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Looking for tire recommendations

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by NJRadioGuy, Feb 16, 2016.

  1. Feb 16, 2016 at 1:49 PM
    #1
    NJRadioGuy

    NJRadioGuy [OP] Active Member

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    First Name:
    Peter
    Northern New Jersey
    Vehicle:
    Stock 2004 TRD-Off Road, 5speed
    Hi all,

    I've got a stock '04 TRD Off-road that's in need of some rubber. Most of my driving is on local roads in good condition but I do take it off-road a few times a year. Nothing extreme, just old fire roads mostly. Any tire will handle the local streets but I'm looking for something that will handle the off-road stuff capably and is good in deep snow and a bit of mud once in a while.

    None of the local tire shops or mechanics I deal with know anything about what works well off-road (since it's illegal almost everywhere in northeastern NJ where I live), so I've been trying to research it on my own.

    Tire size is 265/70R/16 (111T load rating on the door pillar placard).

    What I've been looking at so far:
    • BF Goodrich Rugged Terrain TA ORWL (OEM, recommended by the dealership)
    • Cooper Discoverer AT/3
    • Yokohama Geolander ATS
    • Toyo Open Country All Terrain (my family mechanic recommended these)
    • General Grabber 2 (by a tire shop that I don't particularly like, but the price isn't horrible).
    They all seem to get OK reviews on Amazon and Tire Rack. Any thoughts with anything on this list? Anything else I should consider that's not on the list?

    As I said, my truck is stock and I don't plan to do anything to it unless a serious off-road park opens closer to where I live. For the 3 or 4 days a year I'll take it off road, and the 2 or 3 days of heavy snow in a typical year, I don't think I need to get too extreme.
     
  2. Feb 16, 2016 at 4:18 PM
    #2
    Ritchie

    Ritchie Well-Known Member

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    San Diego (North County)
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    RC Step side Pre-runner
    2.7 w/auto, 4WU 3 link, F & R Diamonds, ARB's F/R w/ Yukon 5.29's, Inchworm 4.7 Lefty, Deavers, ARB OBA, Schrockworks up front.
    From your list, I'd go with the General Grabber AT2's.
    I recently ordered my 2nd set but have yet to install them.
    Great tire.

    Good luck.
     
  3. Feb 16, 2016 at 10:07 PM
    #3
    turbodb

    turbodb AdventureTaco

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    AdventureTaco
  4. Feb 17, 2016 at 6:57 AM
    #4
    CStoy

    CStoy mountain-top maniac.

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    majestic gold 4x4... 1/4 million miles and counting!
    improved toyota goodness.
    duratrac's were a great tire for me... i would highly recommend them... also may want to take a look in the tires and wheels section of this site (in the list under ''forums'' at top of page) this topic has quite a few threads in there with tons of great info...
     
  5. Feb 17, 2016 at 7:02 AM
    #5
    Colon3lcrunch

    Colon3lcrunch Well-Known Member

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    Ray
    Germany
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    2014 Magnetic Grey TRD off-road
    I had set of firestone destination a/t's on my last truck up until I sold it. Not a lot of road noise, great lifespan (I had almost 20k on them when I sold the truck and they looked almost new), awesome offroad and on.
     
    NAAC3TACO likes this.
  6. Feb 17, 2016 at 7:35 AM
    #6
    Oey12

    Oey12 Well-Known Member

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    Joe
    New York
    Vehicle:
    SOLD:2012 TRD Sport 2017 SR5 4Runner
    Toytec 1/2 spacers, A.R.E Z, Firestone airbags
    I am sure there are going to be a few people who are going to want to set my house on fire after this comment but I would highly recommend NOT getting the Duratracs for a mostly on the road vehicle. I had a set of 265/75r16 on my 03 and they weren't that good in light to moderate snow and the rain traction was okay. In very deep snow and mud they were great. I know you are looking at stock size so the fact that they sucked the power from the 3.4 is a moot point to you. And in my opinion I would NOT advise buying a tire on looks and my experience brought me to this conclusion. For example before I lifted and upsized the tires on my 03 I had a set of michelin LTX M/S (stock size) and to get to my hunting spot it required getting up a very steep curvy driveway that was unpaved, rough, and has a lot of rocks. All of the guys I went hunting with had full size trucks (yes I understand it is a different animal then a Tacoma) with all types of offroad tires and usually my truck did much better getting up and down the trail with and without my atv trailer then all of my buddies. As for your list of tires they only one I can kind of comment on is Toyo because I have the Nitto Terra Grapplers on my 2012 which are very similar. Pros...They grip well in rain and in snow useless you are very heavy on the gas and overall a decent tire. Cons...I lost about a .5 MPG going to a All terrain (I guess not a con for Nitto in particular) and they have been getting very noisy in their old age 13,000 miles/4years old. They have very good tires but in all honesty I am partial to the LTX's because they are a go to tire for the majority of my needs are they have not let me down on any of my vehicles.
     
  7. Feb 17, 2016 at 8:22 AM
    #7
    Aquatic Tacoma

    Aquatic Tacoma Well-Known Member

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    Odessa, Fl.
    Vehicle:
    2019 Tacoma TRD Sport 4x4 Dbcb , 2004 Tacoma S-Runner
    Both are Stock - built correct from the start.
    We ran BFG ATs on all our company Tacomas. We'd get 60-70 k miles out of them. Our tire shop guys said they wouldn't believe it unless they were the guys taking care of them. Also ran them on my personal trucks. Last set when sold with the truck had 77k on them. And were still good to go. There are loads of reviews on their great all round performance. I was recently told by the tire shop, the rubber compound in the ATs have been changed to a softer compound.
    My latest Tacoma is a 2wd TRD. I realized I wasn't deep offroad enough to justify the 4x4 anymore. I too am looking at the BFG Rugged Trail. I don't need the road noise either. I'm also looking at Michelins. Have had them on my wife's Bimmer and were pleased by them. They last long but I knew that because it was a handling performance tire.
     
  8. Feb 17, 2016 at 8:28 AM
    #8
    frizzman

    frizzman Well-Known Member

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    Pittsburgh, PA
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    04 XCab 4x4 TRD/OR
    OME 2.5,Tundra 17s,Falken Wildpeak AT3W hitch w/ 7-pin, ARE cap, JVC HU w/BT, HID/LED lights
    I wasn't going to say anything but I "still" have my Firestone A/T's after 55k and probably have 20% tread left. hands down the best tire I've owned for street with occasional off road duty. excellent rain and very good snow traction too.
     
  9. Feb 17, 2016 at 8:29 AM
    #9
    NAAC3TACO

    NAAC3TACO Middle aged member

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    Just east of crazy, NV
    Vehicle:
    2014 SR5 DCLB 4x4
    Color matched door handles, Weathertech floor liners, bed mat, Durafit seat covers, tailgate clamp, 2016 TRD Sport 17" wheels with Yokohama Geolander AT tires , Toyota exhaust tip, Toyota/Yakima bike rail mount, Toyota wheel locks, Toyota hitch cover, Redline hood struts, unifilter on air pump.
    Firestone Destination A/T. Great tire in my opinion. You may want to check it out, however, the tires on your list are all pretty good tires also.
     

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