel roads.

Although I love the look and design of the Goodyear Wrangler Duratrec's, and the Goodyear Wrangler Authority, I am afraid of tread life on them. I don't need such aggressive tread, but wouldn't turn it down. I have narrowed down my choices to:

Falken Wildpeak AT3 265/75/16
Mastercraft Courser ATX 245/75/16 (Same as Cooper Discoverer A/T3)
Mastercraft Courser STR 245/75/16
Dick Cepek Trail country 265/75/16

If I went with a highway tread I would probably go with a Yokohama, General, or Cooper H/T.

Just want to get feedback from anyone that might have experience with any of these and any real life reviews you can give. What kind of traction do they provide as tread wears down, and how much of a drop or increase in fuel mileage might I see.

 

[drdoom]

You should consider the General Grabber AT2. I just took a set of LTs off my 2G that had 70,000 miles on them. They would have still passed inspection but being winter time I went ahead and replaced them. I ran them hard for seven years, very good in snow, rain, or dry. Absolutely fantastic tires.

Now on my 3G with lift struts and factory 17" wheels, I am running Nitto Terra Grapplers in 255/70R17. In terms of size a good compromise in my opinion. Mathematically changed my final drive ratio to approximately a 3.59, being I have the 3.73 axles. Also there is not much clearance left to the UCA, and I would not have been comfortable with a 265, either in terms of clearance and reducing the drive ratio any further.

Of course like everyone else, I used a large cable tie on the plastic guard at the driver's side wheel well to eliminate the slight rubbing at full lock. Also I used my SCT X4 tuner to correct for the larger tires.

I would also like to add that it does not appear that the Nittos are going to be a long wearing tire. And they were not available in white letter. They do well otherwise, good traction, run smooth, don't get flat spots, and are fine unbalanced because like usual, I threw all the wheel weights in the first mile. :-/

 

[Robert Craig]

Don't go with the yokohama's, I ran them and they did not last very long at all. The tire I'm looking at upgrading to is the Bridgestone duller At Revo2 I have the duller hp now but they are the hightway tred they come with a 80k warranty and they ride great and the best tires I have used in the rain. But I need more of an off road tire so I'm going with the Revo2 now because how impressed I've been with the hp. I run a 275/55r20 they just slight rub the back of my fender liner on the front with a stock hight 03 ex.

 

[Robert Craig]

If your concerned on size here is the comparison on the tire size's
245
H = 30.47 w = 9.65
265
H = 31.65 w = 10.43
Spwed different with the 265 at 60 mph the speed will be 62.33 mph

 

[extra-medium]

I'm not concerned too much with tire height., they are either a 30.5" or 31.5" tire. I thought about te BFG A/T's and still consider them, I used to have a set of 32" BFG's on my lifted Durango years ago. On my grand Cherokee I had I put the General A/T 2's and liked them for the driving I did, not much off road. They are a decent tire. I looked into the Bridgestone Revo 2's when I got my current Coopers, but a good majority of the reviews said they had uneven wear and people weren't getting anywhere near the miles on them they should. Ultimately I want something that has that rugged look, but will last to or beyond the warranty, but also gets good wet/snow traction as they wear down.

 

[drdoom]

On my 2G I went with the Falken Wildpeak AT3. They are also not white letter. I have not had them long, but they did good in the one snow we've had so far, have ample siping, and run pretty quiet. They are not expensive. I'm sure you have seen they have a lot of tread on the sidewall. Pretty good so far.

 

[extra-medium]

They are one of the ones I am looking at. I believe they come with 16/32 or 18/32 of tread, and they have decent tread blocks for an A/T tire. They do have a pretty aggressive sidewall for an A/T as well. Only downside with them is they don't have the outlined or white lettering. Not a deal breaker, but I like the look of the outlined lettering I have on my coopers now.

 

[drdoom]

Yes the white letter tires do look sharp. That's why I was going with the Mickey's for my 3G, but the backorder was three months, so I got the Nittos.