Stock Dunlops (are they bad)?

I have the at20 stock dunlops...i've read a lot about how horrible they are. I dirve mostly street and them seem to do okay. When they wear out i'll be getting some BFG AT's. Am i going to notice a difference? If so, how will they feel different? More grip? smoother ride? etc


Help me understand!

 

I am sure that if I lived in a dry warm sunny place i wouldn't have issues with them other then noise, but for me I lasted about 1k miles. After the tire shop put on my Grabber HTS's they put the AT20's in my bed and I told them I don't want them. They looked at me puzzled. I smiled because I now had less noise, better handling in every weather condition, and better feel over bumps.

Will the average person care much? Probably not. But even my gf who could care less about tires was impressed with the difference. These tires are made for one thing only - to up the mpg ratings sacrificing everything else.

I'm sure any tire is better than these(check tirerack ratings), but for the average budget it makes better sense to wear them out and maybe get off-road or snows for the winter if needed. Good luck in the rain
though........

 

They aren't bad if: youre on the road a lot, gravel roads at times, use 4wd to drive in snow only a bit, dont go "offroading" , you like decent mpg.

they are bad if: you do drive on ice a lot , go offroading , mud , packed snow .

I drove mine on ice n pack snow and didnt have any trouble fwiw but i kept off the steeper hills, i wanted more traction , so i bought winter AT tires. I dont "offroad" , I hunt in areas where many logging roads are closed , ski , hike, and work in snow n ice plowing & road closures.

My opinion of the tire is its designed for fuel economy , cost , and a reasonably good road ride , with a very little bit of versatility for 4 whl drive.

 

So basing this on road use only....the BFG's won't be as nice as a ride as the stock dunlops?

 

Last time I looked the Dunlops ranked LAST in their category on tirerack.com

 

I have to say, I really am disappointed with the factory tire choice. Even light mud, talking about a rain sprinkled dirt road and traction loss can be felt. Took them on some fire roads on several occasions and felt the rear end slipping any time you gave them even the slightest bit of excess throttle. Had Yokohama Geolander ATS on my last rig. 10 times better tire. I will replace these POS with either another set of the Yokohama's or go to General Grabber's before fall.
If all your gonna do is drive highway, the Dunlops will be ok. Just don't expect anything out of them and don't complain if you end up someplace where you didn't actually plan to drive.
Just my thoughts. Ken

 

My stock dunlops were a great street tire. I pulled them off @36k miles and put my mudders on. I prob. have about 15k left in my stock dunlops.

 

so my questions still exists: will i see an increase in ride quality - better traction, better handling, smoother ride, better over bumps etc etc (ON STREET) by ditching the stocks and going with BFG AT's?

 

Go to tirerack.com, and compare the BFG AT with the Dunlops. They have categories for each that states road noise, on-road traction, etc.

 

Your questions direction has changed a little. I think you should read reviews of both tires on tirerack and decide for yourself and others with BFGs. From my experience with them ANY tire is better then these in those categories except mpg rating. I had BFG AT on my jeep and they were fantastic.

 

My street radial Dunlops are not AT20, the dealer put on Dunlop SP60 before I bought the truck used. I drive 98% on road so these are fine for me. (I just wish the speedo error was not so large. I'm going with some larger radials when it's time for replacement.)

 

thanks guys! that's what i wanted to hear!

 

I swapped my stock dunlops at 8k & did not go to with BFGs AT but Goodyear Silent Armor ATs. The handling especially on wet road conditions was so much better. The other characteristics, handling, smoother ride etc. again was hands down better than AT20s. There is really no comparison. Most any other AT tire will be an improvement over the stockers. I also do not offroad only highway, backroads, & some dirt roads in the Northeast fwiw.

I couldn't even give them away on craigslist & ended up selling them for $20 to someone who needed their truck to get inspected.

 

The first time I got stuck in the snow , in my brand new ( 3 months old at the time ) truck with those tires ( Dunlops ), their days were numbered , but as is mentioned above if you are in a warm dry climate and highway / paved drive most of the time you could run them until they wear out before shelling out more $ for tires ,

OZ

 

The stock tires SUCK!

 

think again, i live in a warm sunny place, and they still suck big time, they are slippery, noisy, in every weather condition, we have sun, rain, and sometimes a lil bit of snow....

 

at20 are only good for dry road and occasional snow. I will most likely replace them with something else

 

They suck for me in the rain. Maybe if I had a heavy bed it wouldn't be as bad, but I slide without barely pressing on the gas. Maybe I have a faulty gas pedal........ J/K

 

yup. i learned this passed weekend.

 

same here, they can really put you in danger in no time...