Best tires for street driving to avoid sliding with a 2wd

I love my tacoma, but use it on street, for commuting, hauling and vacation travel. I have one of the last first generation Tacomas built, bought in 2005 as leftover. I have trouble finding best tires to avoid sliding on snow or wet pavement. I use it for commuting and side carpentry jobs so mileage is important, but so is not sliding on wet road which happens frequently. I want to know best tires for gripping road and mileage. I do not need for any off road, and I only have 2wd standard sr5 extended cab with jump seats. Any brands better? I have cheap futura scrambles from pep boys that are 4 years old and awful on wet and snow.

 

I drove a Miata in Idaho year round for almost 20 years. 67’ el Camino for a couple of years. Tires are like shoes, buy a good set of shoes for what you are doing makes a big difference.

Buy snow tires- I had them mounted on a set of steel rims did my own changeovers. The tire compound is designed to remain flexible in sub freezing temps, the extra siping grippy on the ice, and open areas for the snow and slush to clear out. Weight in the back- pair of sand tubes will do it. Unless you are already running around with a couple hundred pounds of tools and rack.

Wet weather- siping is still your friend-better grip better removal of rain. Keeps tires cooler in the summer. Look at better brands of tires- it makes a difference in the type of rubber compound you get.

 

Due to wanting some 16" wheels and finding some take-offs from a 2018 Taco, I ended up with some Firestone LE² factory installs. I have only ran them about 1000 miles, but I am really liking them for a warm weather tire. They do seem to channel water as I have noticed no hydroplaning no matter how fast I hit a couple inches of water. They get good reviews for wet pavement traction too.

I will swap back to my A/Ts for Winter as they are definitely not designed for snow/ice even though they are called "All Season" tires.

https://shedheads.net/firestone-destination-le2-review/

 

Michelin LTX ms2 is best traction and comfort tire I've ever driven on

 

Yeah, Michelins are awesome. I have a set on my Camry. If OP wants to spend a little more, you are in the lead here.

 

Best I ever had on my taco were actually Treadright Retreads

 

Yeah I'd love to find a set of takeoffs for the taco in 265/70(or 75)R16. I won't pay new prices for tires. Too many high quality new tires out there that the Bros take off to get there lo pro 20s on their new trucks.... And thank goodness too. It gives us cheaper options

 

I actually got a set of Michelins from a 2001 4Runner in that size(CL). Tires were at about 50% tread, but I only paid $100 for set of 4 for my Silver 95. All I really wanted were the 16" rims. I went to meet him and I said, " you know why I am not going to try to talk you down?" He said no. I said, "because the salvage yard will pay $25 apiece for those aluminum rims". He smiled and said he just wanted to get rid of them.

 

This right here. They were the only tire that got put on my moms Highlander. But the tire guy had to order them last time, so BFG LongTrails were put on last time. Also a fantastic tire.

 

Tires are like women`s shoes you need a different pair for each event.

sliding sounds like driving to fast for conditions!!

Pick up trucks tend to slide somewhat when empty

I got in and out a few winters no problems just about 300 pounds over the axle

Traction or fuel mileage traction in my case

 

Add another to the Michelin LTX MS2 good experience list. A set came on my Ridgeline. Great for bad weather. I put some crazy amount of miles on them -- over 70,000.

 

As others have said the Michelin LTX is a great tire. I had two complaints. At 4 years old the sidewalls began rotting and they were smaller around in the stock size. My speedo was off by about 2mph. If I did it again I would go 1 size larger. If you put above avg miles per year on tires the LTX might be worth the extra $$$s. I got Continental Ats this time around and the rain performance has been great. No real cost advantage though.

 

I have only put on Michelins since I first replaced the OEM BFG All Terrains. My current Michelins I bought in 2014. They are the Michelin-X LT2s. They cost a little bit more-I paid about $700 at Costco in '14 on sale. But you get a very good tire. Warranty is 70,000 miles. I've put about 21,000 on them so far and they look like I bought them last month.

 

I know you specified street tire and not all terrain, but the stock-size falken wildpeaks have been a fantastic all weather tire for my 2wd. They channel rain better than any other tire I've had, including the Michelins. They did pretty well in the snow too, and I haven't noticed a huge mpg penalty on dry. (I can still get above 21 mpg without trying too hard.)

Bonus: last week I got caught by a surprise snowfall while on my vacation road trip. The pass I was supposed to go over changed overnight from "no restrictions" to "traction law" which meant either chains or snow tires. The wildpeaks qualified as winter tires and I was still able to go over the pass as planned. So another vote for a great road tire that doesn't look like a road tire.

 

Great. Will get these when my BFG All Terrain's need a replacement. I do 100% street driving and the MPG is killing me.

 

Michelin Defenders LTX were the best road tires that worked well in wet roads and very quiet, they do sit a tad fatter than other tires the same size. sorry no experience in snow in these, I'm in SE TX
oh btw great mpg as well

 

x2 on the michelin - premium tires

The LTX AT2 is their all terrain tire- it's more a beefier 'all-weather' tire than an all-terrain imo. I'd check these out too

The defender tire I'm sure is great too

 

The "best" tires for snow are obviously studded snow tires, but you need a 2nd set of summer tires. Next best would be mud/snow tires, then all terrains, then the street tires all "off road" tacomas come from the factory with...

Other than that, put some weight in the bed, and carry chains.

 

I drive .... um ... hard.

I got BF Goodrich Comp 2 A/S tires. Great in dry & snow, not sure about snow.
They are really a street high performance tire, so I expect 25-30K lifespan.
The 255/55/16 is the 95 2wd OEM size, & available.
They are a world difference than the Uniroyal 205/75/14 Tigerpaws that were on my original rims. I like the paw on them (Go Clemson!), but I was all over the place on the road.

Those may not be what you really want, but they suit me fabulously.

 

Same here: Michelin Defenders LTX the best road tires, they also take some mild off-road beating. Not knowing much about tires I drove my Tacoma with Michelin LTX few mild trails in Death Valley: Hole in the Wall, Titus Canyon, Echo Canyon, Cottonwood Canyon. By the way I was never able to make them bold. They died either from age (10 years) or punctures (I "found" a house key on freeway). The best I had them on were 80+k miles and 10 years and still deep thread, but tire shop refused to fix a nail hole because of age.