Best Tires

I have to 3rd this. Granted I'm only comparing them to cheap winters on an SUV, a Minivan, and a few sedans of varying drivetrain, because my Tacoma came with KO2s, and this combo has outperformed any of my previous setups for winter driving.

 

There are tools to make comparisons. One tool is the UTOG ratings. These ratings are based on standards. Each manufacturer performs their own testing. In other words, the ratings are likely consistent within a brand, but may have differences between brands.

UTOG has 3 aspects to rate a tire. Tread life, Traction, Temperature.

The Tread Life is based on a rating of 500 as the bottom mark. Some tires, Michelins, are rated at 800. Meaning, the tire is expected to last 3X longer than the base.

Traction has 4 ratings, AA, A, B and C. C is the lowest. AA is the highest. Meaning AA will have the most grip.

Temperature follows the same pattern as Traction, but drops the AA. Meaning A will be the highest temperature resistance.

After the UTOG rating, the mileage warranty is next.

Price and appearance are the final "hard" items to compare.

After all that, you have opinions.

IMHO, Micehlin is a very good tire. There are several versions that will satisfy your driving habits. I'd suggest to consider the Michelin LTX Defender or the LTX A/T2.

 

Used to, they haven't been out that long.
I am running the toyo at 3's they are a bit louder but on gravel they handle that condition very well with very little wear. Another great choice from personal experience in snow that is an AT is the cooper AT 3 xlt

 

A lot of people get 1 tire of each brand and put each one on a different rim. Then whichever one fells the best, that’s the one they go with and toss the other 3.

 

For an AT tire, my vote would be the Flaken Wildpeak AT3W. They have full depth siping so they will perform well in snow too, even when they are down to half their original tread depth. These will be my next set.
This is just another opinion (mine) but I hear a lot of concern about tire's traction falling off when they are down to half tread. If you look closely, a lot of them have siping that is only half the depth of the tread block. Again, in my opinion, at that point, you really have a different tread pattern than you had when new.

 

I definitely recommend the Nitto Ridge Grapplers, I currently have them on my Tacoma and its my daily. They're an aggressive tire with low noise and a smooth ride. Will put them on any truck I own!

 

Hancock evo v12. Love them

 

Best tires I've tried so far have been my Cooper ST Maxx's, but come next tire time I'm probably going to give the Milestar Patagonias a try see if there's something better than what I got on now.

 

We have a similar version of these on the Rav4 and they are great so far. Quiet, smooth ride, and excellent wet traction.

$326+ Michelin Defender LTX M/S Tires

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Defender+LTX+M/S&partnum=66TR8DLTX

 

Kumho Roadventure AT51

 

If you're looking for the BEST tire, this is it. If you're looking for the best AT tire, there's a lot of debate.
I've been running Defenders for 20 years now. I want something a little more aggressive next time, but something in the back of my mind tells me I'll regret not buying Defenders again.

 

Sorry. I stand corrected. This looks a little different and says it has a new compound for better wet traction. (which the older tires sucked at)

 

This is actually the “best” answer. ^^^. Newbies almost always asks What’s the best question. The top 3 most often asked are What’s the best oil? What’s the best tire? Whats the best battery? There are a few others too. The answers are 99% the same. The most common answer is I have blah blah and that’s the best. In other words because “l” have it, it’s the best. There are sometimes a couple of thoughtful answers in which you may learn something. But most of the time by the end of the thread you’ve learned nothing. The one thing you will learn is that there is no consensus on what is the best tire, oil, battery or anything else.

 

My AT3s have a snowflake but are SL

 

I’ve had the KO2’s, general atx’s, falkens, and my current Mts. My favorite tire especially with snow and skiing was the fallen they had the best snow handling hands down

 

Correct. That was my point. The SL version of some tires are actually better in snow due to more siping and sometimes a softer rubber compound.

I've only bought 3PMSF AT's for years now, and the best ones were my Geolander AT's in SL.

I suppose I could have worded that post better.

 

I haven’t tried the geolanders yet I have the geolander g003 my for summer time might have to check those out for winter

 

I have heard their snow handling is great. If they're about as good as KO2s in other areas I might try them next.

 

Been running Bf Goodrich All Terrain T/A'S load range E for the last 35 years... never had an issue, never had a flat, and they last forever.
https://giphy.com/gifs/forever-the-sandlot-hEwkspP1OllJK

 

I loved them got abunch of miles out of them too