Tire choices, real world experience please

Well, my 2014 ax cab 4x4 has 30k miles and still running on the dealer Dunlop tires. They're HOT GARBAGE in the worst way and already worn out. Trying to hold out til I get my tax return to buy new ones. I've had the truck since late June and only put 6k miles on it and the Grand Trek's are wearing fast. I will not replace what they claim to be a "40k-50k mile tire" with this same soft rubber junk.
I drive 22 miles daily, most highway, to work Mon-Fri. I don't climb rocks or submerge it in water or mud on weekends because I make payments still. No suspension mods either. Mostly drive 85% pavement.
Current tire size is 245/75/16, I'm willing to size up if possible on stock suspension. I don't want to spend more than $500 for tires and I don't really need dedicated "off-road" tires.

I would like some personal opinions from you fine folks about what tire you have and their size and how they perform. Tires with less than 5k miles don't apply

I'm sure this has been asked time and time again, but tire compounds change and so does QC and pricing.

 

I love my Cooper ATP/AT3 tires in P265/75/16s.

Would highly recommend, our uses are similar.

 

Sounds like your truck is almost exclusively a road truck, and the extent of it's off roading might be the occasional gravel road, or maybe some winter driving conditions.

I currently have 265/70/17 Hankook Dynapros on my truck (stock size for 17s is 265/65/17, so just a hair taller). They have been excellent in all areas (hot/cold, wet/dry, on/off road, snow, etc.). I currently have about 40k miles on them and I still have well over 50% of the original tread remaining.

They are reasonably quiet on the freeway, but still have a decently aggressive appearance to them so they "look the part" on the truck. When I bought them two years ago, it was about $500 for the set. If you went with a 265/70/16 they would probably be a little cheaper than the 17s, and it would be a stock size tire. I'm not 100% sure if they come in 16" sizes, though.

 

That size is the widest and tallest we can run on a 16" wheel and factory suspension, right?

 

Yup.

You'll see a drop in mileage if you go that same route, but likely not as bad as I saw. I'm also a 4 cylinder, but with an auto trans.

 

FWIW, I went through 6 Hankook Dynapro ATM RF10s in the same size and all were returned (for a full refund) under factory warranty for defects. They're a great looking tire and performed well, but I had endless problems with them. 7 months and 12k miles worth.

Lot of people run them and are happy, but I wouldn't recommend them, at least in a P metric build. Maybe have better luck with an LT tire in C load rating.

 

4 cyl with manual here. The Cooper A/T3 is $120 per at Discount Tire Direct, good price for me.

 

I have a set of Cooper RTX on the Sequoia and love them. Quiet, solid and smooth. Great tires for the price. got them at Tire Kingdom with a buy 3 get 1 free deal and think i walked out with all 4 tires mounted, balanced, and an alignment for $450 out the door.

Really any Cooper tires, you can't go wrong with. The Nitto Crosstek is a good tire too that isn't outrageously priced, but a little bit more than the cooper runs.

 

I vote general grabber at2's.
In 265-75-16. I think they look aggressive (atleast enough for my mostly pavement truck). I put 10-15k on them so far and they look new.
Price matched online price at town fair tire. Think I paid $130 each

 

I think they're running a $100 off promotion if you spend $400 or more, also.

Not sure though, check their eBay store!

@Discount Tire Direct

 

Now that's some damn fine results! 40k miles and 50% tread!

 

Good friend of mine has these on his Avalanche, problem is he never drives the damn thing so I can't say they're good or not haha!

 

@dirty deeds

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...upon-expires-october-31.456256/#post-13462788

 

I love em. Got a winter set studded and a summer set.. Both look new after about 2years.

Might as well stuff that wheel well with good looking tires .. i H8 the look of "road tires"

 

THANKS! If only I had the cash now to do so. I'm sure there will be a "tax season" rebate of some kind when the time comes. Just hate to blow it all/most on tires when my registration is due in February(birth month). Gotta pay The Man yearly taxes here in KY.

 

I couldn't even handle that on my Mazda 3 I had before the Tacoma! Know exactly what you mean!

I'll consider the Grabber along with Cooper AT's

 

Be mindful of tire weights.

I think Grabbers are pretty heavy.

I lost 25% of my fuel economy going from the 245 Dunlop to a 265 Hankook and that's from a minor increase in weight and size (7 lbs).

 

I was just looking at the ATPs for my 4Runner with that deal. Comes out to 410 for all four in a 265/75/16.

What kind of uses have you put yours through? I currently have Michelin ltx at2 that came on the truck in a 265/70 that have about 15k. I'm debating getting the ATPs to go up to a 32 and just sell the Michelins on Craig's....
Just trying to get a little comparison

 

Not 4x4 so have no wheeling with them, but slick, loose, graveled, washboard fire roads, etc,.. all great. Snow was pretty good (limited exposure to snow in my area, so not really the person to ask about snow performance if this is something that you'll need).

On road performance is excellent. My only gripe is that the sidewall could be a little more aggressive in appearance, otherwise they're one of the better tires I've ran on any trucks for the money. My previous 4x4s had Toyo and BFG 10 ply (E rated) tires, so no real direct comparisons there - but hands down a better experience with Cooper than with Hankook.

I went to 4 or 5 local tire shops (independent) here when I was having issues with Hankook and none of them carried Hankook, none would order Hankook for a customer, either. And they all said the same thing - Hankook car tires are decent, but the truck tires are low quality and too prone to issues for them to deal with.

They have a lot of fans on this forum, though, so YMMV. I'd just say.. "buyer beware."

 

Bottom line for me; I don't want to spend $500+ on tires that suck and wear out at 30k miles that are noisy and have bad rain/snow traction. Weather in KY is pretty tolerable most seasons and I won't be trail riding too aggressive for at least a few more years when I get the truck paid off.