Looking for tire advice

Agree. Along with many other things. I think the common term around here is 'mall crawler'?

Of course not. It also doesn't mean those you defined above don't run them either does it?

I understand your view. Please note I said nothing against (or for) any brand. Summarized, I basically stated 'function over form'.

Do I like looks? Of course. Would I pick something based on looks? Maybe, if all other decision points were equal or really close.

I've been known to tool around town with slicks, partially because they looked cool, partially because I liked taking peoples money in street races. (not in a Tacoma ) But they were bought for weekend function, and normally other tires provided daily function.

The OP did a very nice job of specifying his requirements. I was giving him food for thought regarding those. Right tool for the job and all that.

He's already 'that kind of guy', because he has proper winter tires and wheels.

I'm sure he'll make a fine choice.

 

My next set will either be be Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs or Authoritys. AFAIK they are one of the few ATs with the "mountain snowflake" severe weather rating. Probably something you would really want in Quebec.

If you don't need a tire with the winter rating the Cooper A/T3 won the Expo Portal AT tire shootout. I have never been disappointed with Coopers.

 

I just replaced my Toyo Open Country AT's with a new set of AT2's.

The last set had 50000 miles on them and I was very impressed with them as far as ride & stability. The wear on them was very even. That is why I decided to go with the Toyo's again.

So far the AT2's have met my expectations. The local Discount Tire special ordered these even though it is not a brand they normally carry.

I think the key to getting good life out of a set of tires is keeping them balanced and rotate them regularly. I do it every 5000 miles the same time I do my oil changes.

 

Don't forget a good alignment and proper inflation.

 

michelins...there is nothing better or even close. they are worth the money

 

Absolutely!!

 

I'm a big fan of the LTX MS2s as well after running them for a couple winters. Nice, quiet ride, but decent in all but the worst conditions. We have the Michelin ATs on my wife's Jeep. I was surprised at how smooth and quiet those were, in spite of their more aggressive tread. It's quite a bit better than my truck when the roads really suck, but that's probably got a bit to do with the vehicle too.

 

Michelin MS2 hands down. Low rolling resistance so they are great for fuel economy. They are extremely smooth and quiet. Their traction is phenomenal. I have never used a tire with better traction. My truck corners like a champ and emergency braking (even) wet is unbelievable. They last forever.

 

Cooper ATPs,currently have them on my 4Runner and when I need tires for the Taco that's what I'm getting. 4Runner is an absolute snowmobile in the winter,wear so far has been very good,nothing bad to say about these tires.

 

Toyo Open Country AT II tires are a really good tire for what you describe. They are a hard rubber compound, so they have low rolling resistance and last a long time. They are not a very good snow/ ice tire because of this.

 

Have you heard about Nokian roviita ? I think they are good all year long. Any comments on these tires ?

 

Just get the michelins especially since you already have winter tires. When the Dunlops wore out I went with cooper atp and had nothing but issues exactly like the guy from this thread http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/wheels-tires/237766-pls-help-me-decide-tires-4.html
I did everything I could to give the tire the benefit of the doubt. Got an alignment new wheel bearings and shocks. After 2500 miles What solved the vibration issue I had was switching to the Michelin Ms2s. With the coopers the tires needed more wheel weights then I've ever seen to balance a tire. In my research when I was having my issues I saw many blamed the installer. well the same guy who dealt with my countless trips back to discount tire installed and balanced the michelins. The michelins took very little weight and no weight on two tires to balance. all my vibration issues were solved once I switched tires. As far as performance I don't do heavy wheeling just random trails to get to fishing spots and I have yet to need to put the truck in 4 wheel drive. the only time I have experienced issues with the Michelin tires is on ice and deep mud which I had with the coopers and would probably have had with Most tires (just speculating though never tried a mud and snow tire)
Long story short After all the headache I wish I would have spent the extra 300 bucks to begin with and got the Michelins from the start.

 

These guys did a really good writeup, ended up favoring the Coopers:

http://expeditionportal.com/where-the-rubber-meets-the-road/

 

^Was just about to post this same article but you beat me to it. Helped me sort through the all-terrain tire world. I just switched from highway tires to Cooper AT3s based on the recommendation of this article and other favorable reviews, and have so far been very happy. Only had them on a couple weeks and haven't made it out to the woods yet so I can't speak for lifespan or off-road capabilities yet, but on highway they have been great. Not much louder or rougher than the highway tires I had before. Also look great. I have them in 265/75/16.

 

Hi everybody,

just a quick word I ordered Michelin LTX MS2 with white lettering.

Thanks again for all your suggestions.

I will receive my tires next week.

 

Seems like a good choice. I'm considering offloading my Dunlop AT20's (oem). Local dealer is doing a buy 3 get the 4th for $1 event right now. The Michelin LTX MS2 or the Michelin LTX AT2's seem like my top two options right now.

Just to decide whether I want the less aggressive highway tread or more aggressive for later when winter hits.

 

I have the LTX MS2 on my '02 Tacoma. Got 90K miles out of the set and still had enough tread to pass the state inspection. I don't do a lot of offroading but they work well in the snow we get. I put another set on. COSTCO has good prices and run a $70 off a set of 4 almost every other month. Since they rebalance at every rotation it pays for the cost of the membership.

 

General Grabber A/T2

Pure Awesome.