Best of both worlds?

Evening!
I recently acquired a 2016 Limited. It was my dads, he can no longer drive, age catches us all. I ended up taking it off his hands and paying it off. It’s had a pretty easy life in the garage.

First, I know it’s not a Pro or OR. I’m looking for a slightly more aggressive tire. The Michelin’s are great, quite and smooth. I don’t go wheeling, however, I hunt. Add snow and ice on top of that in the winter months in Albuquerque, NM. Also, the mesquite here will make quick work of some tires, I’ve already replaced one stock Michelin—right through the sidewall while stalking ‘yotes. I was looking at Goodyear AT’s? That seems like it would fit the bill. Thoughts on this?

Most of my driving is street and highway. It’s a 2 hour drive just to get to one of the places I chase coyotes. Then it’s rocky, washboarded, sand washes, mesquite infested dirt roads. I’ll most likely keep the Michelin’s for summer. With that, I’ll prolly stick with the stock wheels for now. Unless someone smacks me around a bit to correct my current logic. Thanks for any inputs and Merry Christmas.

 

Take a look at the Cooper Discoverer AT3’s and Falken Wildpeaks as well. Or if you want to stick with Michelin - the LTX AT’s are supposed to be really good on-road for an AT tire.

 

Look at E load tires. The ride will be hard but the sidewalls are tougher.

 

Look at the Hankook dynapro ATM RF10, good AT tire but also does excellent on the highway. Good prices also can be found. on my second set.

 

best of both worlds doesn't exist, of course. it's compromises which is far from that, HOWEVER, you have endless great options.

Cooper Discoverer is great, leans towards on-road usage.
Cooper ST Maxx is my favorite, leans towards off-road usage.

i love the Coopers, but some of their models are only E range like the ST Maxx (not sure about the Discoverer), and that will be a hard ride on-road, but i love them more than any tire ever. this comes down to 3 points IMO, so you need to prioritize:
- on-road handling
- off-road capability
- ride quality (for E range tires, if considering)

if you're concerned about the mesquite chewing up your expensive tires, then I'd go for E's leaning toward off-road: ST Maxx. the cost of it will be ride quality on road. the armoring they provide is terrific.

another way to look at it is that i got ST Maxx tires for the E rating and I'm 99% on-road. i love them in tarmac but I'm not the typical case.

 

Consider 255 x 85 x 16 or 255 x 80 x 17 in an e load tire for your hard off road use.

On the right OE rim, no lift or suspension change is required. Cant recall the wheel right now, but I think its off a 4 runner?

 

You got me on that one and excellent point. I spent most of my life on dirt bikes, off-road not track. No do all tire. My favorite setup bites and digs in 80% of the time, scree and hardpack...forget about it.

Mesquite is a concern, it’s ugly stuff. My sequoia has Toyo AT’s, 10 ply. Those are not as smooth, it will get it done in snow and in the dirt, no issues with mesquite. That’s my wife’s now.

Being that I’ll be on pavement 3/4 of the time if not more, being realistic. Pavement handling is pretty important. Considering my off-road use and what I’ll be doing is lite/aenemic compared to others on here. Negotiating a sandwash with ravines that washed out during the last flood is about as exciting as it’ll get. Mostly roads that look like two snakes going over the hillsides. If I want to get wild, I’ll jump on the bike and hit single track.

Those discovers look pretty nice. Not sure they will mount of to OE wheel? That seems to be an issue with that rim size, not a whole lot of options. Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

 

pretty sure those Discoverers come in E range 265/70-17. they sound likea perfect choice for you. but if you like the feel of off-roady tires while still being safe on the tarmac, you can run the STMaxx like me and be just as happy. personal preference for you.

 

Thank you Sir! Gotta recover from Christmas first, then I’ll make the plunge.