I think I know what tires I want, but anything I should know?

I have been looking at so many tires, I see tread whenever I look at anything. (I am just like that when I buy stuff). Out of all the tires reviews, the 4 tire shops I have talked to, and talking with folks at work, I keep hearing Michelin LTX M/S 2. The tire shops told me essentially "if you are not planning on off-roading, this is the best tire for your Tacoma." The 75000 tread life is sweet, and some folks said they are over 90K with tread still left.

Now they do not look as "mean" as some of the other tires, but since this is a street only truck and I have the cash, are these a good choice? I am new to this forum, but so far I have gotten good direction from you guys. I know there are tons of tire threads on this forum, and I have read through a bunch of them, but just getting some last minute feedback. The originals are BFG AT Long Trails. They are the orginals and not much left at 50,454 miles. If there is another tire to look at for a street truck, let me hear it.

Thanks guys.

 

I have the Goodyear Fontera silent armor, they last forever, probably same as the michelins. Im at 90k and tires were put on at 40k. Still at about 50% tread.

 

Had them. Rocked them. Wicked quiet. Excellent fuel economy with them. Amazing wet and dry traction.

 

Good tire. What I remember from When I used to sell tires, They mounted and balanced nice. Have a great ride and grip really well even on wet pavement and snow.

 

i hear nothing but good stuff about then for normal use, actually i hear these recommnded more that almost any other tire, and they should do just fine off road unless you are hardcore. its an upgrade over the rugger trails that came stock

 

I looked at the Wrangler Silent Armor, then I saw there was a recall on them: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/02/27/goodyear-recalls-wrangler-silent-armor-tires/

 

From what I've seen the Michelins usually start to dry rot and sidewall crack long before they run out of tread. But that's what happens when you live in the desert.

 

First hand experience:


I just purchased a set of 265/70/16 Michelin LTX MS2 tires last last Friday. Here are my impressions so far. I did ALOT of research on tires, spent about a week comparing different tires, weights, load ratings, rolling resistance, P rated, sizes, ALL of that and here are my results. BTW I am coming from 265/75/16 Goodyear Duratracs.

First of all the reason I sold my Duratracs is simple. I do almost 97% ALL highway driving to school. My average day round trip especially if I have work after school is 222 + miles every other day! Yes you heard that correctly. While the Duratracs are simply amazing for they are designed for, they are simply not a highway tire and my MPG suffered greatly. So in choosing a highway tire, I wanted the absolute BEST highway tire money could buy. My truck is a long haul commuter, I'm not going to front and tell anyone otherwise. That is what it's for. So my goal was to find the best tire for the highway that would be lighter than my Duratracs, less rolling resistance, more conservative tread design for better MPG, excellent dry and wet traction, and a smooth quite ride. The Michelin LTX MS/2 is hands down the best tire for that. I don't think many will argue with that.

Now based on my research, I downgraded to a smaller size than my previous tires. If you look closely at the weight, a 265/70/16 Michelin LTX MS2 weighs in at 37 lbs. each tire. My 265/75/16 Duratracs weighed in at 45 lbs each tire. If saving weight and increasing MPG is your goal, than you want the lightest tire possible that will work on your application. You also want to look at a P-rated tire, versus a C,D, or E load range tire as most of those are going to be in 45+ lbs. Anyways just by going to the smaller Michelins based on weight savings alone I've reduced my rolling weight by 32 lbs which is nothing to sneeze at. The rolling resistance on these Michelins are night and day I can actually coast down the road with about 10-15% throttle on the pedal, whereas in my Duratracs I could only roll about 20 ft.

Today it rained and I wanted to really test the tires out in weather, hydroplaning conditions. I found and unbuilt shopping area with a huge parking lot and tried to get the Michelins to either break loose, fish tail, slide, anything. I'm telling you now these tires WOULD NOT BREAK LOOSE at all. The wet traction is EXCELLENT. I also live in the curvy hill country areas of central Texas and I was taking roads at high rates of speed and felt completely confident they would not break loose. The ride is EXCELLENT it feels very smooth and glides along the road. I can't speak on tread wear or life, but from what I'm reading in reviews these tires are known to go well past 75,000 miles. Other than looks, I'm very impressed with the tire and it's the best tire I've ever had on the truck in terms of shear road performance.

All Michelins have a 30-day no hassle return/exchange guarantee, a 70,000 mile tread warranty, and 3-years of FREE roadside assistance and FREE towing up to 150 miles.

 

Firestone Destinations.... Great wet/dry traction, smooth ride, and more aggressive looking tire over stock

 

Wow Yamaha Dave, nice review. Thanks everyone. I looked at some pictures online with these tires on the taco and they look OK. For the performance, mileage, and treadlife on these tires, I will sacrifice a little bit of looks.

 

^ Let me know if you want me to snap a pic with them on. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not sold on the looks at all, it's a very conservative look. BUT with the miles I drive on a daily basis, and the traction I needed on the curvy hill country raods, this was really the best option for me. I also wanted this to be the last set of tires I buy.

 

That would be awesome. I looked at Google images, but may not have been all MS2's.
Thanks. Would the AT version look any better?

 

Vikinglord,

I have the Michelin LTX M/S2s on my truck as well. I swapped out my stock Dunlops and it was like a whole new truck. Confidence is the word that comes to mind.

I ran the Michelin earlier version(MS) for over 110,000 miles and still was a decent tire. For your location and useage, I would recommend the Michelin MS2s over the A/T2s because overal better highway driving characteristics and mileage.