Which tire suits me?

So the 2012 Taco is just shy of 40K miles and it's time to lose these original shoes and get some new ones.

Thing is, I can't figure out which kind of tire to get. I figured I'll size-up just a tad from 245/75R16 to 265/75R16 so I have that worked out. But I just don't have the experience to know which kind of tire would suit me best. My driving is as follows:

Highway/street DRY: 40%
Highway/street WET: 50%
Steep gravel/dirt logging roads: 10%

Snow is maybe 2-3 times a year - better snow performance is desirable but I don't drive in it enough to make it a huge factor.

Most of the advice I've spent the last day and a half reading has been people recommending the BEST Highway or the BEST offroad tire. I just need one that will work with both, but with a heavy emphasis on pavement. I fear that just picking an A/T tire will have half of it's performance dedicated to offroad use and I'll be wasting its potential.

The most important factors in considering a tire are (in order): performance in the above conditions, longevity of the tire, low highway noise, and finally price.

Which tire should I buy?

 

Hankook Dynapro ATM would fit that nicely.

 

BFG KO2 or General Grabber AT2
Mild AT tread, snow rated and lots of siping for wet and snow conditions.

 

Wow those K02's look great. That's the ideal look right there.

I am going to look at reviews of the three suggestions I've gotten so far and see which one would work best. Thanks for your input!

 

I had Michelin MS/2's on my 2004 RC 4X4 and while we all know they are excellent tires they just weren't "grippy" enough for Wyoming winters and they sucked in clay mud which I can't blame them for. The winter we just had was brutal and although the MS/2's did admirably through this and the last winter it was time for a different tire. I actually came home one day and there was a 3' snow drift where I park my truck. The MS/2's climbed right up on top of it though. Then there was the ice. I could actually get around in a foot of un-plowed snow but it wasn't a comfortable feeling. Nor was it on the ice which the MS/2's weren't "that" bad on as long as I was real careful.

In any case, my driving is about the same as your's and after agonizing over what tire to buy for the last few months I just had 245/75R16 Cooper ATW's installed on mine. 1" narrower than the 265/70R16's that were stock because narrower tires are better in the snow as well as other conditions. Originally about $1200 for 5 but they gave me $200 for the MS/2's since one was only a year old and the rest still had a fair amount of life left in them. They were 5 years old and had around 50,000 miles on them. Even the "Expedition Portal" likes the ATW so far. That's saying something since most of those guy's/gals love BF Goodrich A/T's and can afford any tire they want to travel the globe on.

Winter is almost over here but I did drive in some snow last week and until the end of next winter I can't give a full review. However, so far these ATW's are quite nice. Off road on the mild trails I've taken them on, though not always mild, they have done great for me so far. They do have a tendency to collect small stones in the tread blocks.

They are at least as good as the MS/2's off road and many wouldn't believe it but the MS/2's are quite good off road for climbing and sharp rock beds as long as it was dry and I picked a very careful line. I was always amazed at what I could climb and where I could go with the MS/2's. As long as it was dry. On road the ATW's are smoother than the MS/2's were. They balanced with very little weight. Less than the MS/2's did. And, although I don't "hotrod" around corners when it is dry or wet they do as good as the MS/2's when it comes to dry and wet road handling while better on snow and ice.

ATW's have a TON of siping for wet and ice covered roads. They also have a 50,000 mile tread warranty so I'll have to see if that is true. Personally, considering the road conditions here? I could care less as long as they hold up through summer, don't grind down in the heat while still supporting good winter handling in the snow and ice. The silica added to the rubber compound is supposed to make that a reality. I'd be thrilled to get 40 or 50,000 out of them if they actually perform through a nasty winter or two. Or three. Maybe 4?

It would be nice to get 50,000 miles out of them and still get the performance to the end so we shall see. The ATW's in standard load are also 4 lbs lighter than the Michelin's and I noticed that right off the bat when I left the tire shop which is another reason I chose this particular tire in this load rating. I'll switch from steelies to aluminum rims in the future. That should help out my mileage to a certain extent even more with less abuse on the brakes and drive train as a whole. Not that I worry too much about that.

I haven't done a mpg test yet to see if the lighter tires made a difference but I'm going on a 2000 mile trip in May so I'll see what the difference is then. If any.

So far, I love 'em. If I lived where you live and drove like you drive I'd try out the Cooper ATW's.