Need New Tire Suggestions

Research Continental TerrainContact A/T.

 

Just had Michelin LTX 2 installed on the Pro from Costco in Sep. with rebate 1170.00. Hope to get minimum 45k miles. Feel way more secure
as of now from what the Wranglers were giving. The Look is Awesome.

 

I had the Michelin LTX MS2s on my ‘05 and they looked like ass. Basically a commercial truck tire. But I got crazy good mpgs and they were super quiet. That said, I had another set of wheels with Duratracs on them which got used for Moose and Deer season. They looked like fun and worked great on loose roads and deep snow but sucked on wet or slippery asphalt. So I also had a set of winter Michelins on steel wheels. 3 sets of tires, need space to store two sets, ugh.

With my 3rd Gen I have tried to split all of the differences with the Cooper Discovery wheels. But I went cheap and got P metric tires. They have worked well, not too noisy winter, summer and hunting season. But skipping out on the LTs I think they are a bit too soft and are wearing faster than I’m happy about.

 

A couple of friends and I all have tacoma's with the same size tires but different brands. I thought my Nitto Ridge Grapplers were pretty quiet but then I drove one with KO3's and another with the Yokohama Geolander X-AT's, the Yokohama's are stupid quiet for being a fairly aggressive AT tire. I like the KO3's but they are just too damn heavy and i have to many buddies/co-workers that have issues getting them balanced properly. If I would of of experienced the Geolander's before buying my tires I would of got those and depending on how these wear and whats available then i'll likely go with the Geolanders when that time comes.

 

Super Swampers are always the answer.

 

Swampers LOL... Used to have 38x15.5's on my K5 Blazer, damn those suckers HUMMMMMMM

 

I can totally picture that. Hopefully on Weld Typhoon wheels!

 

More aggressive tires make more noise than street tires especially after about 20,000 miles. They tend to wear unevenly and once that starts they progressively get louder. They need to be rotated much more often than street tires to prevent cupping on the outer edges which will help. Some tires are worse than others. I've never had Falken's but the Goodyear Ultra-Terrains were some of the loudest. I've had good luck with Cooper tires. They will still get loud over time, but not unbearably so like the Goodyear's.

 

I think the Yokohamas are a perfect suggestion here. Look pretty good, smooth and quiet ride, and 3PMSF rated (which the Michelin Defenders are not).

Probably the only detractor for the Michelins if you're in a snowy climate.

 

Based on what is available at Sams Club, I will probably either go with the Toyo Open Country AT III or the Cooper Discover Road + Trail.

 

Based on this video, I went with the Cooper Discover Road + Track ATs on my 2014 and I couldn't have been happier. I'm about to order them for my 2025 SR5 now. Like you, I'm mostly a pavement driver, but I live on a gravel road with a serious climb in the winter and occasionally go off pavement on relatively flat dirt trails. No wet sand though, so I can't speak to that. My main criteria was 3 snowflake rating and these preformed excellent in our Maine winters. So much so that for the type of driving I do, I do not plan on getting a studded winter tire (legal here) I'm sure they are noisier than a highway tire, but I never noticed it as an issue. One note on Sam's club purchases. I saw a tire review somewhere on the tube (so take this with a grain of salt) and they mentioned that WalMart/Sams sometimes has a tire labeled as X but it is not exactly as every other X tire in the open market. Maybe less tread depth, slightly different rubber compound, etc...whatever. Just do your homework on the particular tire you buy from them.

https://youtu.be/yWeFF9E60zI?si=b8WU5NitxcJLKaD2

 

Forgot to mention, the Cooper Discover Roat + Trail ATs had a decent aggressive look. No KO3s by any means but they didn't look like you took them off the Buick.

 

I had the Michelin LTX M/S on my 2nd Gen Tacoma. Great tires for 100% on road but totally worthless on anything but asphalt. Got stuck on a flat gravel/dirt road in the rain headed to my duck blind and had to abandon the truck for three weeks. They did perform well on the freeway but that's it

 

The Michelins aren't 3pmsf rated, but I'm pretty sure they will out perform and of these AT tires on snowy roads. Look at the tread pattern. It has sipes like a snow tire. When I had them (non-defender LTX M/S2 version), they were excellent in snow. They might not be as good in super deep snow, but for snowy roads they are great. I suspect they could pass the 3pmsf rating, but Michelin would prefer to protect sales of their dedicated snow tires.

They aren't good in mud, but mine took me farther off road than they have any right to, including some light rock crawling and some deep sand.

 

I know the siping is good (I've used and love these tires), but I think the compound is pretty hard. 80k mile warranty and all.

 

Toyo AT3s for me. I have had several sets of the AT2s and now AT3s on my Tacoma in 28s SL rated and not a single issue, super quiet and no abnormal wear, easy to balance too. I have a set on my 99 4Runner and again flawless! One of the best AT tire on the market. I was a BFG AT but they were horrible to keep balanced, such a overrated tire.