Best tire for cornering

Hi all,

Could really use some advice on replacing the crapy Dunlops that came on my '09 Prerunner (dealer said they're 60k mile tires but I've got just over 30k and they're toast).

While I'd like something that looks cool, I'm very limited in budget and my main concern is getting a tire that corners well. I've been accused of being a speed demon, and I live in a very, very curvy/hilly area. (I don't get off-road, and only occasionally pull a load [trailer of dirt or firewood]). I'd love a tire that would last more than 30k miles, but I do understand my driving habits cut down on a tire's life somewhat. So I want to get a tire that's stiff/hard enough to still have some tread after a couple of years, but soft enough that I don't have to slow down taking 40 mph curves at 55.

I like the looks of the Hankook Dynapro AT-M (the LT version), but its ply rating is 10; is that going to be stiff, rough and noisy? I currently have 245/75R16s.

Thanks for any advice!

Karen

 

perhaps a truck doesn't exactly fit what you need in a vehicle. anything with a high center of gravity (such as your prerunner) is going to be pretty terrible in the corners compared to even slightly sporty cars.

 

First of all, welcome to TW.

Hmmm, slow down because it's a truck? Get it lowered and get some 50 series tires? With a 70 series, don't expect cornering to be car-like with any model of tire.

 

The hankooks also have a P rated tire to complement its heavy weight E-ply brother...

 

Low profile slicks.
P.S. Don't drive in the rain.

 

Huh. First off, I must have misrepresented myself. I'm not trying to handle a truck like a sportscar. I simply don't drive like an old lady. Secondly, the area in which I live is infamously curvy. When I tell locals where I live, they say "oh, those are fun roads to drive"; it's an exceptionally hilly and twisty road, some people actually get carsick, even when they're not riding with me.

All I'm asking is for is advice on tires that handle as well or better than the Dunlops in curvy road conditions, but perhaps have a little better tread life to them. Everyone out where I live wears out tires fast, it's one of the costs of living in paradise. But I'm afraid if I buy a big knarly badass tire that looks like the tread would last forever (like the Nittos that I love the looks of), that it'll be so hard and stiff that I'll have to slow down to 30 because of an upcoming curve, and then have to punch the gas to get up the next hill.

Karen

 

i live up in a canyon, and the speed limit on the road heading up to my house is 25, but most of the locals like to take them at 40 to 60...

having grown up here, im used to the tight turns and take them in my truck at about 35 to 40 myself on KM2s (load range E) with no issues, but brakes and tires end up going out pretty quick...

i ran a set of Cooper STTs and Firestone Destination MTs and they were soft enough that i managed to get high mileage and decent cornering from them... had i run the AT versions, im pretty sure they would have been soft enough to wear nicely and handle even better...

if you can get into a tire with a 3 ply sidewall, i would think you should be fine...

 

Thanks, Mike, that's exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. Sounds like we have pretty similar driving situations. I'm still pretty confused as to which exact tire to go with, seems like the more I look, the more confusing it gets. Gotta get something put on before the fall rainy season comes.

Thanks again for your experience, Mike!

Karen