Tire recommendation for 2014? Mom wants safe/practical. Kid wants fun.

A few weeks ago, my 18yo son bought a 2014 V6 4x4.

It's going to need new tires soon. We're in Pennsylvania mountains.

I am Mom, and I want something safe and practical.

He wants something stup...I mean, ridicu...I mean "fun." Tires that can run up 90-degree mountains of gravel, or some such.

He's living at home, working, and going to college, but he's eating my food, using my AC, and the truck is on my insurance, so I have quite a bit of say here.

Is there a tire that is maybe moderately "fun" but ticks the boxes on "practical" and "safe" that will make Mom happy? This is his daily driver, but he also uses it to haul mountain bikes, and if he's anything like his mother was at that age, probably up to a little bit of nonsense on dirt roads.

Thanks for any info, thoughts, words of wisdom, philosophical ramblings, etc.

 

Basically any name brand All-terrain tire

 

Falken Rubitrek is a lightweight all terrain. Not going to stand up to abuse as well as some other tires, but good traction and better gas mileage

 

Youre over- reacting....
He's going to run through the same terrian regardless of what tire he gets....
It's either going to be an all terrain or a slightly more aggressive "larger knots" tire referred to a mud terrain....

He will drive through the same crap regardless what tire he buys....
Just saying!

 

Your local climate might help. Do you get much snow, rain? There are definitely A/T tires that are better/worse than others depending on those. Obviously you may only get snow a short time each year, but if they have to drive in it, and it can get deeper, there might be suggestions made one way or the other.

So yeah, any more info you have could be helpful to the many tire aficionados on here!

 

Sometimes it can turn out that many tires are a compromise: very-good/excellent at one task or job, so-so at something else: like noise. Zero in on your: "most of the time" use. i.e.: "Most of the time highway, every so often: off-road Forest Service/Jeep trails to fishing spots."

I found a very good compromise as per the above, that does what I need, but with some cost/sacrifice of tread life to some extent to do the job.... ...and I have stuck with them through four different trucks so far.

Welcome to TacomaWorld!

 

I vote Yokohama GO15s or the new Yokohama A/T4. Ride well, quiet, stop well in bad weather, severe service rated so they're pretty good in the snow, smooth on the highway, hold up well and dont hurt fuel economy too much. And if looks are a concern they look pretty good

I almost talked my mom into putting them on her SUV.

 

Toyo Open Country AT3/Toyo Open Country RT PRO

 

Some reasonable recs here.

The more agressive the tread, the more important routine balance and alignment. Find a good reputable shop in your area for regular tire service and make him do it. It will prolong the tire life/mileage considerably.

Bigger than stock and heavier overall will decrease mileage and increase wear and tear on the entire drivetrain, diminishing/depreciating value more rapidly.

Get something with siping for rain traction on pavement, because that is when he will most likely try to do stupid shit. Tires in general with the snowflake symbol are rated for snow and ice conditions.

 

I have no idea what a “fun” tire is. But what difference does it make if he gets “fun” tires or something else. The tires don’t determine how he drives, if he speeds or drives recklessly. He determines how he drives. He should get what ever tires he can afford to purchase.

 

Super Swampers are pretty fun.

Michelins are pretty safe and practical.
I vote for A/T tires.

 

Those Yokohamas listed above are a reasonable tire

 

I'm the mother of an 18-year-old boy. It's in my job description to overreact. It balances my husband's under-reacting.

 

Sorry! We're in Pennsylvania mountains, but some city/town/highway driving, especially to get to bigger mountains. He may take the truck up to upstate NY from time-to-time, but I'm guessing that would require snow tires/chains as needed?

 

Take this person's advice.

 

BFG K03

 

Thank you! Yes, most of the driving will be highway/town as a daily driver. We're in Pennsylvania. I'm just wondering whether there is a tire that will do well in rain, light snow on highways, but get him to where he needs to be with his mountain bike. He's babying the truck (so far). He's not going to be going way off-road, but he was taking a CRV with all-season tires up what I'm assuming were gravel, graded roads and every fifth trip, a tire was destroyed. So maybe not always on graded roads? He has a super clean driving record so far -- he works for our township and wants to keep his driving record clean, so I'm not too worried about shenanigans. Thanks!

 

He's fairly responsible. I do keep a "tight leash" on my kids when it comes to cars and driving, and he works in a job where he absolutely wants to keep his driving record clean. But he does like getting up into our mountains (Pennsylvania) and I get the feeling he wants tires more suited to off-road, when this is also his daily driver. I'd like some suggestions for tires that cover all the uses as much as possible, while still being able to handle rain/snow well.

 

Thank you!!!!

 

^
In that case Michelin LTX MS/2. Looks very boring, but excellent traction and tread life.