New England B.S. Thread

I got my wheel well liners in and cleaned up in the wheel wells last night to prepare for installation. I noticed my factory Hankook AT2s are probably a bit below 50% at only ~20k on them. I actually like them quite a bit, but the treadwear rating is 440 so that might explain the good traction but quick wear. I have dedicated snows, so I'll either replace them this fall or next spring.

I'm leaning toward either Firestone Destination A/T2s, General Grabber A/T X, or Michelin LTX A/T 2s. All standard load. I don't tow anything heavy enough to want the weight or stiffness of LTs.

The Grabbers are what I want, but what I acknowledge I don't need. I'd have the do anything tire and they look fantastic, but there would probably be sacrifices in longevity, noise, and mileage. Grabber AT2s were some of the best tires I've ever had, but I bought them for the last truck in part due to their better winter traction and I now run Nokian Hakkas in the winter so that isn't an issue.

Michelin LTX A/T 2s probably suit my use the most - mostly on road where I want to get decent mileage and low noise, occasional less than ideal surfaces - not off roading but not quite a normal dirt road either. I think these would wear better, which would be nice since I tend to go through tires. Downside is they are pretty tame looking and I prefer something a bit more aggressive on a truck.

Destination A/T2s seem like a solid midpoint between the two.

Thoughts?

 

Say no to Firestone!

 

I really like my Michelin AT2's. Your post is perfect timing, I'm likely going to be in the market for some new shoes soon also. I'm starting a new job and I don't fit in the garage. Garage is at 6' 10" and the truck is at 6' 10". I'm thinking rather than having to fight to find parking every day (or buying a new truck) I can just go back to stock sized wheels and tires which drops 2" off the diameter, lowering the truck an inch. Discount Tire Direct is having a sale on Michelin tires now also and I found a set of wheels I like so I can have them mounted, balanced and shipped as a set, then sell off the current set and likely get pretty close to offsetting the cost.

 

Oooh new digs, nice....

 

I was looking at HotRocks Destinations A/T2s also, I went with TOYO Open Country A/T III.
I think I got the recommendation from DTD.
I like them. I was concerned about noise also because 90% of my drive is on Highway. They are fine on the road.
Also, they saved me some $$$. Tire Wharehouse gave me great prices.
They don't stock them but they can get them in 3-4 days.

 

Have you had bad luck with them?

That's what I'm leaning towards - I just need to convince myself I don't need a real A/T tire - the Michelins say A/T but they really seem like somewhere between a highway tire and an all terrain.

I hadn't noticed those - I was looking on Tire Rack to research and because they're the distributor for the guy I buy from. I think I missed them because I sorted by standard load and they're XL, but the weight looks fine. Interestingly, they're showing as even more expensive than the Michelins. I'll have to research more.

 

They're not what I'd call a true A/T tire. They're an aggressive all-season tire but they do well in all on-road conditions, I've been happy with them in the snow and rain also. Good tires in my opinion, been running them for quite a while now on the past few trucks.

 

I wonder if the three of us can get a package deal? I need new tires and they will definitely be Michelin LTX At2s. They last a long time and are great on the highway and I really thought they were awesome in the snow. They look pretty aggressive to me but I don't ever go for that look so I'm probably not the best judge. I guess compared to BFG whatevers they aren't as aggressive looking.

I got a buddy trying to talk me into what he just got, Pirelli Scorpion AT+. They look nice I guess.

To me these look pretty gnarly:

 

Not familiar with the AT+, but the ATR's were a horrid tire. They were heavy as all hell and the traction was worse than the factory Tacoma Dunflops. They're by far the worst tire I've had as far back as I can remember. I had a set that were factory take offs from a King Ranch, bought as a tire/wheel set. I sold them off pretty quick and ended up with the Michelin AT2's.

 

That's all I need to hear. Honestly, it's going to take a miracle for me to buy any other tire than the Michelin, they are just that good.

 

My only experience with Michelin was Primacy XCs that my 2018 F-150 came with. They were also probably the worst tire I ever ran. They were quiet, but useless on anything but dry pavement and they wore much faster than they should have for what was basically an all season tire. Though everything seems to wear fast for me - the only tires that didn't were my Grabber AT2s.

 

I had Michelins on a 1995 Dodge Intrepid I had at one time. I might as well have had ice skates since they slid on ice, snow, and even heavy rain. I've never even considered them on anything I've owned since.

 

No I haven't but that's because I never buy them. I know multiple people that have had problems with them (the brand not the specific tire).

 

I'm old, so when I was a 17 yr old kid busting tires at Firestone they finally had a recall on the Firestone 500's.
The salesmen were selling them, and we called them Maypops, as in may pop at any time. I spent a summer replacing those.

 

Plus the fiasco with their tired (Wilderness was one) on the Ford Explorers

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/19th-annual-toyota-takeover-at-rausch-creek-offroad-park.703034/


Come on out and have some fun!

 

If you’re happy with the stock tires like I am (ish) on the tacoma, troll Craigslist and Facebook. You can probably find them cheap as take offs from people replacing them straight away.

 

I like them for the most part, except tread life. By 30k these will be at the point where I don't want to use them anymore.

 

I bet I’m closing in on 30k miles on my current set of Michelin AT2s and they seem to be wearing like iron. Not sure if the compound is different though for the E rated tires.

 

My only recent truck experience with Michelin was on my wife’s JGC as they were the OEM tire. They seemed fine, but wore fast all things considered. They were at just under 5/32 and just over 30k, but had 50k treadwear rating. They only came with 8/32 of tread. I’m sure the non-OEM versions would come with 10/32 to start and gain that extra life. The local tire shop says they have stopped pushing Michelin’s due to similar complaints about less that stellar tread life.

We have about 10,000 miles on the Discoverer AT3 4S and outside of a less complaint ride compared to the OEM highway tire I have zero complaints. They’re offered as a three snowpeak tire, which was a big draw for me but how good they actually are in the snow, who knows. That being said, I know they’re not loved on here, so there’s that.

The only experience I have with Firestone is the Firehawk Indy 500s I have on the Vette. There are fewer and fewer summer tires in the Vette’s size and those were consistently rated a great tire at its price point, and popular on the Corvette circles, but that hardly speaks to an entire brand lineup.