Base 2wd Tire Recommendations?

Hello everyone,

I have a 2015 Base 2wd truck with the tiny little car tires. The truck was basically stuffed under a tree by the previous owner until I bought it earlier this year. Didn't really think of it until I changed the oil recently and noticed the severe dry-rot on the tires, as they are the original ones from when it was new 8 years ago... Luckily they haven't blown up just yet.

I was wondering if any other car tire tacoma owners have any recommendations of tires they like? I basically use this truck as a car. I drive to work and back and run some errands occasionally throwing some stuff in the bed, dump runs, etc.

I've had good luck with Yokohama tires in the past so i've been looking at the Avid Ascend LX or the Geolandar A/T G015. I am debating on if its worth it for me to have that more aggressive tire for those snow days at the cost of fuel economy the rest of the year. I live in New England so the snow can get bad, but I'm not sure if its worth spending the extra money for those tires that will likely get me less fuel economy.

I do mostly city driving as of right now so normally I'd just say get the A/T's but I may be changing jobs soon which will require much more highway commuting. I've been trying to hold out on getting tires while I figure out the job stuff but these tires are borderline just unsafe to drive on.

If anyone has a 2wd with the 215 70r 15 car tires let me know which ones you like!

Thanks for reading

 

I have the Ascend LX on my '09 Base. No issues. 20 mile (one way) highway commute daily, plus short around town trips.

Pretty quiet on the highway and good traction for a high mileage tire. My previous tire were Sears Roadhandlers and on certain right hand corners, the inside rear tire would spin if I tried to accelerate mid turn. The Ascends don't do that.

 

Thank you for the info! I think that tire is at the top of my list at the moment. It seems like it'll be the best for my situation.

 

Cooper Endeavor plus. Great tire. I'd run snow tires in the winter if I were you. You need all the help you can get with 2wd.

 

I'll check those out. I'd like to get a second set of wheels and tires with some snow tires but thats just a bit out of my budget at the moment. Eventually I would like to do that though.

 

Get something that's at least M+S rated to help you out in the winter months. Not all will be aggressive so you wont lose your summer highway mileage. At least this route until you can score yourself some snow tires and extra set of rims (watch on marketplaces for takeoff's)

Add some weight in the bed too for the winter since you're 2wd.

Check out Nexen HTX2's. They're all weather (instead of all season) and are 3peak mountain snowflake rated. 70k mile warranty and is still a highway tire.

 

Yeah I’ve been really trying to consider today, It’s probably worth it for me to get something a little more winter oriented. I’d hate to get stuck or put myself or others in a dangerous situation because of my tires.

I think what you recommended is the best balance of the two. Just some good M+S rated tires for this year, I’ll check out marketplace for some take offs and by next winter i’ll have a second set of snow tires.

I agree though sand bags in the bed are a MUST for winter driving. That extra weight helps out more than anything else for sure.

I will check those tires out, I’ll do some research and compare my options. Thank you for the recommendation! I appreciate your input.

 

Sure thing! Tires make such a huge difference in the snow. Im in NE Ohio so we get our share too. I had the stock Bridgestone Duelers on my Tundra and they were getting pretty low in tread. I was able to slide sideways in 4wd if I barely got on the gas. I moved up to Kenda Klever AT's and I could accelerate up a hill in snow in 2wd If I felt like it, without weight in the bed.

Weight and good tires will make all the difference. Traction is key.

So how many miles are on this truck since it sat for so long? Hows the maintenance on it?

 

For sure! I just made an appointment for getting the tires tomorrow, gonna go with the Geolandar G015’s I’ll see how those do!

I bought it with 8k miles in January it has 13,600 on it now. When I bought it I went through the whole truck. It has mouse crap and chewed up air filters in the air box and in the cabin air box. luckily no wiring damage though. I spent a while cleaning all of that and then replaced both filters. Blower motor was bad too so I replaced that. The oil filter was some cheap aftermarket so the oil was changed at least once since it was new. The only other notable thing is an aftermarket battery which makes sense. otherwise I don’t think anything else was done to it. I got a maintenance schedule i’ll be following to make sure this thing lasts. I don’t think it was neglected too much, just sat for a long time. Very glad I was able to save it! lol

 

I went up in tire size to 235/75R15 with Hankook Dynapro AT-m
I use them as winter snow tires; they are a little noisier than stock.

 

I have a set of Geolander G015's on my 06. Came with it when I purchased it back in April. Don't have any winter driving experience with them yet but am pleasantly suprised with them so far. Mildly Aggressive tread, but very quiet, & am getting pretty decent gas mileage so far (~21mpg).

 

Those tires look so good on that truck! I really like the color too. But those tires make the truck look so much better. I want to keep my speedo and stuff the same so I probably won’t do it, but I have to admit I really like it. Thanks for sharing!

 

That’s good to know! I get about 17-18 mpg doing my city driving, 21 or so when I take a few highway trips. These tires I have now are toast so I think any tire will be better lol. But that makes me feel better about purchasing those tires knowing my mpg won’t suffer too bad. Thanks for sharing!

 

That's wild! you've got yourself essentially a brand new truck.

 

That was exactly my thought process! The funny thing is, I paid almost exactly what the truck cost brand new. Not what a 2023 costs but a 2015. These trucks really hold their value lol.

 

The speedo reads about 60mph when going 65, so I do keep that in mind while driving.
Since the odometer reads lower you have to do some math to get the correct mpg.

 

i have the geolandar A/T on my base 2009 tacoma, LT235/75r/15 Load range C. Love them!!!

 

For a purely road tire, Michelin Defenders.
For an all terrain, Falken Wildpeak AT3W. They are fantastic in the snow (better than the Michelins in my opinion and I've run Michelins for years) and handle wet and highway really well.

 

Oh nice so it’s not a huge difference. This is good to know thanks! I already bought the stock size, but this is good info. Thanks!

 

Good to hear! I actually wasn’t aware that the geolandars were LT tires I figured they were P tires. Glad you like them! I hope I have a similar experience