Tire Recommendations? Suggestions?

[tanker]

I'm going to ask this but I'm sure it has been asked before; I tried all manner of searches but could find any helpful hits.

Don't hate me!

I have a stock 1996 XLT with the 4.0L and manual 5 speed. I am the original owner; I only have 42k miles on her. Why? I use it only when I want to haul hobby stuff, my two dogs, friends or just 'stuff'. I use a small bucket for daily commutes.

I don't go offroad much but once in a while; basically (gulp!) it's a great station wagon. I love the thing.

My question is this: Believe it or not I have the original Goodyear 235r75/15 tires on it. Everyone I've spoken to said "get rid of them - they're old". Ok
so for a mostly road; sometime offroad; sometimes mud -driven '96
Explorer what would be a good all around tire?

I know it isn't a simple question. I was already to get a set of BF Goodrich All Terrain T/As but something unexpected came up requiring I cancel the appointment. Now I'm hearing these tires would be way noisy and rough(er) than the OEM Goodyears. I admit it, as I'm getting older although I'm not ready for a sofa ride I don't want a washboard either.

Help? Recommendations? Suggestions? If I don't get any I'll just bite on the Goodrich tires.

Thanks for reading this long winded first post.

Jerry

 

[Explorer Junky]

I have the BFG All Terrains and LOVE them. I hunt, and do 2-tracking. They are AWESOME in the snow. But, if you like the cushy quieter ride then I would go with the very expensive Micheline XTS M+S. Next I would say Cooper Discoverer. Bridgestone Dueler is a LESs aggressive AT tire than the BFG's. I had a set that lasted for several years on my daily driver, and traction was better than a regular Radial. Those are MY opinions!

 

[jlsparky7]

The more aggressive the tread the louder and less comfortable the ride will be.

 

[Electrohacker]

The more aggressive the tread the louder and less comfortable the ride will be.

not completely true

my truck came with michelin ltx ms tires and i only notice a stiffer ride in my BFG at's when i fill them to 45psi for mileage. I notice no noticeable road noise from the tires

 

[chapsdeva]

The Michelin LTX is a great tire, but they are expensive. I got over 70K on my set and there others who have gotten much more. I then went to BFG Long Trails and got 65K out of them. Both were quiet and smooth. I just got another set of the Long Trails last week (On sale at Sears along with a $60 rebate if you buy 4) as I didn't want to spend the extra for the Michelins at this time. You can't go wrong with either.

 

[gtyates]

Love the Michelin LTX tire!! I have them on both of my Ex's. Great tire!! And yes, expensive. I have over 50k on my '96 and still over half the tread depth left. May have to replace them at some point due to age not tread. On the '97 I had I ran a set of Dueller's. The original Dueller AT's did well, but the Dueller AT Revo's were shot by 20k miles and the shop I use said other Ex owners were experiencing short life with the Revo's. They adjusted the price on the LTX's I bought as a replacement for that truck.

 

[Green97XLT]

14 year old tires!
Be very careful driving those around.
Your next drive should be to get those replaced.

Tread separation occurring on tires can be deadly.

In 2006, Ford was requesting that the NHTSA issue a consumer advisory recommending a 6 year age limit for tires.

I'm not sure what, if anything, the NHTSA did about the request.

Back to your question: I've had the Michelin LTX and the BFG All Terrains. I liked them both but prefer the aggressive tread for the occasional light off-roading that I do. If you are mostly on paved roads then Michelin LTX are a good choice.

 

[Carguy3J]

I really liked the Continental Conti-Trac SUV, but I believe it's been discontinued. They were MUCH quieter then the OE Goodyears that were on mine when I got it. The "replacement" model is the Continental Cross-Contact LX. It has a little different tread pattern, but it should also be a good tire.

 

[toypaseo]

On mine, I replaced the dismal Goodyear Wrangler RT/S with Michelin LTX M/S. Improved my ride ALOT. Pricey, but well worth it.

 

[mikepier]

Don't forget, if you buy a tire with an XL load rating, the ride will be harder. For 235/75R15, the normal load rating I believe is 105, where an XL would be 108.

I just ordered a set of General Grabber HTS on Tirerack to replace my 7 year old Michelin Cross Terrains ( surprised Michelin does not make this tire anymore in my size).
I've heard nothing but good things about the Generals. I'll post a follow-up after I put them on.

 

[ddarko]

I just ordered a set of General Grabber HTS on Tirerack to replace my 7 year old Michelin Cross Terrains ( surprised Michelin does not make this tire anymore in my size).
I've heard nothing but good things about the Generals. I'll post a follow-up after I put them on.

Please do, I'd be interested to hear what you think of them. I saw the Grabbers on Tire Rack and noticed how similar they looked to the BFG KO. They even ranked higher in the survey.

To the OP: I originally had a set of Michelin LTX but they were nearly bald so only rode on them for a month or so. Comfy ride though and I've heard good things but expensive.
I then had a set of Goodyear Wrangler RT/S. Garbage. Utter garbage.
I'm now running Dunlop Radial Rover RVxT on all four corners. Great AT tire for the price, RMA certified and doesn't feel much harsher than the other two tires. I wanted the Bridgestone Dueler Revos at the time but they were too expensive.

 

[beach]

On mine, I replaced the dismal Goodyear Wrangler RT/S with Michelin LTX M/S. Improved my ride ALOT. Pricey, but well worth it.

Yeh I don't like the RT/S either. I've had Michelin LTX and their excellent, Sumitomo HTR A/Ts are excellent as well and have a lil badass look to them, love those tires.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Sumitomo&tireModel=HTR+Sport+A%2FT

 

[mikepier]

I just ordered a set of General Grabber HTS on Tirerack to replace my 7 year old Michelin Cross Terrains ( surprised Michelin does not make this tire anymore in my size).
I've heard nothing but good things about the Generals. I'll post a follow-up after I put them on.

Well, I got the Generals put on yesterday. So far I'm pleased. They have good ride and comfort performance. I put them right up there as far as quality with my old Michelins I had. Of course, I can't test in snow until winter time, but so far I'm happy.

 

[tanker]

I've been meaning to post a followup on this topic. I ended up buying Michelin's LTS MX2. So far I like them although as I don't drive the machine much I've only had one opportunity to go off road and that wasn't really a rough ride.
I don't detect much highway noise but then I've never really owned a quiet car.
I have a Miata, Boxster, this Explorer and a 1972 Datsun pickup - none of which is quiet. I think I'd fall asleep in a really quiet car.

Haven't yet done enough driving to determine how my mileage is.

Thanks for all your suggestions and advice.

Jerry

 

[tanker]

O2 sensor access

Sorry I moved this question