Popular tire comparisons

Okay, here’s some specs on popular tires that fit on stock 3rd gens to make it easier for folks shopping around

(Note: All specs are either from Discount Tire or Tire Rack and the Notes section is just my subjective rating based on what I have read about these tires on the forum. Also I know I messed up the name of the Milestar Patagonias haha)




Looking at this table I thought I’d throw together a few simple graphs to help myself and others compare some of the data.



You can see that as the weight increases the price generally does too, with the exception of the Milestar Patagonia MT. The KO2’s are also notable heavier than others at the same price point which could speak to their durability over other AT’s.



Using tread depth as a proxy for off-road performance, I wanted to see what tires would give me the deepest tread for the weight. Again, the KO2’s have notably shallow treads despite having a similar weight to some MT’s. The Duratracs have a high tread depth for their relatively low weight, as do the Dick Cepek Extremes.




Last, we have price x tread depth, something I was really interested in. The SL load Falkens are one of the cheapest and have the lowest tread depth. The E load Falkens are still relatively cheap but have (according to Discount Tire) a lot deeper tread. I am skeptical that the tread depth would vary between loads of the same tire, maybe DT got it wrong? Again, the Milestar Patagonias are extremely inexpensive for their off road capability (tread depth).


Hope this helps someone with their tire shopping as the warm weather approaches. I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts on what the data shows versus their own experience, other tire recommendations, or anything else.

 

the imperical data here points to MICHELIN Defender

 

Haha how could i have been so blind @BillsSR5

 

Adam,
Thanks for taking the time to post the data. I recently installed a set of Good Year Ultra Terrain 265/70R16 from DT on my DD 2013 2WD SR5 to replace Firestone Destination ATs same size. First impression was "more noise, lower mpg". However after 10K and numerous trips through various roads/surfaces/weather the UTs have won me over. I don't off road as much as I did back in the day in my modded 83' 4x4 SR5, but a few trips through deep TX mud and freeway driving in heavy rain showed the UT advantage over "regular" tires. With gas pedal discipline and more cruise control use I'm averaging 20mpg. Best mpg I ever achieved was with OEM 245/65R16 Dunlop AT's with 25mpg on a long road trip, once. I spend a lot of time between 75-80 mph, the Taco "burn gas" zone. Hey, that's still good performance for an aggressive tread tire in my book and after 5 Toyota trucks and many tires I'm sold on Good Year Wranglers. Yeah, the Michelin's won every review I read too, even the DT guys recommended them when I described my usage. Maybe next set I'll consider Wrangler Fortitude HT"s, 65K warranty and get great reviews for my type driving. Good luck in your search.
V/R
Smokey

 

Thanks! I think I've settled on the duratracs

 

Definitely seems like the tire to get

 

re: tread depth on the Falkens, it does indeed vary between P and LT metric tires. However, the P metric tires also include silica in the compound which makes them better in snow than pretty much any other AT on the market. If you live somewhere that sees heavy winters they should be way up your list.

In my area of Canada the heavy hitters as far as ATs left on all year seems to be the wildpeaks, duratracs, and KO2s. There are a few people I've seen running studded Geolandars as well of late (I hope they take them off in summer though).

 

This is a great thread, although I'd be interested to see how the Cooper AT3 (4S/LT/XLT) stacks up since that's also quite a popular tire.

 

Good work OP

 

Very helpful! Thanks OP!

 

How about Mileage Warranty?

Tread depth might not be a good gauge since tires have different compounds.

 

The UTOG ratings should be considered for Wear, Traction, Temperature.

The current set of Goodyear Wrangler SRA have UTOG rating of 500, A, B.

When these are replaced a set with UTOG rating of 800, A, A will be purchased......Michelin Defender LTX M/S